Toothache

Thanks to everyone for your kindness and advice I am feeling a tiny bit brighter today so I m hoping I m on the mend I still look like a one sided gerbil but hopefully that will continue in the right direction I will try the thumb and V rub Suzan I have so much to do in the next week including a theatre show then a short flight so really want to feel normal again

Hope things have improved Bluebell, I had a dental abscess 8 years ago and I still remember the pain !!! I was also on two lots of antibiotic, Erythromycin and Metrodiazonle ( sp ) Plus I found alternating paracetamol/codeine with Ibroprofen at least took the edge of . It took about 48hrs before I noticed an improvement.

Just a little update as since I first posted my problem is still ongoing I m not in dreadful pain anymore and the swelling has retreated but I still have low level pain and have been on three more lots of antibiotics since this problem started A few weeks ago I was once more rolling round in agony anyway I had an appointment yesterday and now have more understanding of what's going on ..... I wondered why the dentist didn't just take the tooth out well after seeing my X-rays my root does not end in a pointy bit like it should but in a round ball to remove the tooth he first has to remove a piece of bone to give it access to get out ..... secondly he now believes the lack of response to the anti biotics points to the fact it's not an infection but a dental cyst and these don't always improve if the tooth is removed so basically it's a wait and see game he says a cyst can take anything up to 12 months to go but he wants to keep me as painfree as possible during the waiting game Wish me luck x

OMG BlueBelle it appears to be never ending but at least you are no longer crying with the pain as you were last month. I cannot say I have heard of a dental cyst before, infection from an abscess would spring to mind first. I do hope that it is sorted sooner rather than later and more importantly you do not have any problems over the BH period. Thanks for updating us.

Thanks for response charliegirl I hadn't heard of it either but it appears to not be rare and can be there without a problem unless it flares up into an infected area which obviously happened it does make more sense as I couldn't understand why the anti biotics were not working as I rarely take them and thought they would act very quickly

bluebelle are you on a decent painkiller ? If not I would try to get to the GP and he can prescribe something stronger to help . Co codamol 50/500 is a good strong one and would be OK to take for a few days at a time . Paracetamol/ Ibuprofen won`t touch this level of pain as you probably know ! xx

Blue Belle my heartfelt sympathy, that sounds truly dreadful.
I just hope it is resolved soon, TBH I can imagine little worse. An abscess in a wisdom some years ago over Christmas reduced me to washing down painkillers with brandy and when I got to the dentist on the 27th I was ready to have my head removed as well as the tooth. ???

I can't quite make out what is going on here...but I don't take conventional medicine unless I can really help it...and with tooth stuff, I find frequent warm salt water washes really can help-more so if there's any infection at all.

I m not in bad pain now just very low level F77 I just know it's still there but not enough to need pain killers at the moment fingers crossed, I have a prescription for more anti biotics as an emergency if it takes off over a Christmas, but the dentist is hoping it will slowly die off but it can take a long time
What bit is puzzling you Sussexgirl?

I also do not understand what is puzzling you Sussexgirl60 as BlueBelle has explained very well from the start her trials and tribulations and has kindly brought us up to date with her last trip to the dentist.

Oh blimey Bluebelle, what a shame. Wrong time of year to be in pain, the rumbling on sort can be debilitating. Take care of you, hope it all settles soon and please do take those antibiotics if you need to.

Thank you Charley and cornergran fingers crossed x

Just lets get you through the Christmas and New Year period, at least your dentist will be open for business after that but with luck you will not need his/her assistance.

sussexgirl what`s the confusion ? just out of interest , why do you not take conventional medicine ?

