[Angel8]

Greetings: Three weeks ago I had a root canal that went bad on me.

I controlled the pain of the initial toothache for several days with aspirin and homeopathic Hypericum Perforatum tablets which work directly on nerve pain. They are great up to a point. When I finally got into the dentist, they sent me to an endodontist who ended up giving me five shots to get the thing numb, did what they said was a perfectly straight-forward root canal, no infection, no problems and then my life ended for about five days. When the shots wore off, I had pain that would have stunned a bull elephant in full charge. They had given me a scrip for Vicodin, which I did not want to accept because I have never taken it before and I have really strange reactions to stuff, so if it is something I haven't had, I am very reluctant to eat it. They made me take the paper when I left their office. About 30 hours later, I finally caved to the pain and went to the pharmacy in the middle of the night to have the scrip filled.

The pharmacist kindly informed me that Vicodin has acetominophen in it, which I cannot take because it makes me psycotically violent.

So I had to endure another five hours of pure agony until the dentist could call in another scrip. They gave me Vicoprophen, which is the same Hydrocodone but with Ibuprophen instead of Acetominophen. From what the dentist said, the acetominophen or Ibuprophen are supposed to carry the Hydrocodone into the bloodstream. I explained to him that Ibuprophen is completely inert in my system. Does nothing for me, good or bad. I took the first pill in quarters, waiting to see what it might do to me, and my father was home all day to watch me for bad effects. It made me incredibly sleepy within half an hour. So I fell asleep for about an hour. After that, pain was barely dulled at all, and within a second hour, the pain was back with a vengeance. I tried to take the second pill at three hours from the first one, and it made me nauseous. Bottle said to take them every 4-6 hours. I did so the rest of the day, and every time, it would make me sleepy, barely maybe take a little of the edge off the pain for an hour or so, and wear off again. I called the dentist three times over the next three days and he did not respond. My neck and jaw abcessed and swelled half closed in my sleep the following night, and the pain kept increasing. It looked like someone had installed a grapefruit in my jaw. All I could do was spend three days semi-conscious in a chair, shaking and shocky from the pain. No food, no water, couldn't swallow except to barely choke down the painpills that weren't really working anyway.

So, I have figured out that either I am resistant to Hydrocodone, or, because Ibuprophen does not work on me, it did not carry the Hydrocodone into my system like it should have. Either way, that stuff was NOT WORKING for me. All of my co-workers were trying to get me to give them the pills, they all said they were the good pills, that they would have me flying. They were wrong. Turned out to be the most miserable week of my life. I have had 4 root canals before and none of them was ever anything more than a few days of aggravating toothache and tingles. This one was UGLY!

I hope to God I never have another one go like this. I don't know what they can give me for pain. I have had codeine in cough meds before, but it was so long ago I don't remember it. And when I had all four wisdom teeth out, they gave me Clinorol. I had one pill the first day or so, and then went to aspirin, and everything was fine.
I was so out of it from the general anaesthesia that I don't remember if it worked on the pain.

I just hope I never have to have that question answered!

Angel8