Epiglottis..

Epiglottis..funny word I always laughed at. It happens to  be a source  of some of my troubles. I did xrays of my swallowing yesterday and had difficulties getting down 3 various barium drinks and a type of thick graham cookie. All the technician would say was that I had a "lazy epiglottis". It's basically like a tiny bridge that opens when you eat to protect your airway and lungs. Mine doesn't like to open and is slow about it which explains why I've been aspirating, choking pieces of food, can't breathe at night...a lot of things. I have to wait until Monday for the doctors to read the entire results and what they say can or can't be done. I've read you can see a speech therapist to try and strengthen the muscles and get it working better again. I've read a lot of things since yesterday morning. Some of it scares me. Some of it leaves me thinking we have a chance to improve a lot of things.

Parkinson's Disease is in the family and has shadowed me with fear since I was an early teen. This is a symptom but as far as I could tell I have none of the other symptoms. I am relieved they finally found a solid reason for my swallowing issues as 2 separate doctors failed to see it or take me serious. If I had not pushed the issue last week, the specialist was going to settle with nothing "physically" wrong with me that would affect the airway and choking. Guess what?  She was dead wrong. That part makes me so angry..if you saw the patronizing way she looked at me after giving me the results of the endoscopy and colonoscopy when I said there is something else, something missed that is causing me this trouble. She insinuated it could be psychological. I am eager to speak with her directly. This, unchecked, could turn into something very serious if it isn't treated correctly. Stand your ground.

Bridge in the Drawer for Now

Well, my new bridge is in their drawer. They decided to retreat the root canal under the anchor tooth which meant 2 1/2 hrs of drilling, adjusting posts, 6 xrays, 6 bouts of hydrochloride into the root to kill any germ or bacteria. You know the smell of Clorox? That is the taste of the hydrochloride. Nasty! Dr. said there has to be a reason that after a root canal I am still tender to touch and chew so they looked and poked and looked and drilled. Now, we wait. If the pain goes away - Hooray! I get my bridge. If it does not, he said there is no alternative to seeing an oral surgeon to approach my root from the bottom down. I simply cannot afford then and refuse to think about it right now. Thinking happy thoughts and a good outcome. There is no room for any more negativity.

Getting some people wanting me back on talk radio. I do miss it horribly. I've been thinking about looking into doing a pod cast from the house a couple nights a week. If it is not too expensive or hard to do that may be the way to go. I know I could get a few advertisers. I am looking into it. Being on radio was the best job I ever had.. I still get on every couple of weeks for about an hour. Love it.. it is in the blood.

The bridge to nowhere. Got a call this morning just as I was heading out the door that my bridge wasn't ready and rescheduled for tomorrow morning. This afternoon I got a call from them that they are concerned that I still have pain in the anchor tooth.They did a root canal on it last August so after all this time they're afraid something is going on.. like an extra root? Anyway, tomorrow, instead of my fancy bridge, Novocaine and pain .But if they can take away the throb when I chew, great. Just a little delay.
Listen to me. I sound like some moaning, groaning mutant. I am a happy person. I take things in stride and make the best of bad situations. People like to be around me in real life. A lot of things have come together at the same time. I am sorry. There are always brighter days and I loved every one of them, even the bad days have a learning experience. Sometimes you just have to look for them.

Not sure what is going on but so exhausted today I spent most of the day in bed, not sleeping but keeping my eyes closed, listening to television and feeling yucky from head to toe. No fever.Maybe it all caught up to me. Not 10 minutes sleep all day but hours of rest.
Tomorrow, or I guess today, I get the new bridge in my mouth. Wow, 12 months later. I won't know what to do being able to chew on my right side. If it goes well, I may summon the courage to look for cavities and get everything done asap. In a couple of nights it will be fun for my facebook friends but I don't know about me. I had an old water pik for flossing but every single time I used it water sprayed everywhere including my eyes. So I went out and bought a better new one without a dangly cord to trip me up. In a couple of days I will give it a try.
Hoping to hear VERY soon from the doctor with a schedule for my swallowing test. It's been far too long too keep me unwell, malnourished and stressed. I am sure it won't be long now. Second week of April and I will work 2 days at Target to test my stamina and increase as I get better.
Take care. Peace and Joy.