To finish up with yesterday's dental visit, I was there for a couple of hours, but it didn't seem nearly that long. That was the easiest, quickest crown I ever got! There are gaps in my memory, and it seems like I waited longer for the novocaine to take effect than it took for her to work on me. It seemed to take less than 2 minutes for her to fill my tooth and not much longer to grind the other tooth for the crown, even though I know it takes a long time to grind it down.

The nitrous oxide was a nasal mask similar to my CPAP mask. As they told me and as I read online, your hands and feet kind of tingle a little, but you don't care. You don't really care about anything, even though you're alert and able to answer questions and follow instructions. After she put the temp crown on, she warned me not to jump up once she took the mask off because it takes a few minutes for the dizzying effects to wear off. It was weird, though, because when she elevated the chair, it almost felt like a cold hand slid down my upper back. Anyway, I go back on the 28th for the permanent crown.

Unfortunately, I'll have to wait 5 weeks before I can see my glaucoma doctor, but on the 21st, I'll be having that virtual appointment to go over my meds and all that with a woman named Latisha for 250 points to use toward goodies on my insurance site. I was amazed to see that the candle I want normally goes for $75! I'd love to see what a $75 candle smells like, but it doesn't look like I'm going to make an additional 250 points to give me enough for it by getting a mammogram in addition to CAC testing, because when I called to schedule that, they said they don't take my insurance. Then why does it say on the insurance site that they give points for that? Maybe it's a recent change, but it's better this way. Yes, I would have liked the points, but it's not worth the hassles of yet another appointment due to my sleep and schedule issues, especially schedule issues, and if, God forbid, there was anything wrong, even though I'm 99.9% sure I'm fine, I don't want to know it. As long as I can breathe, sleep (even if it's not always well), and I'm not having off-the-charts anxiety that borders on sheer terror, I just want to live until I don't.

I looked around at the merchandise available on the insurance site out of curiosity, and since I'm not likely to accumulate enough points for the candle, I decided I would try these charcoal toothbrushes that are supposed to be a simple, straightforward way to whiten teeth. That sure would be nice, rather than the pain-in-the-ass abrasive UV bleach kit I've got. But charcoal is abrasive as well, so they only recommend you do it a few times a week. I'm just curious to see if it works. They look like regular toothbrushes that you just dampen and dip into charcoal powder, then brush your teeth for 2 minutes as you normally would. Seems quite simple with no mess.

I'm still having breaks in the middle of my sleep, and I don't know why. They're definitely more likely to happen if I don't take anything before bed, or the only thing I take is melatonin. If I knew clonazepam could be taken every day, I wouldn't hesitate to take it, but it does stop working after a while if you overdo it. Last night I fell asleep with nothing and had to take half a clonazepam and melatonin to get back to sleep. Next time around, I'll pop a couple of melatonin, which will be 10 mg, and see if I still wake up. I'll have half a clonazepam at the ready on my headboard shelf if I do. Maybe that's something I can discuss with Latisha. From what I researched, there really isn't much else I can do for my sleep. It's just not meant to be normal, and I knew I would have other issues once I got my breathing under control. I swear there's something up there hellbent on cursing it.

The other night, I dreamed we moved, and in the dream, I thought to myself, so much for being sure we would never move. I don't know where we moved to, but in real life, I just don't see that happening. Sure, it would have been nice to have a newer, bigger place with a view of a lake or something, but that's just not happening. Even if it were all paid for, the monthly expenses would be higher. This place is good, though, for what we can afford. The skies are noisy, but the grounds are quiet most of the time. I definitely don't like some of the people around here, but I've been in worse places with worse neighbors. This is definitely the best climate I've ever lived in, too. Part of me wishes we could run up to Canada where they have universal health care, but that climate would kill me, and they don't take older people.

Since Wednesday is shopping day, I got a new Village candle - Eucalyptus spearmint. Plus, a couple of new dish towels. These have buttons to secure to the oven's handle. The Velcro ones we have just don't stay put that well.

I'm starting to wonder if LJ is on its last leg. According to some Reddit reports, it could be. It takes multiple tries for me to pull up my profile because it often times out. When I do get in, it takes forever, so I said fuck it. The question is whether or not I want to use my DW account regularly rather than just for monthly updates. The only thing I don't like about that site is that I can't search my entries.