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Licking problem [Lick! Lick!]

I sing that song like twice a week. Usually to Sophie, who has a licking problem, though not quite like that dog, but also because its so damn catchy and fun to sing. And the fcking little horn trill kills me.

On the drive up to Evanston this morning, I listened to Cindy Sheehan being interviewed by Amy Goodman on Democracy Now. I cried pretty much the entire time. I can't necessarily point to anything specific said that moved me so, it's just something in her voice whenever I hear her speak, such potent emotion that's always right there on the surface of every word.

I actually have the urge to read right now but I'm busy squelching it by writing here. I have this toothache. It's a tooth that has been giving me problems for a few months now. Can I pause and say my teeth never fcking hurt until I went to the dentist last fall and had them scraped and scanned, which led to lots of drilling, and now my isht hurts when I do things like bite into ice cream? Anyway, this bottom cavity bled when he drilled it and he put some antiobiotic stuff and basically was like, there's a 50/50 chance it'll heal itself, so let's keep an eye on it. I noticed he neglected to mention what the other 50% possibility was, though I'm assuming root canal. So anyway, it occasionally hurts in the moment of biting down on something. Every once in awhile it would hurt a little for a few hours, barely sore, but it would go away by the next day. However, not this time. It's starting to do some throbbing pain for hours on end, spreading down my jaw. I called and made an appointment but of course, the earliest is next friday, so I'm waiting. Now, I say the word throbbing and I mean it kind of just literally, it's pulsing along with my blood flow. It's not a searing, distracting pain. Yet. I worry it will reach there soon. So in the meantime, I thought, hey, I have clove oil (for use in a diffuser ring to aromatherpy my a$$ into submission, er, inspiration) so I've heard that's a homeopathic cure, let's try it.

Now, I am down with the woo-woo, to an extent. To an extent that I suspect is further than a larger percentage of people, and yet, not as far as many others who are deeply immersed in the woo. I still harbor a fairly deep suspicion and distrust of many non-western drugs/treatments. Mostly this is because they don't work for me, or in general, because it's the wrong thing. I never really feel much a difference with arnica, but tiger balm is borderline miraculous. Those little blue cylinders of homeopathic treatments? Boiron and what-have-you? I've taken them for stress, allergies, digestion, scar healing and never noticed a damn thing. Kava kava and melatonin? That has saved me from killing myself or others and if you combine them it produces an effect in me that I suspect is similar to what I've read about quaaludes (I combined them once, by accident, and it was sort of so amazing and scary, I don't do it). And don't ever give me some isht from whole foods for a headache -- I want high dose ibuprofen, specifically the liquid gels because they work even faster. Maybe an ice pack too, but that's as natural as I get for that pain. But I'll take my weird oregano "breathe deep" yogi tea over robitussin for a cough any day of the week.

So, the point is, despite my enthusiasm and willingess for the clove oil, I had my reservations. So much so that I lathered up the cotton swab with it and rubbed several of the teeth and gums surround the area, dipped it in more clove oil, swabbed again, and then I managed to run my tongue all over it, and then my lips and I swallowed and aaaaaaaiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeee! Burn, mtherfcker, burn. It almost made me cry, it definitely made me whimper a little and bury my face in the pillow for a minute until it passed. It also numbed out my toothache. A miracle!

I've been much more judicious today in my treatments. Barely a drop on the swab, careful to avoid other parts of my mucous membranes as much as possible. And hopefully it will last me a week.

I highly recommend it (I use the Aura Cacia brand, which is fairly easy to find, I think), if you're in need of an orajel type product that is cheaper, natural, and stronger. Orajel never fcking burned like this. Though it still didn't hurt as much as the time I put orange essential oil into my ears and I thought my entire canal was collapsing on itself and bleeding and I was going to go pass out from the pain and wake up in the hospital, completely deaf.

That's a story for another time. Now it's time to go to bed, kids.

Date: 2007-05-31 07:53 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cocolola.livejournal.com
oh teeth. they are so lovely for chewing and yet how they betray us! although i guess the dentist would say we betray them.

the pharmacy sells clove oil toothache kits. i guess they are down with the woo themselves.

i hope you feel better!!!!!

Date: 2007-05-31 08:22 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] swampgirl.livejournal.com
whoa. in my more audacious witch-doctor days i gave a friend with a toothache clove oil and she put it on directly and was upset with me when it REALLY hurt her. now i dilute the stuff by using veg. oil with a few drops of clove mixed in, layering it on little by little. i found tea tree oil applied directly helps for canker sores. also, myrrh seems to be good for mouth infections, and goldenseal. i've had the same experience with the damn boiron tubes. and they're not cheap, either. homeopathy and bach flower essences have never done a damn thing for me. but acupuncture and herbs and EMDR and my neti pot have saved me. i guess homeopathy works for some people. some folks say that if you have taken a lot of allopathic meds or have regular prescriptions for stuff, homeopathy won't work because it uses the body's subtle healing mechanisms and general western meds interfere with this too much. could be my problem -- i'm always on something like steroids or whatever. also coffee, menthol, and all that other stuff is supposed to stop homeopathic remedies in their tracks, though repeating the remedy should overcome the problem. at least i feel like the damn placebo effect ought to be good for something. but i just haven't had any relief with them. i still sometimes take "rescue remedy" or other bach flower stuff for some freakish reason, though i don't feel an effect.

hope your toothache gets better! if you end up needing a dentist sooner, let me know. mine would probably squeeze you in. she's in evanston and she's awesome.

Date: 2007-05-31 11:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] eloquentwthrage.livejournal.com
"The url contained a malformed video id."

Can't see it.

Date: 2007-05-31 12:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] raybear.livejournal.com
thanks! I fixed it (forgot a quote mark!). click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lBQWUR3u7U

Date: 2007-05-31 12:40 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] anjibobanji.livejournal.com
Hey honey if you call and tell them you are in pain they will probably get you in sooner, I know it is Friday but you can tell them that it is painful and getting worse and probably get an earlier appointment if the pain is over 5.

Clove oil is effective, I hope the pain stops!

Date: 2007-05-31 12:45 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] raybear.livejournal.com
I have a cavity that needs filling on the other side, that's what the appointment is really for. Right now the pain is fairly constant, but relatively mild so not completely distracting. I'm holding off my trump card of phoning in and pushing for sooner for when/if it gets too much for clove oil!

Date: 2007-05-31 12:49 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] raybear.livejournal.com
yeah, i've never gotten into the rescue remedy, though lots of folks around me have, or flower essence stuff in general. and you know i'm down with the SAM-e too and i've gotten converted to the neti pot! my friend just recently graduated as an herbalist in chinese medicine and i haven't explored that yet, but i think i might, since i have bona fide professional who can do it right, at least more so than my own haphazard treatment based on standing in the aisles of health food stores and the internet!

thanks for the denist rec. when i called for an appointment, it was to get another cavity filled, i was rescheduling from one i cancelled a few weeks ago. i didn't mention the pain, i wanted to see if it might go away, before i start insisting on coming in right away. as i said to my other friend, i'm holding onto that trump card for the moment!

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