What ails me
August 31, 2007
I want to be one of those women who marches into the doctor’s office with a notepad where she has faithfully recorded her ailments and their progression, so that the doctor can more quickly cut to the chase and diagnose her.
To that end, I composed a list that includes the following:
- extremely painful swelling on left elbow that is hot to the touch (boil?)
- something callus-like but not on my left big toe (she is already aware of this and was using dry ice on it…can she continue and finish the job?)
- right knee
- results of x-ray on right toe…once I get that x-ray done, that is
- referral to a dermatologist
I am also having some oral health issues, which sucks mostly because of the pain involved. To this day, even though I have never experienced labour, I think pain related to teeth (and the nerve connections involved) is the worst ever, worse than giving birth, and certainly worse than the pain of being chronically single.
One week ago, I had an emergency appointment with my dentist to remove a piece of popcorn that had become lodged deep within my gums. Before you laugh hysterically, please allow me to lodge an innocuous piece of popcorn all up in your gums. No amount of poking, flossing and gargling with acid spiked with thorns helped. Finally, after nearly a week of the pain, I had to call for help. The first thing the dental assistant asked me was whether I had eaten popcorn, and the dentist informed me that she gets popcorn-related appointments at least once a month.
So please, eat popcorn responsibly!
My latest dental delight is the emergence of a wisdom tooth. I know now why babies cry non-stop during the process of getting in their teeth–what a pain! (Literally!) My brave wisdom tooth is valiantly pushing up 28 years worth of gums to create space for itself: My jaw aches and since Tylenol isn’t helping, I may just have to go and find what we give babies (Anbesol?) to ease their pain.
My list of ailments might not cause a doctor to advise me to order a casket, but they sure make life uncomfortable. Chewing is a pain, resting on my left elbow while brushing my teeth is agony, walking up or down the stairs makes me wince. I know: how do I go on?
lol the dentist found popcorn in my teeth too hehe
It sure hurts a lot eh?
Ugh, I've heard of this popcorn in the gums thing. My mom had one too that she went to the dentist for and she said the relief the minute it comes out is amazing.
Try holding on to that thought.
What is funny about your post (And I really, really hope you have better luck than I) is that I have mostly those types of issues — lumps on my neck instead of elbow, hideously calloused feet, I'm waiting on an MRI to find out why my leg is going numb all the time — but nothing has come of the fact that I have mentioned ALL of these ailments at least once if not thrice!
If you have better luck at the doc's than I do, I'm totally taking you OUT so that there is a space cleared up at your doctor's for me.
A week and a bit later and I'm feeling great! Even my wisdom tooth has stopped being such a large nuisance. I hate to brag but I have a really wonderful doctor! It's a shame she's away until December and I couldn't get an appointment for a full physical until February. If you lived nearby, I'd strongly encourage you to try and get in with her…although I think she has a waiting list.