Long road ahead

Thank you, RP!

I can almost fully feel the left side of my face again. My Dr is really fantastic. We talked (well, he talked) about the Van Der Sloot case while he was working. I nodded and AHH HAA'd a lot. That's my kind of surgery.

I still HATED every second of it, and feel more in pain and exhausted this time, but I got through it.

I need a nap.

Congratulations, you did it again.

Each visit is another small step to get where you want to be, but I know how much courage it takes to take even tiny steps.

Good for you!! Another appointment over and done with!

Thanks, guys! It's unfortunately been a much rougher day than last time. I actually had to take a vicodin for the pain.

The good thing is I have some new joke ideas.

Well...the first leg of the journey is over on Weds, when i have my follow up visit.

After that we are going to see how much my teeth and gums have responded to the surgeries.

If you told me six months ago that I would be here, saying I lived through TWO surgeries, that I am scared, but not paralyzed with fear, that I can do this...i would not have believed it.

I'm doing a show tonight. I'm so excited that I can barely contain myself.

Just wanted to check in and see how everyone was doing. I'm in between visits and am hoping that all went well.

I had a really cool experience yesterday. I was outside my office, having a smoke with a co-worker. Out of the blue says: "Well, I have some dental issues, I may need surgery." I said I had just gone through it, and told him about my phobia, and anxiety. He then said how scared he was, had avoided the dentist for years. I offered to be a source of support any time he wanted to talk, and that I'm ok after going through it.

It's still so unbelievable to me that I can actually give someone advice on how to deal with this. It's a really good feeling.

The good news...Dr Hottie says my gums are in great shape! I can't begin to express my joy. I won't be having any more surgery at this point.

The bad-ish news...Had a consult with Dr. Hottie and my dentist. I need my "#7" out. This is the tooth to the right of my front teeth. It's going to cost 5000 dollars for ONE tooth. I don't have 5k right now, nor wil I ever have that amount of money at one time.


My dentist was terrific, and he actually said..."Good for you for taking care of your teeth" I was so blown away by that. I WAS ACTUALLY CONGRATULATED!

So why do I feel so awful?

Many of you probably won't see this commercial, but I'm about to scream. Basically the fine folks at 1800Dentist have decided that berating people for not seeing a dentist is an effective way to make money. I had to rewind my DVR, because I was so shocked by it. Their tagline? "Seriously, it's time."

I plan on writing them a letter giving them some "constructive" criticism.

WOW, our country is really out of touch.

I've seen that. Sad, isn't it.

I haven't seen the ad, but it doesn't surprise me. Basically they'll be aiming it at people who have perfectly good teeth. I've been through similar recently with doctors - I never go to a doctor because frankly, I don't need to (and also because I don't have a lot of faith in doctors, but that's another story!)

My mother, who is 87, last visited a doctor 3 years ago. My husband, who is 73, hasn't seen a doctor for over a decade. None of us are on any medication, and all of us are very healthy.

Last year, when Mum acidentally injured her knee and was taken to the hospital emergency room by ambulance, she needed really strong painkillers for the first few days she was home - which needed a prescription. The hospital didn't supply them - she was simply told to see HER doctor - but she doesn't HAVE a doctor! The last one she saw ... get this! .... refused to see her because she hadn't been to him for 3 years. He'd struck her off his list of patients because he said that unless she comes at least twice a year he couldn't maintain her file. (Sure, it's a lot of work to keep someone's name in a computer, right?) To my way of thinking, that's downright blackmail! I spent a whole day phoning all the doctors within a 5 mile radius, and not one would agree to write a prescription or even see her because she wasn't their patient.

I finally convinced the hospital to fax a prescription to our local pharmacy, where I was lectured at length by the pharmacist for being so irresponsible and uncaring as to not take my mother to a doctor at least every 6 months!

And why couldn't I get her in to see any other doctor in the area? Because they were ALL so busy seeing perfectly healthy patients who get berated or struck off the list if they don't see their doctor every 6 months!

When did doctors (and dentists) become more interested in making money than being compassionate, sigh?

I'm just glad that here in Australia those medical and dental ads on TV are not allowed. If we had them, I'm sure our waiting rooms would be even more crowded with people waiting with little slips of paper in their hands that read "must remember to ask for a prescription for xyz, it's spoken very highly of in the TV ads". Those damn ads will probably cause a whole new epidemic - TV-hypochondria!

