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Before I head off to bed tonight I have to just say I am absolutely amazed. Friggin, *#^!*^#&!^# amazed at my tolerence for medicine (hopefully I won't curse myself). Right before Christmas I started having trouble with my wisdom teeth, or so I thought. I went to the dentist and they discovered that I had a gum infection and that it was "probably due to my wisdom teeth coming in." I had to wait until January for my dental insurance to kick in before going to an oral surgan so I could take a panorama xray.
Since the middle of December until now I have been taking: 4 ibuprofen every 4 hours, penicillin every 6 hours and vicodin every 4-6 hours. Whatever infection I have, well, it must be bad because ALL that medicine did NOTHING to quell the pain. Today, after my visit to the oral surgeon, it was confirmed that I do indeed have a bad gum infection and that the problem is NOT because of my wisdom teeth. He put me on Amoxicillin and Percocet. Finally something seems to be working, BUT, even with the percocet and the fact that my gums slightly feel better, I can STILL feel the pain in the background. I have NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER experienced such pain in my life (and trust me, I have been through a lot).
Anyway, the point of this "note" is that I am completely freaked out by how much medicine I took between yesterday and today. I have always been one to take Tylenol for headaches, antibiotics for infections and over the counter stuff for "whatever". I am a firm believer that if you can take something to fix something - go for it, but yesterday was just plain SCARY. I must've taken 30+ ibuprofen's in 24 hours and 6+ vicodens. ALL THAT and NOTHING quelled the pain. I don't know how I made it to this point. Every time I would take more ibuprofen I thought I was going to kick the bucket so to say. I was scared but the pain was THAT unbearable - it was worth the risk. Scary, huh??????
With all that medicine in my system I found what worked best was breathing deep, staying focused on breathing, talking down the pain to myself, standing up and walking and every once and awhile screaming like a roomful of infants. I keep telling myself that THIS WOULD PASS. I would get through this.
Support also helped. Melanie was the best partner. She stayed by my side, pretty much, during this whole ordeal. She checked on my constantly. She ran our errands. She cooked. Took care of the "kids" (our pets) and most importantly, just sat and hugged me. She rubbed my back, kissed my forehead and wrapped her arms around me. She assured me it would be okay. I believed her. That is always the best medicine. I was also lucky to have the support of my family and friends.
To make matters worse when I went to the oral surgeon today -- I FELL. Yup. I slipped and fell down the steps. Ouch. I had that mix of "pain, tears, laughter, swearing, pain, laughter and shame" mixed into one. As I walked down the hall, rubbing my ass and feeling crazed, tears (mixed with laughter) filled my face. I took a deep breath and regained control. Hey, at least the pain medicine I had in me worked for SOMETHING...lol! ;) That was the cherry on top and yet -- I made it through. I am writing this now. I survived.
Yes. I learned I have a very high tolerance for pain. For medicine. I feel I grew as a person through all this pain and agony. I learned a lot. We all find strength inside when we need it. Even when you think "this is it" and you "can't take no more"--- you do. You push through. I pushed through. I made it. I am not even 5% better than yesterday, but learning as much as I did and feeling the love around me --- I feel better than ever.
-Des
Since the middle of December until now I have been taking: 4 ibuprofen every 4 hours, penicillin every 6 hours and vicodin every 4-6 hours. Whatever infection I have, well, it must be bad because ALL that medicine did NOTHING to quell the pain. Today, after my visit to the oral surgeon, it was confirmed that I do indeed have a bad gum infection and that the problem is NOT because of my wisdom teeth. He put me on Amoxicillin and Percocet. Finally something seems to be working, BUT, even with the percocet and the fact that my gums slightly feel better, I can STILL feel the pain in the background. I have NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER experienced such pain in my life (and trust me, I have been through a lot).
Anyway, the point of this "note" is that I am completely freaked out by how much medicine I took between yesterday and today. I have always been one to take Tylenol for headaches, antibiotics for infections and over the counter stuff for "whatever". I am a firm believer that if you can take something to fix something - go for it, but yesterday was just plain SCARY. I must've taken 30+ ibuprofen's in 24 hours and 6+ vicodens. ALL THAT and NOTHING quelled the pain. I don't know how I made it to this point. Every time I would take more ibuprofen I thought I was going to kick the bucket so to say. I was scared but the pain was THAT unbearable - it was worth the risk. Scary, huh??????
With all that medicine in my system I found what worked best was breathing deep, staying focused on breathing, talking down the pain to myself, standing up and walking and every once and awhile screaming like a roomful of infants. I keep telling myself that THIS WOULD PASS. I would get through this.
Support also helped. Melanie was the best partner. She stayed by my side, pretty much, during this whole ordeal. She checked on my constantly. She ran our errands. She cooked. Took care of the "kids" (our pets) and most importantly, just sat and hugged me. She rubbed my back, kissed my forehead and wrapped her arms around me. She assured me it would be okay. I believed her. That is always the best medicine. I was also lucky to have the support of my family and friends.
To make matters worse when I went to the oral surgeon today -- I FELL. Yup. I slipped and fell down the steps. Ouch. I had that mix of "pain, tears, laughter, swearing, pain, laughter and shame" mixed into one. As I walked down the hall, rubbing my ass and feeling crazed, tears (mixed with laughter) filled my face. I took a deep breath and regained control. Hey, at least the pain medicine I had in me worked for SOMETHING...lol! ;) That was the cherry on top and yet -- I made it through. I am writing this now. I survived.
Yes. I learned I have a very high tolerance for pain. For medicine. I feel I grew as a person through all this pain and agony. I learned a lot. We all find strength inside when we need it. Even when you think "this is it" and you "can't take no more"--- you do. You push through. I pushed through. I made it. I am not even 5% better than yesterday, but learning as much as I did and feeling the love around me --- I feel better than ever.
-Des
1 comment:
Ouch!!! Sorry to hear all this! But happy to read that your partner was there for you through it!
Now stop taking so many meds! :)
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