I Wanna Kiss My Dentist!

Okay.  Maybe not a real kiss.  A hug would suffice.  Even a hearty handshake would be appropriate.  Why  you ask?  Because after almost a week of horrific pain I am sitting here typing virtually pain free, all except the freezing and bruising from the root canal I just had.

Where do I start on the past week of my own personal nightmare?  I recognize in light of all that is happening on the other side of the world that my personal setbacks are minor, but to me they were huge.


It all started a week ago.  I had dropped Hubby off at the airport the Saturday morning for a business trip to CA and had enjoyed a lovely evening with an old friend, watching movies and drinking wine in my family room.  Sunday morning came and while pulling on my cords for church ... OUCH!  My back went out.  I pushed through the discomfort while I dried and flat-ironed my hair and gingerly made my way to the kitchen to make my tea to take with me for the drive to church.  Very rapidly my plans began to change when in a 10 minute time frame I went from feeling slight discomfort to all-out spasming pain.  I couldn't even stand up straight.  Church was now out of the question because I couldn't even drive myself there, let alone sit for 90 minutes in a hard pew.

The day felt so long and it turned into a restless night of attempted tossing and turning.  On Monday my friend,
(and perhaps an angel), came to drive me to the chiropractor's office for an adjustment.  My usual chiropractor works Tue, Thur & Sat but I knew I couldn't wait that long so instead I went to the other doctor on duty where she manually adjusted me.  I can't begin to tell you how much I hate that type of treatment, although I know it was exactly what I needed.

Tuesday I booked a massage at the chiro's office to help with some of the spasming and knots.  This was a much deeper massage than I'm used to and I came home bruised, yet feeling better... if that makes any sense.


Wednesday, as I slowly began to recover from the back issues, I started feeling a sharp, throbbing pain on the right side of my face and jaw.  I wasn't sure where exactly the pain was coming from and began to wonder if the DEEP massage I received the day prior had somehow thrown my jaw out of alignment.  Now if I thought the back spasm pain was bad, it was only because I'd never experienced this kind of pain before.  OH MY GOODNESS!  It was so harsh that when Hubby called after Survivor from CA I could barely even talk to him I was in such pain.

Thursday I dragged myself to Abide, feeling like something the cat had dragged in, but was blessed beyond belief when 2 friends prayed over me.  I felt a warmth run through me that I can only attest was the presence of God.  The pains were all still there from my back and jaw though.  I was back to my chiropractor for an adjustment after a quick lunch with my friend and her kids and I tried to explain to him that I thought my jaw was somehow out.  I could feel my back upper right molar wasn't in it's usual place and was starting to really hurt in a more centralized way.

That night another girlfriend was for a "sleepover" and while we sat and watched a movie, my jaw pain started to increase.  I was starting to feel like I was a) going crazy or b) falling apart or c) all of the above.

By Friday morning my back was feeling much improved and as I did some last minute errands before packing for a visit to see my sister, I was able to walk normally through the mall, although with each step, a deep throbbing pain was felt on that right side of my jaw and face.  I was still convinced it had to do with my jaw alignment.  I would bring that up again at Saturday's chiro appt.  I continued to do my errand running and ended up in the grocery store, where I found the 10lb bag of flour my sister wanted.  Picking it up and putting it in the cart was easy.  Getting it onto the conveyor belt was another story.  As I picked it up from the cart I felt that all-too familiar "ping" in my back and I was back almost at square one from Sunday.

Frustrated, I gingerly got the flour and other groceries into the car and headed for home.  Sheesh.  Would this week ever end?  I thought.  That night, standing at the gate waiting for Hubby, I could feel light spasming in my lower back.  I was fit to be tied!  The jaw pain was still there but at the moment I couldn't determine which was now worse.  I had just about had enough!

Saturday morning I got up early and head to the chiro one last time.  Again I complained about my jaw and he did a few adjustments and I felt my back upper right molar was back in it's "normal" position and I thought the pain would quickly ease there.  He fixed my back again and gave me some suggested stretches (again) and I was on my way.  At first I thought I was in the home stretch to wellness but then the pain in my jaw and back tooth was becoming greater and greater.  Have you ever felt a "heartbeat" in your tooth gums?  It was excruciating to say the least and it was by this time non-stop.  I had been popping Motrin all week in hopes that whatever inflammation in my back muscles and gums would be alleviated but the anti-inflammatory drugs were barely touching the pain.

By Saturday night I was overwhelmed with pain and confusion as to what Hubby and I were to do about our visit to my sister.  We were scheduled to leave early Sunday a.m. and the car was packed and ready to go but the nagging feeling within my gut (and jaw) was telling us otherwise.  By 1am Sunday morning I was in such bad pain I knew finally that I needed to see my dentist PRONTO.  I called the number, knowing the office was closed and got the on-call receptionist.  She told me she could page the dentist but I didn't want to bother him at that hour.  I would try & make it through the morning.

5 AM the pain was once again so bad and had woken me as it had the two previous mornings.  I couldn't wait.  I needed relief NOW.  I recalled the dentist's office and she paged Dr. W.  Within 5 minutes he called me back and unfortunately was out of town so there would be no immediate dental relief but he did give me a prescription and called it in to a 24 hour pharmacy about 15 minutes from our house.  In my pjs, at 6am, I wandered into the Shoppers Drug Mart and got an antibiotic and pain killer to hold me over until Monday when the dentist would be in.

Can I just tell you, yesterday was one of the longest days of my life!  Even on the pain killers the throbbing pain of this tooth was beyond description.  I wanted to cut my head off and put it in a bin.  I have never felt such pain.  My sister, when I called to tell her we'd be delayed indefinitely, told me she'd had this type of tooth pain before and likened it to childbirth.  Since I have no reference of that, I'll take her word.  All I know is that I hope to never have that kind of pain again.

So... to make a long story... come to an end.  It's Monday and first thing this morning Hubby and I went to the dentist's office where I had x-rays taken and a diagnosis.  At first we thought it was an absess, but the dentist said it was that the tooth nerve was too close to the filling and had made the tooth sensitive.  The only course of action to help this would be a root canal.  We informed him of our plans with my sister and he called the endodontist who was able to squeeze me in at noon today.

I am so grateful to the amazing dental care I received through my new dentist's office and the endodontist's office today but even more so I am grateful to God for making a way for this long week to finally come to an end so quickly.  Once the freezing and tenderness from the dental work itself is out I will feel like a brand new person... I hope!