Getting To The Root Of The Problem...

Ever been excited for a root canal? I have! And yesterday was the day. Really, never in my lifetime did I think I would be so excited for dental work. But, my tooth (#18 if you're wondering) has been quite uncomfortable for the last couple of weeks. Since Brian and I are leaving soon for the Caribbean, the docs thought it would be better to expedite the process and "git 'er done!" First things first, let me introduce to you another new doctor in my life - Dr. Michael Weber, Endodontist - or "just Mike", as he calls himself. Boy, am I happy my dentist referred me to him! What a great guy - smart, charming, witty - with a crude sense of humor. My kind of guy!! He shot me up with some novocaine and let it do its thing. He came back in about 10 minutes later and said, "Are we numb?" Huh...the weird thing is that I wasn't! He shook his head and said "Yep, I wondered about that - that's why I asked you what surgery you had done." I wouldn't have thought of this...but because they moved my jaws, the "normal" spot they would give you a shot isn't there anymore! So, a few shots later and I was happily drooling and chewing on myself. Let the fun begin!! It all started out well but became less than fun when he told me that it was a good thing I'd come in - two of my three roots were infected. No wonder I had pain. *sigh* Leave it to me to have something MORE wrong than just a plain old toothache. Oh, and did I mention that the tooth is cracked? Uh huh...yep, you got it! We'll work on that later. For now, he worked on the issue at hand - cleaning and irrigating the infection, then closing me up. Because one of the roots was fine, he was able to do that one 100% and get it packed and closed. The other two are now temporarily closed and I have a temporary filling in my tooth, I'm on antibiotics (500mg Amoxicillin for 10 days) and have to do salt water washes, as well. I'll go back when we return from our vacation to make sure my body has rid itself of the infection and then he can go ahead and make everything permanent.

But wait, there's more! When I was done and getting ready to leave, I felt as though I had a piece of something stuck towards the back of my mouth. You know that spot...kind of between the back of your mouth, next to your tongue...and you jusssst can't work it out. So, into the bathroom I go to see if I can get this chunk of whatever out of my mouth. I open my mouth in front of the mirror and, "Ahhhh, there it is - just a little white piece of something!" OW! "That thing is connected!" LOL Yep...towards the back of my mouth, to the left of that fun little dangly thing in your mouth (yes, I know the technical term for it but "fun little dangly thing" sounds much more exciting), is a white bump and it hurt! Why is it white? Well, because whatever it is is pushing through the skin and stretching it! I get the doctor and interrupted his lunch, to find out what on earth he left in my mouth, cause I'm convinced that's what he did. Wrong. It's a bone spur - and not just one, but two! I had to ask why I'd never noticed them before and he said that more than likely, with the movement of my jaw, they became more prominent and also because the sensor that they put back and forth into my mouth during the root canal had irritated the spots. I'll check with Dr. Penski next time I'm there and see if it's something I have to have taken care of. Joy.

Life Is Good!

Oh my, I just realized that I haven't updated since going in to have the splint removed from my nose! I'll spare you the gory details because it wasn't pretty when they took it out, but wow!! What a difference! It's been some time now since having it removed and all is well! I can breathe - and I can breathe normally!!!! Finally!

Let me update you on what else is happening. Each day is better and better but things still continue to change. Where I once had feeling under my left eye, is now a bit numb again. I still have numbness in my bottom lip and gums but it's all workable and unless I am reminded of it, I really don't think about it much anymore. I'm still having a hard time using the Sonicare toothbrush because the nerves just don't like it and it sends shooting pain into my face from time to time. But in the grand scheme of things, it's nothing.

I've still got several dental items that need to be taken care of and we're slowly chipping away at them. The tooth (molar) that began this entire process (as my dentist so reminds me) is giving me trouble again so I'll be going in for a root canal on Tuesday. Another one down! :) Never thought I'd be looking forward to fillings, caps and root canals but now that I have this million dollar smile, I don't want to leave any stone unturned.