At the risk of hijacking funnyc's thread I have to respond, Sandy. Now you know I'm a nurse, so I have a very biased opinion. But never seeing a doctor is like never seeing a dentist for routine care and only going when you have a tooth ache. At the end of the day, losing that tooth could have been prevented by monitoring and ongoing health screening. I'm like a lot of others on here living with regret because my fear prevented me from seeing a dentist for a long time and now I'm paying a high price (literally and figuratively)

Medicine is no different - by the time we get attention it's more extensive and more expensive and sometimes, too late. In my career I have seen a lot of heartbreak and unnecessary death from things like breast cancer that a simple mammogram may have picked up, cervical cancer that a pap smear would have diagnosed. Thinking "it will never happen to me" and "I'm healthy" is how I developed gum disease and lost 5 teeth this year and is a very dangerous thing.

With wellness, prevention and ongoing healthcare maintenance, everyone wins because the system isn't bogged down with overcrowded ER's that people are using for primary care medicine. Things like out of control high blood pressure that turn into a stroke, or diabetes that turns into kidney failure , blindness or amputation become costly disasters and much pain and suffering could have been prevented with an annual visit to the doctor.

Sorry, I'll get down off my high horse now.........

Well I'm surprised to hear that Aussie docs expect all their patients to attend very 6 months whether ill or not. I agree with RP that people should get regular pap smears, mammograms, vaccinations etc etc but if I am not ill, outside the schedule of these, I personally wouldn't go to the doctor - whereas I do regularly get my teeth checked/cleaned since I am not in a position to judge this myself nor to clean my own teeth professionally. So I don't agree with RP that the 2 things are exactly the same.
Everyone should be listed though with a GP for when something comes up - I struggle with the concept of her mother being struck off a GP's register because she never goes along - it seems totally morally wrong.
Also in UK if you are away from home, a local GP has to treat you in the locality in which you are visiting - it is 'a courtesy thing' they all do for each other but of course they get a reimbursement from the NHS system for doing it too lol.

Prevention is a wonderful thing in medicine and dentistry but I can't help thinking insurance driven healthcare models are forcing patients into lots of potentially unnecessary visits simply because they can get reimbursement from the insurance company. Equally the UK system maybe could do a bit more preventively - it kind of relies on catching people for checks as they hit certain age points.
Most people aged over 65 though would have some regular contact with a GP for ongoing medication of some kind - I think people who don't by that age are very lucky to be so healthy.

Let me clarify, I'm not suggesting we all haul off to the doctor every six months, there are guidelines and suggestions at various ages as to how often you should see a medical doctor and what screenings should be done just like the suggested every six months for dental cleaning/exams. And just as gum disease is silent until its too late, so are many medical diseases: high blood pressure, cervical, breast and ovarian cancer, diabetes all silent until serious. Not sure how one could judge those for oneself until you are very sick. The underlying principles of prevention/wellness are the same.

brit said:

whereas I do regularly get my teeth checked/cleaned since I am not in a position to judge this myself nor to clean my own teeth professionally. So I don't agree with RP that the 2 things are exactly the same.

Click to expand...

I certainly don't want to hijack Funnyc's thread either, so I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this point, because I don't think there are any forums in here to continue the discussion.

Sorry Funnyc, it's back to you - and great news about your healthy gums and no more surgery!

I welcome discussion! We're in a very precarious place right now where health care is concerned. My teeth are the only health issue I've neglected, and we all know why.

I wish there was a way to reach people who are afraid of dealing with health issues that didn't involve criticism and fear.


I see everyone's point...it's frustrating for everyone on the provider side and on the patient side.

I think we can all agree that we have at least found a common ground on this forum. Providing support to each other and to the many, many people who come here every day. I wish our various health care systems were able to adopt a more compassionate way of communicating how important our health is.

Finally...Thanks, Sandy!

Just wanted to check in, and send some good vibes everyone's way! Those of you who are feeling scared or hopeless...the same sentiment that has been around the web lately applies here...it gets better. It really does.

It's been quite some time since I've been here! Last time the leaves were changing, and now we're in the middle of a good old fashioned NYC heatwave.

It's a little over a year since my surgery. I'm pleased to report that my 8mm pockets have gone down to 6mm, as of my last appt a few weeks ago!

I've also kept off the weight I lost as a result of this dental journey, and I'm performing stand up regularly.

I am still very grateful for this forum of good people.

Great to hear from you funnyc, glad things are going well and you are keeping up with your appointments.