Dr. Doom and the House of Novocain..

Dave had to go to the doctor again yesterday. I'm really getting worn out from trip after trip to town, to the city, to somewhere.. for more appointments all the time. Apparently, Dr. Abby had to fill out some more paperwork for the insurance companies, and she won't just fill them out based on when she saw him a couple weeks ago. She makes us drive in and sit there while she fills them out. I must have been a little cranky this time, because it didn't bode well with me. She asked the same old tired questions.. How much can Dave lift? Can Dave squat? On a scale of one to ten.. how good is Dave's balance? I just said, hey, if this is as serious as Dave's entire work assessment, and financial future, why don't you send him to someone who can properly assess this stuff, instead of making us guess, for the fifth time in six months? She looked at me a bit perplexed for a minute, before answering. You know, that's a pretty excellent idea. I think I'll do that. So she's supposed to get back to us when Dave's scheduled to see a physical therapist to gage how well he's ranking on their fancy numbered charts of official looking paper.

We're also going to make him an appointment to go through a driving test, to see if his reflexes are up to par with being able to safely be on the road. I think Dave and I are both a little nervous about this one. We'll see. We discussed the sleep study at length with Dr. Abby, and she's supposed to schedule him for one of these as well. I guess he has to go to the hospital for all three, so I'm sure I'll unhappily be shuffling us to many, MANY more exams and appointments in our near future.

I had to go to the dentist today. I had canceled one appointment for my cleaning a few weeks ago, because it conflicted with Dave's speech therapy. I thought they'd just move my appointments back by one, and that I would get my cleaning today. I was very wrong. I was surprised with two fillings today, and I've been pretty miserable every since. I got four shots of Novocain which I hate with a passion. Any serious mouth work just makes me squirm. I'm such a baby, but it hurts REALLY bad, lol. I thought I was making the severity of my pain up today, or at least making it worse than it was, but over the last couple hours.. a nice purple bruise is blossoming on my left cheek, and as the Novocain wears off more and more, that pain just continues to escalate. I just barely made it through dinner tonight. I know it's been over a decade since my last filling, but I just don't remember them hurting *this* badly. I don't know how they expect me to have the bravery to go back for the other five fillings they tell me I need. (Maybe I'm just skeptical, that they needed to do THAT much drilling, and grinding away of my teeth, when he had to look, and look close three times to even see the hint of a problem starting). The smell of burning power tools and enamel made me queasy from the start, (I swear I still smell it now). The four shots made me want to cry. And drinking a pint of blood makes me an unhappy camper no matter how much pain I'm in, or not in, so it was just a bad experience all around. I don't want to go back, and I don't quite know what to do about that.

Dr. Lalonde casually mentioned that I should request that they put me on concentrated fluoride for a year and watch them and see if they continue to progress. He told me that your saliva actually has the potential to heal gently affected teeth and cavities. Ugh, why can't he be closer to home? I like the way that man thinks. And why didn't I listen to him?

I'm supposed to make Dave around four or more appointments to do the extensive list of work he needs done, and now I'm even second guessing that. I hate pain, but I much prefer it on me, than him. He's got enough to worry about. I don't know.. Dr. Aaron is great, and fun.. and exciting.. but a total brute in the chair. Every time I move my face I want to cry right now. People keep asking me if they sent me home any pain medication today. They sure didn't, but I surely wish they had. I'm miserable. I don't know how Dave and I will make it through several more fillings, and Dave has extractions to boot. Like a protective parent, I can't bear to make him appointments that I know are going to be rough on him, especially now, judging from personal experience. *wince*

I'm borrowing some good Tylenol from Mom from here, and heading to bed early. Hopefully by tomorrow, my face won't make me want to cry, lol. Thank You for joining us this evening, and until next time, Much Love, Many Hugs, and Good Night to You All.