Root Canal

I got a root canal today. It was my second. The first one was about 3 years ago and I literally did not feel an ounce of pain throughout the entire process. In fact, I actually enjoyed it and was disappointed when it was over (I got to watch Hook; they gave me laughing gas; the dentist and his assistant were really cool; and I didn't pay for it). After my first experience, I thought people were crazy when they talked about how terrible and painful root canals are. Now I know what they were talking about.

I didn't feel a thing while I was in the chair this morning, but once the numbness wore off, oh boy. It killed. And it was an obnoxiously constant pain, which was merely dulled by Ibuprofen. I would have taken whatever number of pills was necessary to drown out the pain completely, but seeing as I am nursing, I didn't think that wise.

While I was reading during FHE tonight, the ache intensified and I wasn't due for more pain killers for another hour and a half. So when Jeff suggested I borrow some of Luke's Baby Orajel, I wasn't above the idea.  I always thought that Luke's hilariously disgusted faces and buckets of drool immediately following a taste of that stuff were only because he was a baby with limited control of himself.  I was wrong.  I involuntarily had exactly the same reaction, drool and all, while Jeff keeled over in laughter.  But it was all worth it for the numb tingling bliss that was instantly mine.

I'm happy to report that 15 hours later, the pain has significantly faded.  And now that I have discovered the truth about root canals, I sincerely hope this will be my last one.