The tooth extraction was so much easier than tooth #18, which was pulled in 2009. It was so problem-free, in fact, that I probably could have done it with Novocaine only, no twilight sleep. I guess how would I know, since I can't remember the procedure -- I did opt for twilight sleep. But last time I had bad pain for several days afterwards. This time, after taking one hydrocodone when I got home and sleeping off all the drugs and trauma, I don't even need Advil. The only remaining hassle is not being able to drink hot liquids or eat food that requires much chewing for a few days. But that's OK, because I take my coffee very light, and I love my diet of yogurt, tomatoes, and fruit.

So as a result, I was able to finish the grades with no sweat!

It also made me feel "Yes" on the question of an implant, so I have an appointment for a consult after it heals in November.

Oral surgery tomorrow! The university's systems did come back online last night, and I did put in a couple of hours, but of course I am not finished with grades! I refuse to burn the midnight oil tonight, because I want to be well rested (and I can't eat or drink after midnight since I am having twilight sleep). So I hope I feel good enough on Tuesday to get it done.

I am not sure if this is the longest stretch I've gone without posting, but it has to be close. I did have a bunch of things to write, including some funny anecdotes -- but I had no time while I was away and then was exhausted upon my return. Thursday I could hardly be in my office because the A/C had to be off and windows closed (I will explain eventually). Now that all is resolved and I am rested, the grading deadline is looming in my class (it ended yesterday). I have until Tuesday night, but I'm having oral surgery on Monday so I don't want to leave much unfinished work -- I want to be done Sunday night. The only reason I am posting this now is that the university's various online systems are glitchy today -- can't access the registration database and blackboard just kicked me out while I was evaluating discussion. I hope that it is fixed soon -- but sometimes the best plan goes awry!

Picked and ate the first green beans of the 2012 garden season!

Today I had my appointment for root canal re-treatment, and as a result of the procedure, learned that I am one of the unlucky 20% -- my tooth can't be saved.  So now an oral surgeon will extract it on August 6. It's basically already gone, since the crown came off during the drilling and the endodontist didn't put it back on. (I didn't ask him for it, but he gave it to me in a little baggie -- a rather macabre souvenir.) It's tooth #3 so it can't be seen, but it will take some time to adjust. Also to once again wrestle with the implant decision. The joys of aging! It feels like such a first world problem to be too upset, though. But still! 2012 has kind of sucked...

Speaking of "sucks," check out this link from MSNBC, written by someone from Forbes. The content of the story is just common sense, but the headline! Is this already Idiocracy or what? I realized I just used that word so who am I to comment -- but then again, I am writing a casual ejournal for my own amusement with a handful of people looking over my shoulder, not something under the MSNBC and Forbes banner. Shortly after noticing that article, Bob was watching a clip from a show called Morning Joe that seems to exist solely to promote Starbucks.  Haley Barbour and Terry McAuliffe were being interviewed by the snarky host, something about an electric car company for which they managed to land support, I think enormous tax breaks or something. I'm not sure, I wasn't listening closely or more precisely, hardly at all. But I couldn't resist joking a la Idiocracy "Two A-sholes are Interviewed about Bullsh-t by a B-tch." I thought Bob would spill his tea cup into the laptop.

In a contrast with today, yesterday I had a really good day. At Golden Harvest I discovered a table of leftover spring plants. They still had some tomatoes, basil, rosemary, zucchini and cucumbers. I couldn't resist -- I got a four pack of both of the latter to put where the seeds didn't germinate. Bob felt I have enough basil (how can that ever be true? But I conceded) and I restrained myself from buying any of the gorgeous begonias and dahlias.The minute we got home, I planted my new friends, and deeply watered everything. Today the cucumbers look OK, but most of the zucchini plants are only iffy.  Fingers crossed that my luck is better with squash than tooth procedures!

The miniature red roses are blooming again. And the tiger lily is nice this year too.

That leaf near his face is catnip!
How crispy the grass is -- no need for weed whacking at present.

I call this plant "Little Shop of Horrors." (I suppose it should be Audrey Two instead, but that would be reification.)  It's not a perfectly apt descriptor though, regardless, since LSH gives me food, not the other way around.

Later: Novocaine wore off...all of the pain with none of the benefit of the procedure. :-(

I had a really good day yesterday -- and that includes finding out that I need root canal re-treatment. The reason that is good, despite the expense and unpleasant procedure, is because I was sure I would have to lose the tooth. So now there is an 80 percent chance that I won't.

