I'm nearing the end...
In a very good way, I'm happy to say.
So, here's the deal for those of you who are lost:
I went into the dentist for a routine root canal last Wednesday. I had no pain at all prior to my visit. The dentist said the root of my tooth had died from some previous trauma. When a tooth is hit or moved, it can tear or sever the nerve. The nerve then dies. Some die quickly and are unnoticeable, like my first tooth. Others die slowly and can be extremely painful.
The dentist performed the root canal and said the root had completely decayed and disappeared, and there was a little infection in the canal. He gave me a prescription for antibiotics to start in two days or so if there was any pain or pressure. Then I went home. I was fine that day. I even went to bible study, though my mouth was throbbing a little.
The next day my mouth was really hurting. I tried waiting it out. By Friday, I couldn't stand the pain so I got an emergency appointment and saw a different dentist. He suspected that the tooth next to my root canal may be decaying as well and need a root canal. He prescribed Vicodin for the pain and told me to start the antibiotics the other dentist gave me. The pain was so awful that the Vicodin wasn't touching it and I would wind of cradling my jaw and sobbing. Steve was heading toward his wit's end because there really was nothing he could do.
On Saturday I called my regular dentist on his personal cell (he's awesome, by the way), and he did all the footwork to set up an appointment for me, even though he wasn't working that day. I saw another dentist. She said there was no apparent pressure that she would be able to relieve, so she prescribed me more pain killers (ibuprofen - 800mg). I felt so much better after she gave me that. However, it wore off soon.
Sunday came. I made it to the first part of church. By the time we were done with Sunday school, I was lightheaded with pain and Steve had to take me home. I squeezed my jaw the entire way home, feeling every little bump in the road. I got out of the car and held Steve's hand tightly, while the tears started to flow down my cheeks. I made it in the house before I leaned against the wall and started bawling. He guided me to a chair and I stayed there for the next couple of hours while he headed back to church.
Steve was already having an awful weekend trying to get our car fixed. It seemed like a complete Murphy's Law weekend. He and his friend Jon have put in probably a good 20 hours on that dumb car. Sunday night I called Steve, almost screaming in pain, but he couldn't make it home because the car was in pieces. His mom and dad came and sat with me, prayed with me, and did what little they could to help. We called my dentist again, and he prescribed another antibiotic, hoping to speed things along. Robert (father-in-law) picked up the prescription for me.
I started the second antibiotic right away. That night it turned my stomach into a complete wreck and I think I slept about two hours. That was my going average of sleep over the whole weekend. I was barely keeping down any pain meds or antibiotics. So, the healing process had sort of come to a stand still.
I called the dentist's office at about 7am. They scheduled an appointment for noon, then (PRAISE GOD), they called back and told me to be there in an hour. Dr. Yoo (the Friday doctor) saw me and did a battery of tests. He conferred with my regular dentist and they concluded that the pain was coming from the tooth next to the one that had just had the root canal. The infection had spread and was draining puss into the pulp of the tooth next door. Nasty. I know.
Something that was a surprise was that this tooth next door had... lateral nerves? I think that's what the dentist called them. Even after he dug and scraped out the dying nerve of the second tooth, it was still throbbing along my jawline (anesthetic and all) up to my ears. He said that was because I had large canals with lateral nerves that came out the side of the tooth that were throbbing with pain and passing it along down the line. How nice of them to share, huh?
I was at the dentist a total of about 3 hours. Probably three of the most painful hours of my life. I'm thinking child birthing will be a breeze after these past four days. The dentist then packed in some medicine down the new root canal and put in a temporary filling. We made an appointment for June to check on how it all healed. If I have any increasing pain or other problems, I'm supposed to give them a call. I'm SO thankful for the health insurance and the skilled doctors that God brought our way. Thank you, Lord! Also, a huge thank you to those of you who were praying for us and sharing in our pain. We love you heaps. You are such a blessing to us.
I'm laying off of the Vicodin and second antibiotic so my stomach can settle down and I can feel somewhat normal again. I am hungry. ;) My sweet husband bought me some Jamba Juice (fruit smoothie). It's wonderful. I've been catching up on all of my lost sleep too. I slept for six glorious hours after I got home from the dentist with very little pain. I have a whole new appreciation for Paul the Apostle's phrase "thorn in the flesh". Let me know if you have any questions or wondering about something I missed. I'm not quite 100% in the head yet. I told my mom today, "Yeah, the noodles barely hurt since I've been in so much pain anyway" Noodles? Oh... Needles! I also ACCIDENTALLY texted my husband two letters, separately, that should not go together! They should not put the backspace button next to the enter key. Seriously...
I talked to Steve a few minutes ago and he said he and Jon finally got the car to the shop just before it closed so they can put on two new tires and align it. Then our car will be able to take me to Portland to get on my flight to see & meet some of the most precious people in this world!! Thank you, Jesus! Please say a very special prayer for Steve. He's had an incredibly rough week. There are also some layoffs happening at his work, which affect everyone in so many different ways. Layoffs are truly a sad thing. He's been extremely stressed at work and then has to come home to a difficult situation at home nursing a sick wife, trying to stay on top of daily stuff, part-time job stuff, and the maddening task of fixing the car. He's very burdened and needs to be encouraged and continually pointed toward Christ and His grace for every moment. He's such an amazing man. We're so thankful to have friends and family that will lift us up in prayer and give so much of themselves to help us out.
Anyway! I'm going to try to catch up on some more sleep and stuff. Emails and messages are more than welcome. I can't guarantee I'll answer my phone. If you really want to, you can call Steve and bug him. :)
13It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."b]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[b]With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away {funny, right??}, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:13-18
Come, Lord Jesus! Come!
God's Word is perfect. Glory to God.
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