What's Ailing Me

These two topics will sum up the past week: dry socket and zanaflex

Dr. Google, DDS says this:

Dry socket can occur three to four days after an adult tooth is removed. The blood clot that should form after removal is dislodged or dissolved before the wound heals, exposing underlying bone and nerves.

In the days following a tooth removal, the main symptom is pain. This may be accompanied by bad breath.

Treatment includes pain relievers and flushing the area.

Wikipedia says:

Symptoms may include:

• Dull, aching, throbbing pain in the area of the socket, which is moderate to severe and may radiate to other parts of the head such as the ear, eye, temple and neck. The pain normally starts on the second to fourth day after the extraction,  and may last 10–40 days. The pain may be so strong that even strong analgesics do not relieve it.
• Intraoral halitosis (oral malodor).
• Bad taste in the mouth.

The cats haven't complained about my breath, nor has Cosy but the bad taste in my mouth is partially from the tons of anbesol and orajel I've put on my gum since last week. 

I had the option for the dentist to reopen my gum and pack the tooth down to the bone but he felt like I had turned the corner. I've had that whole packing thing done before and it is pure, unmitigated hell so I passed. Then, of course, I spent most of last night feeling so rotten and miserable... 

So there's that. And then... I have always dealt with muscle spasms in my back and hips since the very beginning of the back pain. Usually if I stay in one position too long or repeat the same motion frequently or lift too much, etc I will have muscle spasms. Then last week they became much more than spams. They became take-your-breath-away double-over worse-than-labor-pain spasms. I couldn't stand for more than sixty seconds without the evil grip of pain. So when I saw the pain doctor this week he prescribed me a new muscle relaxer that is often given to people with multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and spinal cord injuries. 

I've been with the same pain doctor for over five years now. Every medication or treatment he's ever given me has been "lets start with the smallest dose and work up" so when he prescribed a new muscle relaxer I was prepared for it to do practically nothing more than the previous muscle relaxer that I've been on for the past five years. I filled the prescription on the way home and - because I was experienced those aforementioned muscle spasms, took the recommended dosage of the new med. I slept off and on for the next four hours. I took the same dosage at bedtime and... about twenty minutes later had to send out an SOS to the household to help me retrieve my phone because I couldn't bend over without feeling like I was going to topple over. Austin came down and said I looked like i was drunk. I sure felt like I was drunk. The new muscle relaxer in addition to my usual meds in addition to the pain meds for the dry socket really knocked me out. Yesterday I cut my dose in half and still had extended periods of drowsiness. Last night I cut my ambien in half as well to reduce the level of sedation. I slept hard until about 1am and then the dry socket woke me up and kept me up. 

I take a lot of meds but every doctor that treats me knows what I'm on. I reviewed it all with the pain doctor before getting the new prescription. I even brought the pills that the dentist has prescribed so he could be sure of the dosage. I get all of my prescriptions filled at the same pharmacy that I  have used for almost 8 years now. It just goes to show what a delicate balance the human body has.