B
bisja
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2010
- Messages
- 293
- Location
- Minnesota
This is the first post I have made even though I have been reading posts here for over a year, in fact it won't be long and it will be two years. I think I couldn't post because it felt like if I did I (in my own mind) would have to make that step forward and go to a dentist. Its a bit of a long story so I will try not to be too windy and shorten it as much as I can. When I was young five years old is when my fear started of dentists,we grew up poor and at that time you only went to a dentist if you had a severe toothache, needless to say we lived in a very desolate area and the dentist we had I can only compare to the dentist you saw in the old westerns where you heard everyone screaming when he pulled a tooth.....I am 58 now and so it was 1958 when all this started. As the years went on I made myself go for any repairs and for cleanings (once that became a thing that happened in my area) Each time I would go I was scared half to death, would hold on to the chair for dear life.One dentist screamed at me that I made him nervous even though I did not scream, or cry just held on to that chair. (never went back to him again) In my 30's developed tmj which really made my jaws and neck hurt. Had a mouth guard made but it always made me hurt worse it threw my bite off so bad and so stopped using it. Actually bit right threw it anyway. Anyway as the years went on I went less and less to the dentists as hurt so bad to keep my mouth open and in turn just got more and more scared. In 2006 I all of a sudden had 3 abscessed teeth so had to go to the dentist, very nice man who was so understanding of my fears and my pain issues,( too bad he is now retired) had the teeth pulled but I just got sicker and sicker and my teeth started to get loose and infected and pain all over my body went to the doctor and found out I had mono, strange age to get mono but my husband and my grandson and my son all came down with it, 3 months, no one hardly moved in this house, finally they got better but I didn't I developed vertigo and was so weak could not get out of bed, back to the doctor and she brushed me off like I was a nut, in 2007 switched doctors by this time I had lost so much weight and felt like I was almost dead and actually prayed for it as the pain was too much to handle. Went to a new doctor and he is a fantastic man and doctor did all kinds of tests and found out I had Lyme Disease along with mono so sent me to an infectious disease doctor and the first thing he looked at was my gums and teeth as he said it was sign of what stage of LD I was in. It shocked me to find out that Lyme was why my teeth had just went so quick from being ok teeth to so loose that they have moved and look so horrible plus painful and always getting infections. Well anyway I was on antibiotics for 6 months so I had no infections in my teeth at that time, even though the teeth were no longer good because of how loose they were. After the 6 months of meds I still was not ever the same and have been told more or less what you are left with is what you are left with. I have what they call myofascial pain syndrome but honestly I still think allot is caused by clenching my teeth at night. Through all of this and being flat in bed for over a year and trying in the last few years to just get my strength back I have put off going to the dentist as when I get to much stress I have what I can only call a flare and get very sick for a while(it varies in time) but knew I had to get the teeth taken care of, I know I need upper false teeth and a partial on the bottom I am pretty sure, so I searched on the internet for a dentist who worked with people who are petrified, and also did sedation dentistry and I found a dentist that sounds like man who is not only a good dentist but one who is a caring dentist and one who I think will be easy to talk to. He is three hours from where I live but that's ok. ( trust me the three hour trip will be hard on my body but I don't care) I read that he uses state of the art equipment so ex rays take only a few seconds and impressions I believe are done digitally to my understanding anything that makes all go faster is a plus for me. So that is my basic story, I have cried my head off typing as I still find it so hard to think of what all has went on in the last 6 years. There is so much more then what I have written , was very anemic, no longer can eat gluten or dairy, its been a long road just want as much of my health back as I can get. So I made an appt. a month ago and it is on Friday at 1:00 so we will leave here by 9am if not earlier to make sure we are there in time. Oh yeah in the last week I developed a bad infection above two of my teeth so am on abx for that and half of a cap that I had, apparently fell out and I think I swallowed it! I usually am a person with a good sense of humor but this is one area I am just a petrified total mess. My doctor has given me Valium which is rare that I ever take, but because of muscle pain and such high anxiety I will take one about an hour before I see the dentist , otherwise honestly I think I would just sit there and sob my brains out at him and what good would that do, just want to get the show on the road ya know what I mean...... I do have questions to ask him and also if any of you know because I have tmj I wonder what do they do with people who have false teeth? Anyone know? Want you to all know I have read many of your journals and I think you are all such brave people and my heart has went out to each of you.