EVERYTHING HURTS

Did I mention that I didn't like dentists?

I did, didn't I?

It was confirmed again today.

My appointment was for 2:30 and I arrived at 2:15 to check in. The room was buzzing because a woman from Chicago also lost a filling and she was in pain. 

Really? 

Imagine that.

We started off with x-rays and it progressed from there. She inserted the dreaded instruments of torture and started in on me again.

I WAS THERE FOR 3 HOURS.

Excuse me, I was there for 3 hours and 15 minutes. By the time I crawled out of the office I could barely close my mouth. All I wanted to do is get home. I can't even tell you how bad it was but she had to do the Novocaine thing twice.  After one session I went for an x-ray ( two of four) and at that point I still wasn't too bad, then I sat back down in the chair.

YOWZA.

It seemed that the Novocaine had worn off and when she put the instrument up in the canal, I could feel it. 

I could really, really feel it.

And it hurt.

My face felt like it was on fire.

So I was back in needle city for the second round. Needless to say, I was calling her every name I could think of by the time this was over. Calling her every name in my mind, of course.  When I got up to leave she casually mentioned that I should begin taking pain medication before the numbness wore off. 

I got the message loud and clear. 

So tonight my best friends have been my pain medication and ice packs. 

We be buds.

THIRD RATE ROMANCE, ROOT CANAL RENDEZVOUS

I am dreading this appointment.

Need I say more?

But, of course, I will.

I've already made it abundantly clear that I do not like going to the dentist. I meant that. Today, I've got the second appointment for the root canal on the other side. 

That means more Novocaine shots which will make my face and a chipmunks look identical. There will be more instruments of torture drilling holes in my tooth. Not only will my face look swollen for a couple of days but it will also hurt like holy hell. 

It may sound weird but ever since this root canal crapola started I've had a huge flare. Is it the stress of the dentist? Maybe that does have something to do with it but if that were the case the simple relaxation techniques would work. 

This doesn't take relaxation.

This takes drugs.

Oh. I forgot something. Because I feel so icky from all this work I need to get moving.....hmmmm...right about now. Why?

Because it will take me that long to get moving and dressed. I think I'll sit in the shower for an hour and then crawl to the vanity to put on makeup that will just get rubbed off anyway.

I think if you're going to the torture chamber it's important to wear red lipstick. That way, if it's going to be all over my face it might as well be all over them too. Plus, it just makes me feel a little more festive.

Important for today, don't you think?

NEEDLES AND PINS

I don't like going to the dentist.

I like it even less the past few days.

First, my mouth really hurts.

Now my whole body hurts.

Just what I  needed.

Great.

I feel like a fricking pin cushion. If the needles aren't going in my mouth, I feel like they're being pushed in all over my body. I've spent the last couple of nights curled up in a ball cursing life and especially cursing my teeth. 

It has to do with pain amplification.

And, right now the amplification is turned up full blast.

This time around I took a muscle relaxer before I got in the chair. That helped the muscles spasms while I was sitting in the chair. What to do for the pain after? Actually, nothing helped. The pain medication took the edge off but all I wanted to do was curl up in bed.

Can there be a connection between the root canals and the fibro flares besides just the stress that there is in going to the dentist? Could it be when the procedures are being done bacteria is being released into the bloodstream? If that is the case could it stimulate the immune system a little bit so that would increase the cytokines in your system? Cytokines are the molecular messengers of the immune system. If cytokines are responsible for inflammation and cytokines increase Substance P which transmits pain messages, is it so far out of reach to assume when you have these kinds of procedures done that it will affect the severity of the flare with Fibromyalgia? Most Fibromyalgia patients have elevated cytokines in their system. Whether it is a problem of the immune system in and of itself or secondary to something else hasn't been shown yet. 

I don't know but I have enough problems managing this crapola without root canals let alone with them. 

I'm so tired and I have to go to a Father's Day dinner at 5:00. I really want to go but I'm having a hard time getting motivated enough to crawl to the shower. It's going to take me some time to get it together and I'm just not looking forward to that part of the process.

Can I sleep for an hour before I go?

I'M GOING AND IT'S COMING

I am still dealing with the root canal 

from the Memorial Day filling loss.

Now, I have to go again today.

This is not good.

Yesterday, I finally finished the last stage of the root canal on my tooth. I can honestly say that going to the dentist AF (after Fibromyalgia) as opposed to BF (before Fibromyalgia) is a WHOLE different animal.

Talk about amplified pain.

I've never been in love with dentists but I went and got my teeth cleaned and did what I had to do. I've had fillings and gone the novacaine route; again, no big deal. I thought I was going to come out of the chair yesterday. I can really feel the difference in my response to pain. 

To top this all off, I lost ANOTHER crown on the other side. She looked at it and there was a cavity underneath the crown and it was a cavity that HAD to have been there when the last clown put the crown on the tooth. I went to a new dentist because he was right around the corner.

Big mistake.

The guy seemed nice. Lot's of credentials on the wall and the guy played Pink Floyd in the office.  It really was kind of a cool place. Looking back, he must have been on drugs. How the hell do you put a crown over a cavity?  Now, I have to have another root canal on the other side! Do you believe this?

To top it all of this is bringing on a real   doozy of a flare. I can feel it coming. I've got to be there at 10:00 and I'm hurting. I'm going to take a pain pill and half a muscle relaxer because I don't think I can sit in that chair for an hour without jumping. Plus the needles, plus the drilling, plus, plus, plus.

This is not good.

Have the ice packs ready.

I'm going to need them and a margarita.

Forget the ice packs.

Keep the margarita's coming.