Tag Archives: Dental Care

Boredom Sets In As I Wait For….

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! At this very moment I am sitting in the waiting room of my doctor’s office to see her for our ever two week check up even though I have not seen her since November. Long story short, our schedules didn’t mesh well and the holidays didn’t help with the scheduling. Any way I am sure we will be discussing how things have been going with me both physical health and mental health wise. I am sure we will also be discussing how I have not been using the emergency room on the regular basis and only going to urgent care once as seeing her every two weeks is to help cut down on the amount of times I go to the emergency room. Anyway, one of the things I plan on doing is asking my doctor if she can prescribe me some Ativan for my upcoming dental appointment. Actually, it will be for my oral surgery of taking out all of my teeth. I have anxiety over going to the dentist. I know it sounds a wee bit silly but I do. I know most likely my doctor will not prescribe me the Ativan but at least I will have an answer as if I don’t ask the answer will be an automatic no.

As I wait for my doctor, not only have I been writing this post I have been reading the book Lost Boys by Orson Scott Card. It has been quite helpful to me as I wait to see my doctor. Hell, it was quite helpful to me last night when I was unable to sleep due to sleeping too much for about three days due to depression. I love to read. It helps me get out of my own head space and think about something else for once. It is quite helpful for me and my recovery journey.

I best be ending this particular post as it is getting closer to my appointment time with my doctor. I hope to post more later on today. I hope everyone has a good Monday. Peace Out, World!!!

No Excuse For Not Blogging

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! It has been a few weeks since I last posted. I have no excuses. I have had plenty of time to post especially since I have not been called into work since Christmas week which I didn’t work at all in December either except for a stupid staff meeting. I do have to say the last few days I have been in a depressive state to where I have been sleeping a great deal. Now, I am a little worried that I won’t be able to get any sleep for a few days.

Let me catch you up on what has been going on with me the last few weeks besides not getting called into work and sleeping a lot the last few days due to being in a depressive state. So, my therapist and one of his colleagues came by my apartment to check on the cleanliness of it and both of them were “impressed” by my apartment. They however weren’t surprised on my music selection as when they showed up, I was playing Sleater-Kinney. My therapist did notice I have some things that I need to throw away and have come up with a plan to get rid of the stuff I don’t need and he suggested by getting rid of the access stuff while listening to music.

Another thing that has been happening is that I have been preparing myself for some dentures. I am getting oral surgery done this Wednesday and will be getting dentures. Yes, I realize that being less than two months away from being forty years old and needing dentures is rare but considering that when I was young I was a hard core anorexic and bulimic, I did a number on my teeth. Something I am not proud of and twenty years after I stopped the eating disorders I am paying for the consequences. Consequences I don’t like but at least it is my teeth that I am loosing due to the eating disorders I dealt with as a child, teenager and young adult instead of my life.

As stressful as the upcoming oral surgery is, I think the reason why the last few days I have been dealing with depression and sleeping too much is because my grandma would have been eighty-nine years old on the fourteenth of this month (January). So, I guess I was dealing with some grief.  Grief that I am still dealing with and will continue to deal with. My therapist and I have been discussing it in bits and pieces. Dealing with grief sucks shit.

I don’t have much more to post about at the moment. I just hope everyone has a good rest of their Sunday evening. I hope everyone has a good night. Peace Out, World!!!!

Lil Gertie’s Health Scare & Other Randomness

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! I realize that I have not blogged since New Years Day. I don’t really have any excuses as I know I could have found time to blog. I do have some excuses for the evening of Friday the fourth till yesterday. I mention this as my cat, Lil Gertie, had two minute period to where she was struggling to breathe. I immediately took her to my vet who was out sick however the vet techs looked at her and said it would be a good idea to take her in to another walk in vet clinic which they referred me to. The vet techs sent over Lil Gertie’s records and I went to the referred vet clinic. There, Lil Gertie was checked and she has asthma. The vet put Lil Gertie on steroids, antibiotics and just in case a de-worming med. The vet put her on a de-worming med just in case she has parasites which she says it is extremely unlikely but precautionary especially since I would have seen worms in her stools. The vet said parasites could be the reason for Lil Gertie’s asthma but she highly things it is asthma that was aggravated by a respiratory illness is why she is on an antibiotic. Lil Gertie, is also on steroids to help with the inflammation due to asthma.  Taking Lil Gertie to the vet caused me a great deal of anxiety especially since she had another asthma attack right in front of the vet. Thankfully, I didn’t need to get x-rays done on Lil Gertie since she ended up having another episode of struggling to breathe. The vet said if she has another episode, that I might have to get her an inhaler for the asthma. Seeing Lil Gertie struggling to breathe is anxiety provoking. She does appear to be feeling better. She is upset with me because two of her meds are in liquid form and she doesn’t like to be held still to have some nasty tasting stuff being forced in her mouth. I know I wouldn’t like it.

