h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Harsh clive!

Mine was horrible but I have just about recovered now. Back at work..... (great)

*offers Clive sage and honey tea*

there will be a Stern Look for you too, my lad, if I find out you're also harbouring tonsilitis and haven't been to the

I not harbouring any tonsils so a remote possibility I'd say.

I saw a yesterday, three of them in fact: my GP, the nice man in A+E (who stuck a telescope up my nose) and the surgeon who actually took my teeth out. All agreed there was nothing the matter.

Then about 10 minutes after I got home I was curled up in the kitchen whimpering in absolute agony as I felt all the nerve endings from my chin to my right ear just overdose with pain.

No Idea what caused it, but have been on antibiotics that seem to be doing the trick but I've felt really woozy today

Can hardly talk and I've difficulty swallowing. I hope these antibiotics kill it off soon, teeth was one thing but this is insufferable.

I heard you can still get it even with tonsils.

But, it sounds awful, and since you've been to see medics you get the full -and-sympathy routine

even some if you want (it's blue though)

Harsh man. Hope you get well soon!

Yeah - I think it comes under a different name beginning with an "F" if I recall - but still relatively rare.

The medics were good. (I saw three doctors free of charge and got antibiotics all in the space of a day - NHS - but all the same I felt I was given very short shrift by my doctor (who prescribed the antibiotics) who was quite adamant that as this was a dentist > hospital problem so why was I bothering him with it? (Well because the hospital had said any after-op problems see my GP.) Then two doctors at the hospital look at my mouth and throat and declared there was a bit of inflammation but of course this was some 14 hours after I was originally woken up and left whimpering in the kitchen clutching an icepack to my face and had already taken some of the antibiotics. So I'm not surprised there wasn't much still to be seen...right up until I get home from the hospital whereupon it flares up again just like it had done at 3am and it lasted for about an hour and a half and ohmigod it was SO incredibly painful it was excruciating. The entire right side of my head was just a throbbing wave of agony. I hope I'm not indulging in hyperbole but it really was awful.


So today - today has been better. I guess / hope the antibios are doing their thing and having some (if fractured) sleep has helped. However my throat is still very swollen, I've got so much saliva in my mouth it makes it difficult to talk since I'm having difficulty swallowing to get rid of it. My ear isn't hurting so much today which is a blessed relief but my gums are still quite swollen and my right side feels worse than the elft side.

May this just be over with quickly so I can get back to healing from the op - and back onto solid foods.

I'm goign to miss next door's 70th birthday BBQ - they're cooking Venison and they'll be all sorts of tasty nibbles, but I'm satying at home I don't think I could face it having all that food there and not being able to touch a morsel.. I've given mum orders to save me some and I'll eat it next week.

Ho hum.

All this and today a letter in the psot to tell me I'd missed a dentist's appointment. I think life was either with 4 impacted wisdom teeth.

and thanks both. Sympathy and is always appreciated.

a non-contagious

blimey, did you get all 4 done at once (sorry, I'm not sure what you had done)

you need a whole bucket of and shedloads of sympathy
I had mine done one at a time and that was bad for the first one and the 4th one but the other two were pretty straightforward.

All in one go. General anaesthetic day patient. In and out.

Bottom two were partially erupted and had turned towards my other teeth which was going to become a problem. So the surgery was pre-emptive. the top two, with no tooth beneath to grow down on top of, were deemed to be non-functioning because they would ultimately have grown to meet my gum. So they needed to come out by default.

There was also the possibilty of nerve damage as the x-rays revealed a nerve that supplies feeling to my lips ran across one of the teeth, but x-rays beign 2-d didn't reveal the proximity of the nerve to the tooth, they would only know for certain once they 'got in there'. AS it is, I've got all the feelig in my lips so guess that means it wasn;t a problem.

My absolutly favourite phrase from the entire experience was discussing the surgery with the surgeon and askign him what would be done.

"Oh we'll just peel back your gum and divide the toth with the drill then extract it piece by piece."

Lovely.

Definately a people person. Provided the person in question is heavily sedated.

a very nice RAF dentist took out two of mine. I went for an appointment and he said I'd have to have the bottom one removed as an inpatient but not with general anasthetic - it was a rather lovely experience like having too much GnT as he described it!

But while he was talking about all that and what we'd have to do with the bottom tooth, he was footling around with the top one, I couldn't see what he had in his hands, but he was poing around with pointy things - no pain though. Then he got one of those screw clamp things and said "I'm just going to have a look at this" and started turning the screw thing.

"at what" I sort of mumbled

"at this" and he put my top tooth into my hand. I hadn't even noticed, so I'm guessing he jabbed me at one point, and that the tooth was straight.

Unlike the first one that a guy in Bristol did - after two hours in the chair in the surgery, and in incredible pain and covered in blood, real knee on the chest stuff to get the bits out, he said "I think I should have referred you to hospital for this"

Still, at least they are out. Do you look like a hamster?

I did look and sound like The Godfather for a bit.

I would never have had just a local for this.

Anyway just came on to report I think my fever broke this morning. I got up about 8am but was really out of it and sweating heavily. Dad saw me and said go back to bed - and I did - for 5 hours! When I woke up again, I felt immediately better.

My throat is still sore but...how to put this...surgically sore not infectious sore. there is a difference. My throat felt raw and sharp last few days now it just aches and is a bit tender. So swallowing is easier. Treated myself to ice-cream earlier to celebrate.

There's an odd sensation and hard to describe but I feel I am fighting 1 battle not 2. Like I'm healing now and getting better and not trying to fend off an infection at the same time. It's a feeling of relief. So still a little out of it. You can picture me just collapsed in a heap on the the sofa and vegetating, watching the documentary channel but I don't feel so ill now. I feel optimistic. Which is very strange how..er..an infection can actually affect you psychologically like that. Yesterday I felt just "urrgh" and that was it, today I feeling like I'm getting better.

I might go to that BBQ after all....

Hooray!

http://clive-ostrich.livejournal.com/172980.html

hi guys - I'd appreciate your insights into this new development.


Cheers

wow, that's one heck of a bruise. It's from where the dentist had his knee on your throat while he pulled the teeth

the fact that it's coming out is probably good, at your age it should be gone in no time. Have you tried arnica? I think you can get that in a gel form - but then, I've never used witch-hazel on a bruise, so it might be better.



good news on the weight though - keep it steady