Dr. Jolley doesn't make me feel very Jolly.

Since returning from spring break, I have spent approximately 9 hours at the dentist.  I have been putting off the inevitable for many years.  When I had braces, some 7 years ago, I was told that I needed to have my 20 year old fillings replaced with crowns.  I was in no hurry to have dental work done.  Except for said fillings (there are three), I had never had anything done in my mouth and I was NOT anxious to!
I am still not anxious to...:(
A few weeks ago, I went for my routine cleaning and my dentist told me that I better get on it or else I was looking at root canals on top of my necessary crowns. YIKES!  I immediately scheduled an appointment! LOL
I scheduled the appointment for right when we got back from spring break vacation.
When I went in for the appointment, I thought..."This isn't going to be so bad".  I had totally psyched myself out and I was in tears by the time I got my first (of seven) shots!
Little did I know, the shots were the easy part.
They started to "drill" (I don't know the technical term, but it felt like drilling to me) my 20 year old fillings out and on top of smelling smoke and seeing a cloud of smoke hovering over my mouth, I started to gag on the taste of metal!  YUCK! I was overwhelmed with the taste of metal and pieces of metal and tooth kept falling to the back of my throat, causing me to gag even more.
I would open my eyes and see shadows of debris being sucked into the vacuum and I couldn't even handle it. I was so grossed out!  The mouth has got to be the nastiest thing EVER!
My teeth were super sensitive once they were "exposed".  They put the temps on and I was tender, but it was to be expected, right?  I left and was completely unaware what was in my future.
That night, I was in PAIN!  I am one of those people that handle pain pretty well.  I am able to grit my teeth through nearly anything.  I have had surgeries without pain medication, children without epidurals, even a hysterectomy without complaining...but I have NEVER felt pain in my mouth before and let me be the first to admit that I have been a baby!!!
Pain in your mouth has got to be one of the most painful kind of pains! You can't get away from it. My entire head hurts. It even hurts in my ear and down my throat.
I was worried that this couldn't be normal. I contacted a good friend (that I happened to used to work with at a dental office).  She said this is normal and my teeth are in shock. I had to wait it out that first night, but as long as everything was okay with the teeth (assuming I didn't need root canals etc.), I should feel much better the next day.
I barely slept that first night and in the morning, I was worse than I could have ever imagined. I couldn't open my mouth and anyone that knows me, knows how miserable that must have been for me. ;)
I grabbed my purse and headed straight to the dentist office as soon as they opened.
After a quick exam, the dentist decided I was/am actually experiencing complications with TMJ.  Apparently, keeping my mouth open for the dental work triggered an existing condition that I already had (that I was actually made aware of 7 years earlier when I got my braces on) called TMJ.
Since that first appointment, I have had multiple exams and even worn a temporary tray that is supposed to help the pain (but it hasn't!).  Now I am being told that I need to go through a 3 month treatment with some trays and then braces.  UGH!
I can't even start this treatment until I have all three permanent crowns in place!!  I get the permanents for two of them tomorrow and then the temporary for the other on Wednesday and then 2 1/2 weeks later, I will have all three permanents in place!  This has been a long, trying process and I am in a lot of pain.
Please pray for me to have continued strength through this process. I am completely exhausted from all of this and I have been taking 3200 MG of Ibuprofen a day! That can't possibly be good for a person. :(
Wish me luck!
Love you guys!