Have Yourself a Merry Dental Christmas

I just finished my lunch of applesauce and yogurt, courtesy of my latest visit to the dentist. I got my blood work done; I got the dental scan done (that experience is a whole short story unto itself that I've been working on); I was on antibiotics for five days. I went back to the dentist on Monday and the swelling and pain were very much reduced. The scan showed some sort of growth -- either soft tissue or bone, it's still unclear -- in the area where my wisdom tooth was removed four years ago. The dentist wanted to do a deep cleaning around the back molar and "snip" off the growth with a laser. I talked to the American doctor who determines what amount of dental and medical stuff can be done here and what needs to be done in a more reliable location. She told me to get the deep cleaning done here; depending on the amount of pain and discomfort afterward I can be sent to Singapore for immediate surgery or I can wait until I'm back in the United States in July.

I got my deep cleaning done yesterday and they did a pretty deep investigation of the area, all but snipping off the growth. Oral surgeons, oral pathologists, root canal specialists, radiologists, have all either looked at my scans or into my mouth -- and in some cases done both at the same time. They stuck these acupuncure-like needles into my gum and took x-rays so they could see exact angles of things going on in there. They concluded that my wisdom tooth extraction was "complicated." There may have been damage to the nerve that supports the back molar and there's a gap between the molar and the gum; it's that little gap that's filling up with whatever's growing. (My theory is small gnome or dwarf.) There wasn't any food stuck in there causing decay, which is good news. But no one is 100% positive of what's going on in there.

I feel like I've been punched in the jaw. Tylenol and cold, soft foods for another day, although I felt up for some slightly warmer than room temperature coffee this morning. I should be able to nibble on the five-star, black-tie dinner we're going to tomorrow night. (There's panna cotta for dessert, and that's cold and soft!) I'll go in for a follow-up visit in a week, assuming the pain and swelling continue to go down.

Why did I get this done so close to a big holiday? Because I want answers as soon as I can get them and if I'm going to be in discomfort I'd like to get started on being on the healing side of that discomfort.

I haven't been working out, but I haven't been eating much either. There's nothing like the threat of oral surgery to help you lay off the holiday snacks.

Going to the Dentist

No Motivation Monday this week and my weekly wrap-up of HBBC might wait until next week because I didn't do much last week, workout-wise. Instead of writing up a Motivation Monday post, I spent Sunday worrying about a bit of bone or tooth that broke through my gum in the spot where a wisdom tooth was removed four years ago. I spent Monday worrying about my dentist appointment for that evening. I don't like going to the dentist even under the best circumstances in the United States. I was very nervous about going to a dentist in India even though the clinic I was going to came with lots of great recommendations from friends and colleagues.

You know how George Costanza wants the doctor to give him a "Get out of here!" but instead he has to get more tests done? I was hoping for "Well, it's a little weird, but it's a chip leftover from your wisdom tooth extraction four years ago. We can get this out, no problem." Instead of my "Get out of here!" though, I got, "Hmmm, we can definitely see something wrong but the x-rays are inconclusive and the gum looks infected. Get a CT scan of your head, a complete blood panel, and take antibiotics for a few days and we'll revisit this." I say "we" because at one point there were four people trying to stick things in my mouth at the same time. They kept telling me to open wider so they could stick more stuff in there and I just couldn't do it. There was a lot of talking in Telagu that I didn't understand, which made the experience even more terrifying. What could they be talking about? It's weird knowing people are talking about you and not know what they are saying, especially in a medical situation where as that patient, I should be in on the conversation.

I got my blood work done today and I'm waiting for the dentist to send me the antibiotics prescription (he wanted to consult with my regular doctor first). Tomorrow I'm getting my CT scan. The gum has healed up over whatever it was that was sticking out but it's still quite tender and painful. I'm still on Tylenol for the pain and I'm eating foods that are not too crunchy, not too sweet, and not too spicy because anything else is too uncomfortable.

I was pretty pleased with the cleanliness of the dental office, so that's something.

Can We Hold Off on Santa for One More Year?

From https://twitter.com/conanobrien 

I am more of a "Pagan Winter Festival" person than a Jesus's birthday person when it comes to Christmas. I'm down with Jesus as a historical figure, but, historically speaking, scholars don't agree on when his actual birthday is. Then you've got Easter right around the time of the spring equinox, and both holidays have co-opted pagan symbols such as Christmas trees and Easter eggs so it's not much of a stretch to believe Christians took over pagan holidays to make conversion easier. But, whatever. You celebrate Christmas for your reasons and I'll celebrate Christmas for mine.

What I suspect to be more controversial than Jesus versus Pagans is our view on Santa Claus. Right now Muffin sees him as a character on television shows and I'm fine with that. We fully believe in the fun of Santa the folktale character or cartoon character. Santa as a game of pretend, we're all for. But I can't bring myself to tell Muffin as a fact that Santa delivers her Christmas presents or that she needs to sit on the lap of some guy with a fake beard and tell him what she wants for Christmas. As it is, she doesn't fully understand the connection between Christmas and presents yet and I'm not anxious for her to. If that makes me a grinch, so be it. She's enjoying the tree, lights, and other decorations and I feel that's enough for a two-year-old. Presents will be a bonus. If Santa shows up at any Christmas parties, we'll handle lap-sitting as it comes up. We're certainly not going to force her. (Last year she knew the guy who was playing Santa so I think it was confusing to her as to why she recognized the voice but not the facial hair.)

I think we can get away with our Santa script for one more year. We're not quite as bombarded with Christmas in India as we will be in the United States next year. What I fear more than anything is that in two years or so, Muffin will be the kid telling other kids that Santa doesn't exist. Should I not worry about it because we're hoping to spend most of our future Christmases in places where not everyone celebrates, so it's not as big a deal as in the United States?

Monday Motivation -- HBBC Week Two Wrap up

Week Two of the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge is finished and accounted for. I did not complete my weekly goals but I did much better than Week One and I'm ready to kick off Week Three on the right foot.

My goals for the week were to run three times and to try a new vegetable recipe. For various scheduling and "life" reasons, those just did not happen. However, I ran twice, I did two ab workouts, and I did Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred; I ate seven to eight servings of fruits and vegetables every day; and I had outdoor play time with Muffin nearly every day. Overall it was a pretty healthy week for the family (because when I'm eating fruits and vegetables, everyone's eating fruits and vegetables). I also checked in at the Facebook group every day for a bonus point. On Thursday, rather than earning bonus points, participants wagered points on completing a specific healthy activity. I wagered my veggie point on keeping myself to only three cups of coffee or tea. Yeah, I drink a lot of caffeine. Cutting down to three cups for the day had me ready for bed by about five o'clock in the afternoon. But I did it so I got to keep my well-earned veggie point. My total points for the week: 22.6.

Outdoor Play

This week my goal is again to run three times and to keep myself to three cups of coffee or tea every day. (It's 7:15 Monday morning and I'm already done with one cup. It's going to be a long week.) Three cups means one cup in the morning, a small at the coffee shop, and one cup later OR one cup in the morning and a large at the coffee shop, with none later in the day.

Here's to a Week Three!

You can check out other participants' weekly wrap-ups at Jill Conyers: Fitness, Health and Happiness.