Literally Taking On More Than I Can Chew...

Well, it’s been an interesting few days for me.

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while.  Life just takes me in different directions – and Monday was certainly of no exception.  What was supposed to be an innocent, standard trip to the dentist turned out to be a long visit to A&E.  What happened, I hear you ask?

A dislocated Jaw.  Ouch!!

I didn’t feel it go or pop out, but when the dentist finished her clean I couldn’t shut my mouth.  It was locked.  She tried to manipulate it to go back in but failed.  She then got a second dentist to have a try, but she failed too.  Then she got on the phone to a specialist and they were giving her tips on what to try, but to no avail.  In the end, she looked at me with big apologetic eyes and said “I think you need to go to A&E.”

Whheeerrt???!!! (well, it came out as an “Ugh??” ‘cause my mouth was locked open and I couldn’t speak).

So I got my friend to pick me up and take me down to the hospital, and after an agonising two hour wait, drooling everywhere and sitting with wads of tissue, the doctors finally managed to make it to me.  I was drifting off to sleep so was a little startled when they popped their heads round the curtain.  It was my first time in A&E as a patient and for the non-emergancy things they have lounger chairs instead of beds.  I was happy with this, and found the most comfortable position was right back with my head up to take some of the pressure off the jaw, and there I dosed, sleeping away the pain and the headache and the sore, dry throat.

But oh, my god!  It took two doctors to get my jaw back in.  They tried me in different positions (sounds like a re-enactment of 50 Shades) and eventually had me sitting in a small chair with him behind me, both hands pulling at my jaw until slipped back in.  The relief was instant.  A working jaw is sooo under-rated!

Funny this should happen though.  I’ve been back and forth to the doctors for a while now with an issue in my ear. I went for four weeks without hearing in it back in November, and they flushed it and gave me drops but it’s still not right.  It comes and goes.  But I’ve just discovered how close the jaw bone actually is to the ear canal.  And if I have an underlying issue with my jaw – which is what they suspect – this could be the reason why I’ve been having problems with my ear.  It’s an issue that, unbeknown to me, has been getting progressively worse and this trip to the dentist was just enough to tip it over the edge.

So, I’ve gone from someone who has never broken a bone to a women with a dislocated jaw.  I don’t recommend that to anyone.  So let's just say, on my next trip to the dentist, both my nurse and I will takes things a little more easy...lol