Previous lives...?

So, what exactly did I do in a previous life that was so bad? Was I Attilla the Hun's right hand woman? Did I squander away a kingdom's riches while thousands of people starved to death? Did I find the cure for cancer and refuse to share?

...because. guess what folks? There might be no nerve, but the toothache is back.

dropping like a stone

Y'know, I couldn't make this up if I tried.Another tooth is hurting.

The first twinge happened literally as I walked in the door last night after The Root Canal. I tried to dismiss it from my mind. It has been making its presence felt all day.

To add to my woes, it is one of my front teeth - so if anything happens to this baby it isn't going to add any charm to my smile. I am desperately hoping that it is *only* as a result of flossing. When we arrived in Zurich in January I had similar pain, eventually put down to a little gum infection where I had cut it. However (what a monumentous word that is) this tooth has also been bashed on a couple of occasions, so I am concerned.

I am still taking the course of antibiotics prescribed last week. I am still taking the anti-inflammitories (better watch the ol' stomach, of course. I will see what it is like over the weekend. If it isn't better, I am going to pay M yet another visit. If treatment is needed,I'm going to get it done asap since I can't, can't, go on like this.

So my mood is in my boots and quite frankly the Deutsch test tomorrow, which I know will not go well, can go and stuff itself. If I can get out of bed that'll be a step in the right direction.

So, I got the pliers out and....

...well, only kidding. Just.

After good experience at the dentist yesterday when he finished off the first root canal with no problems (this was the one that had been very traumatic whe he was doing the procedure), the pain in the other tooth came back yesterday. I'd finally had enough and got an appointment for 4.00pm today.

It wasn't that I wanted the root canal done, obviously, but the constant rollercoaster of emotions, with me plumbing the depths of terror, finally got too much. I just couldn't go on any longer.

There were a few very minor issues. I still needed more local than you could imagine, and at one point I had a little pain. But it was 'far away' if you see what I mean, not agonsing. M simply (!) gave me even more local and that really was the matter dealt with, apart from one more part. He had found a fourth canal and when he was withdrawing one of the tools it 'ripped' out a bit of the nerve below where the nerve channel n narrows and then open out again. This can happen sometimes. I didn't like it, but it wasn't too bad. M dropped some more anaesthetic into the 4 chambers and then everything really was fine.

This time it *only* took 2 1/4 hours.

So, was there actually a problem? Was a root canal needed? Yes to both. When M reached the top of the pulp cavity he discovered blood - my understanding, remembered through a haze of fear remember, is that the top of the pulp cavity was dead/dying and this is what was causing the pain. In other words, it was only ever going to get worse. And, again, although with hindsight it would have been better to get this over and done with on Sunday, there had been more reason not to.

I'm glad it's over. And I now know that it really is possible to be 'rigid with fear.'

Sign the bone marrow donor petition

As you will know if you've been reading this blog lately
Adrian has just found out that the leukaemia that he is suffering from is going to kill him. Soon.

He has made it his mission to use his last few weeks to bring more awareness and understanding of bone marrow tranplants, thereby encouraging more people to sign up to become donars. An effective way of doing this is to give an a talk to all 17/18 year olds before they leave school. Adrian would like to see this talk become mandatory.

If you agree with this, sign the e-petition

31 degrees

Yep, that's right folks. Depending upon which website you look at, we're in the 30s tomorrow. :0)

In which I still go on about the dentist...

Well, I ended up in a snotty, crying heap at about 6.30 this evening. Number Guy managed to get in touch with the dentist and he saw me this evening at 8.00pm.

There are still no clear answers. He took another x-ray and it *mostly* looks fine. There is one spot that might be a problem area, but it could be the nerve lying in front. It could actually be a tooth grinding problem, but he wasn't convinced. It could be neuralgia - apparently there is a blood vessel wrapped around the trigeminal nerve (or that is how I understood it) and this can sometimes trigger pain. It could be caused by damage done when the tooth that lies in front of this one was removed a few years ago.It could be an infection.

In short, it could be any numbe rof things and unfortunately there is no compelling evidence for any of them. The tooth is still alive, as the 'ice test' proved (I didn't like that very much.....). He could have done a root canal tonight, and would have done so had I asked him to (!) but it was not his preferred cpurse of action - I could end up with a dead tooth and still be in lots of pain if it is due to any of the other reasons....

...so, I have been sent home with some antibiotics and anti-inflammatory painkillers. There is some evidence to suggest that I might have a bit of an infection and that I am also sufferinig from muscle pain. I've been told to use moist heat on the affected area and to massage also. He reckons that by tomorrow I should know if we are taking the right course of action.

If I do need a root canal he says there are things he can do to help support the local anaesthetic, since this failure to work is my biggest fear. Basically I will go to the surgery an hour before the treatment and will be given an elephant dose of paracetamol and ibuprofen.

I am so grateful that he saw me tonight. Now I am just hoping that this is going to work. I am absolutely exhausted - fear and pain grind you down.

Give me a pair of pliers...

...and I'll pull this %^&$£@"!£$^ tooth out myself.

It's 4.45am as I type this and the pain is getting pretty much unbearable. But looking on the bright side, I guess if it gets a little bit worse I will be so darned glad to get to the dentist that I won't bother with the fear part.

Pain and fear. They wear a person down.

Gender roles

No matter how much of a rampant feminist you might be, there's no getting away from it. Gender matters. At least when you are using German.


I am slowly getting to grips with the dativ and akkusativ. But not knowing the gender of the nouns is taking its toll. As you can see below, before I could even begin to do the exercise, I had to check the gender of each and every noun.
What should be a 5 minute sprint turns into a marathon.

