I actually felt good today. Not too many aches and I wasn’t exhausted all day long. And, I got quite a bit done. I am on the down swing though. But I still feel better right now than I have over the last week and a half. I should be able to sleep well tonight…also a plus. I am feeling downright optimistic right now. I think that I will cut this short though because I am feeling pretty tired right now. I usually try to write my blog at lunch but I was getting so much done today that I didn’t want to lose my momentum. But now that I’m feeling better, I hope to get back on my regular posting schedule. I’ve lost a lot of time because of the tooth extraction and RA flare. I’m ready to get past it but right now I’m going to start winding down so I’ll just say goodnight.

This has been a very trying time but, through research, I have learned a lot.  A PSA for anyone suffering from immune system disorders/diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, if you are having any kind of dental issues…an infection in the tooth or pulp and are facing a tooth extraction, make sure your disease is under excellent control, that you’re not in a flare, and touch base with the physician that is managing the disease or disorder before having it done.  And, after the procedure, if you feel a flare coming on, immediately get in contact with your doctor to see if there’s something that can be done to at least lessen the effects of it.  In my case, doctors will not prescribe prednisone because I am a Type 1 diabetic as well and those 2 things do not play well together.  I have a couple of other issues related to my RA (erythema nodosum and De Quervain’s tenosynovitis) that are currently causing intermittent pain and the only thing that could mitigate them is Prednisone but neither of my doctors’ will risk prescribing it to me.  So I just have to deal with it.  Do not take your immune system diseases for granted when you have any kind of infection because they will be impacted by it.  Most of the time, we tolerate the effects but sometimes we cannot.  I basically lost about 9 days and I now feel a bit disconnected from just about everything so I am pushing myself to get back into the groove and to reconnect with the people and groups that I have missed during this fun time.  I feel some trepidation because of the disconnect that I’m still experiencing.  It’s all on me because the people in SWW and ROW have always been so kind, welcoming, supportive, and loving.  It’s just a matter of jumping back into it all.  I always feel a bit awkward after an absence, whether it be my groups, work, or family.  Just writing this has been a very good therapy session.  Anyway, I just hope that this post might help someone avoid a flare like I had because of the tooth extraction.  We all have to look out for each other.  I’m glad to be back and am ready to start writing about writing once again.  See you tomorrow!           

Well, the area from which the cursed tooth was extracted is finally starting to actually heal from the trauma so that is a big plus.  It was actually pretty painful through last night.  Unfortunately, and this is something of which I was totally unaware, dental trauma can exacerbate Rheumatoid Arthritis and cause flares…and this infection and extraction did just that.  I didn’t realize what was happening at first but as it continued to get worse and worse, I started doing some research and found a lot of information about it.  Probably the only thing that would stop this in its tracks is prednisone and since I’m a diabetic that’s not going to happen so I just have to hope that the Plaquenil will do its job after the tooth trauma has completely died down.  I am having a hard time typing, walking, standing, and I’m also suffering from fatigue.  I’m miserable.  But I feel a bit better than I did yesterday so maybe I’m on the mend.  Whether I am or not, I still have to be at work since it’s the end of the month.  Well, my finger joints are starting to complain so I’m going to close for now.  Hopefully, I’ll feel a bit better tomorrow. 

I’m still a little dopey because of the pain meds but, all in all, I’m doing pretty well.  The extraction itself was actually no big deal.  They spent about 10 minutes getting me comfortable and hooked up to the blood pressure machine that checked my BP every few minutes, beginning the nitrous oxide, and then applying the topical anesthetic.  Dr. Spingola began injecting a ton of local anesthetic because of the lingering chronic infection.  That took about 5 minutes.  As soon as I was really enjoying the nitrous and after the local had done its job, he began to, as he put it, tease the tooth out.  A minute or so later it was done with only the tiniest twinge of pain.  He cleaned up some of the nastiness that the infection had left behind then lightly packed it with gauze while I was receiving oxygen to clear the cobwebs from the nitrous.  His assistant explained the contents of the care package that they were sending home with me after which, I left.  I had left the house at 7:55am and was home at 9:10.  The pain hit about 3 hours later when the local completely wore off.  It was bad but not nearly as bad as I had expected.  I took a pain pill and went to sleep for a few hours.  The pain meds managed the pain fairly well but didn’t knock it completely out but from past dental experiences, I know that it could have been so much worse.  As it got later, the pain did increase and I wasn’t able to go to sleep until after 3:00am.  Today, the pain has been much less…a bit more nagging rather than sharp pain.  But it’s increasing now that it’s later in the day but it’s still not too bad but I don’t think I’m up to getting on SARK’s SWW call tonight.  Dr. Spignola is a miracle worker.  I wouldn’t hesitate to go back to him if I ever need his services again.  I’m glad that I went with the nitrous rather than sedation because that would have definitely been overkill.  And I’m proud of myself because I didn’t have a complete meltdown before it was done.  I was nervous and felt dread but no meltdown.  For me, that’s a huge thing because of my major dental-phobia.  I think of the reason I didn’t go off the deep end is the fact that I had the initial evaluation appointment on Monday and he pulled the tooth on Wednesday so I didn’t have a lot of time to get crazy about it.  Well, I think that I need a nap since I only got about 4 hours of sleep overnight and the pain pill is making me very tired.  I do think that by tomorrow I’ll be operating at about 90 – 95% though.  I might not even need pain meds after tonight.  Fingers crossed!          

