The root (canal) of all evil

Ever heard that expression "That strikes a nerve"? You know what? When someone does strike a nerve, like say, a dentist, it hurts like hell (and I am willing to pay the dime to say that!).

It started on Wednesday. I had a little pain in my mouth and I gargled with hydrogen peroxide because I figured it was a canker sore. That seemed to do the trick until a few hours later shooting pain blindsided me. And when I say shooting pain, it's the kind that shoots through all the nerves in your mouth and cheek and, in this case, the left side of my head, making me want to rip the side of my face off. That kind of shooting pain.

As it turns out, I experienced this kind of pain about 8 or 9 years ago, when I let myself suffer through it for weeks, thinking maybe I had migraines or something. I later learned it was an abscessed tooth. Trust me, if you haven't experienced that before, consider yourself lucky. If you have experienced childbirth, though, then you kind of get the gist of the type of mind-numbing pain I'm talking about here.

The good news is that as soon I started getting these symptoms Wednesday night I knew it was likely tooth related and called my dentist yesterday morning. Everyone knows it can take months to get a dental appointment. I told the receptionist I had to see the dentist Thursday or Friday because I was leaving for Spring Break this weekend. (Priorities, right?) She informed me my dentist doesn't do Friday office hours, but later called back said he'd come in to take care of me Friday.

If by taking care of me, it means he performed a root canal and struck a few raw nerves, then yes, he took care of me. Don't get me wrong. I honestly really like my dentist and he is always conscientious about how I'm feeling when he's working on me. But saying "I'm sorry" after poking a nerve, doesn't seem to be enough. To make up for it, he did prescribe some antibiotics and a good painkiller so I can still enjoy Spring Break (and hopefully remember it!).

Ever since I arrived at work today, I have felt like a resident in a nursing home, sipping through a straw, mashing my crackers and eating soup with a bib on. As my novocaine wears off, I figure I better blog while I can. (In case I do need some pain relief, I'm not supposed to operate heavy equipment like a mouse or phone).

My hope is to feel normal enough in 24 hours to pack my bags with some enthusiasm. Good thing I really won't need much energy to lay around the pool or on the beach, soaking up the sun... Oooh, I better check to make sure my meds don't say I can't sit in the sun! Then I'd have some tough decisions to make!