3/13/08

Why did I open my big mouth....

....before I went to the dentist and mention the word 'torture'!

Because it was torture....first of all when she first gave me the numbing shot my heart took off like 'it' was in an F1 race. I kid you not for a horrible moment I thought 'OMG we are in serious trouble here', maybe the Dr was too hasty to say I was now ok for the standard injection. When I was on beta blocker last year (early in my Graves days) it was banned as it does accelerate your heart rate.

So I lay there, heart pounding away in my ears, shaky hands and thighs....my Dentist noticed the deathly silence as I battled with my inner OUTRIGHT PANIC demons and said ' Are you okay?'

I was mantra-ing in my head....'the Dr said it was ok, he's a great Dr, you're okay, calm down'....and then as if it never happened it just stopped and my pulse slowed.

But it took 4 more tubes of the stuff over the next hour to numb that tooth enough to complete the crown prep! I was numb from my chin to my eye in the end!!

Anyhooo we got her done, this is a back tooth that is cracked and so they are crowning it to stabilise it and save it hopefully. But it's not been root treated, as I have a bad history of failed root treatments that end up in extractions. So tonight it was a pretty tender, I took a painkiller and am now praying hard it will settle down....as I can't afford another $800 on root treatment on top of the $1,400 I am already shelling out!

So keep everything crossed I don't wake up in pain tomorrow please.....

7 comments:

dabrah said...

Uh Oh! You have been in the wars! Much sympathy from me. How come it took so much to numb the area? Was she holding back, or were you bleeding? Sounds like a bad trip to the dentist, but hopefully your next visit will be better. My third job was dental receptionist cum dogsbody. So...snap! This was in South America, though, working for a first class dentist. But I was his only staff, so I got to do everything from assisting during surgery to developing xrays and sterilising equipment.

Anonymous said...

I used to have the same reaction to the Novacaine. Now I make sure to tell the dentist to use the one without the Epinephrine in it.

Little Britainer said...

Ugh, I hope you're making a good recovery!

The experience of going to the dentist here is made so much worse by the thought of the bill afterwards - at one point last year, I felt like I was single-handedly funding dentistry in New York...

Expat mum said...

Isn't it funny that we Brits are putting dentists' kids all over America through college with the amount of treatment we "need".

Roland Hulme said...

YIKEs!

I recently went through a brutal dental treatment. Hadn't been to the dentist in 15 years (yay, go NHS) and when I got dental insurance, i thought... what the hell?

OWWWWW!

Pam said...

God bless you, woman. That is tough stuff indeed. But necessary and needed and hopefully worth the effort (and bucks). I have spent more time in the dentist chair than I care to recall. But do believe that taking care of your mouth helps you take care of the rest of your body. Interesting about your reaction, do you think it is the Graves? I'm really interested in all things thyroid, so send me an update. cheers for now

Vickie said...

Sarah: {{HUGS}} It took about the same amount of cocktails for me on Wednesday for my root canal. My heart took off like a rocket, too. You could see my shirt jumping. The dentist, thank goodness he is easy on the eyes and ear, mellowed me out with that lovely lovely voice. He let me take my time. And did I mention how yum he is to look upon? If I squinch my eyes just right he looks like Capt Jack on Torchwood.