Clinic Edition Internal Mayo Medicine Review Seventh

I have never had a root canal before. I was told it may take three to four hours. I wish. Five hours, 45 minutes in the chair. I have toxic levels of novacaine and nitrous oxide coarsing through my veins.

I went in for my six-month visit last week. I wasn’t experiencing any pain. I was told I would need two fillings at best and possibly root canal. Once the dentist got in there she said the decay had reached the roots and they were infected. If the roots were infected why didn’t I feel any pain?

Is there any risk with using nitrous oxide for an extended period of time? I had the mask on for a LONG time. Initially they must have had the concentration turned up high because I was starting to go bonkers like I was on drugs (although, I have never done drugs so I have no idea what it feels like). There was someone monitoring the system but she did’t seem to know what she was doing. Someone else walked by and said ‘I think we should turn it down.’

I’m on antibiotics and motrin. My head is pounding right now. Does this sound like a typical root canal experience?

Answer 1: Whoa - 4 hours? I’ve had two and one took about an hour and a half total and the other might have taken 2 max.

The first one I had little or no pain during the actual procedure but had a lot of pain the next few days but they prescribed me vicodin (score!). The second one I had some pain during the procedure and absolutely none afterwards.

Answer 2: Depends who you talk to. Some root canals seem to go a lot smoother than others. I’ve had a few myself and was sore for a few days. Warm tea bags on the area you hurt helped as it served as a healing agent. Try it and feel better!!

Answer 3: I’m guessing a 1st molar & a relatively new general dentist. Tooth # 3/14 can have 4-5 roots to obturate. 5 hrs 45 minutes is not normal-she should have scheduled you for 2 appointments.

Answer 4: WTF kind of dentist did a 5 hour root canal??????? I’m in the field and there is NO WAY it takes that long, even if completely calcified. Here’s a lil something for all you folks who need RCT. Your General dentists are NOT endodontists. IF they choose to do a root canal, it’s usually on a cuspid or incisor. Easy for them, because only one canal. If it’s a molar they should send you to a specialist. General dentists take ONLY a weekend course here or there to learn how to do Root Canals. Endo’s specialize and NEVER EVER take 5 hours. Even if it’s 2 teeth.

As for the N2O on for that long? Maybe a lil nausea might be a side effect, but that would be immediate. Might take longer then 20 mins to wear off. I’m not too sure. I’ve never had a patient on it longer then 45 mins.

IMO, unless you’re a dental phobe, it’s not necessary and just a money maker for the doc. Also, your jaw is gonna be sore for a few days. Avoid using those teeth for about two weeks and use anti-inflammatories and you’ll be OK.

Answer 5: I had to leave disney to find a dentist on a family vacation. Then spent the remaining part of the day riding “Everest” over and over with my kids. You haven’t suffered until you subject a freshly carved up nerve to the G-forces of a roller coaster. I was actively praying for my death.

Reports are now surfacing that Psychiatrist Khristine Eroshevich played a huge role in the overdose that took Anna Nicole’s death.

The psychiatrist was writing prescriptions in false names and prescribed unwarranted amounts of highly addictive medications to Smith, knowing that she was an addict.

Tags: Psychiatric Drugs, Psychiatrists in The News

I hope I don’t need self hypnosis because I’m pretty sure I don’t have the patience for it. This article says it helps cancer patients relax before they get their tests. Apparently it also helps some people reduce the pain of childbirth.

A search turned up some Youtube videos that claimed to banned. Soundslike a load of crap to me but maybe the following video (for example) really was banned:

This site has some hypnosis downloads which may be better than what you find on Youtube.

Anyway, I could benefit from lower anxiety. The problem is that they say it takes practice I haven’t got the patience to endure more than 1 minute of any self hypnosis things I’ve seen on Youtube.

At first I was suspicious of this weight loss stuff but it turns out that it’s really food craving control hypnosis. I’m not saying that works but it is less suspicios because the only way you’re gonna lose weight is to eat fewer (healthy of course) calories than you burn. Eating less and working out more are the keys.

