The "What a Difference a Few Days Make", edition.

Good Friday morning. Still hot out here, but the heat advisory has been canceled. It was extended a day or 2 because the Las Vegas Valley was being affected by fires in Southern California. Not because the fires made it hotter, but the air quality was an issue. Apparently it's not supposed to be quite this hot in August out here. Lol. Hey. The desert is the desert. 

So really. What a difference a few days make. Monday, my left hand was swollen and hurt. My right hand had started to blister and I needed the ointment and the impacted wisdom tooth was firing up. Really now. I think I'm too old to be bothered by an impacted wisdom tooth. But you know there's a story behind that.  I won't go into detail, but I've had issues  with wisdom teeth from day one. My jaw is too small to accommodate the extra teeth.  And to add to the problems, the roots of said wisdom teeth are abnormally long. It made for really ugly extractions. 

Anyway, only one was left and it had been an issue. When the extraction was attempted it did not budge. I actually had nerve damage from the attempt. It was decided to just let it be.  Well 30 years later, it was ready. I made the dentist appointment. Had to use the dreaded HMO. I called Monday, but wouldn't get in until Thursday. Now hold on. I was uncomfortable and my tooth and gum were irritated, but I could function. I would have liked to have it taken care of immediately, but I could and did survive. 

Went yesterday morning. The staff was nice. The dentist was nice. Looked in my mouth and was informed that the tooth needed to come out. I was fine with that. But.  I am on dialysis. And I give huge credit to the dentist and staff for knowing and understanding ...stuff. First the blood pressure needed to be taken on my left arm. That's never been a problem. The dentist asked if I was taking blood thinners. I am, sort of. Just before treatment, one unit of heparin is given via the needles. Heparin prevents blood clotting as the blood is moving in and out of the tubing between me and the machine. The blood thinner could cause problems with the blood clotting once the tooth is extracted. I told her my last treatment has been Tuesday. The heparin would not be an issue. 

The next thing is that I'm very susceptible to infection and normal procedure is for the dialysis patient to be plied with antibiotics prior to any dental treatment. The dentist gives me a prescription for amoxicillin, sends me to Walgreens and tells me to come back that afternoon. Shoutout to Walgreens which rushed the filling of the prescription. Got the pills. Had to take 4 jumbo capsules, 2000 mg. And wait 2 hours. 

I returned to the dentists office, they took me right in. I was given a massive dose of local anesthetic. The dentist told me to "marinate". Lol. She came back about 1/2 later and you know what?  That tooth came out very fast with no fanfare. Like it was hanging on by a thread. Talk about instant relief!  Well. I'm sure the numbing of half my face had something to do with that. Lol. Sent me home with gauze in my mouth. The bleeding stopped pretty quickly. Several hours later I started treatment, which was uneventful, as usual. Problem solved. 

And the hand?  We wrap it and slather it with neopsorin for part of the day and leave it open for part of the day. The thing seems to be healing quickly!  Plus walking around in the heat with the big ass bandage on my hand is hot. Ugh. 

And I told you the tooth was an irritant, but not so much that I was incapacitated?  Tuesday we were scheduled to see Hilary Clinton in Vegas, but we got there and had to wait in a long line in 100 degree + weather. We passed and went to get haircuts instead.  Then we had lunch at Zydeco's. I tried the gumbo. Oh.My.Goodness. Best gumbo ever. Huge chunks of chicken and spicy andouille sausage and the flavor. Yum yum yum yum.  I asked for a small bowl, but it was huge!  I couldn't finish it.  Lol. 

Well that's it here. Dialysis front?  I got my pharmacy statement. So far this year, my drug cost has exceeded $15,000. No I did not pay for all of that, but that's outrageous. The cost of just one of the medications is $1200 for a 30 day supply. Way to make people with chronic illnesses worry. Geez. As I mentioned before, I've passed the out of pocket threshold so I am in Medicare D category called catastrophic, so the cost of meds are really reasonable now. But still. 30 pills for $1200?  Outrageous!  

Have a great weekend.  Stay cool or dry. Find those fresh Midwest vegetables. I'd kill for the corn and tomatoes. Ah well.