Now on to my own health issues. First and fore most I made an appointment with an oral surgeon to get my teeth taken out. I will be getting dentures which is something I am not looking forward to but it is something that needs to be done desperately. I have high anxiety regarding dentist. Mainly because I am unable to see what the hell they are doing. But in reality I will feel better about myself once I get a new set of teeth which would be dentures.

Besides my dental issue, I too have been having some asthma attacks which highly sucks. It sucks even more that I think I am coming down with a cold or something like a could. I think I am just worn out and need some rest but I do have sore throat which is not a good thing. I have been drinking plenty of water and orange juice. I am trying to stay healthy especially since I have to make sure Lil Gertie gets healthy. I really do love my cat, Lil Gertie, cause I don’t know what I would do if she were not around.

Anyway, I want to thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated. I am grateful that you read my blog. I don’t have much more to say. Again, thank you for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

It Is Yet Another Monday

Posted on by Gertie

Good Morning, World!!! It is another Monday which is the start of another work week. The last full work week before Christmas. This is the time of year where many people are under stress due to the holidays. It is also the time of year where many others who have mental health challenges it because that much more stressful and anxiety provoking especially when family is involved. It is my hope for the next eight days that everyone can be able to do some good self care as the Christmas holiday is coming quickly upon us.

The one thing I was hoping to do today was attend art group but unfortunately I have a dental appointment today and it was the only one available before the New Year so I took it. It is for the the dentist to take moldings of my teeth and after that I make an appointment to get my teeth pulled as they all need to be taken out. I however will wait till the new year to get my teeth pulled. I am not looking forward to it but if it will help me eat better to get better nutrition and feel better about myself then I will do it. I just really wanted to go to art group today as art group won’t happen on the 24th or  31st due to the fact that the group facilitators will be out of town.

After my dental appointment this afternoon, I am going shopping for Christmas gifts. I highly dislike shopping especially this time of year because everyone is so rude or at least the other shoppers appear to be rude. Another reason why I highly dislike shopping for gifts is because it always appears that the gifts I give are always returned or re-gifted. Which is why I tend to give cash or gift cards then that way the person receiving the gift can get what they want or need. Plus, then my family can’t argue that I spent more on one person than the other cause they can check the cash or the gift card to see how much it is.

But before I go to the dentist or shopping, I will be going to go get my meds. Meds that I really don’t like taking but do. I take them because I know they ultimately help me with my recovery. They are the primary reason for my recovery but are part of what helps with my recovery. Taking meds sucks but if they are helpful to my recovery then I will take them.

Before I get my meds I need to do some very basic self care stuff. I need to eat breakfast. I also need to take a shower as I haven’t taken a shower in about four days which means my depression symptoms are starting to increase. So doing basic self care items like eating, showering and evening making my bed are quite helpful for me in battling the symptoms of my mental health challenges.

Thank you for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated. I hope everyone has a great Monday and most importantly a great work week. Again, thank you for reading my blog. Peace Out, World!!!

Sunday Evening Randomness

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! It is Sunday evening and I don’t think I will have much to say in this post like I did in my last post. So, lets start with the work thing, I talked a great deal about in my last post. I ended up turning off my phone and took a nap. I really needed the nap as I didn’t get much sleep last night. Well, anyway, when I woke up from my nap I turned on my phone and sent the person who asked me to work for her a text as well as our boss. My boss texted me back saying it was no big deal and he understood that sometimes people activities required the phone to be turned off. But I didn’t receive a text back from the person asking for coverage which okay with me.

Well, tomorrow I am going to the person who does dentures to get a molding of my what little teeth I have left and they will refer me to a dentist that will pull my teeth out as the oral surgeon that was suppose to do it kept cancelling on me for various reason so the person who is going to do my dentures will refer me to someone who will pull my teeth. I am not looking forward to it but at least all I am getting tomorrow is the impressions of what little teeth I have left in my mouth.

I am still dealing with anxiety, depression and PTSD symptoms. Unfortunately, it appears the symptoms are starting to increase which isn’t a surprise to me but it is worrisome as I have been doing really well and improving greatly. I also know that the grief is setting in a little bit more as Christmas is in about nine days and it is the first holiday without my grandma. So with the increased in symptoms and the grief, I am striving to just maintain the next two to three months because of the holidays this month, my grandma’s birthday is next month in January and well my grandma passed away on Valentines Day which is February. So as much as I want to continue to improve and hope I do; all I can expect from myself is to be able to maintain how I am doing currently.

I do not have much else to say. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their Sunday or what is left of it. Thank you so much for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated. I hope everyone’s work week goes well. Peace Out, World!!!

