Actually, that title should proably be ‘A Phone Call For Help’, because this afternoon I finally broke down and phoned Dr. Freeman in Texas. I’ve been avoiding using the teeth on the right side of my face because that was where I had the infection, and where I’ve also been having lingering pain. Feeling brave today though, I decided to just chew some chicken on that side at lunch time (around 2:00PM). And guess what? By 4:00 PM I was in the kind of pain even Motrin couldn’t help. It hurt so bad I couldn’t nap, and by supper I was miserable. So much for bravery!
So now what? Right now (8:30 PM) the pain has lessened, but the questions remain. Do I have another infection? Or could it be that the first one never truly went away? It’s a fact that I stopped taking the antibiotic only halfway through its course, but I can’t say that I feel much like starting that downhill slide over again either. What are the choices though? I’m tired of being tired, and I still don’t feel right. What will it take to make things better?
Dr. Freeman’s advice was to stop chewing on that side for a while again, and wait to see if things improve. I’m to double up on my Vitamin C intake, and see if that helps anything, though that will also take a while to show improvement. If it’s another infection, or even the same infection, it will take some time to figure that out too. And it’s going to require even more time to learn if I need to 1) find and 2) see a dentist around here, as well. This is the instance where being a thousand or so miles from where I had this work done becomes a problem.
The back story to all this is long and involved, and I don’t want to go too deep into details to explain. I hope it’s enough to say that I had one somewhat questionable upper back molar on that side that had been causing me a few problems before I even got to Texas originally. When I arrived Dr. Freeman discussed trying to save it, so she drilled it out and replaced the amalgam with a composite filling in hopes that the tooth could still be used to affix a permanent bridge to later. If that tooth is the problem now it may not be salvageable, and it will impact whatever permanent dental work I still need to get done during the three to six month period after my mouth has healed.
I guess there’s nothing like a few complications to keep life interesting, are there? I wish I could just wave a magic wand over my mouth and everything would instantly get better, but it’s not that simple. I have to live this one out day to day, and the end result is still in question. I’m not alone in having complications though, and I know another of my Clinic-mates is also having problems tonight. A magic wand might be nice for him too, though I wouldn’t count on it.
More prayer sounds like a better remedy for both of us anyway, don’t you think?