Hotter than blazes. No yard work for me on days like this, aside from maybe giving an especially needy plant a pitcher of water. Luckily, because it is so humid -- that isn't necessary except in one or two instances. The second and third plantings of cucumber and zucchini sprouted and are loving the weather. Yay! Of course, haying is taking place in Samsonville today -- it is always 90 degrees plus when they are doing that! Our pool isn't clear yet, but it also isn't green. We did an awesome job getting the leaves off the cover a few weeks ago, so the water didn't have far to go to be blue. I've no doubt there will be swimming after haying today.

 Finally planted the window boxes! It was a very worthwhile project -- can't believe it has been more than three years, since the street was re-done, the door was restored, and Bob's surgeries, since we were able to plant them.

Too bad it isn't a great picture (aside from the subject matter, of course), but it is rare to be able to get one of all three of them together.

We had a good weekend in Samsonville -- the first of three in a row. Goal is to get the pool in shape and it will take at least that long to make a dent in the green. But we got our gas grill, the twin of the one we got for Castleton. Then beans and zucchini are up there. And it is ground zero for ticks -- ugh. I don't know how I am going to handle it. Sam got a dog tick on Saturday, and I found a deer tick on the couch Saturday night.

I've been having tooth issues again -- my original crown. Or so I thought. And I had made peace that I am probably going to wind up losing another molar. But my dentist isn't sure whether the problem is coming from my crown or from the tooth in front of it (which is strange since there is no pain and the nearby tooth has no crown and has not had a root canal; I expect it is the crowned tooth), so rather than referring me to an oral surgeon for an extraction, he referred me to an endodontist. My consult is June 20. So maybe something can be done and it won't have to be pulled? I am not optimistic, but there is a glimmer of hope. I don't know which of the minor annoyances of aging sucks more -- teeth problems or needing to wear glasses.

Do you ever notice that life seems to go in "spells?" By this I mean that there are long stretches where things are sunny. I don't mean weather-wise, I mean all is well, life is good. Then there are other times where back luck rules. For me lately this is how it has been. Some of the clouds are trivial (such as my computer crash or the consulting non-payment annoyance) while others are devastating (such as Sophie's death) and still others are not trivial, but also not too ominous (sinus / tooth problems again!). A long-ish preface to this: Bob is on Long Island, his mother is quite sick and in the hospital.

I'm trying to do some scholarly writing. It's like pulling teeth. (I did not just write that! My teeth are [almost] fine now, thank you neti pot.) BTW, if you have stumbled here from a search for neti pot and sinus infection, I encourage you to get over your reluctance and try it. You won't be sorry, it works like a charm. Cured me in a week. I did it every 3-4 hours when it was bad, then gradually tapered off to twice a day, then once, and now, not even that often. Not sure if I will stop entirely, probably, maybe just doing it rarely, occasionally, as needed. But if you are lingering because you are looking for instructions...here's not the place. For those details, you'll have to go elsewhere. There is no shortage of sites.

Back to the scholarly writing. Aside from "cultural ties to the area" (an academic once asked me if that is why I didn't move), and a dislike for meetings...not feeling like churning out research for the publish or perish grind is a major reason why I'm happy as an adjunct. It isn't that I can't do it, it's that I would so much rather write in a different style.

The link is here for contacting the governor to tell him to sign this bill, which passed both the Assembly and the Senate.

So far, I am super impressed by the neti pot! It works wonders, way better than decongestants, NSAIDs, steroids, antibiotics. It's awesome. Keeping my fingers crossed that this will be the end of the problem...no additional dental intervention needed. Please.

I started to feel a lot better yesterday, jumped up, ran outside, weed whacked the grass and watered the plants. Picture time!

 

I grew everything in this delicious salad except the tomatoes!

T

My tomatoes are still a few weeks away

The beautiful "vintage" pink rosebush is blooming now though!

Every year I think the same thing: "this is the best garden ever"

The white wave petunias do seem to be especially prolific this year 

I got a neti pot. Seems to help. (TMI?)

Had a great weekend, what weather! The animals are exhausted today. Bob checked Sam for ticks last night and found a beetle and a slug in his hair! Everything worked out great in the "grid" arena, I got the wireless working and now the lightening rod cable is disconnected. What a relief.

My summer class starts today. Enrollment is huge, but I don't expect it to remain that way. The summer online class is very intense, and students always drop when they see what is involved.

I have full-blown sinus problems at this point. Apparently, it is of dental origin. Thanks a lot! I am a miserable patient and will likely accomplish very little until it clears up.

