Please Kill Me

Hey, I'm asking nicely. That's gotta count for something.

The thing is, I'm writing under duress. I am NOT well. I believe I've mentioned diabetic gum disease previously, which is plain old gum disease put in a shiny "diabetic" wrapper. Well, I have a doozy of an infection going on right now.

It started, much to my dismay, when one of my molars snapped off at the gum-line. How any tooth decay was occurring without me feeling exceptional pain is a mystery. But the tooth cracked apart, leaving just the roots behind.

No problem. I wasn't in pain. Life would go on.

Until it didn't. It takes a special level of stubbornness to be aware of how much risk diabetes puts me at, and then willfully ignore it for even a minute. But that's what I did, allowing something to get into the disaster area where a tooth once resided. It could have been the tiniest particle of food. I don't know. But I soon found myself writing to my doctor via the patient portal to ask for antibiotics for a gum infection.

This infection, however, is on steroids or something. The pain kept increasing and the area started swelling. That popular pain scale of 1 to 10 had me reporting to my doctor that I was experiencing a 10. I couldn't concentrate on anything. I was falling asleep only when I was completely exhausted. And the local dental clinic...

The local dental clinic is understaffed and overwhelmed. I have been calling them early in the day to try and get one of their daily emergency slots, but because the entire town is calling at the same time, I could never get through. When I finally DID get through, they set up an emergency appointment for me... at the start of November.

Because I needed immediate help, I went to my PCP. My hope was that he'd numb me up with lidocaine. My hopes were dashed, but replaced with something better. Toradol! This is an anti-inflammatory that can be given intravenously or intramuscularly. (In a vein or in a muscle, respectively.) Within 15 minutes, all of my major aches were put on hold as it took effect. 

Not every excellent painkiller is an opioid. 😉

He also gave me a shot of penicillin. Medications that are injected tend to be more effective than those taken orally. To go with the shot, he ordered up a stronger oral antibiotic at my pharmacy.

My discussion with the doctor included some warnings. If the pain didn't get better. If it became more intense. If the swelling increased. If I started running a fever. If I lost complete control of my blood sugars. If any or all of these ifs came to fruition, go to the emergency room. Because they could indicate the infection is settling into deeper soft tissues.

All of that was on Thursday afternoon.

Here we are on Saturday, and - PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THE GODS, KILL ME! ~ ahem ~ That is, things are a bit different. The swelling has gone down and the pain has... diffused. I can actually poke at the trouble spot and feel very little pain, but much of the left side of my face aches. A LOT! I feel feverish, but I've checked my temp three times today and I haven't cracked 98.4 F. (36.8 C for any of you Metricans out there.) Overall, I feel mostly terrible.

Now comes the silly, stupid debate in my head. Reasons why I SHOULDN'T call an ambulance:

1. It's less than 48 hours since I received that penicillin shot, and just over 24 hours since I started the stronger oral meds. I should give them more time.
2. Not knowing if they'd admit me, I should probably pack a bag... but I desperately need to do laundry. Right now, I have nothing to pack.
3. There's the possibility that I'm not actually sick enough. I'd hate to go to the ER and waste their time.
4. I would have to call an ambulance to get to the hospital, and I simply don't feel like my current ailment is a valid use of their time. There are heart attack victims and people getting into car accidents. They need an ambulance more than I do.

Okay. Reasons why I SHOULD call an ambulance:

1. I feel super-mega-icky!

Foolishly, I'm going to hold out another day or two to see if I improve. If the pain intensifies or I finally DO crack a fever, which most hospitals define as 100.5 F (38.05 C), I won't hesitate to call for help. But right now, I feel like this illness isn't well-defined enough to warrant emergency care.

"Rob, this is all terrible for you, but... ummm... this is supposed to be your blog about diabetes, remember?"

Trust me, I haven't forgotten. I DID start off talking about diabetic gum disease, and you may have missed it, but one of the reasons I should get to the hospital is if I can't control my blood sugars. That's because infections can do a number on glucose control. Your body will throw glucose reserves into your bloodstream to provide enough energy to fight the infection. Poor glucose control is a perfectly valid reason to seek medical help, especially when you're more accustomed to having good control.

That's what I got for today, loyal reader... Assuming any of you are, in fact, loyal. As I depart, I leave you with the most appropriate paint job on a Ford Pinto ever:

If you know, you know. 🤣