I Told You Not to Trust European Dentists

When I was living in France I had a couple of teeth that were bothering me. After a couple of weeks of pain every time I ate anything, I finally went to see a dentist. It was pretty much the scariest dentist appointment I’ve ever had in my life. I had x-rays done, during which I was not given the lead apron we’re so accustomed to here in the U.S.

Then the dentist told me I had three cavities and asked if I’d like to have them filled. I said yes, of course. She then proceeded to drill out three whole teeth from my mouth. I saw it in the mirror before she filled them and saw that nearly each entire tooth was completely gone. I don’t know if this is normal but it freaked me out. Then, once she had drilled out my entire teeth, she told me she doesn’t do the conglomerate fillings, again something totally standard here. Instead my options were the old amalgam fillings (80 euros per tooth) or some crazy ceramic thing that I’ve never heard of (300 euros per tooth). You can guess which one I went with.

Needless to say, it ended up being not the best filling job ever. Since that time I’ve had a lot of difficulty flossing between the three teeth that were filled because she didn’t file down the sides like my other dentists have done in the past. I figured though if I continued to floss and brush them the fillings would eventually wear down to where they’d be comfortable. Turns out what actually happens is the floss eventually gets stuck on one of those jagged spots, I yank on it to try to get it out and end up pulling out one of the fillings. Awesome.

So basically I’m headed to the dentist tomorrow to hand over my yet to be first born child in exchange for a re-filling sans assurance (without insurance). Hopefully this dentist will be way less sheisty though. And also, I hope he doesn’t try to make me get all my other tooth problems fixed tomorrow. I know I have to get it done eventually, but this one damn tooth is going to cost me $500. At this point, if there’s not a huge gaping hole in my tooth I’m not getting it fixed.

Now for something positive (I try to balance it out here at the Bex Adler Herald): I ran the Strawberry Jam on Saturday (which, by the way, is the cutest thing ever) and beat my best ever 5K time by a full minute! How awesome is that?! My best ever time before this was 35:30 from a 5K in the OC in January 2007. My new time was 34:18! Woohoo! OK, but the weirdest part about this is that my time in last week’s 5K was 37:18. How did I beat last week’s time by a full 3 minutes? (I think it was the lack of people to go around. There were only about 70 runners competing at the Strawberry Jam, whereas there were about 25,000 at the Race for the Cure last week.)

How was your weekend?

 

How ’bout a Race For the Cause?

So, I’m doing the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure next month and I have had at least three people say things like this: They do this race every year. How much money have they raised already and they don’t have a cure? I don’t see the point anymore. It’s probably being wasted on administration instead of being spent on research to cure cancer.

The people who have asked me about this often seem quite upset about it and have sworn off running the race because they’re SO ANGRY that there’s no cure for breast cancer yet.

Well, first off, do you know how much that research costs? Not even the research, but the cost of developing a new medication, which includes all of the trial testing they have to do. Even if they HAVE a cure, they won’t be able to put it on the market for another ten to twenty years while they do trial testing and ensure that taking the medication won’t cause some other fatal disease in the process of curing your breast cancer.

If you want to be mad about something, be mad that we’re spending all of this time and money researching a “cure” for cancer rather than spending it on finding out what CAUSED it in the first place. You want to cure cancer? Stop it from spreading. Stop letting corporations sell us food and products that are hazardous to our health because it’s “convenient.” It doesn’t look so convenient after you’re on chemo or having your breast chopped off, does it?

I would LOVE to participate in a Race For the Cause, but, sadly, that doesn’t exist. Anyway, I’m just out there to get my 5K on. I’m not trying to find a cure for breast cancer. I know they aren’t going to find one until they stop looking under the wrong stones.

P.S. Ran my first 10K of the year today. Finished in 79 minutes. Yeck. Hopefully I’ll improve by the end of the year.

 

Oh, Sacramento, Why Must You Torment Me So?

I know I want to believe that Sacramento is nothing but good things right now, but the truth is there are some things about Sacramento that still suck. No. 1 on that list is allergies. Sacramento is absolutely beautiful in the springtime, being that it has hundreds of different types of trees. There isn’t any plant in the world that wouldn’t flourish in Sacramento. But along with that comes the fact that no matter what you’re allergic to, it’s bound to be found here.

On the plane ride home I started to get a really bad sore throat. I thought I must be getting a cold or I was just dehydrated so I drank tons and tons of water. But now, three days later, that sore throat has morphed into a full-on allergy attack. I’ve had a headache behind my eyes since late last night. My nose is runny, then stuffy, then runny. My whole face itches and my throat feels like someone is scratching nails on the back of it. And I can’t stop sneezing.

This is only my second year of having allergies so I’m still not sure which allergy medication to take. I took benadryl last night and passed out, but I think you’re only allowed to take it for a few days before you’re supposed to consult your (nonexistent) doctor. Also, when taking Benadryl there’s no alcohol. So really, I have to decide whether I prefer a nice buzz, or the feeling of having nails scratched along the back of my throat. So unfair.

OK then, I’m headed back to bed. Hope you all are well and I’ll try to be better by the weekend.

 

Ever wanted to reach over and strangle someone?

A conversation with my boss yesterday:

Her: “You look like you’ve lost some weight.”

Me: “Yeah, I think I lost a bit.”

Her: “Well, you should really try to lose a bit more.”

Me: “…”

52 days and counting.

