Funny, that my wisdom teeth didn\’t hurt much except during times of intense sinus pressure, until I went and had them (okay, the gum area covering them, because only one of them ever surfaced) poked at, x-rayed and cleaned at the dentist. Now they hurt, quite a bit. And tonight, the first one — the highly impacted one that did break through the gums to come in sideways and above the gum line — is getting extracted. The others are coming out later.
Funny, also, that I\’d had dental insurance in Oz, and though I\’d seen a dentist there, that visit didn\’t make my teeth hurt anymore than they already were from the sinus pressure, and he didn\’t think any of my teeth needed to come out. Then again, he also thought it was amazing that I had never had a cavity or a filling, and he couldn\’t stop praising the American public water system for having so much fluoride in it for so long. He said most Aussie teeth were abysmal, so I guess he was used to severely necessary extractions. We really don\’t realize how lucky we are, sometimes, one rich country compared to the next.
I didn\’t have dental insurance throughout my teen years, had one cleaning in the States when I turned 21, then the State Medicaid program dropped my dental coverage, then then had the other visit in Oz when I was 24. Those are the years when literally everyone I have talked to had their wisdom teeth out. When I was 23, mine were bothering me bad enough that I looked into getting it done and paying for it myself, out of pocket (Dr Maude never once offered), at Howard University College of Dentistry in DC, but it turned out there was a waiting list and they only operated during certain months. By the time they were open again, allergy season was over, my sinus pressure was down, and the pain was gone, so I let the idea pass and kept my four-hundred-odd dollars.
Now, they\’re coming out in the middle of the semester, the State is paying the cost of the medical procedures and the pain medications to follow-up, and I just have to worry about the classes. Oh, and the rest of my life. (Life? This semblance thereof.)
I\’m making some drastic changes around here in the next few weeks, and I\’m looking forward to the pressure it will put on school (no, really). Several months ago, I dropped the 600mg Provigil (modafinil) (doctors were afraid I had grown resistant to the peak dose) in favor of 36mg Concerta, but that made me really, really irritable (okay, downright bitchy, with total loss of enjoyment of anything) so I dropped that and started taking 20mg of Ritalin per day. The irritability is gone, my mood is great, my concentration is great, but I can (and do) still feel sleepy all day long, as well as fall asleep constantly if I\’m not really, really careful. So, even though the Ritalin is helping in other ways, it\’s still a struggle to stay awake, which is what it is supposed to be doing. I need another stimulant, obviously; something stronger.
Also back in April, I switched from Effexor XR (because of the harsh \’withdrawal\’ symptoms when marginally late for a dose, and because I had heard great things about other drug for my condition — it\’s actually recommended, because it works well with neuropathic pain) to 120mg of Cymbalta. Has the pain been helped? I think so, but it\’s hard to say. The pain was worse because it had been damn cold, I was doing a lot of physical labor (packing, moving, unpacking, cleaning), and a lot of driving; I\’m not doing those things now, so that can also contribute to the pain being better. Additionally, my rheumatologist also started me back on 100mg of tramadol two weeks ago, and that\’s a daily pain management medication, so that could also be contributing. Also, in late April I went back on 50mg of Topamax per day, which also helps with pain. So, hard to say if the Cymbalta is helping with pain. I\’m inclined to say it isn\’t, because I feel like I\’m at what\’s my normal pain level — a 3 or 4 on the 1-10 scale.
So, what is the Cymbalta doing? Well, it is definitely doing things. I\’m in a pretty good mood, but I wouldn\’t necessarily say it\’s from the Cymbalta. I think it\’s mostly environmental, rather than chemically induced. I finally have all my tuition paid off at both schools, thanks to my security deposit from the last apartment. I\’m not in the red for the first time since last September, and it feels good. I have some money left over, too. I also finally found a dog that I put an application on before anyone else, so it looks like I\’ll have a four-legged hound friend here next week. My cat is feeling better and is all cuddly again. My garden isn\’t growing, but I figured out why. Like I said, environmental. So, chemically, what the Cymbalta has done (I think, as these are some of its potential side effects) are: increased my sleepiness, increased my fatigue, increased my dry mouth, increased my constipation, increased my blood pressure and cholesterol, caused almost consistent anorgasmia, caused almost constant loss of sex drive, caused a coming and going of ear pain in both ears, sharply increased the amount of nightmares I have, and has caused me to gain twelve pounds in eight weeks. I want off the Cymbalta. I\’ll even go back on the Effexor. Fortunately, I\’m seeing my doctor next week.
Then, in October, I\’m getting my Mirena out and am being sterilized. Doctor agreed, health insurance approved, State Medicaid paying for it! That leaves my \”ass-ectomy,\” as Brian calls it.
Forward, ho.