Still, I shold look on the bright side - it's slowing down the cake consumption ;0)

perspective and lack thereof

The toothache is rumbling on. I am trying really hard to keep things in perspective - after all it is toothache and I have access to modern dental facilities. I do not have a terminal illnes, after all. The trouble is that it isn't so much the toothache (which thankfully is not nearly at the unbearable stage) but the fear. Those of you with phobias will know just how this becomes all-consuming and really drags you down.

In the end, you anticipate the event so many times, that you end up 'experiencing' the dreaded event over and over again. So in effect, for the past few days I have been living in the dentist's chair. This can't go on - I am turning into a basket case. So, time to get serious with the thought stopping -mind you, as far as I am concerned there is nothing irrational about these particular fears ;0)

So, to that end, I have made an appointment with my dentist for Tuesday -only to talk. I had a quick chat with him in the week, and he outlined all of the reasons why he thinks it is now down to toothgrinding. And I believe him - it all makes sense. But....I am now in pain when I am drinking hot things, which can be an indicator of problems with the root...yay! More root treatment! Of course, I am hoping that he will still say it is toothgrinding...

Save a life - be a bone marrow donor

I was incredibly moved by this blog:

Baldy's Blog , written by Adrian from Huddersfield.

Read his blog, watch the video about bone marrow harvesting, then go and register.

In the UK you can register with
The National Blood Service or The Anthony Nolan Trust.

And maybe someone can help me here, as I am being incredibly inept with my web searches. I am trying to find the Swiss equivalent, but all I am getting is hits about the service written by other people, I can't get the actual service itself.All suggestions gratefully accepted.

Edit: That was quick. Thanks Sylvie . If you are in Switzerland and want to join, go to this page

How hard can it be....?

Well, if my spinning ability is in any way related to my inability to post one of these pictures, I'm pretty well stuffed....

Are you bored yet?

With all the 'tooth talk'? Had to go back and see my dentist yesterday. He is as convinced as he can be that I am having problems with tooth grinding. I think this is true. All of the evidence, which he has shown me, points to no further problems with the tooth itself. However, I think that there is also a problem with the root in this tooth.

He asked if I was getting 'lightening flash' type pains with hot/cold substanced and the answer is noyes. When I deliberately swirl coffee around the offending tooth, nothing. But this morning, lingering over a coffee before my Deutsch lesson - KERPOW! -Blitzkreig followed by ache all day....

So, anyone want to give me some odds on how soon I'll be back in that demon chair???

Viewers of a nervous disposition.....

Today we went to
The Rhine Falls . As you can imagine, we saw some amazing sites. Including one we didn't actaully want to....

'Passing water' in public, to be delicate about an indelicate matter, is something that tends to happen when young men have been knocking back far too much alcohol of an evening and are incapable of behaving in a decent manner. It is not something that one expects to find a late-middle aged woman doing on a footpath. In full view of everyone. Leaving nothing, and I mean nothing to the imagination.

I'm sure you're all glad I shared that with you - now I'm off to lie down in a darkened room...

Hat

We've been having fantastic weather, which may have boken today :0( so I thought I should have a new hat. A few hours, and much cursing later, here we have my new reversible hat











More bias tape. Love it.

In der Ferien

Yep, 'we' are having a holiday here. My parents are visiting so we are exploring - you've no idea how tiring walking,talking,eating and drinking can be!



Any idea where we've been?

Ich habe ein Zahnschmerzen.

Ich habe IMMER ein Zahnschmerzen.

Honestly, it's as well we have an Elektroherd. Because if we had a gas oven, i think my head would be in it.....

Next stage of the saga

Whew, glad that's over. Only took two hours in the dentist today...only had minor issue with the local. I mean, it's typical isn't it? I'm the one with the phobia, so I'm that one that has local anaesthetic issues....

However, as usual my absolutely wonderful, saintly dentist was his usual absolutely wonderful saintly self :0) The (hopefully) good news is that it doesn't look like I will need a root canal done, but only time will tell.

In the meantime I have recommenced my Deutsch course, so the Perfekt tense is currently kicking my ass - yay! - not!

Better go get the homework done.

Ich kann ein bisschen Deutsch sprechen

Ok, I realise that this is probably-not-the-best-German-in-the world ;0) But our doorbell is very quiet and I really needed the man from Migros to actually deliver the shopping this time, not simply ring once then disappear if we didn't hear him. It worked. And the the day after, all I had to do was score out 'Migros' and substitute 'Ikea' and the bookcases appeared.

While we were waiting for our delivery, some of the neighbours came to introduce themselves.

Aren't they pretty? Their presence explains the rather tuneless 'windchimes' that I have been hearing lately.

And as usual I've been in and out of the Hauptbanhof - you never know the minute what you'll see. This week it was the turn of
Toblerone, currently in its centenary year. The celebrations are something to see. Don't ask me what's going on - I only live here....

What's in store for tomorrow? Why, another visit to the dentist, what else?

Glad we stayed home....

May Day Protests

Calling all sewists...

I took the bull by the horns yesterday and decided that I was just going to give the jerey a go. I am really pleased with the results of this plain pink tee.....except...

Do you see the way the neck isn't lying flat. The facing at the back is also rolling over to the outside. In short it is screaming 'handmade crappy job done here!' Can anyone tell me what I might have done wrong and a possible way to fix it?
Full disclosure - I topstitched the neck instead of understitching the facing. Might this plus the subsequent stitch removal have caused the problem? Is there any that I can recover the situation?