It started with a very little thingy.
A little annoying pain I had felt before.
A pain that normally took 1000mg of Paracetamol to kill.
But not this time.
I took the white pill and .......nothing happened.
I went to bed took another...... and things got worse.
The pain was not too bad, it was a throbbing little annoyance but now I started to feel some pressure too.
Recently I have been dealing with a couple of inflammation in other parts of my body and as I read somewhere that they can move around I thought that was it.
This was my weak spot at the moment and so it would settle there.
At some point, my mind started going in circles and that combined with the slight pain was driving me crazy and keeping me awake.
Me, I have a problem with not being able to sleep when I want to especially knowing I will have to work again the next day. So at 2:30 AM I took half a pill to help me sleep and an hour later I slept....sort of.
The next day went okay there was still some pressure but as I was busy I did not notice it much...till I relaxed and it came back, with a vengeance.
In all my innocence I hoped that going to sleep would help and I went to bed early.
No Rest For The Wicked
Not sure if I am just naught or actually wicked, but there was no rest that night.
The same pain as before but now times two. So I repeated yesterday's process and took the other half of the sleeping pill. Thankful for not having to live in the dark ages, but in a time where we have pills for everything..... even if they don´t always help.
Because this time, the pill was not enough. Around 5 AM the wave of pain calmed down and I got to sleep for two hours.
After which, the bitch was back.
I decided that I really needed help.
I can be such a drama baby when I don´t sleep but I was in luck my dentist only works in the clinic on Wednesday and Friday and thank god it was Friday.
She would squeeze me in at around 11:00 AM.
I was kinda sure this would be a root canal treatment as this tooth previously was fixed and came with a warning that the nerve might have been compromised. Now you don´t have to feel anything from a dying nerve, but it leaves some trash. And that trash doesn´t get picked up and starts to fester.
At some point when your immunity is below average (mine due to those inflammations) that festering trash can inflame. It can take years, but the chance that it will happen at some point is huge if you trust the internet ofc.
The squeezing took a while but she did it and around 01:00 PM I was happy and home thinking a root canal isn´t as bad as people say. I didn´t feel a thing since the anesthetic.
There were two more appointments made to further clean it out and fix it for over two weeks and I went back to work.
After work, I did the groceries in a hurry as I wanted to see the Formula One Qualifying at 17:00.
That´s when it happened
I was back home in time, had snacks and beer at my side, and was ready to enjoy the first qualifying of 2024.
I think the beer was not even gone when the throbbing feeling returned. As I was warned that it could hurt a little I did not think too much of it. Till I was lying in bed late that night and whoomp there it was again.
Not knowing what to expect and what was considered a bit of pain I accepted my faith that night. I took the strongest painkiller I had, being diclofenac and as you are allowed to combine that with Paracetamol I took both.
At some point, the wave of throbbing pain weakened and I fell asleep, waking up pain still gone. That was it, great, get ready for a fun weekend were my thoughts.
Two hours later
Boom Boom Boom, there was the throbbing feeling knocking on my gums once again. I had many plans prior to the knock, but only one after. Lying down for a bit.
The Grand Prix of Bahrain was to start at 16:00 and I got up at 15:00 walked the dog, got ready (no beer this time as the hurting did not stop) and with a lot of pain I watched MaX Verstappen leave all the other drivers in a dusty desert behind him.
Now that was probably the best thing that happened that day, although the pain went away after the race.
For about 4 hours, and then it was looking for a nice warm place to spend the night. It chose my jaw again.
Fast Forward
This pain did what it pleased, it came and went, but it had the decency to at least respect my sleeping hours a bit. It tended to stop around midnight and not flare up again like crazy till nine in the morning.
Not sure if that was due to the strict diet of pills I put myself on, or that the pain came from a good family and was raised with proper values and respect.
Every day I was trying to find proof that things were getting better, and on Monday I thought I found something. I did not have the crazy intense waves of pain anymore. It had become a less intense constant pain. That is
a good thing I thought should get better soon now. Monday night it did intensify but not as badly as before....I was on the right track.
I was really praying by now that this would end soon. I had not even enjoyed BTC breaking new All Time Higes, I had not watched my favorite series, not earned any crypto playing Gods Unchained, and not had any beer over the weekend.
Come Tuesday I was ready to ease into my normal life, quitting my diet of max painkillers daily and lying in bed half of my days.
When You Least Expect it
When you don´t see it coming, it will hit you hardest and so it did. The constant pain remained constant but the waves of intense pain were also back and lasted longer than before. No painkiller helped anymore, I was totally consumed by this infection.
I had pain before trust me, I had kidney stones which are said to be the worst, but you can relieve that pain a little with a hot water bottle. There was no savior left, no angel of mercy releasing me from my suffering this time.
Tomorrow was Wednesday, my dentist would be in, I had agreed with myself that if I did not feel better by Tuesday I would go back. So I sent another dramatic message.
