Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Why Can't I Trust My Dentist?!

For the first 28 years of my life I actually liked going to the Dentist. I never had a cavity and I take great pride in my teeth. I love all the compliments that I get whenever I get my teeth cleaned. "Wow! You have great teeth!" "Keep up the good work!"

Two years ago we moved to Indiana I went to our new Dentist. I went to the office and a girl took me to get my x-rays done. She rolled her eyes at me when she told me I needed to take our my earrings. "Um... okay. That's not a problem."

She then took me to my chair where I watched Pawn Stars until my Hygienist showed up. She was awesome! I love it when they really get in there and clean. She said that my teeth looked great and that I would just need to wait for the Dentist to come look at them. I continued to watch TV and then all of a sudden my chair was going down and back and someone had their hands on my face. "Oh! Hello." The Dentist had arrived. He said nothing to me. He proceeded to do his exam and he told me that I needed to have one of my sealants* filled and that I had a few cavities and then he left.

"WAIT! WHAT?!"

*Side story: I've never had a cavity, but when I was younger my Dentist did fillings (or sealants) on some of my molars because I have deep grooves. It was a preventative thing. So yes, I have had shots in my mouth, I have had drills in my mouth, and I know what it feels like to have a filling.

Ok. So now I am shocked! SHOCKED! I didn't even have time to ask him about the cavity or anything!

I then went over to the lady who schedules they appointments. She said that because all of my cavities are in different quadrants I would have to come back four different times! FOUR!

So I came in for my first appointment a few months later. My first cavity. I was told that at this time the Dentist was going to fix one of my sealants and do one of my cavities at the same time. Alright. Two birds, right?

The rude girl from before came in and put a couple of q-tips in my mouth. I know what these are! Numbing agents! Yeah! I was watching TV for only a few minutes in my chair when this hand grabbed my face. I knew it was the Dentist and I figured he was just checking on the numbing agents. NOPE! Here comes the needle! It hurt so bad! SO BAD! He gave me a few shots and my mouth was throbbing! 

Then he laid me back and had the rude girl and another lady come over and help. It seemed like he was teaching them. He let them do some of the procedure. Which was fine. But it would have been nice to know. 

Also during my procedure he and the girls would be laughing and flirting. It was so strange. After the procedure he left and I was told to go make an appointment for my next cleaning. 

My head, not mouth, HEAD was numb for the rest of the day. I really think he hit the wrong nerve with that shot. So stupid. 

Well, a few weeks went by and my tooth still hurt (it didn't hurt before the "cavity", but it hurt during and after). I didn't think this was normal so I called the Dentist. They told me it shouldn't hurt and that I needed to come back in. Fine.

I went back in and the Dentist attempted to fix my cavity. He seemed angry and proceeded to blame me for it. What could I have done?!

So I sat down in the chair and the rude girl came back with the q-tips. I told her that I didn't think they worked last time and she just rolled her eyes at me. Great. Good job, Court.

The Dentist came back and I prepared for the shots (even though he didn't tell me they were coming). They still hurt but at least they didn't scare me this time.

Well, a few months went by and my tooth still hurt! I called the Dentist again and they said to come in when I had my cleaning and they would look at it then. Fine.

I went back in and had my cleaning. Again, the Hygienist did a great job. Then the Dental Assistant came over. I told her about my tooth. She told me that they were going to put numbing agent on it and if it didn't get better I may need to get a root canal. A ROOT CANAL?! She then told me that I had more cavities. 

WHAT?! NO F-ING WAY!

I got mad. I told her that that was not possible. She just rolled her eyes at me and told me to get a second opinion if I wanted to. Why would I need to get a second opinion?! BAH! 

On my way out of the office I was told I needed to make another appointment. "No. I'm never coming back here. Tell me what I owe you and I am leaving and never coming back."

So, here we are. I didn't go to the Dentist at all in 2015 because I was so freaked out by my experience in Indiana.

When we moved to Illinois in December, I decided that I needed to go get my cavity checked out and to get a cleaning. 

A few days ago I went to the Dentist. I was so nervous! I told the Dentist there and the Hygienist about my last experience in Indiana. They listened and were very nice about it. After my cleaning the Hygienist told me that my mouth looks great and that I didn't have any cavities! What?! How is that possible?!

The Dentist then came in and had a look around. He said my mouth was very "boring" and that was a good thing. He then poked around my mouth trying to find where my tooth was hurting. He said that he could see the filling and he could remove it and try to fix it but he didn't want to if it wasn't hurting any more. I told him that it only hurts if I bite down on something hard (like granola). He said to keep up the good work and that he will see me in 6 months. 

So here we are. I don't even know what to think. I am so happy that I ended up getting that second opinion. I don't have any cavities. I probably got all that work done in Indiana for no reason. 

AND, Josh also went to that Dentist in Indiana. He has fine teeth, but he has had some cavities and he has a tooth that needs to be pulled. He got one of his cavities filled and he had the same problem I had (still hurting and can't eat anything hard). I'll have to set him up an appointment with this new guy. 

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Employment Status: Check One Please

I have very mixed feelings when it comes to being unemployed. Sometimes I think about how nice it is. I can do what I want, went I want. I have no one to answer to. I can run off to Europe at a minutes notice. I can read and write or watch TV all day. I can take online classes ...

BUT

On the flip side I get frustrated. I like structure. I like to have things planned out. I like to have order and control. I like to contribute. I like to feel like I matter.

That being said, this is what I've been doing (and other random stuff too):

(1) I work out. I go to the gym 6 days a week. I lift weights, walk on the treadmill (I hate to run), go on the Elliptical, and Spin. Then I go home and do either Yoga, Piyo, stand on my Bosu Ball or Insanity.


[I usually end up icing my knees a few times a day]


(2) I have been looking for a good natural deodorant for a long time. I don't like antiperspirants and it seems like that is all they sell at the store. I saw Piper Wai on Shark Tank (See? Watching TV pays off, right?!) and thought I would try it out. So far it works great and smells good :-)


(3) Snow! Where is Spring?!


(4) Meal Planning. Every Sunday I sit down and plan out what we are going to have for dinner during the week based on meals that we like (~15 choices). I then make a grocery list based off of my meal plan. I find that this helps me with my WW and we don't waste as much food.


(5) This election is getting out of control. I love this:


(6) I do the finances. I started tracking our spending back when we were living in North Dakota and I had us on a tight budget. I like seeing where our money goes every month. I am crazy and I know Josh gets annoyed when I call him and ask him about a specific charge, but he knows it's for the best.


(7) I sit in my chair and watch TV. I have three years worth of Gotham and House of Cards to catch up on!


(8) Spring arrived! We had tornado watches and warnings (there was a touch down just south of us) so we did a little work on the Raptor and stayed glued to the News until it passed.


[Adding sealant so water doesn't get in]

[Such a manly man!]

The storm was a little scary for me. There was a ton of lightning and thunder (Josh loves that crap), but we didn't have any damaging hail or tornados (like they said we would).



So far I have been enjoying my time off :-) And I am looking forward to going to Ohio to visit my family soon!