An Update from the Dental World

So where did I leave off last time? Ah! Sense & Sensibility. I was healing, and un-numbing. Well, of course the chaos can't end there, can it?? For the pain from my tooth removal I got a new drug, Tylenol 3. Ok! Less narcotic! We'll give 'er a shot. Next morning? I'm hungover again. I kinda feel like dying. Every time I run to the bathroom the cat follows and watches me. It's weird. I ended up spending some good quality time sitting on the cool tile with a glass of water in my hand and a cat by my side. It was easier than getting up and walking to my room. I finally got the new pill out of my system and was back to feeling up again. I am so paranoid about my mouth not healing correctly, so I was following the instructions to the letter! I re-read them often. Gently swished with salt water. Brushed lightly in the area. Was careful which side I chewed on and didn't use any straws. And then, I had this awesome idea to eat a little bit of a donut....with sprinkles. Gingerly I munched away and later, upon looking in the mirror, I found my worst nightmare. A sprinkle! In the hole where my tooth was removed! No no no no no no! How am I supposed to get it out?! Talk about a lot of swishing, but the sprinkle left and I could relax again.... Then, over dinner, I decided on spaghetti. Yes, real food! So I ate my meal and watched TV. My mother sent me a cute picture of herself on her phone so I took a pic in return. As I looked at the photo I'd just taken, I could only shake my head. My chin was covered in tomato sauce. I'd had no idea. Because it's numb I couldn't feel it! I sent the picture anyway before scrubbing. What a mess! Next morning? New adventure: swelling. Yep, this is the next chapter in E. Charlotte's Recovery Story. My cheek was very much chipmunk like, which was odd three days after my dentist appointment. Hmmm. Well we pondered about it, and iced it, and decided to go to the doc the next day. Morning came around and now not only my cheek, but my chin, and my lip and my gums were swollen. Many a joke arose, some slightly creative references to the Elephant man, and I finally got in to to see the Doc at 2. Well, I shoulda known by the look on his face and his "I'm gonna go make a call..." that I was in trouble. Next stop? Oral Surgeon! (Only after bursting into scared tears in the dentist office.) The surgeon was rough but smart and thankfully, did not see the need to put me under and slice me open like I thought he would. Instead, I was given lots and lots and lots of antibiotics. May I mention that one of those doses was injected in me? To jump start the process. The place they put it? Butt cheek... It was a day of new experiences for sure. Oy! That night, last night, was a scary one. If it got worse it meant a trip to the ER. If it got better we might be in business. I didn't sleep. Neither did my mother. But there has been progress made, and I am remaining hopeful that my body can fight this off. It has been one hell of a ride so far. So here I am, still numb on my chin, still a little puffy, and my stomach is screaming obscenities at me for drowning it first, in Ibuprofen, and now in antibiotics. Time to finish my yogurt and get ready for bed. We'll see what tomorrow holds!