Steadfast readers will no doubt recall my incessant whining a few weeks ago bout jaw problems that were diagnosed at Kabul as TMJ Disorder. Not so fast, Ethel. I left out big chunks of the story, in deference to my readership's delicate senses.
Two days after landing here at Bagram, I underwent a root canal procedure. According to the dentist, there was a big-time infection under the tooth. So he cleaned it out in a procedure called a pulpectomy, and told me it ought to last until I got home, when I'd need a full-tilt root canal.
Last night, the jaw went from bad to worse very rapidly. I went to dental today, and mere minutes after getting more X-Rays, the doc was numbing me up. I'll be coming home from Afghanistan minus one tooth. The abscess had returned with a vengeance, and extraction was the only option.
So now I get to eat soft foods for a couple days, nothing spicy, nothing very hot (so much for my big-ass morning bucket of coffee), and no smoking. No cigars?!? Tell me, doc, what can I do to ease my pain and discomfort? Oh, Percocet. Okay, your opiates trump my stogies.
After facing up to the Novocain needles, the worst part of the procedure was having a tooth yanked b an Army dentist around my daughter's age. That was truly scary.
Well, friends, I'd love to sit and chat, but it's time for more pain pills. See ya!
Two days after landing here at Bagram, I underwent a root canal procedure. According to the dentist, there was a big-time infection under the tooth. So he cleaned it out in a procedure called a pulpectomy, and told me it ought to last until I got home, when I'd need a full-tilt root canal.
Last night, the jaw went from bad to worse very rapidly. I went to dental today, and mere minutes after getting more X-Rays, the doc was numbing me up. I'll be coming home from Afghanistan minus one tooth. The abscess had returned with a vengeance, and extraction was the only option.
So now I get to eat soft foods for a couple days, nothing spicy, nothing very hot (so much for my big-ass morning bucket of coffee), and no smoking. No cigars?!? Tell me, doc, what can I do to ease my pain and discomfort? Oh, Percocet. Okay, your opiates trump my stogies.
After facing up to the Novocain needles, the worst part of the procedure was having a tooth yanked b an Army dentist around my daughter's age. That was truly scary.
Well, friends, I'd love to sit and chat, but it's time for more pain pills. See ya!
Opiates in Afganyland? Oh the irony.
ReplyDeleteDid you put it under the pillow to get some dinars?