Sinuses

Agghhh, I’m having the worst sinus headache. 

I found a really good site about sinuses.  It’s nice because it has SO much information, but isn’t too clinical for a lay reader. 

I hauled out my neti pot* last night, and found I still hate it.  It feels exactly like when you accidentally snort seawater.  Like when you’re bodysurfing and end up tumbled in the soup.  Only without the fun.

And, I can only do it from left to right.  When I try right to left, the water just backs up and doesn’t go through.  A couple of years ago, an ENT said my nasal passage is crooked - he actually asked if I’d ever broken my nose.  (Not that I recall.)  I wonder if that has something to do with it.

Finally, it doesn’t really help.  The pain is up between my eyes, and I just don’t think the water gets up that far.

 I think I need to go in again and see if I can get a CAT scan or something.  I’m not keen on going back to that ENT, because his specialty is the operatic voice, which isn’t too relevant to me.

* What the heck is the pink vaguely nose-shaped thing on the left side of the image on that page?  It’s on the front and side of the neti pot package, too.  It’s sort of like a pig’s nose sitting on top of a large, featureless blob, surrounded at the base with a flared-out edge.  Or it might be the bottom of a person’s nose peeking over the top of a brimmed hat.  I keep looking at it, and I cannot figure out what it’s supposed to represent. 

Whatever it is, clearly SinuCleanse thinks it’s important, because it’s a registered trademark.

 

Best. root canal. evar.

I had an awesome root canal today.

It was awesome because (1) it wasn’t an emergency root canal; (2) it was only one, not two; (3) it’s my second-to-last one; and (4) my endodontist rocks. 

I nearly fell asleep in the chair, I was so relaxed.  Partly it’s ’cause by now I trust my endodontist completely, and partly because I got that weird massive adrenaline rush at the beginning when he injected all the novocaine, and after it wore off I was super-sleepy. 

I don’t always get the adrenaline rush - I think it’s only when a lot of novocaine is used.  The left half of my face was so numb, I couldn’t feel my eye.

 Also, there was this paradoxical relaxing effect, because for some reason, he was going on and on about all these horrible, awful things that don’t pertain to me.  He was talking about some endometriosis drug that’s turning out to have a side effect where bone matter doesn’t heal post-surgery.  So it was bone sloughing zzzzz it just doesn’t heal properly zzzzzz necrosis zzzzzz so of course the lawyers are jumping all over this zzzzz oozing bone sore zzzzzz.

Afterwards, I felt weirdly elated, maybe because I don’t have oozing bone sores.  I stopped at a Cold Stone Creamery for an ice cream shake.  I couldn’t speak properly,  because my mouth muscles weren’t working yet, so I was trying not to say too much.  But the woman was so psyched about their new holiday flavors I felt I had to sample one, so I tried the eggnog ice cream. She watched my reaction excitedly.  Except I couldn’t quite manage the tiny little spoon with my crazy-frozen lips, and I was kind of fumbling around, and I had to turn away because I felt like Mr. Ed nom-nom-nom’ing a lump of sugar.  It was so embarassing. 

It was very good ice cream though.  I hope she believed me when I mumbled that, staring at the floor, hand over my mouth.

Well, I’m starting to feel my ear.  I hope it doesn’t hurt too much when the novocaine wears off.