I thought I’d just tell you a bit about my last week. I’ve been mostly whining about a tooth ache that is still hanging on. It’s an infected crown, the dentist barely took a look, x rayed and declared it was infected. So I left shortly after with a script for an antibiotic and pain meds.
What I discovered is that Advil/Ibuprofen in high doses is better for a tooth ache than prescription pain meds. In fact it is the only thing that helps. Still, after nearly seven days, it shouldn’t continue to keep me awake and make me feel like sticking a knife in my hand to take my mind off my face. I see my dentist again tomorrow.
Okay, that subject is over, on to the next…;)
As you may have heard there was a hurricane passing through the gulf coast this weekend. My brother and his family live in a suburb of New Orleans. He is a veterinarian and by the weekend 187 animals had been dropped off “for the HOLIDAYS.” So he and his fellow Vets and staff stayed at the Animal Hospital for the duration again. They stayed there for Katrina.
Now, don’t feel too sorry for them. The Hospital is not that old and was built with hurricanes in mind. They have a generator running when the electricity goes off. (I think it was pretty terrible after Katrina though). But he’s already been to check out the house that had to be rebuilt after Katrina and said not even a broken glass occurred to the family home and the electricity is working. He’s a good man, he is stubborn, but he cares about many things. Like most men, he doesn’t talk about what he cares about. He just does what he knows is right.
They learned so much from the last hurricane; how to be prepared, mostly to just get the hell out of the area. His wife went to visit family in Alabama, his son went to stay with his mom in northern Louisiana and his daughter went to Austin to hang with some friends. He’s good to animals, good to his family and a decent scrabble player. What else can you say about the guy? I generally claim to know him when he’s around.
So, all in all it’s been a good week. My brother and his family are fine. I’ll get over my tooth ache, soon I hope and then the sun will shine on the gulf coast and maybe here in Indiana too.
Rhianna
Glad your family is fine. I’m really glad this wasn’t another Katrina, but it looks like they did all the right things this time. Too bad they didn’t have it this together for Katrina.
What is it with you and your family all liking to live in weather related disaster areas? You and your sisters in tornado alley, a brother in New Orleans and I think you mentioned another in FL, both heavy hurricane areas.
My mom is always going on about earthquakes and her fears of disasters so she won’t ever come to the west coast, and yet she moves to FL from NJ. FLORIDA! There is a hurricane or nasty tropical storm there every year, sometimes several. I don’t understand the logic.
I hope your tooth problem gets fixed. I hate tooth pain and an infection in there is not good. And yeah, Advil works way better than prescription pain meds. I use the vicodin that I have leftover from a carpal tunnel op. to help me sleep sometimes if it’s been days that I haven’t slept. It did Jack sh*t for my pain but does kind of knock me out. Hey, waste not want not, right?
Good luck with your appt.
Comment by MB (Leah) — September 3, 2008 @ 1:04 pm
Great News! I’m scheduled for a root canal tomorrow morning. My life is so skewed when I’m looking forward to that. *Partial Grin*
I think you have to admit that our world has few places that can escape mother nature. She will find something to throw a tantrum with, whether that is a hurricane, earthquake, tornado, water spout, flood, locust and my sense of humor. All wicked forces of nature.
snort.
Rhianna
Comment by Administrator — September 3, 2008 @ 10:45 pm
Oh, that sucks. But it’s not that bad these days. I had one done last year, and it was way easier than the one I had 20 years ago. Better than if you would have had the crown put in first.
That happened with me last year. Dr. put in a new crown and then it was hurting and hurting, still, like it was before the crown, so I go back 2 weeks later and I need root canal. Argh! Pissed me off because then they have to drill a hole in the crown and what they leave after is a little silver hole and I had just gotten all the amalgam out of my mouth.
I was like, why didn’t you notice that BEFORE I had the crown or when you went in there before.
and my sense of humor,
*snort*
Comment by MB (Leah) — September 4, 2008 @ 12:28 am
Yet another update on the crown from hell. So It is a crowned tooth giving three shade of hell. Went for my root canal this am. He drilled through looking to root out the evil nerve endings and couldn’t find the channels until after he started cutting away my crown. Then he found two, but by then I’d been there over two hours and he was way behind. So he shot in steroids, sent home steroids and antibiotics and next friday he goes on the hunt for the channel of hell. And the parting comment is, well if we still can’t find the last channel to the root, we’ll have to pull the tooth. Well, hell.
