Sunday, August 20, 2017

A report on grumpy me

Forget about my husband; this is all about me.  It's been a strange week of little things going wrong.

A cap came off a tooth, a cap which can probably be glued right back on.  But I couldn't get in to see the dentist Thursday and they're closed Fridays.  It's a lower tooth that shows up really plainly when I smile.  Just call me snaggle-tooth.  I'm going to church this morning anyhow, since I've missed the last 2 or 3 Sundays.  I'll try not to smile.  This will prepare me for living the rest of my life toothless.  

I appreciate the tips and advise given by my readers, but you haven't given me anyway to come up with the money it would take.  Our savings wouldn't pay for the cheapest new car you can buy, and it sure won't pay for implants, the only thing that would work for me.  

While all you ants were putting away food for the winter, I (the grasshopper) was fiddling my heart out.  I don't tell this stuff to get pity, because the situation was caused by my actions.  I do brush my teeth, but I've never taken care of them like I should.  Around 1980, Cliff was working at the butcher shop when his boss said, "I'd like to provide dental care for my employees out of my own pocket."

Since I, at that time, had a gaping hole left by a tooth that had been pulled, just to the left of center (which is also how my politics these days can be described, but I digress).  This dentist was leery of trusting me when I said Cliff's boss was paying, but he went ahead.  Root canals and bridgework and many sessions with the dentist ended up with a full mouth of teeth.  Shortly after this, the boss decided to discontinue dental insurance, and I can't say I blamed him.  Anyway, I still did not have a beautiful smile.  My teeth aren't pearly white, they're a little crooked, but oh man, I could chew, and I wasn't afraid to smile!  Until the bridgework began failing, I faithfully flossed and brushed, because you almost have to with bridgework in place.  Eventually two bridges on the bottom had to be removed because some of the teeth supporting them failed.  Then it was back to just brushing.  

"Oh well," I said, as grasshoppers frequently like to say.

I have six teeth on bottom and six on top (I think six... some of the top teeth are bridgework).

Now if my friends would kindly tell me how to fix these teeth any other affordable way than to pull them all, I'd love to hear it.  I used to follow a blogger in Arkansas named Patsy.  She would have understood my situation.  

Dentists want to talk about implants, but check the cost of those, remember I'm not rich, and give me your practical solution to this situation.  On the bottom there isn't even anyplace a bridge would work any more.  I don't need pity, because I have no doubt had I planned better when I was young, this wouldn't be such a severe problem.  We get by nicely on our Social Security, but that's our income.  We don't do credit card debt any more, especially not for the amount of money dentists charge.

That's one reason I'm grumpy.  Here's the other story:  Most of my adult life, I've been plagued with chronic bladder infections, otherwise known as UTI.  As I get older, it's more frequent, and a search of the Internet tells me that's common.  If you go to a doctor frequently for the same cause, they want to shuffle you off to a specialist.  I did this once, and the uroligist seemed to have the attitude, "Why are you even here for a simple bladder infection?"

So I buy AZO for the discomfort and drink gallons (literally) of water.  That usually gets me by.  Doesn't get rid of the infection, but often the symptoms become bearable for weeks at a time.

This last round, though, was persistant, so I finally cried "uncle" and made an appointment with the nurse-practitioner at our doctor's office.  We always use her, because she's nicer and listens better than the actual doctor.  I peed in the cup, placed the cloudy liquid in a cubbyhole that is accessible from the other side, and followed a nurse to a room where I was seated.  I was dreading what might come, knowing they're going to tell me all the right things to do to prevent this, things I've known about and done forever.

But this time was different.  Nurse Stephanie mentioned that as women grow older, these recurrent UTI's tend to be more persistent and frequent.  She suggested I take Bactrim for a week, then begin taking a maintenance dose of another antibiotic regularly.  I was SO grateful, and looking forward to trying it!  She has one more trick up her sleeve, so if this doesn't work we'll go there.  

I had no idea what Bactrim was, but I began taking it and my moods went all wacky and I felt slightly nauseous.  That's when I realized it must have Sulfa in it; on checking the lable, I saw it did.  Sulfa had always messed with my stomach and made me grouchy, angry, and depressed.  In all the articles I've read about side effects of sulfa, I've never seen mood changes and depression listed.  But I know that's what it does to me.

However, if I can put up with the side effects (and if Cora and Cliff can stand me) I'm taking every last one, and counting the days until I take the last one Thursday. 

I'm sort of reluctant to post this entry, because I'm whining.  I see so much whining on Facebook, I hesitate to do it here.  But since I'm under the influence of a drug that hates me, I'm whining and don't care who knows it. 

I may as well go out to the garden and eat worms.  

In case I've depressed any of my readers, here's a video of a film taken in 1928 that cheered me up.  I even smiled.  Nobody was around to see my snaggle-tooth.

17 comments:

  1. I hate Bactrim also. It usually works on UTIs Cranberry pills help to prevent them. One reason us women get more utis is because out our anatomy. Miserable things.
    Teeth-I used Affordable Dentures here. THey have an office up there in Independence https://www.affordabledentures.com/office/independence-mo/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Whine away, you deserve it! Probably someone already suggested this, but drug stores and Walmart sells a special dental glue for caps/crowns etc.. Meant to be temporary I think.

