Where I'm Hopping and some TMJ

     Man, have these last three weeks been crazy!
     It started with a dentist appointment.  My fillings had fallen out, so I went in to have them replaced.  It was a quick appointment, just in and out.  On Friday, the next day I had another appointment.  I waited in the seat numbed up for about an hour.  My jaw still hurt from the day before, but nothing a little double dose of Tylenol couldn't handle.  But as the week progressed, it quickly became more of a nightmarish kind of pain and I was taking constant double doses of Tylenol along with a Aspirin or Ibuprofen, whatever was closest to hand.  I also made a rice sock because the Tylenol and it's counterpart were barely taking the edge off.
     On Monday, right around midnight, I took some more Tylenol and Aspirin with little to no effect except that it just sat in my stomach and felt like it just wouldn't digest.  I felt nauseous and my stomach ached like bad heartburn.  So when my daughter went in to see the dentist later that morning, after taking more Tylenol and Aspirin to numb the pain, I let him know that I was in need of a prescription for my pain and that I would be scheduling a date for extraction of the tooth he had filled.  And before I left I did make one for Wednesday.
     I went straight away to get my prescription filled and as I drove, my nausea was overwhelming.  I sat in the parking lot and could think of nothing but the pain and the agony my stomach was in.  As I waited for my prescription, my illness came to an ugly head.  I was thankful for that because I did feel well enough to take my Ibuprofen 800 when I got it.
     I went to my sister's but could not stay awake and so I left so that I would not be bad company.  When I got home, I went straight to the computer to see what the symptoms of Tylenol poisoning were.  And what do you know:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Not feeling well
• Not able to eat or poor appetite
• Abdominal pain

     I had every freaking one and I wasn't surprised.  I had bee taking four Extra Strength Tylenol every four hours for the past ten days.  My husband was nice enough to stay out of work and bring me in.  It was an ordeal.  I was given an IV with an antibiotic and I was given nausea meds.  Before I left, my Ibuprofen 800 from the dentist wore off four hours too early and so I was given Caldolor (?) and a Vicodin for the pain.  At that point, the pain was so terrible that whenever the shock of it would radiate to my ear, I would convulse unintentionally.  I looked like I was going through mild withdrawal ad having the shakes.
     Well thankfully the doctor prescribed me some Vicodin to hold me over til the extraction two days later.  They worked.  I spent the next two days with minimal pain unless I woke up having fallen asleep between doses.  Come Wednesday, I went to have the tooth out.  I had gone twice before for dental work on that tooth and they had no issue numbing the area.  But this time, they went through seven whole vials of Novocaine and I was still feeling pain in the area.  So I was given a referral to a surgeon and sent home.
     The next two days was all about trying to get an extended Vicodin prescription and trying to get the ball rolling on the surgeon.  But first, I needed to be sure I could do surgery because I have an arrhythmia and the idea of anesthesia terrifies the ever-loving snot out of me.  So I called the surgeon and they could not get me a pre-op exam for another two weeks.  I hadn't heard back from the doc yet about a prescription and I was beginning to panic.  So I decided to go as long as I could before taking the last pill I had.  Usually the old pill would start to wear off about an hour before the next one can be taken.
     So I waited.  And waited.  Hours went by and the pain had not come back.  I was up to 4 hours past the point where the pain should have returned, but still no pain.  A miracle!  I thought maybe my jaw WAS dislocated and had been fixed somehow!
     Then it started.  The snapping in my jaw, much like the snap I had heard while getting the fillings replaced.  And then the pain started coming back slowly and much less severe.  That's when I knew, I had TMJ.  Something I had heard tons about, yet never had I heard about any pain even close to what I had been experiencing.  I had only ever heard of annoying pops and clicks or occasional stiffness or locking in the jaw.  But never so much agonizing pain.
     So I see the doctor on Friday to get it looked into.  The pain seems to come and go, though always present and most of the time a Vicodin and Ibuprofen 800 will not take it all away.  I can not sing, I can not eat hard foods or chew gum, I can not stay awake during the day.  Sometimes my jaw will not open without much pain in the joint and muscles.  It has been almost three weeks since the dental procedure and I am starting to worry that this may become a chronic pain.  I am trying to research it, but for the most part, all I see is how dentists FIX a TMJ Disorder, not cause them.
     So here is hoping that I get some good news from the doc on Friday.  Anyone else going through TMJ?  How did you first come to realize that you had it?  What are you doing for the symptoms?

