We Don't Get Off That Easy

Once you've managed to mismanage your diabetes long enough, everything medical is almost assured to be a lengthy drama. It's the nature of the beast. The main culprit is going to be all of those microvascular structures that have been effectively strangled by sugar.

Have you guessed where I'm going with this? Are you guessing, "infection"? If you are, then you win a kewpie doll! And if you asked yourself, "Is this another dentist thing?", then you'll find a silver nugget inside your kewpie doll!

I'm an absolute stickler for following a doctor's instructions. So when all of those teeth were removed, I avoided solid foods, carbonated drinks, using a straw to drink (like that was something I did regularly), and rinsed with warm salt water post-extractions. 

Here's the thing... Humans are inherently dumb. We do dumb little things regularly. When I'd swallow, my tongue would press against the hard palate of my mouth. Doing so made the point where the front tooth had been removed hurt intensely. So what did I do on the regular without even thinking about it? If you guessed "poked it repeatedly with the tip of your tongue," then the silver nugget inside your kewpie doll will be twice the size of the original.

Because this kind of thing is so "fun," poking it made me cry out in pain every time I did it. Mind you, I wasn't consciously doing it. It was as though my brain needed constant reminders that I still hadn't healed properly. And what's the most feared of all conditions post-tooth-extraction? If you guessed "dry socket," the silver nugget inside your kewpie doll will be replaced with a small gold nugget.

Of course I looked up "dry socket" on Google, looked at a few pictures, and then hopped to the bathroom to take a look. (I have one foot; I don't run anywhere.) Now... What have I said numerous times on this blog? That's right! I'M STILL NOT A DOCTOR! Let's enlarge that gold nugget inside your kewpie doll for getting that one correct, shall we? My immediate assumption was that I had dry socket. The weird part was that it wasn't nearly as agonizing as advertised. Dry socket is supposed to be INCREDIBLY painful at all times. Mine just hurt when poked.

So I called the dental clinic and said that I thought I had dry socket. I offered to avoid coming in if there was a simple solution that could be prescribed at my pharmacy, but the dental assistant I spoke with said dry socket usually occurs within a few days of the extraction and I was calling in the problem 11 days after the fact. I should definitely come in to be assessed.

Remember when I mentioned my previous "emergency" appointment was set three weeks out? Take a guess at how soon they could see me now. Did you guess "same day"? Double the size of the gold nugget in your kewpie doll if you did! Unfortunately, for me to arrange medical transportation, I need 24 hours, so I scheduled for the next day, which was 15 November 2022.

Meanwhile, I was in touch with my PCP about pain management again. Why my PCP and not the dentist? Because it's best to have ONLY ONE DOCTOR managing your pain medications at all times. If you start getting narcotic pain medications from multiple sources, even if it's for documented, legitimate pain, on paper it will look like you're displaying drug-seeking behavior. That's a red flag to other doctors and pharmacies. And in this age of computers, different pharmacies will know if you've received opioids from another dispenser of such medications.

It makes all of the silly conspiracies about tracking chips in vaccines seem incredibly nonsensical. 

The dental visit was short and sweet. The socket was healing just fine, but there was a visible spot of irritation at the tip of my hard palate that indicated I still had lingering infection. Remember that a lot of pus drained from that tooth when it was removed, so residual infection wasn't unexpected. And if you'd forgotten that this post was about infection, I'm afraid I'll have to revoke your kewpie doll.

Without fail, diabetes was part of the wrap-up discussion. "Diabetics are notorious for healing slowly." You might as well get used to hearing that one, since you'll hear it to the end of your days. Cuts, bruises, surgeries... Every medical professional you encounter will assume your recovery will be longer than expected because of diabetes.

So what have we learned, folks?

1. Infection is practically a way of life for diabetics. Seriously, how many times have I brought this up in this blog? Altered microvascular structures limit blood flow to affected areas, making healing exceptionally difficult.
2. Pain management from one source, and ONLY one source. If you're "doctor hopping" in an effort to get painkillers, you need to stop and examine your life, as you may have another serious problem besides diabetes.
3. I have an unnatural desire to stuff precious metals inside kewpie dolls.

And now... Boy, do I have a treat for you! Wait, what?! "A kewpie doll"?!? No one actually gives those out as prizes anymore. No, what I have is a prime example of the kind of hairstyles I grew up with in high school! You're going to love it!

Hair that teased so much that it's pissed!