Thursday: A Week After

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Well, it has been a week since my tooth was extracted. I guess I can see improvement in how I feel, but still not back to "normal." I have thought many times today that I am so thankful that I am usually in good fairly good health!  Not feeling good, I can do without!  I’m ready to feel better, and, I am feeling better, but it seems to be a slow go!  I still didn't have much energy today.  Napping is what I did best today…a nap late morning and then one late afternoon.  I have done a lot of nothing today…a little reading…a very little stitching…some TV watching… washed four or five dishes by hand…put away a few dishes…wiped off the stove…that's about it.  Oh, I have played quite a few solitaire games on my iPad.  

The pain seems pretty much under control…no Tylenol at all today…only my one daily Celebrex. That shows a big improvement.  One thing that is in my mind…but I don't know if it really happened or if I dreamed it…I may have blown my nose…or…I may have dreamed that I did…if I did, it was when I was in partial wakefulness during my morning nap.  I guess I will never know if I did or didn't!  But if I did, I haven't noticed any problems from doing it!  So strange to not be able to differentiate between dreaming or being awake! 

I guess I am sort of getting used to this extra "hole" in my mouth…still a weird feeling at times.  But I am managing eating and drinking better.  I've moved away from just soft food…but still keeping it pretty soft! One activity that I do is set reminders with Alexa so I remember to take my antibiotic twice a day.  I also have to figure in that part of why I am feeling better is the antibiotic, but also that antibiotics don't make me feel all that great while I'm taking them.  So may continue to not feel the greatest while taking something to make me eventually feel all the way better!

I have been getting notices about the weather.  Looks like a storm may be approaching.  Lately we are told that it will rain, but it doesn’t ever materialize.  We really need the rain.  We are in a drought at the moment…seems like we often are at the extremes…lots of rain or way too little rain.  This time the rain may be coming in with a storm.  Radar shows some pretty heavy weather approaching…but will it really come?!? 

I’m hoping to do some stitching this evening.  I did finish the one ornament this morning…so one more ready to make into an ornament to gift this coming Christmas. Tonight I’m going to work on a patriotic piece for me. 

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

A Bit Better Day

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I still don't feel the greatest, but I will say that the pain is much better…and, I'll take that!  I have just taken it easy today hoping that gets me going even more in the right direction. Nathan, Kathy, Isaac and Joseph stopped by this morning to check on me and brought me a treat, a Sonic strawberry lime aid.  I will say that hit the spot…I sipped on it most of the morning.  Once again, I haven't felt even like stitching! But after my late afternoon nap, I think that I may do some stitching.  It won't take much to finish the current Christmas ornament that I'm stitching.  I chose not to go to Bible study this evening…decided that it was best to totally take the day off.  Eating seems to be a little easier, as does talking.  I don't know if that means that "things" are better or if I am just getting used to my sinus passage and mouth being connected…it is still a weird feeling…but the pain seems to be pretty much gone…for which I’m thankful.  I have been able to pull back on Tylenol…no longer counting the time till the next dose can be taken…and only took my usual one daily Celebrex…good signs of improvement.  "Things" seem to be looking up…hopefully I will feel like a real person again and then just have to wait patiently for this hole in the sinus wall to heal on its own.  I guess patience is required…the doctor said it would take months. 

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Dental Report

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I headed off to the dentist around 1pm…it is only about a twenty-minute drive from my house over to the oral surgeon's office in Manchester. He just looked and said that it was only a perforation in the sinus wall and not a dry socket, too.  He did squirt in some gel that is supposed to help with the pain in that area.  He gave me the syringe applicator so I can apply it when it gets to hurting.  The idea of doing this is not exactly on the top of my list of things to do! 😳  It makes me cringe to tell you the truth.  I guess if it gets to hurting too badly I will apply it, but… 

He has put me on an antibiotic and I am to go back to see him in three weeks. He said that it will take months to heal.  I did ask him if it is safe to fly with this opening between my sinus passage and the side of the roof of my mouth. He said, yes, so flight/cruise aren't going to be affected by this problem…I hope!  I just hope and pray that it is easier to eat and talk by the time for the trip! 

The trip over and back from Manchester plus the stop at the pharmacy did me in…I have been settled in my recliner almost since getting home.  I have been texting family and friends about the outcome of the visit, as it is still not real comfortable to talk.  I have to be careful about sneezing…try not to but don't stop it and if I do sneeze, sneeze with my mouth open.  Still not supposed to blow my nose. Both of these are hard to avoid at this time of the year with it raining pollen!  I am glad that even before this happened, I had been avoiding spending much time outdoors to ward off allergies…so so far my allergy meds are holding off seasonal problems.  He did say that it is okay to use my allergy nasal spray. As a matter of fact he said that it would be helpful to use it. Sounds like he thinks that I will survive! 

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Murphy's Law?

