“I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom.” – Edgar Allen Poe.
There is pain and there is pain.
Whenever I am drawn to feel sorry for myself I think of the torture Edgar Allen Poe endured in his brilliant head. My pain will be gone in the morning.
Poe’s never left. I don’t do impending doom. But my jaw feels like it was just run over by a snowplow.
The pain in my jaw was building for a week but became unbearable over the weekend. On my first visit to the dentist, the diagnosis was a nerve too close to a tooth. Try Sensodyne, they said.
Sunday, I called the emergency number. I knew I’d have to wait a bit, this is the country, and doctors aren’t hanging around all over the place waiting for the phone to ring.
They took pity on me this morning, the diagnosis was different – a huge cavity in the tooth, and a swelling and painful abscess just beneath it. Dr. Dambrowski took one look at the X-ray and asked if it was okay to take out the tooth.
Sure, I said, any time.
I have to say that the pain from my open heart surgery was about 1/20 the pain caused by this cursed tooth, which was removed in a bloody ceremony this afternoon. I was told to go home and collapse, which I did, although the pain just soared and soared.
We have another good-sized snowstorm coming tonight and I’m not sure I’ll be able to help snow blow in the morning.
I was grateful to Dr. Dambrowski and Ariel for seeing me on such short notice today and for quickly removing my tooth. I made it home just as it started to snow.
They recommended a mix of Tylenol and Ibuprophen for the pain, and I’m a bit like an addict, counting the hours to the next dose. I don’t take heavy-duty pain killers.
I was a little shell-shocked after the extraction. “I guess I can’t go to the gym today,” right?” Dr. Dambrowski laughed. “No,” she said, ‘You can go home and rest and put some gauze on your wound.”
Maria rushed off to buy more Tylenol, and I am sorry she has to care for me one more time. I told her to go to work, and I passed out on my chair.
I have to eat mush for a couple of days. But I will be very happy when all of the pain is gone. A prayer to the people whose pain lingers.
I just remind myself I have a pain that will get better and better. Some people don’t.
I also remind myself of the pain people suffered a hundred years ago, when there were no pain killers and no dentists with fancy equipment.
I did ask them both to pose for me, “I have a blog,” I said. “We know,” was the reply.
On another front, I’ll only have to pay $500 for the $10,000 in damage my car suffered when it went into the ravine nearly two weeks ago. The $500 is my deductible.
The insurance company was puzzled about all the damage all over the car, I sent them three photographs of the car hanging on in that ditch and they approved the claim right away.
I love my car and will get it back in a month or so. I get the rental on Thursday.
I consider this the year of restorations for me – my heart, my prostate, my car, my mouth, and soon enough, a vaccine. The biggest pain of the year, Donald Trump is fading, don’t be fooled by all of the noise. (I think Sen. Graham is in love.)
I know that pain Jon, sincere sympathy. Get well soon.
I thought I was “country tough”, pretty impervious to pain until I woke one morning to an abcessed molar. I once took a tumble with a horse, got an ankle caught in the stirrup – the horse rolled on it, breaking it. I found a broken tree branch to use as a crutch and hobbled back to the stable – I thought no pain could ever top that. I was wrong, so wrong! Thank God for modern dentistry – you’ll be okay in a day or two. Congratulations on car news. Donald Trump is melting like the Wicked Witch, Graham is just cackling like a vulture at the end of a bad dream.
goodness Jon, you have had your share, and then some! Hope ice and anti inflammatory meds will help ……there are sure to be a few more uncomfortable days until you can enjoy one of your gourmet pizza’s again! Get well quickly! Lucky you to have Maria don her *nurses* hat once again……I know she doesn’t mind one bit!
I have always been amazed at how well the dentist combination of tylonel and IB Profen works. Another trick that is more of a home remedy that has worked for me in the past is rubbing an ice cube in the palm of the hand on the side of the toothache or extraction. I don’t know if it’s actually an acupressure technique or in my head, but it takes my mind off the throbbing before the next dose of meds kicks in.
Hope you’re feeling better! I understand dental pain, it’s no fun.
I know tooth pain! I’m so sorry! I had a tooth extraction once, and I was at the pharmacy a few doors down from the dentist getting meds, and pain started, and it got worse and worse. The pharmacist have me an ice pack, and I texted my mom, reeled back to the dentist. I was almost screaming from the pain by that time. He numbed it, checked around, even dissected the tooth, but couldn’t find a cause for the pain. Sent me home, and I took a nap as the numbing wire off, and then I was fine.
Now I have an abscessed toothbrush has a slice that cracked out. It’s swelling the roof of my mouth, but I don’t have dental insurance right now. Don’t have any money since my husband was laid off. Don’t know what I’m going to do. There might be a dentist that works for free but it’s a holiday weekend.
Anyway, I’m sorry you had to go through that! Love your writing!
Tooth pain is the worst! Shame they didn’t at least give you a couple of tylenol 3 (with codeine), they work well on tooth pain which can be FIERCE indeed.
I know how much an abscessed tooth hurts. I had a molar extracted 2 weeks ago because the root cracked.
I’m glad you are on the mend.