Something I haven't mentioned and would like to do so now. Over New Year's, I had the privilege of meeting a fellow jaw surgery patient and someone I am proud to call my friend. I began following Graham's blog shortly after I was home from the hospital (check my links for his blog) and the help he provided was priceless. I felt so alone and had so many questions and he helped me through. Brian and I made a trip to NYC for the New Year and it just so happened that Graham would be traveling there, as well. Suffice to say, there was NO way I would pass up a chance to meet. We did so and what a treat that was! We spent a couple of hours walking through Times Square, talking about our lives and getting to know one another better. The only complaint I have is that the visit was too short! I can't wait till we meet again! I'd like to share with you what I think is one of my most favorite pictures! The smiles say it all!

Take It Off!

Finally! Today is the day - the splint comes out of my nose! My appointment with Dr. Troost is at 3:45 pm today and comes with mixed emotions. I'm anxious to have it removed because it really is a pain in the butt (errrr, nose??). I can feel it and it's still sitting right on my tickle spot and makes me sneeze endlessly! But...I know it's going to hurt like a b&*ch to have it removed! Think about it...this thing has been on my healing septum now for two weeks...you know darn good and well that it's grown along with it and that taking it off will feel like yanking pieces of my brain! LOL Okay, so maybe that's a bit over-dramatic, but I don't care...I'd rather go in with a pessimistic attitude, only to be surprised and walk out with a smile on my face!

Please, please, pleeeeeeaaaaaase let it not hurt! Updates later!

Holy Ouchies, Batman!

I'm alive! I feel like someone is jabbing a knife into my brain, but I'm alive! Surgery on Thursday was a success! Although I went in a bit late (7:45 am), I was out and home just shortly after 11 am! Everything went smoothly. Dr. Troost took some cartilage from elsewhere in my nose (doesn't this create another hole???) and was able to patch the perforation on my septum. I left the hospital with a nose packed full of who knows what and some good drugs. The rest of that day is pretty much a blur and sleeping that evening was no fun. Yesterday (Friday) morning I had a doc appt. at 9:30 am to remove the packing and as a general follow up to make sure things went well. The trip in to DC was amusing in itself...you might want to ask Brian about it because apparently I was "a lot of fun". Pain meds will do that. And, the picture above shows what I looked like traveling in to the doc by metro - lovely, huh? Removing the packing - OW! OW! OW! May I just say that it was NO fun and I hope I never have to do that again? The pain was only momentary, but whew, did it hurt! How those 2 1/2 inch long pieces of whatever they were fit up there is beyond me! I swore he was pulling my brain out through my nose! LOL Once the tears cleared, I realized that I could sniff! And that my sniffer felt different! Yippee! I've still got a splint in my nose and will have for the next two weeks - he'll take it out on December 17th, just in time for Christmas! I still didn't sleep very well last night - now that the packing it out, I have a lot of clotting and drainage (sorry for the visual) and I'm very stuffy. My nose also burns like crazy inside! This will go away in a few days, or so the doc says. :) Other than these few things, I'm feeling surprisingly good today and am on the mend! I'm still restricted to no lifting or strenuous activities for 2 weeks, but the time will pass quickly, I'm sure. I do believe that this would be called progress!!

Stick A Fork In Me, I'm Done! Well, Almost...

Tomorrow is the day. Let's hope we're close to an end to this nonsense they call recovery! I just received a phone call from Dr. Troost's office (he's my ENT, by the way). Surgery to repair my torn septum was originally scheduled at 9:15 am but I've been moved up so I go in at 7 am instead! If all goes well, I should be walking out of the hospital by noon! Keep your fingers crossed that it's fixable because they've said that although they believe they can take care of it, there's a chance it won't be 100% fixed. Ugh, that would SO not be fun!

For the record, my nose doesn't hurt and I'm not in any pain. But, the perforation makes breathing uncomfortable and it just plain feels weird! Try this on for size:

You go to McDonald's and buy yourself a fountain drink. You grab a straw. Soda in one hand, straw in the other...what do you do? You bang the straw on the counter to get it to poke through the paper. When you bang it too hard, what happens? Yep...the straw gets a perforation and when you try to drink through it, you have that "open air" feeling, you can't quite get the suction you need. It just doesn't work like it should, right?

This is how my nose feels when I breathe...it's incredibly irritating! And, I whistle. I've contemplated learning some songs and putting myself on the Letterman Show but so far, I haven't gotten a call back. Maybe another time. NOT!

Wish me luck! Maybe tomorrow will finally be the end of the carnival and someone will let me off this ride! Please? Anybody??