 

There’s something I haven’t been telling you…

It’s time for Sofia to push me down the stairs…

KIDDING! I was just imagining what my life would be like if I was Angelina Jolie and stupid enough to have my picture taken with my hands in my pocket.

Real blog coming soon.

 

Nightmares equal unhappy teeth

I went to the dentist today because I’ve been having really terrible tooth pain lately. It’s been less than six months since my last check up and round of fillings, so my dentist was pretty surprised when she found that I have a couple of teeth in desperate need of fixing. I have three new cavities and at least three cracked fillings. My dentist asked if I’ve been under a lot of stress. I said no because I pretty much just laze by the pool all day. But I have been having really bad nightmares for the past couple of weeks and I often wake up with my teeth clenched together.

I didn’t really notice the teeth-clenching thing until my teeth started hurting every day. Once I noticed I tried keeping my mouth open a little when I sleep or unclenching my teeth if I caught myself clenching them. Unfortunately the damage is already done though. I have to have at least $1,200 of work done and if I’m feeling really flamboyant I can get some optional work done for an extra $1,700. Shyeah right.

Whatevs. I’m just going to count on my now-trusty orajel for relief on the days after a bad nightmare. Perhaps in the meantime I should try focusing on happy thoughts before bed so as not to upset the dream fairy.

 

Yesterday the dentist, today the gyno

Yesterday I went to the dentist and it was a bit scarier than normal.

Now today I’ve got to go to the doctor.

You can read my thoughts on it here.

And for those of you who missed my last TNB blog, or were confused about whether I was serious: I really am quitting my job. I received a few emails asking me whether I was joking about it, and I’m not.

I’m a bit freaked out at the moment about my future prospects. I’m planning on doing freelance and substitute teaching, but as I send in query letters I’m finding it’s a bit more difficult to start a freelance writing career than I’d thought. I will be starting my own resume-type Web site later this month. It’s not up yet though so there’s no link. On there I hope to have a weekly blog interviewing freelance writers along with editors in the Sacramento area. I’m hoping it will be a place for freelancers in the area to come for advice and tips.

Anyway, I’ll let you know how things go and tell you when the site is functioning. Also, my additional free time will mean more blogs (don’t pretend you’re not excited) and more time for running. I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am about it.

 

Dentophobia

When I was a kid I LOVED going to the dentist.

(this is not me)

I loved everything about it — having my teeth cleaned, the scraping sound of the tools on my teeth. Even fillings were fun because I got to have a numb tongue and lips.

I’ve maintained a healthy feeling toward dentists over the years, always wondering what everyone’s hang up is about the dentist.

It’s a well known fact that a vast majority of people are afraid of the dentist.

There are even support groups for it.

Some dentists have distractions like TV or music to keep the stress level down during a visit.

Others just use laughing gas.

Like I said, I’ve never really had a problem with it. So I’ve never had laughing gas.

I even once had a cavity filled without even being numbed first.

It just didn’t bother me.

Until now.

Today I made a visit to the dentist.

Everything bothered me.

The scraping sound on my teeth, the drilling, even the shot to numb my mouth was stressful.

As the novacane was being injected in my gums I felt my heartrate increase.

I felt jittery like a reporter hopped up on too much caffeine.

I began to worry that something was going wrong.

“Maybe I’m having an allergic reaction?” I thought.

I’ve never been allergic to anything in my life, but maybe after not having novacane for a few years I’d built up some kind of horrible reaction to it.

Maybe I was going to die.

Then the dental assistant told me they were just going to use water to clean out behind one of my gums. That sounds all well and good until you see the apparatus he was using. It looked a little like one of these:

When he was finished and they started in on the cavities I opted to wear my iPod.

And the entire time all I could do was wish I was back at home in bed.

I wonder if society has made me fearful of the dentist.

Or if my knowledge of what is actually going on is what bothers me now.

Or maybe it’s just that I don’t have a sugar-free lollipop and a “Wow! You were such a good patient!” to look forward to at the end.

 

Influenza

Thanks everyone for the Happy Birthday wishes. It made my heart smile to wake up to so many comments this morning. Unfortunately though I’m the sickest I think I’ve ever been.

I came down with a horrible stomach flu yesterday and have felt like someone is ripping my stomach out for the past 24. So, for all of you who were planning on coming to the celebration of the 5th anniversary of my 21st birthday tonight, it’s not going to happen.

I was so looking forward to it, but I’m supposed to drive to Arizona tomorrow with two of my crazy sisters, which means I have to save my strength. Plus, if I’m still sick I won’t be able to go. I haven’t seen my g-ma in about five years and she was diagnosed with cancer last year. I don’t think she’d want to risk getting this horrible stomach flu so I’ve got to get better. I don’t know when I’ll have another chance to see her.

Thanks again for the birthday wishes.

 

Insurance is a scam

I know people say all the time that car insurance is a scam because you pay into it and then as soon as you actually use it they hike up your rate. But this rant is not dedicated to car insurance.

I have medical, vision and dental insurance. I’ve had them for three months and haven’t used one. Not only do I not have the time to find a doctor in these three areas, but with a full time job how am I supposed to actually go to an appointment without taking time off work? What’s the point of having insurance if I can’t even use it? I desperately need a new pair of glasses and it’s time for my six-month checkup at the dentist, but I can’t afford to take time off work and doctor’s aren’t open after hours.

I feel like I should just cancel my insurance plans. I’m paying some crazy amount (like $60 a month) for something I can’t even use. That money could go toward paying off my debt or something. Am I the only one with this dilemma?