05 March 2009

A New Kind of Pain

I have a blog almost complete, detailing whats been going on over the past week and a half. I'll get it up soon.

I've been dealing with all different kinds of pain during and after my accident: The initial injuries, having my jaw reset, getting the wires off, root canals, crowns... All have maxed out around a 6 on that imaginary scale often used in doctors offices. I have a high tolerance for pain.

Last night, I experienced a 9.5. Not quite a 10, because I'm pretty sure cutting off an extremity might hurt slightly more... but not much.

Enter the new world of sinus pain.

I've never had sinus issues. When I lived in Bowling Green, I'd have issues with the mold count in the air and my tonsils would flame up, but nothing major. A few colds here and there, no biggie. I started to feel a little under the weather yesterday, so I decided it would be best to do my track work indoors, keep it very low z2, and go to bed very early. I was in bed by 9pm. Woke up around midnight with some annoying drainage, just enough to make me cough a little bit. Fell back asleep. At 2am, I woke up in quite possibly the worst pain of my life. It felt as if my entire sinus cavity between my left ear and cheek bone was exponentially expanding. I wanted my ear drum to rupture, just so I could have a little more room in my head. I tried Sudafed (the good meth-head kind), and laid down hoping it would start to relieve some pressure. Nada. My left ear was still throbbing, creating a deafening inter cranial silence. I tried laying on a heating pad. No help. Ice, not an ounce of relief. I tossed and turned hoping it would stop for the next 3 hours. I contemplated going to the 24 hour CVS, but didn't really want to take anything else. Finally, I was able to convince my body if I slept, I couldn't feel the pain. It worked for another hour, until I was up again in the same pain.

I'm currently looking up an ENT doc... I wonder if this has to do with the broken jaw?


I just want to be healthy for this weekend - its supposed to be 70!

2 comments:

D said...

Yikes. Sorry man. That blows chunks. You should keep a bottle of vodka next to your bed. ;)

FLATOUT JIM said...

I have so been there. Last year while on vacation, I picked up a head cold on the plane. I ended up with a sinus infection so bad, the right side of my face felt like I just came from the dentist because the of pressure on the nerve.

The good news is that a good dose of the correct type of antibiotics, and you will start to get relieve almost immediately.

Best of luck.