Just a Bullshit of Randomness

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! It is the Sunday after Thanksgiving and this year Thanksgiving was difficult for my family and I as it is the first holiday season with out my grandma. When my grandpa said the prayer before we ate dinner on Thanksgiving he broke down crying which led me to cry.

Speaking of grandpa, he had knee surgery a few weeks ago and right now, I am taking care of him as neither one of my uncles are able to do so at the moment due to them both having to work. It is nice to be able to help him as needed. It is also nice to spend some time with him in general as he is 88 years old. For being 88 years old he is relatively good health with the exception of his recent knee surgery.

Speaking of health, I did see my doctor nearly two weeks ago. She put me on on some antibiotics due to having an abscessed tooth. Unfortunately, I needed to go to the Emergency Room the next day to get my tooth taken out. Good thing the hospital I normally go to is a teaching hospital with a dental school. I see my doctor again this Tuesday as we have appointments every two weeks to help keep me out of the hospital for both physical and mental health.

Speaking of mental health I finally saw my psychiatric nurse practitioner as she kept cancelling due to family emergencies and a death in the family. She apologized profusely about the many cancellations however I was quite understanding of the reasons why. She and I discussed my mental health as well as my psych meds. I informed her overall my meds were working except the new sleeping med which she increased. We also discussed not being able to see my therapist due to him being out sick for three weeks. She informed me that if he wasn’t back the week after Thanksgiving to give her a call to see what she could do about me seeing someone on the interim bases.

Thankfully, I didn’t need to call my psychiatric nurse practitioner regarding as my therapist came back last week, the week of Thanksgiving. I was able to see my therapist the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. We discussed a great deal regarding him being gone, my grief regarding it being the first holidays without my grandma and the upcoming holidays and how difficult they are for me due to trauma. Since my therapist is back even though part time we are working on ways to help me get through them. So my next session we are going specifically working on self care tactics so I can stay out of the hospital for psych reasons including the Emergency Room.

As the holidays are upon us, I am thinking on what I am going to give my family for the holidays. I haven’t decided yet but I think I am going to give my dads side a picture of my grandma and my moms side some hand made gifts. I highly dislike giving things that will only be exchanged for something else or gifted out to someone else.

I don’t have much else to say. Thank you so much for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated that I have people who read my blog on the regular basis. To you I am the most grateful for. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season even though I know it is challenging for many folks. I hope you all have a wonderful work week as well. Have good rest of your evening. Peace Out, World!!!

The Evening Before Thanksgiving

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! Long time not blog. I can give you plenty of reasons why I haven’t posted in a while as well as plenty of excuses and have decided I won’t bore you with them. I’ll just go straight into what I am going to post about.

The last few weeks have been filled with anxiety. They have been filled with anxiety because my therapist was out of the office for three weeks due to health problems and finally came back this past Monday (11/19/2018). He still still didn’t look like he was feeling all that well when I saw him yesterday (Tuesday). But at least I was able to see him for a session without seeing him in almost a month. I had an extreme case of anxiety that my therapist wouldn’t becoming back due to health reason after what happened with Diana. Even though my therapist is back only part time due to his health issues, I am glad he is feeling well enough to be back. I just wish he was feeling back to his normal. But at least I will be seeing him weekly just as long as his doctors continue to say it is okay for him to work.

Another thing that has been causing me a great deal of stress for me is that my psychiatric nurse practitioner kept canceling on me due to a family emergency and a death in the family and I had ran out of refills for meds. But thankfully she refilled them before leaving to go to the funeral. I was finally able to see her last Thursday (November 15, 2018). She upped my new sleeping med and even with the increased, it still isn’t helping me fall asleep as quickly as I would like. At least the Melatonin appears to be helping me stay asleep.

Something else that I am not sure I have  mentioned but my regular doctor has been seeing me every two weeks as a precautionary thing to help me stay out of the Emergency Room (E.R) for both physical and mental health reasons. It appears to be helping. In my opinion it has been quite helpful.

Unfortunately, I did end up in the E.R last Wednesday (11/14/2018) due to an abscessed tooth. Thankfully, they were able to get the Dental Resident over from the Dental school to take care of the tooth and pull it. I am now on antibiotics for three weeks due to the severity of the infection.

On that note, I have been dealing with anxiety regarding the upcoming holidays. It is not just the anxiety I am dealing with in regards to the holidays, I have been dealing with the grief of this being the first holiday season without my grandma. I just wish the anxiety wasn’t so bad especially with the added grief. The one thing that has been quite helpful with the anxiety is my cat. She has been laying on my chest as I sit in my chair when I am high anxiety. She does this to help me focus on my breath. I find it quite helpful that she does this even though it hurts my boobs.