Sussexgirl I take as little medicine as possible as I think we can build up immunity to its help if we overdo it but I can assure you salt water ain't going to touch this one

Had a difficult day yesterday as I can feel it is starting to swell up again and the throbbing was back, not full blown pain just a step up I m very tired too keep falling asleep

I have the anti biotics on standby but don't want to use them if possible as that will be the fifth LOT in two months I think I will make a GP appointment after the holiday and get another point of view on it all

bluebelle, I'm sorry to hear your still suffering. I had a dental abscess earlier this year and had to have the tooth removed but your cyst sounds like a more persistent problem and more difficult to treat. I can't remember if it's your usual dentist who is treating you, if so I wonder whether a referral to a hospital dental unit would be useful? Someone on another thread mentioned having a son wu th similar problem, but needless to say I can't now remember which thread that was! Wishing you a pain free Boxing Day x

Oh you poor thing, tooth ache or soreness in any area of the mouth is so difficult to cope with. I remember having an abscess once and finding that when i lay down at night it was worse. I mentioned this to a pharmacist when i was asking for the strongest painkillers, she told me that i wasn't imagining it, apparently something happens to the nerves when you lie down and that is why the pain feels worse. Try propping yourself up and a warm hot water bottle can be quite soothing.
Lets hope the dentist can sort this out quickly so you can have a pain free New Year.

bluebelle sorry you are having this pain . It really sounds like an abscess or at least like the one I had . It would come and go , building up to severe pain at times . Don`t hold off with the anti bios , abscesses can be dangerous and the infection can spread . I assume you will go to the dentist asap ? the only thing which cured mine was extraction in the end . My son , when he had one would grate up an ibuprofen and put it on the tooth , he said it worked for him temporarily . xxx

I also would take the antibiotics, especially as they take 48 hours to kick in. Those plus whatever you have been taking for pain relief and heat applied to the relevant side and be outside your dentist is it Wednesday when he is back in business? I am sorry to say that your pain is long past a rinse or three with salted water.

If you cannot reduce the pain relief to an acceptable level I would also be outside your A&E dept. to see if they could help. My heart goes out to you.

Where is JaneA when you need her?

Did you have a root filling, was one completed BlueBelle?

No it's not been completed Kitty he has cleaned the root out twice ready for filling but the 'infection' has never gone enough to complete

I am going to try to get a doctors appointment to maybe get another opinion Yesterday it was throbbing all day and I felt very under the weather, today the pain has settled down and I don't need painkillers the throbbing has all stopped, but its lumpy so I think yesterday it was filling up again as the pressure would make it throb, now the swelling which is no where near as bad as a few weeks ago, when I looked like a one sided chipmunk

As I said earlier he is trying to avoid an extraction because lucky me has a funny root that would make extracting difficult, a piece of bone trapping the root would need to be removed first, he also said there is a bunch of nerves close by which make it more complex he showed me it all on the X-ray and it made sense what he said

I don't think a doctor would consider looking at it. They are loath to interfere with any dental matters.

A second dental opinion is a more sensible option. You should be able to go to your local dental access centre - ring 111 or Google it. Is your dentist single handed? Is there another partner in the practice?

I wasn't going to the doctor to asess the problem Kitty but because I m so unwell in myself and because if it's a cyst on the jaw and not the tooth they may have some ideas The dentist doesn't think it's coming just from the tooth as he took the nerve out and has cleaned it to within an inch of its life

The dentist is in a group and I have seen a couple of others in emergency situation needing a prescription over this last couple of months I don't think the dentist is doing anything wrong he's as puzzled by it all as me

I just feel so under the weather and seem to have lost what bit of spirit I had I m trying to keep going and be as normal as possible, just hard work

I wasn't suggesting he was doing anything wrong BlueBelle, just another view. I am surprised that your dentist hasn't referred you to a max fax specialist if he is bewildered.

Let us know how you get on today.

Please get all the professional advice you can bluebelle, it could be time for a specialist input via a hospital. Maybe take your GP a list of all your symptoms with a note of when each began, as you remember it. Could the infection have spread? if you can't get to your GP quickly then back to the dentist and as kitty suggests advice via 111 in the meantime. What did you decide about the anti biotics? Wish I could fix it for you. Hang on in there.