Happy Friday, Let’s Drill a Hole in Your Tooth!

I had big, big plans for this weekend. Big plans. And not one of those plans included a root canal.

I’ve looked up root canals in the past. I know what's involved.  And though I don't consider myself a squeamish person, I made the declaration that I would rather just have the damn tooth ripped out than have a root canal.  You remember, I have that pesky tooth that has a crack in it and it’s always been a bother. My dentist has been keeping an eye on it, and said the nerve is still alive and fine, so not much we can do about it.

Until last week. The toothache started on Monday, the headache came along on Tuesday and by Friday, I could barely stand to eat or hear. I sucked it up and made a dentist appointment with my sister’s best friend, Dean, who I’ve been seeing for about six years.

My initial phone call suggested the tooth had abscessed so they prescribed an antibiotic and wanted me to come in at 4:00 to take a look. After Dean checked the x-ray, he said, “Yep, all kind of infected. Let’s get you numbed up for a root canal!”

Uh. What? Aren’t there any other options?

He said, “We can take the tooth out. Sound good? No? Let’s numb up!”

That’s why I’m glad Dean’s my friend. He doesn’t give me a chance to wussy out.

So, after five shots (better to be too numb than not numb enough, I say!) I had my first root canal. And I must say, the actual procedure wasn’t too traumatizing at all.

It was when I started taking the Vicodin and the antibiotic that things took a turn for the worst.

I’ve always been able to take Vicodin. I PRIDE myself on the fact that I can take Vicodin. But, as we know, things change when you get older.

Actually, I think the big problem is that I have to eat when I take Vicodin. And after a root canal, it’s a bit hard to eat. So I made the mistake of taking it on an empty stomach one too many times, and finally on the drive home from the “On and On” screening Saturday night, my stomach said “NO MORE!” and promptly evacuated itself into a Safeway grocery bag.

So, no more Vicodin for the weekend.

But at least I made it to Chris’ birthday bbq and the “On and On” screening. I also slept until 3pm on Saturday and 2pm on Sunday, so that was a perk.  Cause you know how Rae-rae likes her sleep.

My tooth feels pretty okay today; I even put some ice cream against it last night and no sensitivity at all! Love that! Now if I could just get this little headache to go away. And right when it goes away, I get to go back into Dean and go through round two of the root canal. I just have a medicated insert in canal right now. Next is removing that and putting in the permanent filling. Which means more drilling. And more painkillers. Maybe we’ll try a different one this time. Or I’ll just make sure I have a lot of mushy bread type stuff on hand.

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I couldn’t help but laugh at loud at I Has a Hotdog this morning.

I feel the same way, doggie. The SAME way.