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I think that Murphy may be visiting my "tooth situation."  Here's what Murphy says: " Any thing that can go wrong, will go wrong."Well, I hope that it's not "anything or everything!" But since I blogged on Saturday some other "things" seem to have gone wrong in the area of my extraction.  I had a really weird sensation in the extraction area happen Sunday evening…I am pretty sure that the "wall" between where my tooth was and my sinuses got a tear or a hole in it somehow.  I knew that there was a possibility of this happening when he was extracting the tooth, but thought that he had avoided having that happen.  I did call the doctor after that happened, as in my "care notes" there was a note that the doctor was always available and a phone number was provided.  When I called it there was a recorded message, but at the end it said that if I needed to talk to someone now to type in three numbers.  I typed them in and immediately the doctor answered.  When I explained to him what had happened, he said that he wasn't surprised.  He said that it should heal on its own, but that if I felt the need I could come in and see him.  Upon hanging up I was in agreement with just letting it heal on its own. But I decided that I am not sure that I can continue with the pain until it heals.  And, he mentioned that there shouldn't be pain involved with the sinus situation…I just am not to blow my nose (really…at this time of the year?!), and needed to continue to rinse with warm salt water, and to watch for sinus infection. I went to get my hair cut today…always a good day, right?!? But today I will just say that it made a not so great day better.  Jody wondered if I might also have a dry socket.  I hadn’t thought of that since I had the weird sinus happening.  But I did look up just the symptoms…and I got to wondering if perhaps she might be right, as the aches and pains described come close to the pain I am having.  So I decided that I would call the dentist's office and it was suggested that I come in and let the doctor take a look at it.  So tomorrow afternoon at exactly the same time as my extraction appointment last week, I have an appointment to get things checked out. Something has to give!

I need to get a handle on this, as I have "company" coming in a month and then in 7 weeks from today, Melany, Wade and I start on our Alaskan adventure…got to get healed up so I can enjoy the trip!  Hopefully the doctor can get things heading in the right direction tomorrow.  I rarely take Tylenol, as it really isn't the best for kidneys and my kidneys are compromised so I rarely take it…but these past days since the extraction, I have pretty much taken it 6 hours apart round the clock.  I’m ready to be able to stop taking it and giving my body a rest from it,  I’m not helping the kidney situation much since I'm not drinking water like I should be…sometime try drinking with a hole between your mouth and your sinuses…strange, strange, strange sensation!  I’m hoping to send Murphy on his way after seeing the dentist tomorrow.  I can say that I’m pretty tired, but it is not easy to sleep…I sleep in shorter spurts than usual!  

I have managed to do a little stitching and almost have another Christmas ornament finished.

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Sunday Favorite

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Just a So-So Saturday

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Well, it has ended up pretty good with this capture with my bird feeder cam.  I have been notified many times during the day that the camera has captured “something." Some times a bird was captured but other times he had flown away before the camera shutter opened and closed. Most of the time with the cardinals, they are too close to the camera and I just get a blur.  The birds must be coming in for a bedtime snack as the camera has been going off a lot…so far this cardinal, a chickadee, and a sparrow of one type or another.  

The "so-so" part of the day is that I'm not bouncing back from my tooth extraction as quickly as I would like!  I seem to be in slow motion…just not feeling the greatest and still hurting…by the time it is time for either Tylenol or Celebrex, I have pretty much been ready.  I remember from past extractions that I bounced back pretty quickly…then I realize that I am older than the last time…and, May just not bounce back like i have in the past.  Also, I think that this extraction was a bit more involved than others in the past.  So I am pretty much doing as little as possible and haven't graduated back to regular food yet…soft food is still welcome.  I’m glad that I took the effort to stock up on easy to eat food prior. I made some mashed potatoes today and another flavor of Jello!  I know I will be very ready for regular food once I’m not hurting! 

I haven't even really felt like stitching today.  I’m planning on stitching some tonight, though I do have a headache so stitching might not happen.  Looking forward to a few days down the road when this is all behind me!

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Slow Friday

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I have just taken it easy today…didn't have anything that I had to do so took advantage of that and didn't do much of anything. I didn't sleep the greatest last night…in parts…fell asleep before the end of Elsbeth 🙄 and woke up a few hours later and it took a while to go back to sleep.  So I stitched for a while and watched TV.  Fell asleep far into the "night" (really towards sunup) and then slept in quite a bit later than I usually sleep…maybe I made up for the hole in the middle of the night when I didn’t sleep? I have done pretty well today, felt a little shaky early on, but we the day wore on that got better.  I have read, finished up the bead sorting that Melany helped me with yesterday and got that put away, and I have stitched.  And, I have eaten.  I may have pushed the boundaries a little with supper. I was wanting some heartier food than just soft food and the instructions say that you can go back to eating what you want today, but I am currently hurting…have taken my daily Celebrex and if that doesn't help, I will take some Tylenol a little later.  It's not extreme pain or anything like that, but a bit uncomfortable.  I will just stay quiet for the rest of the evening and stitch and watch TV till bedtime.  

Nathan, Isaac, and Joseph stopped by to check on me in the late morning.  They had just mowed the grass at the Baptist Collegiate Center where Nathan is director.  Since they had the lawnmower, they gave my front yard and part of my back yard a once over.  We visited for a little while after they finished.  

To be continued! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!