Wednesday, August 7, 2013

It it's not one thing...Part Two

Yesterday I had a toothache, so I went to the dentist.

He said the tooth in question is decayed beyond repair. This happened quickly due to the same reason that four other teeth needed to be removed: Immune suppression during chemotherapy and from prednisone use now.

I am not a candidate for implants. "How am I going to chew?" I asked my dentist. "You'll be able to chew a steak, as long as it's a good one," he said.

He said it should come out as soon as possible, but the first available slot it Sept. 30.

I was talking to a friend about this and I asked her if we'll still be friends when I am toothless and homeless. OK, so I'm prone to exaggeration.

I am also wondering if a certain friend is slinking down in his chair when he reads this. When he took me the last time, I had taken two Ativan as instructed. Afterwards, my mouth stuffed with cotton, I insisted that we go out for coffee and visit his mother. He got me home only be promising to get me coffee when we got there. It was a moot point, because I conked out.

Removal of the other two teeth was an adventure also. I got those pulled in Boston at Brigham and Women's because my platelets were too low for comfort and I needed to first get a transfusion at Dana-Farber. I always take Benadryl with platelets to head off an allergic reaction. On top of that, I took two Ativan. I was so loopy that my sister practically had to drag me over to the Brigham.

During the extraction, I could barely keep my mouth open. The surgeon said I was a hoot.

Luckily, my platelets are over 100 now.

2 comments:

PJ said...

Ugh. I've had two teeth extracted and need an implant on another, so I empathize.

Marty said...

My wife has some similar tooth issues for the same reasons as you. My sister is having all her teeth removed due to gum disease. I had to have a bridge put in last year due to bone loss. So, you are not alone. When feeling down about it, we can mollify ourselves with thoughts of ice cream lunches, and milk shake dinners!