Here's where I'm hopping today:

Awe-mazing!!!

      Let me start by saying that I had NO IDEA my hair was so dry.  I was always told that my hair was in good condition and I believed it because it felt great.  It was soft and silky.  The only indication that my hair wasn't in GREAT shape was that it felt like a plastic wig between shampooing and conditioning but only then.  Besides that it felt wonderful.
     I didn't have any amazing hopes for a great outcome when BzzAgent sent me my Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Shampoo and Conditioner.  I just figured it would be another shampoo promising awesome results while being just completely ordinary.  I figured I would have it used up within the week and would move on to the next in my line of "I should try this" beauty products.

     I am extremely happy to report that it is not the case.  I figured when I first tried it that I would start small and see how far it went.  Turned out that I only needed to use 1/2 as much shampoo as the other brands.  I actually used about 1/4 as much as my usual shampoo.  Not only did I use much less, but I got twice the lather even with less!  Right away I was impressed.
     After I rinsed however, I was slightly worried.  My hair felt like I hadn't washed it.  It felt almost heavy and I was worried that it wasn't going to clean well.  But when I tried the conditioner, it made my hair feel lighter and cleaner.  you would have thought I used them backwards!
     When my hair dried I was in love.  My hair felt great!  It almost felt like I had never dyed it.  Now after a few weeks of using it, my hair is still feeling great.  They say that after a week, you can erase 10 years of damage to your hair.  Do I believe that?  I will say that my hair honestly did not feel this great when I was 15.  That's probably because I bleached the snot out of it back then, but regardless, my hair feels unprocessed and beautiful, so I believe it.
     Here's some news about Triple Nutrition that I thought I would share:

• Work best on dry or damaged hair
• Nourish hair to the core so it shines from within
• Formulated with Fortified Fruit Science – three weightless nutritive fruit oils (olive, avocado and shea)
• Packed with ultra-rich and nourishing conditioners that rinse clean — we dare you to find something that treats your dry damaged hair better
• Part of a larger Triple Nutrition line that includes Nutrient Spray and 3-Minute Undo Dryness Reversal Treatment
• Flip-top cap has front button for easy opening
• Label on back mentions how Garnier Fructis is going green with their NEW Eco-Fructis bottles

I received this product from BzzAgent in exchange for my honest opinion.

Are you ready?

     A few weeks ago I volunteered to be part of a project to spread awareness for extreme poverty, it's called the Live Below the Line Campaign.  I am getting really excited about it.  Myself, along with countless others have taken an oath to live on just $1.50 per day for 5 days starting May 7th.  Since there are 5 people in my home taking this challenge, we will have a full budget of up to $7.50 per day for the family.  I may reduce that budget to accommodate for school lunch which is provided.  That would leave me with $5.50 instead.  That is about $89 less than we would normally use in that period of time.  Talk about a challenge!
   I was foolish enough to blow my budget this month without leaving any for the challenge and since we don't get paid until the 4th day of the challenge, I will have to get creative and check weekly flyers for foods I already have.  I have already found $.99 eggs and bread which will be very handy to have.  I also took advantage of a local liquidation store a week or so ago and bought lots of cheap items.  Some of the things I bought were $1.49 cheese, $.25 Marshmallows and $.25 pasta bags.  I also picked up whole pasta kits for $.33 each, along with some other things.  I will be using some of those this week.  I have a feeling that we will be drinking lots of water this week and laying off the soda and fruity drinks.
     I FULLY encourage any and all followers to try this challenge.  It doesn't have to be the week that we are all doing it.  You can do it any time.  I expect it to be a real eye opener and probably even a waist slimmer.  Other things I expect are that name brands will be a thing of the past and so will second helpings and mid-day snacks.  I expect to have to shop at the liquidation store and so I will need to trust in the quality of the food, some of which is expired but still "good".  I also expect to learn some new recipes and learn how to stretch food.  It will be a learning experience and one I hope to repeat quarterly.

I leave you with a sample recipe from the Live Below the Line Cookbook:

Simple Bread

Ingredients:
• ½ cup Self raising flour
• Water to form soft dough
Method:
1. Combine flour and water until soft dough is formed. Divide into two
portions. Roll out thinly.
2. Heat hotplate, and grill until browned on both sides and cooked through.
Pressing air bubbles down with clean tea towel whilst cooking.
3. Serve with margarine and jam if desired and budget allows it.