• Dental Phobia Support

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Still can't make the call.. Fear of root canal/IV questions! :(

Good job making the appointment! I wouldn't worry too much about the infection spreading yet. I had my abscess (on my front tooth) for over a year, possibly two. The endodontist said based on the size of the abscess it had been there at least a year and a half, possibly more than 2 years. It did not even spread to surrounding teeth.
I have a somach ulcer, from taking ibuprofen for so long with all my dental work I had done last summer. I am still trying to wean off Prilosec, but this recent surgery set me back and I had to up my dosage again. If you think it might be a stomach ulcer, do not take ibuprofen! Take tylenol instead. Ibuprofen thins your stomach lining. I wasn't even taking the maximum dosage.

As far as probiotics, it is a good idea to take them with antibiotics, just not at the same time. Take the probiotic at least two hours after the antibotic. The antibiotic wipes out infection, but it also kills healthy gut bacteria, which can lead to unpleasant side effects like diarrhea. Probiotics replenishes the healthy bacteria and can help prevent the side effects.
funny you say that, i just took 120 capsules of an offbrand nsaid, a bottle of tylenol ER, and im about 25 caps in on this ibu bottle. Tylenol really is better for your stomach? when I google it, it says ibuprofen is
Along with organs aching, have started to get two minor rashes below my bottom lip when I take these, or its the anbesol I'm using in my mouth or eugonol, but something causes a rash on my face now. Not an irritated one, but one noticeable if I look long enough to see the redding.
At first I didn't realize taking nsaids so much would hurt your stomach so severely, I thought only a certain type would do that. So be careful everyone, don't do what I did. These stomach problems are killing me now along with the tooth. But I will say, my stomach suffered from these problems BEFORE I took NSAID/acetominophen, but taking them + a few drinks of alcohol here and there definitely impacted me. My plan is to go to the doctors after I get this tooth fixed, and I'm not looking forward to it but my stomach is next on my to do list with health..
 
* and I took those nsaids over a course of months, 6 or less a day roughly. Now my stomachs messed up beyond belief, how can I start healing?
 
I think the general idea is that antibiotics mess with “good bacteria”, and taking probiotics helps counteract that.
is there some trick to taking them both, as in will the probiotics interfere with the antibiotic, or will they both just do there thing.
 
funny you say that, i just took 120 capsules of an offbrand nsaid, a bottle of tylenol ER, and im about 25 caps in on this ibu bottle. Tylenol really is better for your stomach? when I google it, it says ibuprofen is
Along with organs aching, have started to get two minor rashes below my bottom lip when I take these, or its the anbesol I'm using in my mouth or eugonol, but something causes a rash on my face now. Not an irritated one, but one noticeable if I look long enough to see the redding.
At first I didn't realize taking nsaids so much would hurt your stomach so severely, I thought only a certain type would do that. So be careful everyone, don't do what I did. These stomach problems are killing me now along with the tooth. But I will say, my stomach suffered from these problems BEFORE I took NSAID/acetominophen, but taking them + a few drinks of alcohol here and there definitely impacted me. My plan is to go to the doctors after I get this tooth fixed, and I'm not looking forward to it but my stomach is next on my to do list with health..

Tylenol is definitely better for your stomach! It does not mess with your stomach lining. NSAIDs thin the mucous membrane in your stomach, which leads to the acid irritating your stomach. I would stop with ibuprofen if you are already experiencing symptoms. My doctor told me that since I already have an ulcer that I should avoid ibuprofen permanently.
 
* and I took those nsaids over a course of months, 6 or less a day roughly. Now my stomachs messed up beyond belief, how can I start healing?
You should go see your doctor. Mine prescribed me prescription strength Prilosec 40 mg, which I took twice a day until the pain stopped. Then I dropped to 40mg a day, then 20 mg. Now I take the OTC prilosec and had to up my dosage since I was on a steroid pack for my apicoectomy. You don't want to do the OTC long term unless under the doctors orders.
As far as diet, I had to cut out carbonated beverages, coffee, black tea, acidic fruit, anything tomato based, and most sweets. You also are supposed to avoid alcohol.
That was for about 2 weeks. It was pretty miserable for that time. I ate mostly eggs, potatoes, cooked veggies, and oatmeal. Then once the pain stopped, I added foods back in, and if they didn't bother my stomach I continued eating them. I am now where I can eat mostly whatever I want, except coffee still bothers me. I have to mix it with milk.
Ulcers take a long time to heal, but you don't want to leave them untreated as they can become a bleeding ulcer. I was terrified of that! My dad had one, and was hospitalized for weeks.
 
Good job making the appointment! I wouldn't worry too much about the infection spreading yet. I had my abscess (on my front tooth) for over a year, possibly two. The endodontist said based on the size of the abscess it had been there at least a year and a half, possibly more than 2 years. It did not even spread to surrounding teeth.
I have a somach ulcer, from taking ibuprofen for so long with all my dental work I had done last summer. I am still trying to wean off Prilosec, but this recent surgery set me back and I had to up my dosage again. If you think it might be a stomach ulcer, do not take ibuprofen! Take tylenol instead. Ibuprofen thins your stomach lining. I wasn't even taking the maximum dosage.