I got so aggravated with the tooth issues that I said screw it with this least effective dose BS, I want a good night's sleep and I am tired of being preoccupied with the pain. I took one of the 600 mg ibuprofen that I have from when I had oral surgery two years ago. I slept soundly and took another when I woke up. What a relief! Apparently it might take a couple of weeks before my teeth settle down. My liver and digestive system will just have to be good sports. I am not having my weekend in Samsonville ruined by aching teeth.

I am not afraid of the dentist, and don't mind going. I have been going to the same one since I moved to the Capital District. I never had any major problems until I turned 40. Then I started getting sensitivity, and eventually needed a crown, followed a couple of years later by a root canal in the crowned tooth. The crown had to be drilled through since it was less than five years old. That started all sorts of problems, since pieces of the crown kept coming loose. Before it was replaced (five years to the day), a molar on the other side needed a root canal and crown.

During these various visits and procedures, a new dental assistant was hired. I had two especially bad experiences - both the dentist's fault, although one was caused by the assistant. (The latter post is long and details lots of dental events - to cut to the chase, she gave him the wrong compound for making an impression, they had an argument right in front of me, and my bite has been off ever since.)

Two years ago after lots of drama (described in the second linked post) I had to have that second crowned tooth pulled. I went back to the oral surgeon a couple of weeks ago for a consult and because I needed to talk to someone about how upset I am over my teeth problems. This specialist is extremely nice and easy to approach. Not that my own dentist is not nice. He is, but there is a lot of water under the bridge and I think he may feel a little guilty about my messed up bite. One time I even had to take a picture in of me that was taken before my bite changed to show him the difference, because he was insistent there was nothing wrong.

I never had any problems with my teeth, was kind of smug about it, in fact - and now here I am, with constant problems and dental visits that I dread. Before this cleaning, I seriously considered going to a different dentist, but after the consult (when the oral surgeon essentially told me that there was no way to get my old bite back), I decided to buck it up and stay with the practice. And what happens?! Another bad result. It's like I am jinxed or something, paying the price for all those years without problems.

When I search to see if anyone else has had this issue after a routine cleaning, all that comes up are people who have dental phobias and haven't gone for a cleaning in years and now need to have all sorts of work done, or else folks who need to have a periodontist do a deep cleaning. No-one like me at all, who goes for regular cleanings and suddenly has a major issue.

I am not sure whether to give the practice one more shot or if now is the time to go somewhere else. A minor pet peeve is that they always play the radio kind of loud while working - and talk to each other the whole time. I am a person who prefers natural sound, and concentration. I guess I don't mind the drill being drowned out by music, but the dentist and it seems all the workers have strong affection for Barbra Streisand and music of that nature. I am far from a musical snob, and will tolerate just about anything, but Babs falls into the category of "songs Gina hates" (Bob coined that one, and it's now a genre). Let me put it this way, it's about the last thing I feel like listening to when Novocaine has crossed over into my eye, and the dentist is fighting with staff about making a mistake (on me).

There is no better remedy for toothache than mulching the garden! Way better than ibuprofen. I don't have a toothache exactly, but it is more painful than simple soreness. This never happened to me before, I am not sure what is up. I guess I must have had some "deep cleaning" techniques, since I know that procedure often results in pain and senstivity afterwards. Anyway, I just came inside. The last gardening task is done - now it is just watering and picking (still some things left in S'ville, though). It is very hot in the sun! Everything is doing smashingly well.

I had my teeth cleaned yesterday and they are really bothering me today. (Tooth issues share the stage with reading glasses as one of the joys of aging - not!) Three guesses why this made them hurt worse. Here's a hint. It isn't the nausea-inducing smugness of the comedy routine. Oh, the irony.

Added: I have to give credit where it is due (even more so in this case). In another life, I worked for a man whose favorite line was "it makes my teeth hurt" whenever there was a problem.

Unrelated: I'm sifting out items in my office reorganization that I've had in here for a long time and don't want in the room any longer. It's a tiny room and some of this stuff has been stored in it for over 20 years. Some of it is good stuff, I just don't use it and also don't have any space for it. It's either me or the junk at this point. My mother has told me that sometimes she tells my father, one day she will walk into his garage workshop and find him tangled in a spider web, there are so many lurking among all his treasures. It's kind of the same thing in my office.