Otherwise, the new pain med helps. It is really hard to keep your mouth open wide for over two hours. And as much as I’m a loud mouth at time, I have a small mouth, so it’s got that smiled too long ache.
As for other things, things are seeking some middle ground of normalcy.
hopefully I will be able to chat about something way more interesting my next blog…Rhianna
Comment by Administrator — September 4, 2008 @ 7:22 pm
Maybe you need a new dentist or a second opinion. He/she doesn’t sound like a good one.
If it makes you feel any better, I have some similar stuff going on with a 20 year old root canal tooth that has suddenly, OK for months now, become very sensitive and painful when chewing. I just had a new crown put in because the old one was cracking. Dang. Those things aren’t cheap.
Dentist told me to get a second opinion because it either needs 1)another root canal job. 2)or pull the tooth and put a bridge in because the tooth underneath might have cracked. It definitely shows bone loss and might be infected, but I refuse antibiotics unless I’m in constant pain, which I’m not. So…fun times ahead.
What pisses me off is that not one month before they took x-rays when I went in for my cleaning and nothing showed up. My teeth were in great shape. Now, a month later it shows that I have bone loss? I hate dentists! Well, I hate Dr’s too. This is how they pay me back. LOL
I’m still putting it off only because I’m too lazy to find an endodonist.
So, I feel your pain.
Good luck with all that.
Comment by MB (Leah) — September 4, 2008 @ 11:22 pm
Well, he is the second opinion, since my dentist sent me to a endodendist for the root canal. that’s all he does, all day long.
I am feeling better this morning so far. I didn’t wake up with a toothache so maybe there are only two channels to this tooth, though he said there was three, it must show up on the x-ray.
Hell, yea, crowns and root canals are very expensive. I am so lucky that I have dental insurance that pays half up to a cut off. I’m not there yet, but this is my year to perk up the smile.
Have a great day, I plan on it.
Rhianna
Comment by Administrator — September 5, 2008 @ 11:37 am
I’m hoping this is the wrap up to the two weeks in toothache hell. After begging, whining and eventually bursting out crying, my endodentist took me in yesterday for the second half of my root canal. He found two other channels, and the one that was causing all the problems and drained the infection. I am on my third set of anitbiotics. I am hoping that this is the end of my blog whinning too.
It’s been a very serious week. One of the girls I have worked with passed away unexpectatedly. I have a thousand thoughts running around in my head, though it still feels mind numbing. I suspect I’ll put some of those thoughts up in my next blog.
Rhianna
Comment by Administrator — September 10, 2008 @ 5:08 am
Hey Rhianna– well at least finally your tooth problem will be over soon. But what a drama really.
About your friend dying, well, that is really hard. Especially when it’s sudden or unexpected, although I don’t think we ever “expect” death even when one is terminally ill. Death of people we know always gives us pause and forces us to ponder things we don’t like to think about.
I hope you’re doing some nice things to pamper yourself a little bit. It sounds like it’s been a rough two weeks for you.
Comment by MB (Leah) — September 10, 2008 @ 12:31 pm
The day is much better. I have a couple of scheduled appointments today, so I’ve been out and about. This afternoon is the pap smear I’ve avoided for a few years. Bley! I’ll let you know if he’s changed any of the posters on the cieling in his office. LOL
Rhianna
Comment by Administrator — September 10, 2008 @ 5:44 pm
I’ll let you know if he’s changed any of the posters on the cieling in his office.
What, he doesn’t hold up or give you a mirror so you can watch the whole event up close and personal??? *snort*
Comment by MB (Leah) — September 11, 2008 @ 1:18 am
Oh my… I’ve missed a lot of drama the last week!
