Wednesday, April 8, 2009

My teeth the day after

I won't post any pictures since all are unpleasant in one way or another. When I fell asleep, my face was still numb in the same area, but the tingling about-to-wake-up feeling got intense around the edges. I had to pile as many pillows as I could behind me and sleep upright since every time I lay down I bled a bit and I am too freaked by the description of dry socket to want to risk dislodging the cloth that formed.
I was sleepy, but I have to be falling down tired to sleep upright so I ended up staying awake til 5 am. When I woke at 9, I felt great. I mean, I really felt great. There was no bleeding, no numbness and best of all, the aching throbbing constant pain I had endured for two years was gone. Even the ache from the extraction, the soreness from my jaw cramping after such a long and difficult dentist appointment, the spot where I had been injected so often they formed a swollen collage of tiny holes and a couple of slices.... none of it hurt as bad as the pain of those bad teeth for so long.
I considered crying because of the freedom from pain, but decided quickly that it would only give me puffy eyes and a red and snotty nose. That wouldn't help anything. So instead, I smiled and had a calm happy day despite the plan my children had to make me crazy.
Three more days of steroid pills and 600mg of ibuprofen a day. A couple of weeks til I can eat normally. The NEXT DAY I had nearly no pain. this is something I don't say about run-in's with dental professionals, so mark this day....

It was worth it. Forcing myself past the fear, enduring the pain, sitting in that chair for half a day and living on squishable foods. Worth it.

Today I ate solid food for the first time in 30 hours. Leftover chili with a dollop of sour cream. I was so excited that I ate the donut that taunted me... that was slightly more involved since I had to tear it to small bits, put it in the right side of my mouth manually and then take a sip of milk to soak into it and make it mushy. I got bold and tried a pb&j... too much. I ended up making a duck egg omlette and topped it with olives and cheddar. It was too much to eat, but it was gooooood. Lots of water and a cup of coffee rounded out my day. I am digging the idea of something interesting to eat, but since it has to be soft, I think I'll make raspberry cream cheese crepes with a little sprinkle of nutmeg.
I am dieting but no fears, this is still within my limits and it's working. I have lost two more pounds!! That's a total of 6 pounds in as many weeks. Sigh, it's slow, but working. I'm changing my approach to food instead of planning special meals.

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