I have to have a tooth pulled tomorrow and the dread is creeping up on me slowly but surely.  It actually isn’t as bad as was afraid it would be though.  I’m actually coping pretty well in spite of my dental-phobia that has been a part of my life for 42 years.  I was actually a bit surprised yesterday that I chose nitrous oxide over anesthesia.  I chose it for a couple of different reasons.  Rick is not up to the hike from the parking lot to the doctor’s office that he’d have to make and I thought that it would probably take longer…and be more expensive…for them to arrange the extraction with anesthesia.  I want this tooth out.  I’m tired of the pain and chronic infection that became acute this past weekend.  Thankfully, there were 4 clindamycin capsules left over from something and they knocked the infection back down to chronic.  I picked up my prophylactic dose of Amoxicillin earlier today and will have to take those an hour before the procedure.  I’m kind of worried about a dry socket since this tooth is on the bottom.  I got dry sockets when both upper wisdom teeth and another molar were extracted and that’s not supposed to happen.  I am the queen of “but that’s not supposed to happen.”  I’ve gotten used to it.  I saw my PCP today to follow up on my blood work.  I was talking to him about what I thought was diabetic neuropathy on the outside of 1 of my thighs and he told me that it was actually pretty common.  I told him that I didn’t want to be common…I wanted to be special.  He then told me that it was a very special uncommon thing.  I love that man.  He is 1 of the best, most caring doctors that I have ever known and I’ve had some truly great doctors.  I think that he also has the secret to endless youth.  He is my age but looks like he’s in his early 30’s.  I’ve been seeing him for at least 12 years and he hasn’t aged a day.  And he always has a smile on his face and is in a great mood.  I leave every appointment in a much better frame of mind than I was in when I came to see him.  But back to my tooth…I’m not sure what my downtime will be after he pulls it.  I figure that I’ll be out of work tomorrow and Thursday.  That’s a tough way to get some time off!  I hope I’m up to the SARK mentoring call on Thursday night.  I hate missing them.  Because of my tooth pain, I’ve been a bit hit and miss in our Facebook group but now that I’m getting my tooth yanked I will be in it more often.  Yea!  Well, it’s time to get out of here.  I’ll let you know tomorrow how I feel after the tooth thing.      

Time is a strange thing.  Sometimes you can feel it ticking away minute by minute and when you look up at the clock you’ll find that your internal clock was in keeping with the “official” external clock.  Other times, not so much.  How many times have you looked up at the clock, expecting it to be a certain time and it’s actually an hour earlier than you were hoping it would be…like when you’re at work and you want nothing more than to go home?  Or when you’re out with friends, having a wonderful time and you suddenly realize it’s 1:00am and you have to get up early for work the next day? Time is definitely relative. If you’re having a great time, it seems to rush by but when you’re bored it drags by so slowly.Remember when we were kids and Christmas was a month away? It might as well have been a year away. But the last month of summer vacation before school reconvened might as well have been a single day. My mom always told me that time seems to go by faster the older you get and i have discovered over the last few years that she was right. I think that it’s because of the whole relativity thing. When you’re young, you have your whole life in front of you so you don’t feel rushed to accomplish things. Whereas, at my age, the finiteness of time is so very real. You begin to realize that if you’re going to accomplish the things that you’ve dreamed of then you’d better start busting your ass to get them done.That’s how I feel about my dream to be published. If I don’t finish Rapture in a relatively short time, its publication will never happen.That’s a lot of pressure and it’s a bit uncomfortable. So I have to keep reminding myself that my time hasn’t run out yet and just keep writing and believing in myself. My time on earth has always been finite…it’s not something that just happened. So, in reality, my 59th year is really no different than my 29th.I’m just more aware of time’s passage. And that’s not a bad thing.

Every day I PLAN to write a blog post and to either write or edit something.  In 194 days, I’ve missed 2 or 3 days due to illness/self-care or taking care of Rick so I feel really good about that.  But writing and/or editing hasn’t gone that well.  I am extremely frustrated by that.  I am tired of failing at something that really should be 2nd nature to me.  I love to write, it’s just the getting started part that gets in the way.  There are a few other things in my life that are also begging for change so I am about to embark on a Donna redux.  The 3 main things that I’m looking at changing are writing daily, getting healthier/losing weight, and reducing my spending/debt while saving more.  Basically, I want to be in control of these things rather than letting them control me.  I tend to eat and spend when I’m bored, upset, or depressed.  And, it’s a vicious cycle.  I’m bored so I mindlessly eat too much or impulse buy things I don’t really need so I become depressed and I self medicate by eating or spending more and so on and so forth.  You’d think that the fact that I know this would be enough to make the needed changes but, it’s not.  Logic and emotion are 2 totally separate things and they don’t always play well together.  Well, I’m going to work on getting them to cooperate.  SARK’s Micromovements will play a part in this whole thing.  I’ve been working on that by trying to come up with a way to possibly get all 3 of my issues on 1 Micromovement wheel.  I would like to substitute writing for spending and overeating.  Get bored – write.  Rather than reaching for a bag of chips – grab a pen and notebook instead.  But I know that it won’t be that easy which is why I need the Micromovement wheel and ways to get things down to 5 minutes, or less, chunks of activities.  The genius behind Micromovements is based on the fact that you do anything for 5 minutes.  It gives you a sense of completion and success.  If I tell myself that I’m going to write for 2 hours a day but end up only writing for 10 minutes, I feel like a failure and the next day I might think that there’s no reason to even try because I’m already a failure.  But if I plan to write for 5 minutes and end up writing for 15 minutes then I am an all-star so I’m more likely to write the next day and the day after that.  So I am going to really fine tune my wheel and add rewards for each thing I complete…just not food or a new electronic toy.  I’ll let you know how it goes!