One thing that is taking up the area under my computer table is The Writer magazine. I loved that magazine. I subscribed for years and saved every copy. Then they sold (I think), moved from Boston and changed the format - result was that the new version sucked. I subscribed for a while to give it a chance, then dropped it. I also subscribed to Writer's Digest, although not for as long as The Writer.

Anyway, the old magazines take up a lot of space and I doubt I will ever look at them again. I can't stand having a yardsale, so I have been reviewing craigslist, ebay and freecycle to see if any of those would work for the type of stuff I have. Most of what I have to get rid of are books (publishers send me all sorts of review copies to consider assigning in my classes), magazines, and office supplies. I have tons of gently used notebooks, from when I assigned a paper journal to students.

I was surprised to see that the secondary market for The Writer might be more than I knew. I don't go to ebay as much as I once did (remember when that was the website everyone was always on, sort of like facebook now? We were in love with buying and selling stuff on our online yardsale). It seems The Writer and other magazines are items on ebay that are mainly sold in buy-it-now extended listings from used bookstores.There are very few auctions of bulk lots of the magazine, one I saw was $40 for 41 magazines.

The stores are using ebay sort of like a sales database. So it may take a while to sell the magazines, but they charge $7-$10 each. I'm not interested in selling individual magazines, don't care to become a long term ebay e-seller, but that they have more value than I figured is forcing me to carefully consider how to go about getting rid of them. Nothing is ever easy!

As for the other stuff, Bob says it is OK to throw good things away. I say it isn't. Not a surprise really, he was always pretty anti-recycling in the days when it was being debated and was optional and at first he endlessly complained about having to "wash garbage." But I will find a home for them, not to worry. Last resort, people will take just about anything out of a "free" box on the sidewalk.

Tomorrow is Bob's third surgery. It will be a long day at the hospital, and then he will probably be in there about a week. He says he is "psyched." I'm not. But I will manage.

Today was the deadline for grades. I finished at about 5:30 - one Z (meaning the student did not attend), two incompletes, two failures, two Ds, two Cs, and the rest (30) As and Bs.

On Friday, I found out that a tooth implant is in my future, and sooner rather than later. (Oh well.)

Sunday night I dropped a peach on the floor and Sophie ran over, grabbed it and gobbled it up, practically whole. We both freaked. I ate another so I could see what the pit was like, it is a local peach and the pit is pretty solid and small-ish. Bob Googled and it is a pretty common problem with dogs - lots of hits. It sounds like the cyanide in the pit is not much of an issue, especially when the dog doesn't chew on the pit, but getting an obstruction from it can be. For dogs under 30 pounds it is may be a problem, for those over 30 pounds it usually isn't.

Most of the postings were from people with small dogs like pugs and the majority even of those small dogs like that pass them. I am thinking Sophie is a fairly big dog and will probably pass it eventually but naturally we are both worried. I didn't call the vet but the ones on the Internet say to feed the dog canned pumpkin. That's what we have been doing. She is going to the bathroom just fine and acts normal but so far, no pit. The only good thing, if you can call it that, is that it transferred some my anxiety from Bob to Sophie!

It's always something. Bob originally said if she didn't pass it by Wednesday he wanted to take her to the vet for an x-ray. But he changed his mind since nothing has happened at this point. He said he doesn't want to go into the hospital with this worry, and me not being here to monitor her. The posts on the Internet say to watch for not eating, throwing up, etc. She loves to eat and rarely throws up, so if either happens it will be obvious, and so far so good. I am not sure what to do if she doesn't pass it, though. I wonder if it will just take a few days or if she may never pass it at all?

So tomorrow will be a day of worry - for Bob, and for Sophie. Send a prayer and a good thought our way.

I have made some progress on the overwhelming pile of work. It will be several more days before I catch up, though. Next week is presentation week for students, and the following week is Spring break, so that will give me a chance to break even, if I don't manage to do it before then.

I took a lot of criticism in all my classes, but especially in last night's, because I require students to evaluate each other on their upcoming presentations, and I tell them that they cannot give everyone an identical assessment. Many, many students argued with me over that, some quite vociferously. That happens every semester, but I would say that this semester has been the most vocal. That's true in the discussion components of class generally this spring, so I suppose it comes with the territory. I told them I am not a big fan of grades either, but I have to do it, and no one in class opted for S/U grading, so how can they insist that everyone deserves the same assessment? Many of these folks want to be teachers, and they will have to learn how to do fair and quality evaluation. I don't think everyone bought it, and that will probably show up on my student evaluations at the end of the semester. (In the "Allows Input from Students" category.) Oh well.

