Sunday, November 18, 2007

because if i can't feel, i cannot complain

All I remember about when my childhood dentist numbed my face was that odd no-sensation feeling. For hours, I kept making sure I wasn't drooling or if all the food got from my fork safely into my mouth. Sometimes, just to check if the Novocaine had worn off, I'd smack myself and be appalled that it felt like slapping a side of beef that was somehow glued to my head. Even though, duh, that's what was supposed to happen. But still it amazed me. Every time.

So yesterday my dad gave me this spray to resolve some of my throat issues. One spritz and the itch was gone, but it left the inside of my throat completely numb. So of course, after a few minutes I began "checking" to see if it was still working. Swallowing hard, clearing my throat, trying in vain to get the insides of it to rub together somehow and locate any sensation.

It was such a bizarre feeling, especially because it was coming from the inside of my neck. After awhile, I was concentrating so much on testing it that I couldn't really pay attention to anything else. Eventually it wore off, but instead of reaching for the spray I felt a sense of relief that I could feel again, even though it was unpleasant. I decided that these newfangled medicinal treatments are probably more trouble than how much they help and busted out a bag of Ricola throat drops instead. I'm not ready to shout from the mountaintops yet, but I'm getting there.

6 comments:

  1. I always freak out over Novocaine. I hate the stuff. Of course, I'm sure I'd hate feeling the actual pain a lot more. Glad you're on the road to recovery.

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  2. One time, I made the mistake of eating shortly after getting a shot of Novocaine. I didn't feel anything wrong at the time, but I realized a few hours later that I must have chewed my own tongue pretty badly. That sucked.

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  3. Suck some zinc tablets. They taste yukky, so you get to complain about that, but they make your throat feel better and zinc is good for you -- also it's usually mixed with some Vitamin C and who can't use some extra Vitamin C??

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  4. Yeah I hated the constant checking for drool and I was never sure if my mouth was properly closed.
    I've tried tablets that are ment to numb your throat but instead only numb your tounge. I'll stick to good old cough drops or orange juice, might sting like hell but it works.
    Hope you strat to feel better

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  5. hehheh. this makes me think of bill cosby. o-buh kay-buh.

    i can't feel my belly button (surgical scar goes around it)- is that the same thing?

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  6. I would honestly rather feel the pain than deal with the numbness that they always tell me will wear off by noon, but still sticks around to almost 5 pm. I once convinced my dentist to do it without the shot. Best Dentist appointment I've ever had. I was in and out in under 15 minutes and I could feel... oh how I could feel!

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