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I’m a married 31 year-old who has been diagnosed with fibromylagia for 12 years. I am on a quest to raise awareness and help others by sharing information and staying positive. Read more
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Felicia Fibro - Life with fibromyalgia, EMPOWERED!

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Fibro Feelings – Good Luck

What is Fibro Feelings?

“Well that sucks…good luck!” Not exactly the text message you want to receive from your dentist, but it’s the one I got. Although I wasn’t having any pain, my dentist decided that two of my teeth’s fillings needed to have crowns made instead. From the start of the appointment, things were not looking up. The local anesthetic, septocaine, was not working well. I was needing a lot of it to originally get numb and it wore off quickly. This resulted in more needle sticks, more time sitting at the dentist and I ended up feeling buzzed. I tried to write thank you notes while waiting for more of the medicine to kick in and kept making mistakes because I couldn’t think clearly. I’ve never had that type of reaction to a local anesthetic, but then again, I’ve never needed so a large quantity. Luckily I wasn’t driving home. The dentist thinks something with my pregnancy may have changed things.

As the medicine was wearing off and the pain was setting in I raided the freezer for ice cream – the only thing I could imagine trying to eat. By one hour after the appointment the entire side of my mouth, top and bottom was throbbing in pain, but also that area and my jaw were constantly hurting and I still felt buzzed from the medicine. My relatives said that I seemed to be in more pain than they’d ever had with a crown. I figured I’d let it go a day or two since my jaw is usually very sore and painful even after fillings because of my fibromyalgia.

What followed was nearly a month of horrible jaw and mouth pain in that same area. I also had extreme pain from hot and cold sensitivity. At first the dentist thought I might have a sinus infection (I had a few of those other symptoms too), so I did a round of antibiotics. That didn’t help much. I’d gone back to the dentist to make sure the crowns were fitting well and that there wasn’t any protruding dental glue. All seemed fine so they said I might need a root canal. A week later I saw an endodontist who confirmed that I needed root canals. Unfortunately, they were closed for a week and booked another week, so it was three more weeks until I could get the root canals. I ended up taking OTC and prescription strength pain killers (I stopped breast feeding) over that time frame and my teeth were barely hurting by the time of my first root canal appointment. Even my fibromyalgia was feeling better since I’d be taking more pain killers =)

I was very nervous to get my root canals, especially after the issues I had with the medicine during my fillings. My Twitter friends recommended that I use a bite block, which I did. The endodontist used a computerized shot system, which left an ulcer in the roof of my mouth(he said that rarely happens) during the first one. The root canals themselves weren’t too bad and my teeth did feel better afterward. My post-procedure jaw pain was actually less than I typically feel from fillings. I dealt with their local anesthetic much better and only needed extra medicine one of the times. I’m so relieved to have that done with!

Have you ever reacted badly to a local anesthetic?

They even left me in charge of the suction while reading an Arthritis Today magazine and waiting for my blood to clot.

The endodontist even left me in charge of the suction while reading an Arthritis Today magazine and waiting for my blood to clot.



Comments

Comment from Elaine
Time September 3, 2013 at 6:25 am

I am so sorry to hear you have had so much trouble with your teeth. Since I have had fibro I do realize it takes more of the local anesthetic to get the job done and then TMJ is a problem for several days after the appointment

[Reply]

Felicia Fibro Reply:

Yeah, a few times docs have wondered if I have TMJ because of all my pain there, but I don’t think they’re ever sure so I’ve never gotten that as a diagnosis.

[Reply]

Comment from margie
Time September 3, 2013 at 10:33 am

sounds like you went through a lot,so glad to hear you are feeling better,have had trouble my self with my teeth seams like fibro does make thing a little more hard on us.dont you think?

[Reply]

Felicia Fibro Reply:

Thanks! Oh yes, it is a lot harder on me than it was pre-fibro.

[Reply]

Comment from Jamee
Time September 4, 2013 at 3:21 pm

I have an awful time with anesthetics at the dentist. I have soft teeth and my last set of molars (my 12 yr molars that didn’t show up until I was almost 17) came in not completely formed so they had to do fillings as soon as they came in and they had an AWFUL time getting me numbed. I mean awful. Even after 3 or 4 shots of Novocain, I was still in a lot of pain. When my 1 wisdom tooth decided to show up (at 28), I was terrified to have it removed. Because it was only 1, insurance didn’t want to pay for any type of anethesia other than Novocain but because of my history I was worried that it wouldn’t be effective so I had to pay out of pocket for additional anethesia. I couldn’t afford full sedation so I did the ‘in between” which I guess was a valium and laughing gas in addition to the Novocain. Needless to say between the valium and the gas I could have careless less when it came time for the shot and having the procedure :) We know I am going to have fillings replaced as well (not sure if I will need crowns or just new fillings) but I am nervous because of my past issues!
Jamee recently posted: Sharing Our Spoons – September

[Reply]

Jamee Reply:

Sorry! Didn’t mean to write a book :)
Jamee recently posted: Introducing Secret Spoonie Sisters

[Reply]

Felicia Fibro Reply:

Wow – sounds like you’ve had many more teeth “adventures” than I! I was fairly anxious too – my eye was even twitching, but since the second root canal went smoother with the numbing medicine I’m hoping that will be what it’s like next time. I have to get fillings on my root canal crowns soon though, so I’ll know then. I’m trying not to get too nervous about it. It sucks though, because I have to get them while my regular dentist is on vacation.

[Reply]

Comment from Kate Spencer
Time November 9, 2013 at 11:00 am

Oh my gosh, yes!!!! I recently had a few fillings that needed to be done and the pain was so bad from the shots plus while my dentist worked on my teeth (felt like he was being rough). I felt embarrassed because normally I try to not be so expressive or show pain, but oh my gosh. It was horrible. Most patients normally get 2-3 shots when I got like 7 shots or so for this procedure AND that didn’t even work 100%…I got the impression that my dentist thought I was overreacting to it but I wasn’t considering the fact of how much pain I was experiencing during it. Your entry made me glad to see that I am not the only one and that it is not all in my head.

[Reply]

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