by Gayle Towell
Anyone else ever get these instructions? If so, what has been your experience when following them?
For whatever reason – blame my gender, my age, my distress when in pain – all that’s ever happened when I’ve followed such instructions is dismissal or disbelief.
As an example, I was once given these instructions following extreme shoulder pain. In fact, it felt like my shoulder was being ripped off my body any time I moved. During the initial visit I was told to try “gentle stretching and exercises” even though I thought I had made it clear that I couldn’t move my arm at all without excruciating pain. Whatever. Call us back in a week if it gets worse or isn’t better.
And it got worse and not better. But when I called back, I was told that I shouldn’t still be feeling pain.
Ok. But I AM. Which is why I called.
Use ice and take ibuprofen, they say.
Ok, but that doesn’t seem to be helping much.
Well, it should, they say.
Ok. But it isn’t. Which is why I called.
I ultimately had to go to the emergency room with my husband in tow so he could explain that, yes, I was in excruciating pain. And only after his testimony was I given pain medicine strong enough to help, some prednisone to speed healing, and a referral – which eventually uncovered a case of calcific tendonitis which I was told “often hurts worse than a broken bone.”
I wish this was a one-off story, but it isn’t. As I get older, I just rack up tales like this. After a while, it makes a person wonder what’s wrong with themself. Maybe my pain is always in my head. Maybe I’m wrong and my pain isn’t real, somehow. Who knows. Why can’t I ever convince anyone? I must be some sort of freak alien creature. Something. Part of me just doesn’t care anymore because what’s the point.
Anyway, I’m currently going through another such saga, this time dental related, which I will now share with you…
So, for years, I’ve been told I need to have my wisdom teeth extracted. I’ve put it off because they weren’t causing much issue. But one of them had been developing a deep cavity that I was told would be difficult to impossible to address and it would be best to just get my wisdom teeth removed – something that was apparently supposed to happen when I was a teen, and not at the age of 42. I had also been having some jaw issues – possible TMJ type stuff – and thought not having wisdom teeth crammed in the back of my mouth might help that as well, so screw it, take ‘em out!
It’s a routine procedure, they said.
You’ll be fine in just a few days, they said.
So one Saturday morning, I went in to get it done. I was put under sedation, so I don’t remember anything about the procedure itself, though my husband in the waiting room tells how at some point in the middle, I woke up screaming and it scared some poor teenager who then ran away, his mother chasing after. All I remember is suddenly being done, being shoved into a wheelchair, being told, well, at least they got it all, so that’s a good thing, wondering, what do you mean by that?
“At least they got it all.” What exactly happened?
Home I went, with prescription for antibiotics, ibuprofen, tramadol, and mouthwash.
After a long, drugged, nap, the first thing I became aware of was how much bleeding was going on in my mouth. On the left side in particular, it seemed impossible to stop, and biting on gauze kept resulting in chunks of blood clot coming out anytime I removed it.
But to spare you the full saga, here is the summary of the next several days:
I had only been given three days of tramadol. After it was gone, the pain was unbearable.
I don’t think proper blood clots ever formed on my left side, which means dry sockets.
On my right side, I soon noticed that the mouthwash was somehow going through my upper tooth hole and into my sinuses and out my nose, which burned and was rather disturbing.
Around Wednesday, I think, we (my husband and I) attempted to contact the dentist for help. Again, the pain was unbearable, pretty sure I had dry sockets, and I had a hole into my sinuses. I called, talked to people, was told it was “normal”. My husband called, talked to people, was told it was “normal”. My husband even went to the dentist office and camped in the waiting room for an hour until someone else would talk to him. Ultimately he was told again that this was all “normal”. Mind you, we were told this without anyone even looking into my mouth. No one wanted me to come in so they could check. No assistance was offered as far as what to do about it, other than “just let the mouthwash run through your sinuses”, use ice, and take ibuprofen.
Because the dentist seemed to have no desire to follow up, check, or help, I did my own googling. I used saltwater instead of the prescription mouthwash so that I could flush my tooth socket and sinuses out without it feeling like fire (seriously, snort some prescription mouthwash and tell me how that feels…). For over two weeks, anytime I ate, I had to flush the food out of my sinus cavity and out my nose by swishing saltwater, which was extremely disconcerting. Luckily, that opening did manage to eventually close on its own.
Meanwhile, on the left side of my mouth, the pain remained super intense. My mother-in-law shipped me clove oil, which is supposedly what dentists use to treat dry socket pain, which helped a little, but tasted super nasty. Also, since I live in a state where marijuana is legal, I was surviving on edibles and tinctures in addition to max doses of ibuprofen and Tylenol, to the point where I was having massive heartburn and also taking OTC heartburn medicine to be able to tolerate the pain medicine. Fun times.
After a solid few weeks of unbearableness, the pain slowly began to subside. But now, more than two months later, it still isn’t completely gone and my mouth is still screwed up. None of the sockets have completely healed yet. On the top right, there is some shard or something trying to come through. And on the inside of both bottom sockets, I now have what google suggests are “Sharp Mandibular Bone Irregularities” nearly poking through my gums like stalagmites. Moreover, a common cause of these pokies is “fracture of the cortical plate”. I’m going to a different dentist later this week to have it checked out, but if I feel along the gum line below the pokies, it feels like there is a chunk of bone that is not lined up where it should be – like it was broken and healed in the wrong place.
Add to that, I get regular shooting pain through my jaw joints now, my jaw pops and cracks a lot more than it used to, and I’m also dealing with increased tooth sensitivity all along my left side (which might be nerve damage related?).
So this procedure that I was convinced would be easy, only require a few days of healing, and would leave my jaw and mouth happier, has completely screwed it all up.
Earlier today I had to call my current (now previous) dentist to cancel a cleaning/checkup appointment. When they asked why, I sort of let loose, explaining that my mouth has been a disaster ever since I had the supposed “simple procedure” of wisdom tooth extraction in their office. They tried to tell me again that everything I described was “normal”.
Really? You initially told me I’d be fine in three days. When I wasn’t, you refused to see me to get to the bottom of what was going on. I am over two months out and still having issues. What part of this is “normal”?
They even had the audacity to call back a few minutes later assuring me the dentist would really be happy to take a look. But, why? If it’s “normal”? Which is apparently an assessment you’ve been able to make repeatedly from afar. And why now? Why not weeks ago when I was in excruciating pain? Why on earth do you think I’d be able to trust any assessments you would make?
My mouth is screwed up. I know this. Because it is attached to my head. And I feel it every day. It is NOT “normal.” What the hell did you people do to me while I was unconscious?
It’s possible there were bad words and tears on the phone. Which is a fun start to the day. But it’s ok. I’m over it now.
Just hoping the new dentist can make sense of what happened and maybe file off the sharp bony bits and put some of my mouth back into place…
To summarize – If it gets worse or isn’t any better in a week, then:
- Sucks to be you.
- Give us a call so we can add insult to injury.
- We don’t believe you. That’s not possible.
- We don’t care. Go away.
- I guess you’re just a whiner.
- That’s normal.
- Just stop complaining and accept it as part of your life now.
Feral Polymaths 