NoJoMo – 4 On Doctors and Voting

I have another appointment with the dentist/oral surgeon/doctor person today. I had my surgery on the 22nd of October, my follow up a week ago, and now, I’m having another appointment. I’m still in pain. I’m still having trouble. My list of problems? Well, not to get to personal, but:
·         Pain in my jaw bone – severe and mostly on the right side where the original infection was
·         Pain in my teeth – mild and frankly, to be expected
·         Pain in my gums – mild/moderate, again… rather expected after having 4 teeth yanked
·         Stiffness in my jaw – despite continued heat therapy and working the muscle as instructed, I still have a limited range, especially on my right side
·         Breath issues
·         Fuzzy tongue feeling
·         Chills/hot flashes
·         Low grade fever occasionally – haven’t checked regularly
·         Potty issues despite an incredible amount of pain meds that usually cause the opposite problem
·         Severe headaches
·         Trouble sleeping despite pain pills and Nyquil
·         Coughing – dry and frequently
·         Decrease thirst
·         Decreased ability to taste food/drink
·         Increase in pain/resistance to pain medication
This shit is affecting my job, my marriage, my LIFE. I’m having to take extra Klonapin so that I won’t care so much that I’m in pain all the time… so that I won’t snap at my boss or scream at my husband. I’m sick of it. I’m ready for it all of this shit to be over with. In addition to the pain, and to the constant crappy person I feel like for missing work every time I have to take off to go to the damn doctor, the pain medication is frucking with my other meds for the bipolar… they are depressing me. I know it’s a chemical depression, because when I’m off the pain meds for 12 hours or so, I’m in a bunch of pain, but I’m in a really chipper mood. It’s the strangest thing! It’s like the meds I normally take are trying so hard to work, but the pain medication is just making me blah.
 
So, Grant and I went to vote this morning. We got up at 4:30 as planned. Got to the polls at 5am. There was already a line of over 30 people. By 6am, when the polls opened, over 150 people were in line. I am really glad we got in early. My voting went fairly smoothly. Grant had some trouble getting the ballot reader thingy to accept his ballot. Finally, the guy just opened the box with his key and put Grant’s ballot in the box. We voted. Go us. Yes, we both voted for Obama. We believe more in change than in experience. After all, Tom has put his business in my hands… I don’t have experience. What I do have is half a brain and a crap load of common sense. While I may not be the most qualified, while I may stumble my way through some stuff… I’m not the very experience C. L. (the woman who worked here before me) who screwed my boss over completely – not that I’m at all implying that McCain would screw us over the way Bush has… necessarily. Just that I’m ready for change. I’m ready for something other than what we’ve had for the last decade. And McCain just couldn’t convince me that he’d be any different.
 
Well, that’s about all I have… unless the doctor has something profound, and then I may write again. But I doubt it.
Wish me luck, and lots courage. I hate doctors.