Anatomy 101 - Today's lesson: Sinus cavities
The visit to the dentist yesterday afternoon was very informative. First, I learned that Dr. C. is apparently doing just fine as he is currently on vacation in Hawaii and is going to Aruba next month. Second, I learned that his assistant, Kelly, is da bomb. And very knowledgable about all things toothy.
My teeth and my gums are fine. "Clinically perfect" is the term she used. I'll take that. What I also learned from Kelly is that the roots of our upper teeth actually extend into the sinus cavity located behind our cheekbones. If those sinus cavities get all jacked up (which mine, obviously, are), the roots and their surrounding nerves can be irritated. And since there is one big ol' nerve branch that extends all the way down through the lower jaw, pain gets a passport and travels all around. Just like Dr. C.
I was instructed to continue taking the antibiotics and popping Advil like candy, and just let everything clear up. While relieved about the diagnosis, I had a rough evening ahead of me. The tears came halfway through dinner when the pain got pretty intense. Zoe got upset then, too, so I had to feign happiness and reassure her that Mommy will be fine, despite the fact that Mommy wants to rip off her own head and dunk it in some sort of numbing solution. (Another shout-out to the in-laws for taking care of little things like dinner and bathing my child so I didn't have to.)
Then, late last night, after working another few hours (I was on deadline and feeling guilty for not being as productive as I usually am), I blew my nose, sent shock waves through my jaw, and totally lost it on the phone with M. He's in Austin this week, and so is offering long-distance sympathy. I'm not sure what he thinks with his wife calling him in tears, when there is nothing either he or I can really do about it. We agreed that if I wasn't feeling better this morning, I'd call the doc back and get something stronger than amoxycillan.
This morning I woke up and had no pain in my jaw. I laid there for awhile, wondering what would happen once I stood up. Finally, I decided that I couldn't hide in bed all day. I got up, got in the shower, and started to feel the now-familiar thudding in my left mandible. Great. But it just stayed that way. It didn't erupt into something worse. Holy cow...relief.
When you're in the hospital, they always ask you to rate your pain on a scale of one to ten. I'd say the pain this week has been hovering around 32. This morning, it settled in at a comfortable three. I'll take three. I can handle three. Especially after 32.
On the way to work, I dove into my granola bar. Slight pain, maybe up to a four or five, but nothing like it had been. I'm on the mend. And I'm so damn appreciative of that fact that I've been sending out love letter e-mails to my colleagues all morning, just to tell them what a great job they're doing. (We don't do that enough, I think, as a society overall. And I know I've certainly been pretty confined to my own head the last four days, so I'm doing what I can to fix it.)
I do know this: if there is ever a procedure for a sinus transplant, I'll be the first to sign up. I've been dealing with these mothers for years with allergies and sinus infections. But now that they've brought out the artillary and are gunning for other parts of my head, yeah, it's war. And especially, don't f*ck with my ability to eat.
My teeth and my gums are fine. "Clinically perfect" is the term she used. I'll take that. What I also learned from Kelly is that the roots of our upper teeth actually extend into the sinus cavity located behind our cheekbones. If those sinus cavities get all jacked up (which mine, obviously, are), the roots and their surrounding nerves can be irritated. And since there is one big ol' nerve branch that extends all the way down through the lower jaw, pain gets a passport and travels all around. Just like Dr. C.
I was instructed to continue taking the antibiotics and popping Advil like candy, and just let everything clear up. While relieved about the diagnosis, I had a rough evening ahead of me. The tears came halfway through dinner when the pain got pretty intense. Zoe got upset then, too, so I had to feign happiness and reassure her that Mommy will be fine, despite the fact that Mommy wants to rip off her own head and dunk it in some sort of numbing solution. (Another shout-out to the in-laws for taking care of little things like dinner and bathing my child so I didn't have to.)
Then, late last night, after working another few hours (I was on deadline and feeling guilty for not being as productive as I usually am), I blew my nose, sent shock waves through my jaw, and totally lost it on the phone with M. He's in Austin this week, and so is offering long-distance sympathy. I'm not sure what he thinks with his wife calling him in tears, when there is nothing either he or I can really do about it. We agreed that if I wasn't feeling better this morning, I'd call the doc back and get something stronger than amoxycillan.
This morning I woke up and had no pain in my jaw. I laid there for awhile, wondering what would happen once I stood up. Finally, I decided that I couldn't hide in bed all day. I got up, got in the shower, and started to feel the now-familiar thudding in my left mandible. Great. But it just stayed that way. It didn't erupt into something worse. Holy cow...relief.
When you're in the hospital, they always ask you to rate your pain on a scale of one to ten. I'd say the pain this week has been hovering around 32. This morning, it settled in at a comfortable three. I'll take three. I can handle three. Especially after 32.
On the way to work, I dove into my granola bar. Slight pain, maybe up to a four or five, but nothing like it had been. I'm on the mend. And I'm so damn appreciative of that fact that I've been sending out love letter e-mails to my colleagues all morning, just to tell them what a great job they're doing. (We don't do that enough, I think, as a society overall. And I know I've certainly been pretty confined to my own head the last four days, so I'm doing what I can to fix it.)
I do know this: if there is ever a procedure for a sinus transplant, I'll be the first to sign up. I've been dealing with these mothers for years with allergies and sinus infections. But now that they've brought out the artillary and are gunning for other parts of my head, yeah, it's war. And especially, don't f*ck with my ability to eat.
posted by Amy at 11:09 AM
1 Comments:
Glad to hear that pain's called a truce!
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