I'm falling apart... (LoL)

Not really, but I sure feel like it sometimes! Lately, I have a toothache that is more annoying than anything. Orajel works, but only for several minutes, and the ache returns. OTC pain relievers don't seem to touch it. I *think* it's due to grinding my teeth in my sleep and/or clenching my teeth (a lot of excess stress lately, and I catch myself clenching often).

The toothache seems to be coming from a crown I have, which I've had for over 15 years. So I also wonder if maybe the crown just needs some maintenance, being so old. On the plus side, I don't see or feel any redness or inflammation, so it doesn't seem to be an infection. I've had several dental infections over the years, and they were significantly worse and you could see the redness/swelling. If it doesn't subside pretty soon I'll need to see my dentist though.

On top of that, I'm recovering from a summer cold. It was relatively mild. Just some sneezing and severe stuffiness for a day or two. And now I just have some occasional excess mucus in my nose, and a productive cough if I take a deep breath or if I laugh too much. That's quickly dissipating though.

And then we come to a musculoskeletal issue. Oh, what fun! I bought an old work truck recently, which needs some cosmetic work. The driver side door is a bit loose and has to be slammed shut. I recently shut the door by pushing my weight into it, and when I did, I hit my left hand knuckles with my left side, at the far left side of my chest. I heard a "pop", and it HURTS. I don't know if I cracked a bone, or if I bruised a muscle real bad, or what. But it SUCKS.

Deep breaths hurt. Coughing hurts. Sneezing hurts. Moving a bit in the wrong way hurts. Stretching hurts. Touching it hurts. Ouch! I'm trying to give it time to heal, but it's difficult because it's apparently an area that I rely on regularly for moving/lifting/etc.

I just feel like I'm falling apart. LoL. Each of these things don't feel so terrible when they happen alone, but it's all three at once. I'd normally be a bit surprised, but...it *is* 2020, after all.

Hope you all are doing well!

Bobnnat said:

Man, Bin all at once! Not to try to top you, but back in March I developed severe dental pain. At least an 8 of 10. Rx painkillers helped for maybe 30-60 minutes if that. Turned out I needed a root canal. I spent 4 painful days on "vacation" in Vegas (right before the shutdown) trying to enjoy myself. Then the root canal is done and it's great; until it wasn't. I ended up needing an extraction.

I also at the time had just gotten over bronchitis. I never get that. until i did. It took 2 weeks to run its course and then a few weeks later a full-fledged head cold.

So, the tooth pain ended. The head cold went away. All is well, right? I then proceeded to pull a muscle in my lower back (it happens 2-3 times a year) so i couldn't straighten up for a few days.

Yup...2020 the year no one will ever forget, no matter how hard we will try.

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Ouch! That sounds like the path I'm heading down right now. Haha! I guess I spoke too soon and jinxed myself. The pain has "migrated" to a nearby tooth that is damaged, and has been for a long time. The pain is much worse, and Orajel isn't even making much of a difference now. I've scheduled a dentist appointment for 11am tomorrow.

Everything else should be getting better sooner rather than later, no professional medical intervention needed. Thankfully.

Thanks for sharing, @Bobnnat ! I can deal with anything *except* mouth pain. I'm a big baby with mouth pain, it's absolutely the worst!

Walking Circles said:

I'm sorry to hear you've got so much piled on you right now Bin. Nothing can ruin a day like tooth pain, it's a special, persistent, kind of hell. You may have an infection around that old crown, I have one that does the same thing once or twice a year. A round of antibiotics clears it right up (thought it doesn't stop the dentist from telling me to get the tooth redone).

That chest pain sounds miserable too. In a different life, before health anxiety consumed me, I used to get the odd shot to the chest sparring that would cause a weird bony sounding pop and a week or so of pain.

It's often a combination of mild things conspiring together that drags us down. I hope you get things sorted soon and get back in to a better space.

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Thanks a bunch. That's what I'm thinking as well, about the tooth, because it's worse and more persistent now. It's either infection around the crown, or it's a nearby tooth with referred pain, which is tricky. Haha.

So far it's been right at about a week since the chest injury, but it stills hurts like hell. I want to say this isn't the first time in recent months that this has happened, but I can't remember for sure. It does seem to have improved just a bit, in some ways. Time will tell. I don't really mind that pain, I just have to be careful how I move or touch the area.

Thanks for sharing.

Siphonophorae said:

Every once in a while my tooth that has like a tooth in front of it will feel itchy or achey, it might be a cavity but I hope not (my teeth have grown very strangely). I don’t want braces but I’m afraid I may have to get some soon. Bin, I know my mom once has something like that and it turned out she had pulled/strained her inner shoulder muscle. Years later it still hurts sometimes if she sleeps in a weird position. Last fall I got bronchitis I believe. Gave it to the rest of my family and it took us more than three months to get over it. My mom still has a sore throat sometimes. Seems like she gets the worst of everything

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Thanks for the reply. I'll be fine, I'm just a big baby when it comes to mouth pain. Haha. I was somehow able to schedule a dentist appointment online even though their office is closed. Fortunately I was able to do a telehealth visit with my doc today who prescribed an antibiotic in the meantime. Then I'll be going to the dentist as soon as I can to make sure this tooth gets taken care of properly.