My fil died a week and half ago and the funeral was last week today. It’s normally a 9 to 10 hour trip, but I managed to drag it out to 12 hours…. *sigh* First time in 25 years that I’ve headed to my DH’s hometown without him at least navigating, so the kids and I got to see parts of Saskatchewan we’ll never see again ~ and I do use the word see facetiously because it was darker than the devil’s hiney out there. But we made it.
Dad was 92 and he’d been bedridden for 2 years since he had a couple of strokes; but up until the last 6 months or so, his faculties were pretty much all there. Still, he’ll be missed. And as usual it was a wonderful occasion to meet up with lots of family that we don’t see that often. Silver lining? You bet!
Geez Rhianna ~ and you too Leah ~ the problems with your teeth, etc. is freaking me out! Sorry that I can’t identify with the tooth problems ~ even though when it comes to my mouth, I’m a bit of a sissy… (okay, I’m a LOT of a sissy.) ~ good thing that I got my dad’s teeth ~ or at least teeth like his; no cavities so far and I’m very, very thankful.
As for Mother Nature’s tantrums… yikes! Thankfully, living up here in Alberta pretty much the only thing we’ve had to deal with ~ at least on a regular basis ~ are cold winters. One tornado 21 yrs ago, no flooding to speak of, forests all too far away and NO earthquakes, hurricanes or other terrors. I’ll stick with the cold and just shiver away, thank-you-very-much! Oh and a TON of knocking on wood!
And Leah ~ “What, he doesn’t hold up or give you a mirror so you can watch the whole event up close and personal??? *snort*” ~ EWWWWWWWW! LOL
Hope the rest of the week ~ and the weekend ~ proceed for you with a little more peacefulness Rhianna. And Leah, hang in there… *sheesh*
“What, he doesn’t hold up or give you a mirror so you can watch the whole event up close and personal??? *snort*” What a sense of humour you have! ROFLMAO….
Comment by KathyK — September 12, 2008 @ 12:48 am
Kathy– actually I’ve had two, one an OBGYN, and the other a nurse pratictioner, offer (push) me to watch with a mirror. I kid you not. That’s progressive hippy dippy Seattle for you.
Both times I was like “um…no I’m good, thanks.” LOL
The nurse P, was a very nice woman and a Stanford/ Yale grad. Extremely smart. But she wore paisley skirts and I’m pretty sure she didn’t shave. Whoa!
Anyway, she kept pushing and pushing and so finally I took the mirror and looked for like one second and then… “Oh, wow, cool, you can have the mirror back now.” I mean, I don’t want to be lying there naked with my legs spread looking at my hoo-ha up close with some stranger sharing in the experience. Ya know?
When I’m getting a pap, I’m all about proficiency. Get in, do what you gotta do, and get out. It isn’t a social call, ya know what I mean.
Rhianna– see what you started.
Comment by MB (Leah) — September 12, 2008 @ 1:44 am
So I just found out today that I have to have surgery next week on that one tooth that had root canal 20 years ago because there is an infection and some other issues. I don’t know what they are as I kind of blanked out after she mentioned pulling my gums apart and drilling in the bone or some such thing.
The silver lining: I get a nice pill to mellow me out.
Also, I get to spend more than a an hour with DH since he will have to drop me off and pick me up. He’s been working like 30-40 hours a week overtime and I’ve hardly seen him for months now. The downside, I’ll be too doped to enjoy.
I blame you Rhianna.:P LOL
You started all this with your tooth problems. Maybe your next post could be about winning the gazillion dollar lottery, or…about how you lost 10lbs. or something really hot happening. Please???
Comment by MB (Leah) — September 12, 2008 @ 8:48 pm
Okay, this is weird. I am thinking only good thoughts. Healthy thoughts. I feel great, we all feel great. Life is great! Now, as we chant…”I feel great, I feel great, I feel great.”
That worked for me.
HI Kathy! We missed you. Sorry to hear about your fil. I’d love to go to Canada sometime, other than seeing the Falls, I’ve never been. Isn’t weird how you get to see family at the sadest times.
I’m blogging this weekend and I have a brand new kick ass bood trailer for SOTD. I can’t wait for your feedback. It will be up soon.
Rhianna
Comment by Administrator — September 13, 2008 @ 12:36 am