sinisterporpoise

I've not posted or checked this for a while because someone's reaction to something baffled me, and I needed to take some time to figure out what if anything, I did. I've come to the conlcusion it wasn't all on my end, and it comes down to conflicting expectations in communication.

In any case, I'm not going to dwell on it too much. I had to figure out how to bring it up without making it about me and I still failed. In any case, I have a different story.

I woke up a few nights ago. This in itself is not unusual, but there was pain in my mouth, and I just figured it was nothing to worry about. This is the problem with chronic pain. You just assume it's the same cause, even when it's not. It took me a while, but I realized it was in my mouth, particularly in the wisdom tooth that I know has needed to be taken out for two and a half years ago. Dentists have tried to trick me into getting it taken out under local anesthetic before, and I resisted.    I let it go for a while, occasionally arguing with my insurance company trying to take it out. In any case, I realized that although I had gotten used to a certain level of background pain, that this pain was the same as what I experienced when I needed to get my other set of wisdom teeth removed.   

I called the place that tried to conduc the surgery previously and made an appointment. I took the bus to go there today. They took one dental x-ray, asked some questions, and I waited nearly an hour for the dentist to come in. He took a look at my chart, and took a look at my mouth. He thought he saw an additional supernumerary tooth and need to take an additional X-ray. This was a special type called a PA. I'm not sure what PA means in this context. It involved something being put along my gumline, the dentist pressing down, and some weird camera being putting on my neck. It took two attempts, but he got the picture he wanted. He found another supernumerary tooth.  This tooth also needs to be removed. It brings the grand total of extractions up to 4, and I no longer need to argue with my insurance company over getting local anesthetic to get these teeth removed.

As I was walking out of the office, I heard the nurse asking about how to spell Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. I just found that bit amusing. It's only mildly relevant to the story.

I finally bit the bullet and made an appointment to get my remaining wisdom teeth removed. The original appointment was scheduled in January, but someone canceled their appointment and a slot opened up tomorrow. I am not excited about this particularly, but I am sincerely hoping waking up due to pain in the cheek was caused by a decaying wisdom tooth and not one of the other various fun things my anxiety likes to imagine happening at a time like this.  Unless my anxiety has legitimate reasons to suspect something more scary in these situations, it should expect me to ignore its suggestions as best as I can.

I had two days to prepare for this.  After I returned from a therapist's appointment this morning, I found my cell phone and started to make a few calls. I expected a royal run-around from Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and I almost got one. I had two make two calls to Anthem and two calls to the dental office total. The dental office agreed with me that Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield was as much of a pain in the a** as I said they were, and eventually said she would have the dentist fill out the form tomorrow. Now, I just have to get this oral surgery out of the way.   (I did, afterwards, have to make it clear to the housemate that whether I get sedated or not, she is not getting out of going with me to this appointment tomorrow.)     Getting the insurance to pay for it and getting the wisdom teeth taken out quickly was the victory in this session.   (Some people would say the likelihood of getting strong painkillers is also a victory, but I've tried to avoid using prescription painkillers as much as possible.)

The victories are nice, but there was also a defeat. Because of the financial situation, I will likely have to let my car insurance lapse. I called the company today to see if I could get an extension, but it turns out that I cannot. All I can do to keep it in effect is pay 75% of the premium amount owed. This does me no good when I won't have the money until this Saturday, and I can't get them a money order out until Monday morning.  I could use a prepaid credit card, but it would still be cheaper to use the money order, stamp and envelope.  At least I can pick up the insurance again when the situation improves.

But since today is the sixteenth, it's time for some holiday wishes: If you are Jewish, I hope you had a Happy Hannukah. If you are Christmas, I will wish you a Merry Christmas. If you will be celebrating the Saturnalia and then the Larentalia starting tomorrow, Io Saturnalia!, if you are Asatru or Neo-Pagan, Happy Yuletide!  To the Asatruar, watch out for Old One Eye. He has a tendency to be as tricky as Loki and he's known for being especially active this time of year.