A message / warning from one of our readers: I had a mild (of course, that’s my observation, considering I now feel mostly fine) heart attack 2 weeks ago. I’m 38. This came out of nowhere, though I have a hideous history of heart disease in my family (all males on my father’s side), so it shouldn’t have come as such a shock. The shocker is that I’m only 38, otherwise healthy, with normal blood pressure, not overly overweight, eat right, and am an ex-smoker.

I had a stress test last year and passed with flying colors. My cholesterol, however, was way out of control. I modified my diet over the past year and dropped it 100 points without the aid of medication. So I thought I was doing right by myself. I guess not.

I was having mild cold sensation running into my left pectoral and down my left arm the Wednesday before last. I wasn’t too concerned. I thought I might have had a stitch in my side. My day progressed normally. When I got home after my commute, it suddenly turned into dull, radiating pain and I knew something wasn’t right. I immediately downed 2 aspirin and drove myself to the E.R. The EKG confirmed a heart attack and they airlifted me to Jersey Shore in Neptune where they immediately catheterized me, did an angioplasty and inserted a stent. I felt great the following day but wasn’t discharged until 5 days later. I took last week off from work and I’m back to work today (against my doctor’s instructions — he wanted me to take a month off, but I sit down all day and see no reason why I can’t go to work).

Let this be a lesson to you young guys like me: Being young does not preclude you from heart disease or the risk of having a heart attack. Be sure to get yourself checked out. Monitor your cholesterol.

Now the trick is doing something about what happened. Given the fact that I’ve had a cardiac event, the latest recommendations are an LDL (bad cholesterol) under 70. Chances are you will need to take a statin to achieve that level (and statins have other benefits not strictly related to cholesterol).

I would also like a good cholesterol (HDL) greater than 45. Not so easy to do this if you’re not there already, because statins don’t really raise cholesterol very much. Exercise and alcohol (in moderation: 1-2 drinks/day) can produce modest increases, as can consumption of stanol esters (i.e. Smart Balance margarine). There are medications that can raise HDL modestly, most prominently niacin, but niacin is a little hard to take (flushing, GI symptoms).

Fish oil and niacin are both excellent help. When on statins you should also supplement with CoQ 10,the statins deplete you body and can cause serious muscle problems. Also your homocysteine level is at least as important as your cholesterol level.

Question: I’ve had Anthem insurance for the entire 14 years I’ve been freelancing. Since 9/11, my monthly premium has gone up more than 400%.

I have to believe I can be paying less, but I don’t want to go with a fly by-night company either. I’ve gotten the name of a broker from a friend who says she re-shops carriers every year to make sure she has the best rate/plan. That would be new to me.

Before I call the broker, anybody here that is also self-employed have a company they like working with? Strategies for getting reasonably priced health insurance that also offers good, reliable coverage?

Answer 1: I don’t know what line of work you are in but I know in the restaurant and bar world sometimes you can get group rates with other owners who ban together. Maybe something like that in your line of work?

Answer 2: My advise to you would be to pit several of the brokers against each other and try and get the best deal that way. Times are tough, you might get a good rate. Contact any reputable financial advisors in your area (or are any of them personal friends?). They most likely will have the ability to shop around for you, or know people who will be able to shop around for you. Rates will be high, unfortunately.

Answer 3: There is also a Freelancers union through which you can end up with a group rate.

Answer 4: Shop online. Try this health insurance site and any others you can find. I had good luck with ehealthinsurance.com - I’m a financial advisor who is SE and found the offerings to be more than fine until I joined a group plan.

Answer 5: Check your local C of C… They may offer members pretty good deals (and not underwritten, so no worries about existing conditions) by banding together with other regional C of Cs to gain buying power. I belong to the Scranton PA C of C and get good coverage for both my wife and I through BlueCross/BlueShield.

Answer 6: I belong to the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce and pay $1600/month for myself and two associates.

Answer 7: I am self employed and I have blue cross and shield for 400 @ month for a family of four w/ a 3000K deductable.

Answer 8: I am self employed and I have a group of about 10 guys on Cigna and for a family plan it’s around 1250 a month.