Well, I don’t have much more to say. Thank you so much for reading my blog. It is greatly appreciated from my end of things. I hope that I can post more often and not let things get in the way. Again, thank you so very much for reading my post. If I don’t post tomorrow, I want to wish everyone in the United States a very Happy Thanksgiving. Peace Out, World!!!

A Roller-coaster of A Day

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! Today has been roller-coaster  type of day when it comes to my emotions. I was able to meet my spend down for medicaid due to a comprehensive  dental examination. That means I officially have medicaid back on. Which will help with my dental, mental and physical health care. I also happy that I will be able to get the proper care I need to take care of myself.

On a side note I went to call my grandma on her cell phone to tell her some good news. The sad part of this is I had a lapse in judgement that she passed away just over six months ago which let the flood gates of grief come rushing in. I miss my grandma so much. A plus note, I did have lunch with my grandpa.

I talked on the phone with my therapist about my grief dealing with my grandma and he gave me the support I needed. He suggested that I journal and/or blog about the grief. Dealing with grief is not easy.

On to the positive note. I have an interview on August 31st for a Peer Specialist position. I am looking forward to having an interview and hopefully a job a peer. I should here back later on this week about getting an interview for a shelter counselor position. Not sure what position I would want more put at least I will have some job prospects coming my way.

I am also happy that I will be able to get the much needed dental care I so desperately need. Getting the proper dental care helps your overall health. Having good health will help me with being able to go back to work.

As you can tell I’ve had an emotional roller-coaster type of day. Please send out positive energy or vibes or prayers or whatever good mojo my way about getting the job that is best suited for me.

Thank you for reading. It is greatly appreciative to have readers like you in my life. I hope that my post as of lately gives out some hope to people because some of my post appear a little hopeless and depressing when I read back on them. It means a great deal that I have extremely awesome readers like you to help me keep blogging. If it weren’t for you the reader, I wouldn’t still be blogging. Thank you again for reading. Peace Out, World!!!

It’s Been A Long Day

Posted on by Gertie

Good Evening, World!!! As many of you know I have had a long day. It didn’t really turn out as planned but that is okay for me. It started when I saw my doctor this morning to look at my weird ass mouth infection. She gave me some more antibiotics.  We also discussed how long I have been seeing her and her concern that I could be over using the hospital’s which is valid. So I’ll be seeing her every two weeks just for checks about physical health stuff and if needed mental health stuff as well. Which I am okay with.

I then saw my trusty therapist who is trying his best to gain my trust and it is slightly working. We discussed ways on how I can change certain behaviors and how he can help me with that. He now wants to see me twice a week to help me with my behaviors and help me not use the Emergency Rooms as much for both physical and mental health reasons.

Plans changed when my grandpa picked me up to go to Red Robin. We decided that he would take me to a walk in dental clinic and get a comprehensive dental check up. He paid for it. Looks like that I will need to get all my teeth pulled and get a full set of dentures which is not surprising for me. So next week, I am going to the DSHS office to get some paper work straightened out as it appears I am loosing some things due to a computer and/or human error. So hopefully, I’ll be able to get back on medicaid so I can get my teeth fixed.

My grandpa and I did go out to eat to IHOP but it surely was no Red Robin. Hopefully, we can go to Red Robin soon. I love Red Robin. I think we might go to Red Robin on Sunday.

As far as getting an interview with a potential employer, I am still waiting to hear back. I think it is ridiculous that they haven’t even set one up with me yet when I informed them that the time they gave me I was unable to do so due other obligations. I gave them dates and times when I was available next week and the person said they would get back to me by the end of Friday which is today.

Thank you again for reading my blog as I ramble on about different shit. Have a good rest of your Friday and I hope you enjoy your weekend. Peace Out, World!!!

Nothing Much To Say

Posted on by Gertie

Hello, World!!! I sit here wondering if I should have kept my appointments with my vocational (employment) specialist and therapist. I have a feeling that I am going to regret cancelling however the mouth infection I have is making it difficult to talk due to the pain of the infection. You would think that the doctors at the hospital would admit me to the hospital for I.V antibiotics but they say it’s not “severe enough” which maybe I need to be grateful for. Another thing I am grateful for despite poor dental hygiene is that the infection has nothing to do with my dental health. I do see my regular doctor on Friday for this stupid infection that fucking won’t go away.

On a side note I have been playing email tag with a potential employer about setting up an interview for sometime next week. It would only be one to two shifts a week which would equal twelve to twenty four hours a week. The shifts are twelve hours due to it being an overnight shelter for homeless young adults.  Working with people who are currently and/or formally homeless is a passion of mine and really hope that I get this job. Yes, I know that the interview hasn’t been set up yet but at least that is in the works. Dealing with homeless individuals for me is easy because all they want are the basics in life.

Thank you for reading. It is very much appreciated from my end. Have a wonderful Wednesday. Peace Out, World!!!