Quick update: the eye surgeon is pleased with the improvement in inflammation after a month of steroid and atropine drops. The atropine has broken some of the adhesions between the lens and iris, and the pupil no longer looks so lumpy and misshapen; it's more football-shaped, which is still not *round*, but it's definite improvement. After more blood tests the PCP still can't pinpoint the cause of inflammation, but she recommends eliminating or further reducing sugar and simple carbs from an already lean diet, and increased exercize. To paraphrase, "couldn't hurt." She added a second referral to the surgeon's for an appointment with the rheumatologist. The problem there is, of the four rheumatologists in town, two are retiring, and the remaining two have to absorb their patient load, so appointments are hard to get. Meanwhile, I'm to stop the atropine and taper the steroid until a month from now, when we'll reassess. From my point of view (heh) the nearly opaque obstruction that blocked more than half my view has reduced to something the size of the end of my finger, and is nearly clear. Seeing is a good thing.
So, that settled, I went to bed Monday night and was woken from a sound sleep with toothache. Never got back to sleep. The dentist we've been seeing is excellent, but H and I both have felt he's surplus to our needs. Uninsured, we won't be dropping thousands for implants. He also has a vague air of disapproval because we don't want killer smiles and we only see him when necessary. Honestly, I feel like every time I walk in his office he's pulling teeth. H searched the yellow pages and found a new possible dentist: emergencies, walk-ins, care credit and installment payments, veneers, whitening, implants, bridges and dentures. They had an opening yesterday afternoon. I was very impressed with the cleanliness, appearance, and calm, competent atmosphere of the office. Buster Keaton films were playing on the waiting room tv--from the dentist's own collection. Everything went very well, the tooth came out, and there's an affordable replacement available going forward.
And in most recent news, oxy is my very best friend. Any mistakes are entirely due to him.