Written yesterday afternoon:

Back from the dentist and in tons of pain. It was both horrible and quick. The pain should be worth it in the end, though, because that's one less crown I have to worry about falling off. 

I slept shitty as usual, with the usual breathing issues involving my nose and my sleep apnea and woke up tired as usual. Managed to slowly get going, and then we left. 

Had to pay $78 when we got there. I was a little annoyed because there were some guys working on the computers, and between that and the music, which was louder than usual, I found the background noise made it harder to understand the girl at the desk that we talked to about the payment.

Then Nancy took me in back and told me the dentist had already done 10 extractions that day, which made me feel a little more comfortable. I also learned that laughing gas would add an additional $71. Wanting to save money, I opted to take a clonazepam. I took the bottle with me, and the doctor looked at it and verified that it would be okay. I was given Carbocaine after the benzo had time to kick in and make me drowsy and all four shots hurt like a motherfucker. Usually, it's only the first shot that hurts. She warned me that because the bone was denser in the back, it would be considered a surgical extraction, and it might have to be cut up and, therefore, take time to extract.

Then she injected something she referred to as a drying agent, and that hurt even worse. I don't remember any injections in my mouth ever hurting that badly. Then she warned me of the inevitable pressure to come, and OMG! She was pulling and then rotating my head from side to side while twisting the damn tooth, but then—voila! Out it came. I was so relieved that it didn’t break up because the ordeal was starting to smack an awful lot like the tooth the county quack pulled during the recession. It was way rougher than I thought it would be but fairly quick. When you add up the jolts of pain and the pressure from her pulling, it only amounted to about 30 seconds. 

When the Carbocaine wore off, it throbbed painfully, so I took four ibuprofen, which is prescription strength. I can't brush my teeth or use straws. Everything I eat has to be soft. I have to keep my head elevated, and she gave me an extra piece of gauze in case it starts bleeding again. I had to keep the initial piece of gauze in my mouth for a half hour. If it starts bleeding again, I'll have to keep it in for an hour.

I just hope it won’t feel weird eating on that side once I’m able to. Just like with the other back bottom molar, it could take over two weeks for the pain to subside, but if it worsens within 72 hours, I have to call the office. The first 24 hours are critical, and then the next 24 are semi-critical. I’m lying in bed, talk-typing this, and I don’t want to overdo it, so I’ll work on this entry some more later.

---

Written early on the morning of April 1st:

It’s bye-bye, snowbirdie month! Between the painful ordeal I went through yesterday at the dentist and a cocktail of benzos, Carbocaine, and prescription-strength ibuprofen, I ended up dozing off in the late afternoon. I was instructed to sleep with my head elevated to prevent bleeding, so I slept on the wedge pillow. I call it the cheese wedge.

I drifted off without putting on a nose strip, and amazingly, I had no problems breathing. I remained on my left side so I wouldn’t be lying on the side of my face that was pulled. This was the only way not to snore either. But I must have been on my back at some point because I woke up a few times during the night, and a couple of times, I was on my back without snoring. I woke up six or seven times, twice because I had to pee and was thirsty. Didn’t need to take anything for sleep because I was so exhausted.

For the first 24 hours, I can only have soft food, so Tom was kind enough to run out and pick up yogurt, soup, and cottage cheese for me. Just got up a little while ago, took my levo, and I’m waiting for the timer to go off so I can make my coffee. I’m going to have to let it cool a bit before I drink it.

The biggest risk over the next three days is dry socket. That’s where the bone and nerve endings in the jaw are exposed because it didn’t clot over properly. They say it’s intensely painful, and I’ve had enough pain, so I’m being extra careful to follow the do’s and don’ts on the sheet of paper they gave me. I still can’t believe how rough that was!. Didn’t think it would be nearly as bad. I’m just glad she didn’t have to section the tooth in the end!

Rhonda called in an order for the estrogen cream, but there’s an issue with the insurance company—not surprisingly. So they get to decide in the end whether or not I can have it, not me and my doctor. The shit costs $600!

I saw some exciting preparations taking place a couple of days ago across the street. Both flags are down now and he was trimming trees, spraying weeds, and applying anti-mold stuff on the roof, things he does when he gets ready to go. I hope this isn’t a tease because the flags came down well in advance of his departure last year. I’m hoping that because of Trump’s new policy when it comes to Canadians (you know, the guy the honker says people shouldn’t blame for the world’s problems), he’ll be leaving earlier than the 20th—just like in the dream I had. So hopefully, I'll be seeing that black trailer soon!

In one of last night’s dreams, Nane was married to a guy, and they had twins together. I was talking to her husband one time, and he was saying that she didn’t care about the twins any more than he did. Then I thought about it—how she spent so much time traveling on her own and rarely spoke about them.

In another dream, my parents were alive and owned a house in the newer section of this park. I thought about asking them to will their house to me because it was bigger and newer. Then maybe I could rent or sell this one.