Recovery…

Ahhhh, finally, some relief. The last two weeks have been pure torture. I cannot even begin to express the pain that I have had in my face. For several years now, I have had a tooth or two that need root canals. I have no dental insurance and have not been able to get them done, so I just fight off the abscesses when they come. Three weeks ago a virus came through our house. Everyone got it and healed, except for me. I got a bunch of the sinus crap, which led to an abscessed tooth. I also have TMJD, which is aggravated by such things as cavities, pressure, stress, and well, anything that causes swelling in the face. I usually use my Neti pot, MMS, and a variety of other home remedies, to clear it up. This time was different, however. I have undergone the most excruciating pain for the last two weeks. None of the things that always work would touch it. I finally got some antibiotics two days ago, and my face feels a whole lot better, but it still hurts. And, it looks like someone punched me in the jaw. I have a huge bruise that protrudes from the side of my face right on my jawline. Looks like someone clocked me with a baseball bat, but I would call this pain level two compared to what I have been going through. That says a lot. I was still in a great deal of agony last night, so I went looking for more home remedies…I found one that worked pretty good, and I am the most comfortable I have been in two weeks. Keep in mind I have even stooped to prescription pain killers and muscle relaxers combined, and they did NOT touch the pain! I don’t take those things unless I have to…I don’t like the way they make me feel. I went to acupuncture, which has NEVER, EVER failed to take away the pain….except this time. Ugh! So, if you are wondering, the remedy that worked was to put a tablespoon of baking soda and a tablespoon of salt in a dish. Damp some cotton balles with warm water, and pack three to five of them dipped in the mix around your infected tooth and gum. Leave it for thirty five to fourty five minutes, but not longer. When I took out the first ones, nothing on the cotton, but the “marble” in my jaw bone moved up into my gums. I did it a second time, and when I removed the cotton, they were disgusting! My jaw has felt a lot better since. It is still hugely swollen and looks like a blood blister under my tooth, but I tried the salt and soda a third time to see if I could get more out, and it was just too harsh and raw. That salt really tears your mouth up if you use too much, but I will do this again at some point today. You have to be very careful not to swallow, and I just kept a big towel in my lap to spit into while I was watching tv trying to ignore the throb. It is very hard to ignore the throb, but you can feel it working and the throb quickly subsides as the ick drains into the soda and salt paste. Afterwards, I rinsed with warm water and then peroxide…Wow, new woman today. Pain level two or three with NO painkillers or muscle relaxers. Still hurts to do anything with my mouth at all, including swallow or kiss or eat. I am on the mend for sure though!

I can only hope I will feel better by Friday, when I will be taking off for my second out of the area spay neuter task force event. I usually just do the ones here, but my coordinator finally invited me along…Yay! There are only a few dogs, so I don’t know what I will do when I am not on recovery? I guess I will learn something else. Maybe I will be fortunate enough to work with a vet!I look forward to that a lot. I really enjoy my time with the spay/neuter task force quite a bit.

So, I have been drinking hot cocoa like crazy the last three days. I make my own hot cocoa, and my family prefers it over store bought, but we have a weakness for those silly little marshmallows. I finally figured out that I could buy a bag of marshmallows, and dehydrate them in my food dehydrator, and get a similar effect, to  add to my homemade mix! My boys will be delightfully surprised!

I have been doing a lot of sleeping since my face got sick, and I want to stay motivated today…but I am already considering crawling back into bed to nurse my poor face. I finally understand why I have not been able to focus at all the last two weeks, and it is kind of a relief to start to feel my brain coming back to me. The sun most certainly increases my pain! I am now weighing heading to the living room to veg out in front of the tv, something I rarely do, or crawling into bed. I have spent so much time in bed the last two weeks, tv might win!

All right, well, I am going to go nurse my wounds one way or the other. Have a lovely day all!