I was able to eat that evening

Oh, god, that's the worst part -- eating anything, even on the "good" side, hurts SO much.

get the local. Seriously.

You mean novacaine shots? Or whatever they use? Trust me, this hurts so badly that I wouldn't dream of forgoing anaesthesia this time.

I am a wimp when it comes to dental work. I have had two . It takes 3 shots to numb me -- and that is the worst part.

agreeing with those that I could eat that night with care.

Yup. I was pretty much down to ice cold liquids and crying by the time I got to the dentist. And that night I had spicy black bean soup and quesadillas with mushrooms. I could chew.

I have had two .

Root canals?

yup two root canals.

Yup. I was pretty much down to ice cold liquids and crying by the time I got to the dentist.

Today? I've had a tiny bit of breakfast egg/challah/cheese casserole, and....room temperature coffee. It's almost 6, and I think I might pass out from hunger, but it hurts too much to eat.

And the crying? Oh, yeah. It's bad. I'd do anything to make it stop right now.

And that night I had spicy black bean soup and quesadillas with mushrooms. I could chew.

I don't have a dentist currently, so I'm wondering how good the odds are of being seen this week if I call someone and say, "Yeah, I'm not a current patient, but I'm in agonizing pain, so...how soon can I come in?"

someone always cancels -- so if you can be flexible - you can probably get in.

Pretty good. My dentist keeps certain hours open for emergencies only. They told me had I called right away, they would have seen me asap. (I had a pre-existing appointment for other reasons on the thursday. It went bad on tuesday.) As it was, they sent me directly from their office to the endodontist, who I'd never seen before and had no prior appointment with. They see this thing all the time.

so if you can be flexible

Well, my bosses can be jerks, but I think if I'm crying from pain they'll be okay with letting me go when I need to. We'll see.

Root canals are not usually painful, particularly when compared with the pain they take away. I usually end up with sore areas on my jaw from my mouth being held in an awkward position while it's numb.

I think dentists pretty much plan on new patients arriving in pain at short notice.

Do you know what days of rain after much drought can reveal? Major leaking around the bathroom fan. Sigh. I guess I need a roofer.

I think the antibiotics are beginning to get to the sinus infection that will not die, but it would be nice to not feel like crap. Note to self: Do not scare yourself by eating beets while taking a drug which has "blood in urine" as a serious side effect.