Toothache and Chronic Illness

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The past month or so has been very difficult for me in terms of my chronic illness. I’ve been extra unwell recently and I’ve also been having major toothache ongoing during the past few months.  I thought I’d write an update to share how life is and what I’m doing to try and improve the situation. 

I’ve spent an awful lot of time in bed and that’s where I will most likely stay for most of December. 

Toothache

I’ll begin with the toothache. I recently shared a post about my root canal and my nightmare dental treatment. I’ve been waiting so long to have treatment and in the meantime I have had repeated emergency treatments for toothache and pain. It’s been hard to cope with and has seriously affected my Adrenal Insufficiency. 

The thing is, I don’t produce cortisol and so whenever the pain presents, I get low in Cortisol, from feeling dizzy and nauseous, to my blood pressure dropping, having to lay down, having headaches, along with the facial pain from toothache and needing to run to the toilet as my body can’t handle the stress. 

That’s just some of the symptoms I get when my body is under extra stress during the day or suddenly from pain. 

Add to that repeated appointments for emergency treatment, I’ve had to have a lot of emergency doses of cortisol this past month and my supply of medication is running very low. 

It’s not been easy and two weeks ago I decided I wanted my tooth pulling out. I went to the Emergency Dentist as the pain was severe and I could not sleep. I’ve been on strong pain killers and was ready for my tooth to be pulled. 

When I arrived at the Dentist I was told because of my Adrenal Insufficiency I could not have the tooth removed, only the filling redressed. I would need to get a referral for the hospital to remove the tooth and that needs to be done by my dentist. 

However my dentist did not have any appointments available which is why I was at another emergency dentist so I have been unable to even begin the process of referral. 

In the meantime, I’ve had treatment 4 times in two weeks and it’s really taken all my energy. It’s an ongoing drama and I simply can’t wait for this all to be over. I’ve been recommended to fix that toothache with dentists in vineland nj, along with a few other dental providers.

Dental Appointments 

So, after waiting for 8 months, I finally have treatment planned for tomorrow. It’s my first appointment which is not urgent and I’ve been waiting a long time. I actually switched Dentists as the last one would be seeing me in January (a 9 month wait) and that’s too long. 

So I will be getting two fillings tomorrow at the back of two front teeth. The following week I will get two old fillings replaced/improved as they have decay under them and then a third treatment at the end of the month. 

Then and only then will the Dentist begin to deal with the three teeth that have now had emergency root canal treatment started. These teeth are all currently part done, with dressings and a temporary filling which every week or so drops out causing the pain to return. 

I’m expecting the root canals to be completed in January or February and if they don’t work then the Dentist will refer me to hospital to have teeth pulled out. It really is a nightmare but I am being as patient as I can. 

It’s just incredibly difficult as tooth pain and dental treatment affects my chronic health condition in a big way. It’s a crazy cycle really, steroids (cortisol replacement) prevents me going into crisis and dying but at the same time the steroids cause my teeth to get bad. You just can’t win. 

Chronic Illness

And so we come to the chronic illness. I am not too sure what has been going on health wise. In addition to my adrenal symptoms, I have been overcome with exhaustion. 

I’ve hardly been anywhere. I went to my grandma’s and simply traded my bed for the bed at her house. I managed the journey in the car and just slept for days as my mum cooked and watched Sylvia. 

It was not what I’d planned but it was nice to be in another environment. 

I’ve spent a lot of time in bed recently. We did manage to go out on my birthday to the Curves Fashion Festival which was amazing. It made me unwell and I had to go in the wheelchair but it was so nice to go out for half the day. I had a great time.

It took me about a week to recover and then we went to Blackpool Circus. I did my makeup and looked great but I felt so so sick. I am glad I did attend with the family and got to see Sylvia having a fab time. 

Apart from that I’ve only left the house for a quick trip to the mall on Black Friday (My mum pushed me in the wheelchair) and then there has been visits to the hospital and doctors. It’s been tough and I’ve had lots of tests to try and find out what is making me extra unwell on top of my usual conditions. 

It’s made life so hard. I can barely blog at the moment and have had a lot of help to maintain my social media channels. I’ve been hanging out in bed a lot and chilling with the dogs Yoda and Casper. 

Finding Out What’s Wrong?

I have had a lot of blood tests and other tests done in the past month and last week I saw the Haematologist. The good news is my Iron Levels are okay for now and I do not need a new Iron infusion. I can rule that out of the equation. 

I’m now awaiting results for my Cortisol levels, Diabetes, B12, Vitamin D, Zinc, Folate and other function tests. Hopefully soon I will get some answers to work out what treatment or help I need to feel better. 

The toothache does not help but there is certainly something not right with my body and I am just shattered all the time. 

I’m trying hard to get through each day and do my best but my blog has cut in half, half the posts, half the effort, half the work and as a result the page views cut in half and everything that comes with that. 

It’s okay though because health comes first and I had to choose to cut back as I just can’t do the things I want to right now. Hopefully things will improve by the end of the year and I can get back to where I hope to be. 

The good news is I am hitting my 2018 goals a little at a time. Not all of them but quite a few and that is fantastic. I just have to take more time out and rest more.

Next year is another year and I will hopefully improve then. I’m just grateful to be around and to be able to stay home on my pump rather than be in hospital which is where I would be without it. 

So that’s my update for now! 

Angela x

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