The blessed relief

Wednesday afternoon I went to the dentist with a pain in the back of my mouth. Seems I have an horizontally impacted wisdom tooth that is infected.

So, after the dentist, I went to the Oral Surgeon and had my pre-surgery consultation. We set the date for Friday the 13th!

Yesterday morning I arrived for my torture session. After at least 4 injections of local "numb-all" in my jaw, they started. An hour and 15 minutes later, I was out he door with a numb face, and a prescription for enough Percocet to flat-line a horse.

Now, when I shattered my leg back in 2003, I became best friends with narcotic pain medication. I spent 6 months on crutches and wheelchair and learned to fear the tranquil feeling that came with "the pill."

There is a certain feeling you get when Percocet starts to act on your body. You become low-key and relaxed. I imagine it is something like Valium. It smoothes out my high points and low points. Everything becomes groovy...and the pain is gone.

It also scares me. The feeling that it gives me is not "me" and yet it could become very enjoyable very quickly. I very much understand that smooth seduction that leads to addiction. I could come to need that feeling very fast.

So, after the "pain-begone" injections wore off and my face stopped tingling, it was time to pick up the prescription of "Tranquility in a bottle" and see how much I could tolerate. It has been a couple of years since I've had need for it.

I popped two of them to take the edge off the large mountain of pain yesterday afternoon and one more at bedtime. They worked like they were supposed to, and I felt that call again. Luckily I am on a "soft food" diet and can't chew anything. The pills loose their call when taken on an almost-empty stomach. The relief from the bone-drilling pain is there, but the tranquility is lost in the slight stomach ache that comes with it.

I have learned that it is easier to tolerate pain with the help of Advil than it is to skirt the edge with "the pill."

Pray for my quick recovery and the healing of my mouth. Tomorrow I should be able to go back to work again, too. This is not a fun time, but it was necessary.

Oh, and the pills? They go all the way to the back of the cabinet, to be used as needed for twisted ankles, etc. 1/2 of a pill makes for a good first-aid device.