Another 24 Hours
I was able to come the next day, but I needed to live through another 24 hours. Of which I was able to sleep 2 hours.
The other 22 hours I spent planning and preparing. All these painful days I used to become an expert on the matter of painful root canals, inflammations after root canals, motives why, and alternatives if, it kept hurting.
Those did not make me feel much better, but a few things became clear based on what you can read on the internet.
- I needed Antibiotics
- I needed Antibiotics
- The dentist would ask for a second chance to further clean the root
- If the root was complex she might not succeed in which case you would need a small operation
- If the infection had spread into the bone you were F´ed and you needed that operation for sure but there would be a waiting list.
- If your check would swell or you would get a fistula you were almost certain that the operation was needed.
- You could always have the tooth extracted.
12 hours to go
Wednesday morning I woke up with a swollen chin and cheek and after my daily dose of pain that morning I had a fistula. My Fistula felt larger than the picture I had seen so far.
FYI, A fistula is an abnormal connection of two body cavities or a body cavity and the skin.
Okay, I was F´ed and I decided that I was not gonna take any more pain, any waiting, any risk anymore. That tooth was gonna go and I would get an implant. Maybe a little more expensive but life is too short to lose days lying in bed with pain if it can be helped.
While minutes counted down, and my fistula exploded and released some of the pressure by doing so I had made up my mind.
Tooth out / Antibiotics in
18:15 On A Wednesday
I was in the chair at 18:16, it was unbelievable I made it and not even a delay. This was almost done.
Then she walks into the room, she is very tiny even for a Spanish lady and she asks what´s the story.
I did not cry, but I am sure my eyes were moist when I told her, and then I said. "Please take it out."
Her eyes widened just a bit, not shocked, but more as being very alert.
"This is a fully normal response she said, these types of pain drive people crazy. They all come in asking me to pull their tooth. But let me have a look, because there should be other options."
My brain was flashing a big red No sign: "When you say other options, would that include antibiotics? And no more throbbing pain all night and all day?"
"Let me have a look first," she said.
She got the look.
"Let me try to clean it once more, as we planned. You know this was only the first step, this is very common. For me, it would be easier to extract, and financially better, but we can still do but I don't think it´s needed."
The big red flashing sign got even bigger, no, no, no.
Are You Going To Trust The Expert?
I made up my mind, I was not gonna waste any more time....
And then I said:
"Okay, you are the expert."
"You should not believe what you read online, I put my trust in you"
While I said that I wondered if I was being wise or foolish, but being able to blame it on the expert instead of blaming myself down the road tied the knot.
Although that knot unwinded a bit during the treatment that followed.
First, she did not warn me that this was gonna hurt worse than trying to push a baby back in after a year or two. Damn, that needle going into the inflamed gums without any warning.....there went my trust out the door.
Then while waiting for the anesthetics to settle she had some other work as I was squeezed in again.
While she was out, and I was lying in that chair I felt the pressure building up at the end of my jaw and just below my ear...throb, throb, throb.
I had dreamed of this anesthetic taking away my pain at least for some hours, but clearly, it was not enough to sedate my whole jaw.
When she finally started to work on me it took time...a whole lot of precious time.
She squeezed my head like a lemon trying to get all the fluid causing the swelling and caused by the infection out.
By the way she said that she took out a lot, it sounded as if she could have filled multiple glasses and served them on the rocks.
Are We Done Now?
Once done, I looked at her. The little woman looked me straight in the eyes. "So I should now be able to sleep/work again without that boom boom pain(I did not learn the word for throbbing in Spanish)?"
"With you starting antibiotic tonight and all the stuff I have removed from your face, yes you should. And you should have a bit of faith in me."
I smiled; "Trust me I had faith otherwise I would no longer have that tooth now. But I am also entirely done with the pain. So I trusted you, but when Thursday night comes and I am lying in bed with loco pain. I will be back, and then there is no way to pursue me."
I smiled while I said it, but I was as serious as the blood she had just drained from my root canal.
Bottom Line
Back home I was told that "You let yourself be talked into it didn´t you?"
Yes, I think I did. But in all these years I learned to listen to the experts and trust the people actually doing the job. Especially if there is a plan B.
I have my plan B, Friday is B day..... or not.
We are now 14 hours after 18:15 on a Wednesday. I had a decent night´s sleep. I have just taken my 3rd antibiotic pill and my second ibuprofen as I want to stop taking Diclofenac ASAP.
I still have a* fat lip* because of the fistula, but the cheek is getting less cheeky.
The throb has not been knocking so far, and if it stays away another day that might just be long enough to have the antibiotics do the rest.
Am I glad I listened to the expert?
To be honest, I don´t know. Part of me definitely is because it´s the right thing to do in most normal circumstances. My ego, not so much, but he/she is happy with the money we saved (for now).
If you don´t see a part 2 of this story that means we had a happy ending, or I died from a root canal going painfully wrong.
Thank goodness you made it till the end Pees, Love and I am out of here!