Pink Marmosets and flying Kumquats...

[Black Dog]

Or, take care of dental issues before they ruin yer weekend...

I just turned 58, two weeks ago...  Through a variety of crashes, sports, and having a dentist in my youth that stared in the 'Marathon Man', my teeth have taken a beating...

This past Friday afternoon, I noticed a 'funny' feeling in a tooth that had been previously root canaled and crowned...  Didn't hurt, just felt weird.

Hooked up with my brother Saturday afternoon and we took the bikes on a nice ride through the Kettle Moraine, to see and have lunch with my dad.  Had a great visit, and played a spirited game of 'Catch me if ya can' on the way home. Bob rides a Suzuki Raider, a 1900CC two lunger that is the most beasty torque monster I've ever ridden with.

Got home n cut the grass, and when done, noticed that the 'tooth' was just a tad uncomfortable...  Fast forward to 7:00 Saturday night.  The tooth is now just shy of screaming at me.  I call my dentists emergency number, and leave a message.  Pop a couple of Advil, and lie down in bed...

By the time my dentist returned my call (11:30 Saturday night), I was writhing in pain, and just about ready to go all 'Castaway', if I coulda found a pair of Ice Skates...  Dentist meets me at his office, takes an X-Ray, and we determine my tooth has cracked, allowing the nasty stuff to work down in to my jaw bone.  He writes a script for some pain meds, and antibiotics.  Run to the 24 hour pharmacy, pop the first dose, and find myself as a first class passenger on the magical mystery tour...

Over the next 36 hours, I spike a fever of 102, go through cycles of shaking like a dog shittin' razor blades (so cold) so sweating so badly (hot, hot, hot) I soaked the bed.  Pink Marmosets, and flying Kumquats were part of my hallucinations, and I faintly remember talking with Neil Young...  I don't remember my son checking on me, and between the body cramps, vomiting, and no sleep, my body feels like I've been in a wreck.

Monday morning, about 4:00, I got up, and took a shower.  Tooth felt quite a bit better.  Went to work, and through the dentist, got scheduled for an oral surgeon to extract the tooth, early next week (they want the infection as close to gone as possible).

If there is ever a next time (God forbid), I will be contacting my dentist at the first sign of discomfort!

Glad to be back from Pandora...

Black Dog

[John Schmidt]

Those pain pills are great, huh? I've been using some in recent weeks for my right hip....which the ortho dr. said isn't ripe for replacment just yet. What does he know!    Have some torn cartilage in there, irritated by some arthritis, which in turn gets the bursitis going....which in turn fires up the sciatic. As a result, my leg is killing me if I don't take something. I tried a full pill of oxycodon, it really worked....the leg still hurt but I didn't care. Besides, for the next few hours I couldn't find my leg anyway.   Since then, I just take half a pill, keeps my feet on the ground most of the time.  

[Momz]

I've been having a lot pain issues lately and oxycodone or vicodin and a stiff drink, along with a nap can make my day (or night) much less pain full and the dreams are interesting to say the least.

[The emperor has no clothes]

I think I'd like to see some of those pink marmosets

[G-Man]

Those pain pills are great, huh? I've been using some in recent weeks for my right hip....which the ortho dr. said isn't ripe for replacment just yet. What does he know!  

I don't get some Docs.  What's the wait for?

Developed a catarct in the right eye with a seed of one in the left a couple years ago.  One doc said they weren't "ripe" enough to come out yet.  I said, what are we gonna wait for, until I'm totally blind and unable to take care of myself or family in case of emergency or something?  He said, the insurance company won't pay yet.  When the cataract practically blinded the right eye, he referred me to a eye surgeon who did both eyes even though the left eye was still pretty much OK and there was no hassle with him getting paid and he even waived my portion of the bill because I agreed to be part of an in-house study he was doing.

[GiG]

...When the cataract practically blinded the right eye, he referred me to a eye surgeon who did both eyes ...

Gary, Buddy, don't you know - that's caused by not living right.
See, you shoulda listened to Dreamweaver! 
You coulda just rode your bike around with just your GOOD eye, & everything would be OK!
We need to get some of that stuff what Black Dog is on!

(Glad ALL you ALL's OK!)

~GiG

[old2soon]

Pink Marmosets and The Flying Kumquats-Didn't they do a set at Woodstock??  Man you got some GOOOOOOOODD stuff!!  Glad ya'll better.  Course with the good meds even iffin ya weren't gittin better ya really wouldn't care now?? Would ya???  RIDE SAFE.

[Jess from VA]

Been there, done that, got the Tshirt, washed the car with it.

There is nothing finer than going thru a (four root molar) root canal, and crown with no dental ins at full cash value, then having the whole thing go fubar, rot, infection, fever, and yank it out.  (And a tooth cracked bad enough at the beginning should just be pulled, not expensively repaired.  Course the crack could have occurred after the repair.)

Insult to injury, the tooth is so bad it about falls out, but he charges me the higher rate for pulling an infected tooth, about double the normal extraction.  I could have done it myself with needlenose vice grips.

Then he wants me to buy a three tooth bridge to replace it (or implant, they cost the same).  

IMHO, he did not do the root canal properly (sanitary-wise) which caused the whole abscess.

So I refused to let him gain with the bridge and that tooth remains missing until I am worm food.

Also, in my experience, pain meds are much more entertaining when you are not actually in significant pain.

[john]

        is it safe ?

[cookiedough]

I find pain meds don't agree with me too much makes me sort of loopy and dizzy/sick, weird feeling for sure.

Only one instance after my knee surgery I ever had a prescribed need for them a few years back.  I didn't like the result made me sick and very dizzy as well but am sure the knee pain wasn't as pronounced since I stopped taking the meds shortly thereafter and my knee hurt like heck after surgery/no pain meds.  Couldn't win either way on that one.

That first night after surgery I thought I was gonna die but my wife just thinks I am a wimp and can't take the pain. (nor pain meds).