Laid Low By Teeth

One of my jokes is "do you know when the typical man will go to the doctor?"  The answer is that the typical man will go to the doctor when he can't get the bleeding stopped himself.

I'm not big on going to doctors, don't ask me why.  Probably it's at least partially a scarcity mentality; I begrudge the time and money it's going to cost.  There's probably also some stubbornness and pride in there, too.

Add to that a freaky pain threshold.  There's some evidence that things that are supposed to hurt don't bother me as much as they should--I'm not one of those poor souls who don't feel pain at all, but I've had the occasional doctor (and dentist) quizzically inquire "and you're saying that doesn't hurt?"

(By the way, "pain threshold" is often confused with "pain tolerance."  The latter is how much pain you can stand, the former is how much you actually feel.  I'm as big a wimp about pain as anybody; I just don't experience as much of it as most people.)  But pain is the body's warning sign that something needs attention; I've had to have one tooth pulled because the cavity never gave me more than mild discomfort (and I ignored that) and by the time it WAS troubling me it was too late to save the tooth.

So right now I'm dealing with an impacted wisdom tooth and with a mild tooth abscess in the molar next to it.  It really doesn't hurt much--a slight ache and discomfort when I bite on that side of the mouth is about all it amounts to--some evidence suggests that in most people it would be hurting a LOT.  But I've been running a low grade fever for a couple of weeks now, and that's getting old; I've just generally been unwell and dragging and fatigued.

So, oral surgery coming up, whee.  I finally broke down and went to the doctor, although I should have gone months ago when I first noticed some trouble with the tooth.  Currently I'm on antibiotics, which will hopefully take care of the fever.  Preferably soon, I've been feeling pretty crummy.

And I probably won't learn anything from this lesson about going to doctors either.

Hope all's well out there, friends, and God bless.

The Uncertain Mornings

What do your mornings look like?

I'm a generally physically healthy morning person.  I usually wake up well, tolerably well rested, and with nothing hurting.  I'm not at my best until I've had my shower and breakfast but I'm pretty functional when my feet hit the floor.

We have a friend with multiple sclerosis.  It's "mild" as such things go.  She actually enjoys lots of good days when she's feeling pretty capable physically and can do plenty of active things.  But every morning of her life she has to do inventory when she wakes up:  "Can I move my feet, is there strength in my hands, will my legs support my weight, is my voice working?"  Most mornings the answer is yes but some mornings it isn't, and that's the start of an awkward day.  She can't take waking up healthy for granted; she has to check over herself before she dares to get up and move.

Another friend has chronic respiratory and circulatory issues and other troubles.  She sleeps in a hospital bed so she can keep her head and her feet elevated and the first thing she has to do when she wakes up is to get a fresh oxygen tank.  After that, she gets herself moving slowly and heads to the kitchen for coffee.  With plenty of oxygen and a few cups of joe she's ready to face the day.

Another friend has severe spinal bifida.  His mornings are pretty dependable--he actually wakes up feeling pretty well and then carefully uses his arms to get into his powered wheelchair and to the bathroom to tend to personal needs.  Apparently that's a complicated process and it takes him awhile to get things taken care of; he's never shared with me the details.  After breakfast he's ready to motor out to his customized van to drive to work.

Adored Wife never knows HOW she's going to wake up.  Good mornings, she's slept well and woken up relatively pain-free.  ("Two" on the "one to ten" pain scale is a good morning.)  On bad days she might not have slept well the night before and might wake up with muscles spasms, nerve pain, and anxiety attacks.  (Rarely all at once.)  However the morning starts off, she makes whatever accommodations are needed (extra stretching, extra meds) and then gets ready to face her day.

When I go to bed I pretty confidently expect to wake up well and healthy and capable.  Lots of people I know unfortunately can't.

Hope all's well out there, friends, and God bless.