As far as probiotics, it is a good idea to take them with antibiotics, just not at the same time. Take the probiotic at least two hours after the antibotic. The antibiotic wipes out infection, but it also kills healthy gut bacteria, which can lead to unpleasant side effects like diarrhea. Probiotics replenishes the healthy bacteria and can help prevent the side effects.
so when you had this nerve pain, was the root canal successful and relieving the nerve pain? Also once it healed could you eat on it like a normal tooth? i miss using the left side of my mouth... lol.
and did you feel intense sharp nerve pain when anything pressure or emotion related happened? If I shake my head, or bend down, the pain pulses with my heart beat and increases the more i let blood flow to my head. So i prevent myself from bending down. Same thing happens if I lay down wrong, clear my throat, ect...
 
@MountainMama I also have throbbing pain in the tooth next to the infected one now. It's now intense, but it pulses too when I'm feeling pressure in my head or emotions ect. ugh. thank you again so much! I ask alot of questions.. It's hurting more than my infected tooth right now though which is weird...
 
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You should go see your doctor. Mine prescribed me prescription strength Prilosec 40 mg, which I took twice a day until the pain stopped. Then I dropped to 40mg a day, then 20 mg. Now I take the OTC prilosec and had to up my dosage since I was on a steroid pack for my apicoectomy. You don't want to do the OTC long term unless under the doctors orders.
As far as diet, I had to cut out carbonated beverages, coffee, black tea, acidic fruit, anything tomato based, and most sweets. You also are supposed to avoid alcohol.
That was for about 2 weeks. It was pretty miserable for that time. I ate mostly eggs, potatoes, cooked veggies, and oatmeal. Then once the pain stopped, I added foods back in, and if they didn't bother my stomach I continued eating them. I am now where I can eat mostly whatever I want, except coffee still bothers me. I have to mix it with milk.
Ulcers take a long time to heal, but you don't want to leave them untreated as they can become a bleeding ulcer. I was terrified of that! My dad had one, and was hospitalized for weeks.
Yeah it's scary I have caused some internal bleeding from coughing, sneezing, throwing up ect.. So i have something going on. Will be onto my doctor asap after I get this pain resolved. I can't give up carbonated beverages though.. I can do 2 weeks, but I'm fairly addicted to caffeine and I just love carbonated sodas. It's my kryptonite along with this dental fear..
 
so when you had this nerve pain, was the root canal successful and relieving the nerve pain? Also once it healed could you eat on it like a normal tooth? i miss using the left side of my mouth... lol.
and did you feel intense sharp nerve pain when anything pressure or emotion related happened? If I shake my head, or bend down, the pain pulses with my heart beat and increases the more i let blood flow to my head. So i prevent myself from bending down. Same thing happens if I lay down wrong, clear my throat, ect...

I did have intense shooting pain, but it would be random. I am not sure about yours...maybe it is infection in the gums? My abscess would do that. I am just guessing, so I may be totally wrong.

Yes, the root canal completely took away the nerve pain. I couldn't eat on mine, though, because the root canal failed, so mine was still pressure sensitive, just no more nerve pain. I do know that my neighbor said she was eating on hers as soon as the crown was put on. I never got my crown put on due to the pressure pain.
 
@MountainMama I also have throbbing pain in the tooth next to the infected one now. It's now intense, but it pulses too when I'm feeling pressure in my head or emotions ect. ugh. thank you again so much! I ask alot of questions.. It's hurting more than my infected tooth right now though which is weird...
My teeth next to my infected one hurt before and after the root canal for weeks. It scares me because I thought they were going bad also, but they eventually stopped.
 
Yeah it's scary I have caused some internal bleeding from coughing, sneezing, throwing up ect.. So i have something going on. Will be onto my doctor asap after I get this pain resolved. I can't give up carbonated beverages though.. I can do 2 weeks, but I'm fairly addicted to caffeine and I just love carbonated sodas. It's my kryptonite along with this dental fear..

Yes, get to a doctor asap. If you are having blood when you throw up or go to the bathroom that is a sign of a bleeding ulcer. It can be healed, but you don't want it to get bad enough to need hospitalization.

I loved soda, but gave it up because the pain was so bad. Now I don't miss them at all. It is weird...go a few weeks without them, and you no longer crave them. Dairy also bothered my ulcer, so I switched to drinking almond milk. Now that my ulcer is healing, I drink sweet tea, which probably has as much sugar as soda, so I don't know that it is any better.
 
Yes, get to a doctor asap. If you are having blood when you throw up or go to the bathroom that is a sign of a bleeding ulcer. It can be healed, but you don't want it to get bad enough to need hospitalization.

