For the past month I have been really sick, probably sicker than I have been for many years. For the past year I have been living with a really bad recurring toothache. The culprit was a tooth that I had a crown placed on about a year and a half ago. The dentist didn't do a root canal because he thought the tooth might recover and not need one. Well, apparently it never recovered. I never went in to have it checked out of denial, and because I don't have dental insurance. About a month ago it got so bad that I was getting violently ill - throwing up for 24 hours at a time, screaming and moaning on the couch all day because of migraine headaches, etc. Finally it got so bad so often that I had to make an emergency visit to an endodontist and beg him to do a root canal. The problem was at this point, the gum area surrounding the tooth had gotten so swollen and hurt so bad, it got to the point where I wondered if the tooth next to it wasn't also giving me trouble. The endodontist gave the root canal, a temporary filling and told me to come back in two weeks for the permanent filling. Did I mention that the first visit cost $550, and the second one was going to cost me another $550? Ouch. A week went by and I was still having swelling, so I called the office and asked for pain killers and anti-biotics. I was soooooooo sick. I was vomiting and my head was pounding. Santino picked up my medication and I took some of the anti-biotics (iMoxicillan) and threw them up. I took another later. I threw THAT one up, too. That night at about 3 AM I woke up and was itching really bad. I realized that my hands, feet and lips were swollen. I went back to sleep, woke up in the morning and I was REALLY SWOLLEN. I was burning all over. I felt like my whole body was on fire. Santino had to take me to the emergency room because my tongue was starting to swell so I could get a shot. ($600 more DOLLARS!!!) Everything was cool except the day after that my hives came back, and they were CONSTANT. I had to take benadryl every 3 hours, and let me tell you, after a few days that got old really fast. Benadryl makes you feel like you are having a bad acid trip. All the while this was going on I was still getting bad headaches and gum swelling.
Two weeks passed (still was getting hives every day, several times a day) and I went back to the endodontist and told him that I was still getting swelling and aching around the gum of the tooth. I also told him that I had had an allergic reaction to the imoxicillan. He opened it back up, found a little more tissue, removed it, closed it up and added more temporary filling. He didn't charge me for the visit but said when I come back he might need to do a second root canal on the adjacent tooth because it could be the problem. Red flags went up. That would mean that all of this would cost me about $2,200. YIKES! He also didn't give me any more anti-biotics. That day I went home so nauseous, with a migraine, and vomiting. Santino almost had to take me to the emergency room again because of dehydration. I couldn't hold any liquids down for about 12 hours.
Anyway, I decided to not go back to that doctor and get a second opinion. Last week I went to another endodontist and a dentist. The second endodontist was nice but he sucked. He took an x-ray and I guess he had out-dated equipment because it sucked. The dentist, however was great. It was the first time I have ever gone to a female dentist and I liked her a lot. She did a complete 360 degree xray of my entire mouth and GUESS WHAT? There was a huge abscess growing off the the root of the tooth I had just had a root canal on. Well I'll be. It turns out, this is what was making me so sick. I also found out that the endodontist SHOULD have made sure I had anti-biotics from the beginning because there is no way it would have gone away by itself. THE FIRST ENDODONTIST DIDN'T EVEN TELL ME I HAD AN ABSCESS.
I also found out that I have five more cavities that need to be filled, which is amazing because I went to a dentist six months ago and he didn't tell me this. I highly doubt I got five cavities in six months. >:|
The nice and competent female dentist gave me a new prescription for anti-biotics, and a referral for a very good endodontist so I can have my tooth permanently filled after the infection goes away. I'm two days away from finishing them, and I am feeling a whole lot better. No more swelling, no more headaches, no more vomiting.
I am still getting hives once a day, though.
This past month has been hell.
The worst part is because I have been sick I have not been getting much exercise of the past month and now I have put on a few pounds and am out of shape.
Today I did an hour of Yoga before lunch and it felt awesome. I am determined to practice yoga six days a week for the next month so I can get back in shape.
I still have to get my tooth filled, though, and my cavities filled, which is going to be expensive. OH WELL.
Worst part about working freelance? No health insurance. I have learned this lesson well.
