*For Bryanna* - emergency, excruciating pain not touched by painkillers, please help
 

Please, this is for Bryanna. You are my only hope. I have actually been thinking about you for many days now but only now have found the willpower to type. Have been in excruciating pain, too much to think or type. I apologize very much for the length but I need to give you the full background. Back in August when I decided to extract my tooth I came across your posts and found you knowledgeable and compassionate. So when this avalanche of problems started for me, I remembered you and could only think of you. I'm self-supporting (unable to work whatsoever for 2 months due to pain) with low income insurance, currently only have a primary care doctor that is stumped by my health issues, can't afford insurance or out of pocket expenses to see a pain mgmt doctor or neurologist. I thank my luck that someone like you exists.

Brief overview. I've had severe eye pain for the past two years, haven't been officially diagnosed but it is corneal neuralgia/trigeminal nerve centralized pain. Manifests as burning/stabbing/pressure sensation in eyes that are excruciating. I believe my condition was induced by long-term contact lens use that lead to corneal nerve damage. Back in 2012 pain level was 9 and reached 9.5 few times, feeling is comparable to lemon juice squeezed in eyes and that lasting for hours, days. Throughout 2013 and 2014 gradually went from 8.5, to 8, to 7.5, to 7. Couldn't work from pain, survived from unemployment insurance for a while and used almost all my savings, a bit part of which went to lots of eye doctors who were stumped (ophthalmologists are not well-versed in nerve/chronic pain issues). But by mid-2014 my eye pain was at a 7. Then in mid-July of 2014 experienced toothache, dentists recommended #14 needed a root canal. I did my research, part of which was reading your posts, and opted for an extraction. It was decay close to the pulp but no infection. At the time I didn't know there was no infection, assumed there was due to pain, I took Amoxicillin starting 8/1 and stopped after 4 days, went to ER due to horrible reactions including difficulty swallowing and electric shocks in *all* my upper and lower front teeth that was excruciating. After stopping, the pain in all my front teeth remained until 8/12 then went away. 8/21 was the date of extraction, procedure lasted a few minutes and tooth came out clean with no parts broken. Had it checked out a week later, no dry socket or infection found.

Starting 8/26 I had a significant increase in eye pain. Then I started experiencing 9.5 peaks and pain would alternate between eyes and all teeth, couldn't sleep at night. At the time I wanted to rule out a possible long-term sinus infection causing the pain so I started an antibiotic called Biaxin 9/1. Had to stop on the 4th day when my front (upper and lower) teeth pain became so bad I couldn't move from the floor, and I had seizure-like shaking in arms and legs. I even called 911 but they couldn't take me to an ER that accepts my low-income insurance so I had to decline. I went to my primary care doctor and got Vicodin. Turns out tremors is a rare side effect of Biaxin.

Since I had horrible reactions to both antibiotics, I think they exacerbated my nerve issues and subsequently increased my pain. I know these are a different class of antibiotics but there are articles about how certain antibiotics cause peripheral neuropathy, nerve damage, and nervous system problems, if you google "antibiotics, nerve damage."

Since then I've been dealing with severe pain that either alternates (in severity) or happens simultaneously in: eyes, all teeth (especially front upper and lower), and #13 and/or extraction site. By severe I mean I can't sleep at night but few hours at a time, always waking up in pain, and can't function during the day. It is constant, 24/7 pain at 8.5/9 with frequent 9.5 peaks where I want to be knocked unconscious. My theory is that both my extraction + the antibiotics (causing nerve damage) aggravated my trigeminal nerve big time. I'd notice pain in extraction site sometimes but mostly it's #13 that has the excruciating pain, wondering if it's referred pain.

As of 9/16 I started an anti-convulsant nerve pain medication called Lyrica. Vicodin does absolutely nothing for me. A week's supply of Lyrica is $90 because it's not covered by insurance so that is a concern as well because I'm extremely low on funds. I take 75mg twice a day and the first few days I thought it was keeping the 9.5 at bay even though I remained at a 8.5/9. In the past few days the teeth pain had been mostly centered on #13 as opposed to the all over teeth pain of before. Last night it was so bad, even a few hours after taking Lyrica, #13 was 9.5 and I couldn't sleep at all. Finally got a few hours in and woke up this morning to pain in all teeth again.

I asked my dentist who extracted my teeth and they said I have a cavity in #13 and #12 (they recommened an inlay) but nothing that would cause this level of pain, then again I’m a "special case." I went to them 9/11 and they confirmed I had no dry socket or infection. I had gone to another two dentists prior to them back in August and neither mentioned a cavity in #13 or #12. On 9/10 I got an x-ray at a different dentist and he said he noticed something in the extraction site that could be possible tooth root, a subtle white mark on the x-ray, but he didn't know what it was. (But I checked my tooth and no part of it was broken.) When I had an x-ray taken at the place where I got my tooth extraction, the extraction site looked okay with no fragments whatsoever, they said sometimes x-rays are taken wrong and show random marks. Does the extraction site look normal to you?

At this point, I'm thinking "what should I do?" The place that did the extraction recommended an inlay for #13 and 12. I'm also open to an extraction. But any dental work seems like a very bad idea given my current pain level. If the pain is worse from here I won't survive it. I'm thinking, wait until pain level goes down a little? But if the cavity in #13 and 12 is somehow causing the pain because my nerves are overreacting to the cavity, the pain level might never go down as long as they're both in there. I haven't experienced pain isolated to #12 btw, just 13. So I feel stuck in a catch-22. WHAT TO DO, I wonder.

I'm so sorry for the length. Bryanna please help me and keep in touch with me. I'm scared because I can't call 911 and go to the ER, I'm familiar with their process and they'll just make me wait for hours and give me a Vicodin. Lyrica, Vicodin, Valium, nothing will touch my pain. 8.5/9 is my constant, but what I fear are those horrible 9.5 peaks that last for hours, where I am on the floor, can't move and want to be knocked unconscious. I know I'm not the typical patient in that I have a pre-existing chronic pain condition, but my pain has gone from a 7 to this. Thank you for what you do. I can't live like this any longer, if you could keep communicating with me during this nightmare I'd be extremely grateful.

Also, I have three x-ray images I would like to show you but my post count is less than 10 so it's not letting me attach them here.

Keep in mind that I'm not a dental professional in any way and I can't say for sure our cause is the same. Also, based on what I just learned here, remember that tooth decay is an infection.
I had my molar pulled too because of an infection. I had pain in it before, but after the extraction it is a lot worse.
I put a clove oil mixture over the gums of that tooth and the surrounding teeth. I keep it there for about an hour, or until the pain goes away. It's temporary relief, but it will let you go to sleep. Again, assuming the pain is caused by an infection, like the abscess that I have. I don't see the harm in trying it though.
I dip a couple of cotton balls in a three 1/4 teaspoons olive oil and one 1/4 teaspoons clove oil mixture and do as described above.