    ReplyDelete
  3. In my quest of a good probiotic -somewhere around 10 strains, 10 billion- I've noticed some comments that it helped a lot with their frequent UTIs. I don't know but I thought I would mention it. Good to take with antibiotics too, but I'm sure you already know that.
    Take care, Sheila

    ReplyDelete
  4. I never trust a person who never whines. There is plenty to gripe about, and we all need a chance to vent at times. If you can't do that with your friends(us!), that's a problem. I have no solutions to the dental issues. My grandfather was a dentist, and my dentist growing up. So we had excellent dental care, which isn't affordable these days for most people. I have several friends who have had their teeth pulled and gotten dentures and they are both very happy with that decision.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Allergic to Bactrim get hives. I just don't understand why teeth don't last 🐴

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ok, here ya go.... the advice you were waiting for, kiddo!! :-)

    #1- the UTIs

    You MUST drink 2 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar in water every night before bed, and don't pee until morning or until you can't hold it any longer. What do you clean out your coffee pot with? Yep, apple cider vinegar. It's acidic... and I learned in nursing school that bacteria grows very poorly, if at all, in an acid environment. Drink 2 Tbsp of the apple cider vinegar and water mix sometime before noon too, until your UTI symptoms subside.

    ALSO, pour 2 cups of the apple cider vinegar into your bath water and soak your hootie in it. Swish it good "down there" so it reaches all the places where bacteria can grow & travel up the ureter to cause an infection. Yes, the bathroom will smell like you're coloring Easter eggs but I promise your skin will not. After your bath, stand up in the tub and rinse off with a removable shower head sprayer. If you don't have one, get one & install it... they're about $20.

    #2- your teeth

    Get the rest of them pulled and get dentures. Get your dentist to declare your teeth as being a medical problem to your overall health... and that way your medical insurance will cover it and not any dental insurance. Lots of folks have dentures and they look just fine. Your "teeth" will be white, not crooked, and you'll blind people when you smile at church. :-D

    XOXO

    ReplyDelete
  7. As far as your teeth go, I have a suggestion. It will sound kinda scary but it really isn't. I've done it, a lot of people I know have done it.

    The UMKC Dental School needs real live patients for their soon to graduate students to practice on. They charge a lot less than a regular dentist. I've never heard of anyone having a bad experience there.

    Just a thought.

    ReplyDelete
  8. it's ok to whine when you've got ailments affecting you. i sympathize with your tooth dilema i have a plate that makes life miserable. therefore i have no good advice to give you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've got news for you, which you already know, Cora can't stand to be without you for any reason. She would not care if you were toothless, missing an arm and a leg, and unable to walk, she would put up with everything and anything!! She always has "Donna" stories. We will see if she even notices either the tooth or the mood... I doubt it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It seems like when it rains, it pours. Getting older is not for sissies. I drink cranberry juice regularly as I heard that it will help. I haven't had any infections that I'm aware of so maybe it does. I've also heard that yogurt helps fight infection and I try to eat it often too. Water consumption is a biggie and unlike you, many don't drink enough. As for the dental work, I need some too but put it off as it would do big damage to my savings account for sure. Hang in there ! They say nothing lasts forever and this too shall pass!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Very few people can wear dentures successfully. I hope you will be one of them. Don't worry about griping...everyone deserves someone to vent to.

    I too drink cranberry juice every morning. As far as I know, I've never had a bladder infection. I do have a cystacell (prolapsed bladder) though. I had surgery for it in January and the surgery failed in June. I am looking into having it done over at UKMC.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Donna
    I had false teeth early in life. I have made it fine. Have you ever been so hungry yo went to the barn and ate cow feed. I have. I know poor. I don't dwell on it. We had no money for us but we had to have the cow feed. I ate it hid in the darkness of the barn. No money for school lunches and I was harassed about by my teacher. When can you pay all these charges. Usually made up a lie for her. Did not tell momma as I knew we had no money. Fleta Nd Helen threw Patsy's false teeth away. Helen had to clean her "nAsty" house. Patsy had ten in an old butter dish with a lid. They threw them away she said. Poor old soul. Don't pity me she would say I am doing fine.

    Don't fret. Do what you have to do and walk on down the road holding cliffs hand. Lord is always listening to your voice. Don't asl for stuff Sk for help. He will send it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. On iPad fat fingers don't type!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Donna, I've been thinking about you all weekend. I'm praying for Cliff. This is about you. Like you, years ago I had great dental insurance. I got bridges, etc. Ir messed my teeth in the long run. I was vain back then. Anyways, I had about 8 teeth left too and a snagle tooth in the front. I didn't smile☹️. I started looking around for a same day extractions and dentures. I found one in Camdenton Mo. I went and when I left I had all teeth pulled and dentures. My secret is.. I wish I would have asked if I could still pay the full amount up but wait till the swelling my mouth went down to have my dentist fit in a few weeks. I didn't. Our use poly grip on my uppers to keep them in my mouth. I'm not ashamed smile anymore. It cost $2000 . Here is the number. 573-317-1473. This included the dentures and all extractions.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Get thee to the nearest health food store and buy some D-mannitol. It is a little expensive, but 1 teaspoon twice a day in a small glass of water will do wonders for the UTI. Honest. It cured mine almost instantly. Take cranberry capsules if you don't want the extra sugar with cranberry juice.

    ReplyDelete
  16. thinking of you and cliff today.

    ReplyDelete

I love comments!