I loved soda, but gave it up because the pain was so bad. Now I don't miss them at all. It is weird...go a few weeks without them, and you no longer crave them. Dairy also bothered my ulcer, so I switched to drinking almond milk. Now that my ulcer is healing, I drink sweet tea, which probably has as much sugar as soda, so I don't know that it is any better.
yeah my stomachs so senstive i dont let anyone touch it, the last time i noticed bleeding i combined spicy food with nsaids and alcohol. Obviously not the best move. No issues since then, probably gonna drop the ibuprofen and try tylenol.
I went to the dentist this morning, and found out I still don't have insurance for some reason. So now I'm back to square one, I can't get help even if I want to. I drove across town and made myself look like an idiot in the dentist office I was finally starting to like. Not a good day.
 
Yes, get to a doctor asap. If you are having blood when you throw up or go to the bathroom that is a sign of a bleeding ulcer. It can be healed, but you don't want it to get bad enough to need hospitalization.

I loved soda, but gave it up because the pain was so bad. Now I don't miss them at all. It is weird...go a few weeks without them, and you no longer crave them. Dairy also bothered my ulcer, so I switched to drinking almond milk. Now that my ulcer is healing, I drink sweet tea, which probably has as much sugar as soda, so I don't know that it is any better.
What do I say to alert the doctor to these problems? are there tests he can run to see if its stomach ulcers or something else? thanks. I'm also scared of this infection now and since I can't go to dentist I might try to go to a walk in clinic just for antibiotics
 
yeah my stomachs so senstive i dont let anyone touch it, the last time i noticed bleeding i combined spicy food with nsaids and alcohol. Obviously not the best move. No issues since then, probably gonna drop the ibuprofen and try tylenol.
I went to the dentist this morning, and found out I still don't have insurance for some reason. So now I'm back to square one, I can't get help even if I want to. I drove across town and made myself look like an idiot in the dentist office I was finally starting to like. Not a good day.

Oh no! You got up the courage to go and everything.
Can you save up for the procedure, or even use a credit card, or look into Care Credit?

I would urge you to get it fixed, even if you have to borrow or apply for Care Credit (which is kind of like a payment plan). We had to put a lot of my dental procedures on our credit card because we didn't have the money, but as my husband put it, "these are your teeth...they affect the health of your body. If you don't fix an infection, it will be worse later". He had an abscess years back that he kept putting off care for. It ended up getting into his sinuses, and he lost two molars because of it and had a nasty sinus infection that took multiple rounds of antibiotics to fix. He let the abscess go for years, though.

You could probably get antibiotics at the doctor. They can check for infection. That would be a good start.
 
What do I say to alert the doctor to these problems? are there tests he can run to see if its stomach ulcers or something else? thanks. I'm also scared of this infection now and since I can't go to dentist I might try to go to a walk in clinic just for antibiotics

I would tell the doctor your symptoms and how long you have been taking ibuprofen. My doctor diagnosed me based on the location of the pain, frequency, and the meds I had been taking, and treated it accordingly. If the med hadn't worked, I would have had to go in for a scope. Thankfully that didn't happen!
 
I would tell the doctor your symptoms and how long you have been taking ibuprofen. My doctor diagnosed me based on the location of the pain, frequency, and the meds I had been taking, and treated it accordingly. If the med hadn't worked, I would have had to go in for a scope. Thankfully that didn't happen!
my credits bad due to an iphone i put on my credit at 16 years old. They never let me do payments, and even if I could I don't have the money to pay for a root canal out of pocket, I don't have money to pay another dental visit out of pocket either, the last costed me about 250 bucks plus 20$ for antibiotics... This tooth has led me to be basically unemployed, so I've been living off my savings for over a year now.. As a result, my savings are getting low.. I was looking forward to getting this fixed and working again..
 
Now I'll be on a waiting list just for insurance,I can't find a good insurance company that will cover what I need.. and I have no idea how to find a good one. The websites are taking me to dental insurances that only cover 20% of my procedure, or have 3000$ premiums before they start covering my dental work... Not sure what to do.. I was supposed to have dental insurance under my mothers provider but apparently I don't. I have health insurance so I guess I can just go to clinics for antibiotics and hope my tooth dies on its own. idk. I just want to be in a position where I can save this tooth if I gather the courage to do so... I feel like I was THERE. Now I feel like i'm at square one.
 
@MountainMama I am probably a year into this infection, aside from the 1 round of antibiotics I took. The infection has come back now and it's alot worse than before.. But I literally can't pay out of pocket for this.. I can afford a monthly insurance bill and whatever remainder is left of my dental procedure, but that's about it.. The last two days have been hell for me because of this tooth. It and the teeth next to it wont stop throbbing with nerve pain, just from slightly bending over to look at my PC screen causes the pain. I have to tilt my head back for it to go away.. "sucking" on my teeth is a habit of mine too and everytime I do it, it triggers the nerve pain too.. along with clearing my through or coughing.. I am so tired of this :p
 
I drove across town and made myself look like an idiot in the dentist office I was finally starting to like. Not a good day.

So sorry to read this.. however I don't think you made yourself look like an idiot. Cost is a very difficult part of dentistry and your practice will be used to situations like this.. I wished things would have worked out after you finally managed to get the appointment :(

Would any of the ideas here be possible for you to get treated?
 
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