I am So Frustrated

Why? Why is it so hard to return a phone call?

I had a car accident on Jan. 28. I started to go for massage. For whatever reason, the massage therapist wasn’t being paid. Treatments were stopped, which I understand completely.

She needs to be paid.

I was told to look into it and I did. I called the therapist two weeks ago to tell her what she needed to do to get paid and offered to do it myself. I haven’t heard back.

At first I was OK with treatments stopping as it was affecting the amount of time I was spending with my son. However, my neck is getting more and more sore.

I am sure it’s my imagination, but I can feel my neck pushing on my spine, pushing on my back. I want to hold my neck up to relieve the pressure.

Actually, I just want it fixed.

I called the owner of the massage clinic as well as the man who was actually doing the massage today. Tonight, I will be calling my insurance company to let them know I will need another appraisal as I am going elsewhere.

Ouch

Our mattress sucks.

This is not news. I have been complaining about our mattress - and therefore my bad back - since I first started laying on it consistently more than 10 years ago.

We came close to getting a new mattress, but then I had to buy a new-to-me car and there went the possibility of a comfortable sleep.

For the past year or so I hadn’t noticed how bad our mattress was.

Then our son slept eight hours in a row, two days in a row, and I realized something.

It wasn’t that our mattress had miraculously fixed itself or I had finally gotten used to it.

Rather for the past 15 months, I really wasn’t sleeping in the bed. I was merely resting there for a couple of hours at a time. And for that type of sleep, our mattress is wonderful.

For a night’s rest, not so great.

Sorry It has Been a While

Hello blog readers,

Sorry it has been so long. I have been sick since Dec. 27. It started out as a traditional cold, which was starting to wind down around New Year’s Day.

Unfortunately, on the first Sunday of the new year, I woke up with a sore throat.
Then Monday arrived with a headache that reminded me of the sensation I had after jaw surgery - if I leaned over my head felt like it was going to explode into a million pieces.

I also had teeth and eye pain. I stayed home Monday. Dragged my sorry self to the office for three hours Tuesday, stayed home Wednesday, then went to work for the whole day Thursday.

Friday I woke up in what can be described as agony. My head still felt like it was going to explode, but this time the sensation was there if I was standing up, lying down or making any moves. In addition, my eyes feel like they were going to pop out of their sockets; the bones around my eyes were in pain as well; my jaw was tender; and of course my nose was still running.

I thought about going straight to the hospital, but waited until 9 a.m. to call the doctor’s office instead. I gingerly walked around the house with my hands planted firmly on the sides of my head until we had to leave. Because the pain was so bad, I got my stepdaughter and her boyfriend up to drive my son and me to the doctor where I was diagnosed with a sinus infection, given antibiotics and told to take Tylenol Sinus. It was instant relief.

I hope never to get another sinus cold again. I hope you don’t either.

Happy New Year.

Dentist Torture

When it comes to the dentist, I am sort of like a dog at the veterinarian - absolutely terrified.

And I am not talking about nerves leading up to the big day. No, I am talking about nerves leading up to the big day plus sobbing in the chair, shoulders up around my bottom jaw, body shakes and hands clenched so hard, they are not only white, but also bent out of shape.

I have had nothing but bad experiences with dentists and that includes nice, professional, caring dentists.

I have bad teeth, terrible gums and apparently a really low tolerance for dental work pain. I spent many years hating my original dentist because I thought he pulled four teeth without freezing. It wasn’t until I had my second root canal done - and felt the entire procedure - that I realized that I had freezing, but it takes a long time for it to take effect. Let’s just say that by the time I left the chair, the freezing finally took.

I have had a lot of work done on my mouth including jaw surgery, bone graphs, implants and more. I swear I felt some of the implant work being done and I suffered a lot after my jaw surgery.

I had teeth rotting and falling out, I have sensitive teeth, my gums are receding and I have a weak stomach so the whole process, including brushing my teeth, makes me want to throw up and I spend a lot of time gagging.

So despite this fear, I still go to the dentist. And because my gums and teeth are so bad, I go more often than most - once every three months. Lucky me.

So dentists aren’t my favourite people.

We recently got a new dentist. We were happy with the old one, but his practice is in Whitby and I can’t ask my son to spend a hour in the car, a hour in the office and a hour back. It’s too far away.

So we go to a dentist who is 15 minutes away, which is fabulous. Unfortunately, it’s hard to explain and make people understand 34 years of dental misery. Eventually they will figure out that I am a nervous wreck and I will cry each time so don’t worry and just get the torture over with. I’ll see you in three months.