What is pissing you off this time?

[Snakeadelic]

Woke up Black Friday to the less than charming realization that I had 2 dental abscesses, 1 on top 1 on bottom. Went to ER, where the doctor FREAKED OUT and yelled at me (in front of a witness!) when I asked for help with the (felt like a hot sautering iron parked forcibly between the teeth in both cases) pain because my regular pain meds weren't even touching this. He called my MD after swearing I would get NO HELP that way either. Funny how it was the nurse who came back with a prescription for pain meds...six whole pills, on Black Friday, knowing I had no access to my dentist or MD until the following Monday. No, the pain meds did not help (they were 1 size stronger than my regulars, which I did NOT take alongside them). No antibiotics. No aftercare recommendations.

Following Monday, I call to schedule the pain-contract-required followup with my MD, get an appointment that Friday. Call the dentist, and due to a data-transmission glitch between them and the pharmacy it takes me TWO DAYS to get Cephalexin, the go-to dental antibiotic. By Friday, when I see the MD with whom I signed the pain contract, it's clear the Cephalexin has failed. He puts me on Clindamycin.

Couple weeks later, finished the Clindamycin, still have pain in the lower jaw. Under a root-canaled canine. Another round of "now what" leads me to a referral from my dentist to an oral surgeon who takes my insurance--that canine has to go. So we drive 50 miles to the nearest surgeon who takes my insurance.

And that (SOOOOOO many unladylike words go here), also with a witness in the room, proceeds to:
Refuse me sedation--I'd have to wait SEVEN weeks!
Refuse me nitrous--my insurance doesn't cover it? $100 cash out of pocket???
Listen to me describe the terms of my pain contract and says, verbatim quote, "I know how pain contracts are written. I call bullshit." Remember--witness in the room!
Refuse to wait until the inevitable MASSIVE panic attack has subsided.
Give me 4 HUGE shots, jammed in fast enough to cause major tissue separation, 2 in the cheek and 2 into my gums, swearing I won't feel my face until morning; it wore off HALF AN HOUR later; my dentist's "lower grade" novocaine lasts like six hours!!!.
Proceeds, while I'm still crying and my witness is trying to get through to him what kind of panic attack this is (still ZERO sedation), to rip aforementioned root-canaled canine right out of my lower jaw. God, I hate that cracking/ripping noise. I swear I am never having another tooth pulled while I'm awake, and I damn well WILL freak out about it to get my way. He also appears to have removed a chunk of bone NOT infected by the abscess, as the front part of my jawbone at the extraction site is now gone.

Go back to my MD for another required follow-up--whether or not pain meds are administered, my extremely lenient contract requires a follow-up with my primary care provider/contract signatory medical professional after any ER or specialist visit that provides a diagnosis immediately. Things like imaging procedures, even the ones they have to knock me out for, aren't counted, but things like having a tooth removed by a surgeon do.

OMFG you guys...my MD is super pissed at this dental surgeon. Like, the MD put me on OXYCODONE pissed. The surgeon swore up and down that Medicaid, my insurance provider, would have "no problem" if I just double up my regular hydrocodone for arthritis and get an early refill. MD says "I am so glad you're smarter than that--they have a HUGE problem with what he told you to do. Here's what they don't have a problem with, oxy and more antibiotics! When you're done with the oxy, finish your regular pain meds and just call for your hard-copy prescription refill like always."

I'm back on regular pain meds. I'm not sure the antibiotics worked; the crowned root canal next to where my canine used to be is warmer than any of my other teeth, including the 2 other crowns (all done by same dentist). I have like 3 of them left to take. There's this side effect, though, when you have to take antibiotics for a while. You get non-bacterial infections more easily.

What is pissing me off this time is I appear to have fucking viral laryngitis out of nowhere.

At least I didn't burn the $50 Christmas boneless prime rib roast! It's our only wild holiday food indulgence in years when no one we know gets a deer they need skinned during hunting season; I have my own skinning knife, a bloodthirsty temperament, an unusual talent for disassembling Nature's beautiful creatures, and in return I always ask for the neck, one of the least desirable chunks of meat but OMG such a good slow-roast...

Oh, and the surgeon gave me back the tooth! Last time I had extractions the hack-job who did them said they were biological waste and illegal to give back. This time, he said "You really want it?" and I answered "Hey, it's mine." I'm gonna have it made into a suncatcher after I bleach it. Maybe I'll have the other pulled tooth I got them to let me keep years ago added in!

[xoxoxoBruce]

I hear ya, I inherited soft teeth. Even though I drank lots of milk(I had cows), I can remember when I was about 12 my father sent me to the dentist. He said you have 12 cavities, I'll fill 2 and come back next week. The next week he said you have 11 cavities, I'll fill 2 and come back next week. WTF? This went on all summer.

It continued in the vein, 8 root canals, of which 1 blew up on a flight from Philly to Seattle, and another camping in the California mountains. Plus an extra cap for one my gym teacher broke. I swallowed that one the night before I got married the first time, but that's another story.

After continuous bullshit, when I was 42 I said take 'em out, all of 'em. The dentist resisted saying I was too young and when(if) I got old, the dentures would have worn my gums down too far for the dentures to be stable. He changed his mind when I started frothing at the mouth, blood shooting out of my eyes, and claws growing from my hairy knuckles.

That was 30 years ago and I haven't regretted it for a moment.