I'm a little concerned that the tooth next to the extraction site is feeling sore. I hope it is just from the extraction - or that it is ghost nerve pain or something, and not that I am going to need yet another root canal and crown.

I am just about back to normal. I took my last Motrin Sunday night, and last night, for the first time since the toothache, was able to sleep through the night. I think there might still be a stitch in there, but otherwise, I am fine: eating normally, with little pain.

The worst 24 hour period after the extraction was Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon. I would up taking another hydrocodone at 6 pm on Tuesday, another when that wore off so I could sleep, and another after that. By morning, neither the Advil nor the narcotics were doing very much, and even though I was following the post-operative instructions in excrutiating detail, I was getting worried that I had dry socket.

I called the oral surgeon's office, and was told to rinse with salt water a lot. So I did. I also stopped taking the hydrocodone entirely, toughed out the pain, got myself on an every four hour Advil cycle, and switched from ice packs to moist, warm packs. I really don't like hydrocodone. I think it does little to help with pain, it just makes me dopey. And I think it makes me need more and more Advil.

It was worth it, because I started to feel somewhat better by Wednesday afternoon. I even went to campus yesterday and taught my classes. But still today I have quite a bit of pain, and I am still taking Advil every four hours. Sometimes I have to force myself to get from 3.5 hours to 4, although occasionally I can go 4.5 hours.

A lot of people seem to have little trouble with a tooth extraction, and are fine after a day or two. That certainly hasn't been my experience. I am only able to eat ice cream, broth, applesauce, mashed potatoes and yogurt. I am not sure whether I am a wimp, or what.

I knew I would feel this way, but another issue is how unhappy I am about losing a tooth. I feel like I am in mourning. I can't understand people who are eager for dentures. I mean, I guess if your teeth constantly ached the way mine did last weekend, you might rather have them gone. And if you haven't gone to the dentist in a long time, fear procedures such as root canal, or don't want to spend the money, extraction might not seem so bad. But none of that is the case for me. I go for a check up every six months, I felt OK the day after my root canals, I have great insurance and even though I do have to pay about half, I thought it was a small price to pay to save a tooth. I am a fanatic about brushing, flossing and not eating stuff that might break a tooth or pull out a filling. My teeth have always been pretty good.

I guess I was naive, because I thought if I got a crown and root canal, I wouldn't be faced with extraction for a long, long time, if ever. Then this happened after only 18 months, but the tooth was never right, even at first. It has been bothering me since 2003, so I am not exactly sure why I am mourning. It doesn't help that the wisdom tooth on that side now seems to be making my cheek sore. I guess I will get used to it eventually. I just wish it would heal and the pain would go away. That would help my attitude.

The mourning feeling is already making me pretty sure that I am going to want an implant. The pain is making me ask, "are you crazy?" But I think not getting one could mean bad things in terms of my top tooth not having anything below it.

I turned another corner! I am much better today; I was even able to cut way down on the Advil. One stitch came out this morning. I'm still eating a limited diet and I can't say I have no pain at all, but in general, life is good again.

Added: How strange! This post is publishing as Friday 3/13 at 6:22 pm (the time of my last post), but actually it is Saturday 3/14 at 1:10 pm.

I got through my nightmare of a weekend, and had my tooth extracted yesterday. He scolded me for taking so much Motrin, but I told him that it was either overdose on Motrin and be sitting in his chair on Monday morning, or he could sit in the empty chair while reading my obituary in the newspaper.

Twilight sleep is the way to go! It was great to wake up and have it all over. I am eating and drinking, with difficulty. (Hooray for yogurt.) I took one hydrocodone yesterday, but have not taken it again.

I'm in some pain now, but it is nothing like the weekend's agony. You know how they ask you, how is the pain on a scale of 1 to 10? If find that a funny question because what criteria are we supposed to use? Burning your hand on the stove hurts pretty bad - is that the scale? (What number would that be? 5? This was worse.) Cutting myself on the broken glass from a falling light fixture and needing stitches hurt when it happened, when the doctor rubbed antiseptic into the cut, and after I got the stitches, when I was trying to sleep. (What number would that be? 7? This was worse.) Does that mean it was a 10? Or maybe even a 12? Would cutting off your leg with a chainsaw hurt worse? I don't know.

Now I am nervous about getting something called "dry socket" which I guess happens about 5 percent of the time. I'm being very careful, but with my luck, I will probably be part of that 5 percent! I guess it is very painful. How painful? A 10 again? I hope not.