The Gum Abscess Saga

Hadn't had one of these for over 20 years.

I went to the dentist to get a filling and the corner of a tooth replaced, which was a comparative doddle.

He got out the Sonic Screwdriver, er, ultrasonic cleaner, and I suspect while wielding that he cut my gum.

Shortly afterwards I developed an abscess which grew rapidly and was massively painful.

At one stage I could barely prise my lips apart far enough to pop in another Co-Codamol.

The interesting thing is how unhungry I was despite hardly eating anything, I could carefully insert some thin foods, like smoked salmon (and this week the fish van had no herrings but DID have smoked trout) or watery sauce made with ground beef, or VERY mild chicken curry with small pieces of chicken, or bacon and mushrooms, but not much at a time, and not on the first day or two. Simply wouldn't have been possible on my old low fat diet.

Anyway it's wearing off now, with no antibiotics, I guess a lack of glucose and a bunch of ketones in my blood are doing some good to my immune system. Think I'll add some more coconut oil, that's supposed to be directly antibiotic/antiviral (lauric acid > monolaurin) and I'm washing it with salt water and occasionally with corsodyl, but carefully as I already know that stuff dyes my teeth black and might cause the dentist to do another scraping, something I've largely avoided since low carbing is plaque and tooth scraping, which used to be regular during my low fat decades.

Food for thought, the pus now emerging tastes just like oxtail soup but I'm not sure which brand.

Hi Chris,
I thought a man as brave as you would have had a go with a blunt lancet! D.

Oh Chris a gum Absess is something you could definitely do without! But you said  " and I'm washing it with salt water " ... a tried and trusted remedy for many - these old ways can so often be the better ways, although sometimes something a little stronger like an antibiotic is needed.

Do hope it goes away soon

All the best Jan

I'd almost certainly have had a lot more if I'd continued to HCLF. Just before I finally got diagnosed my gums were so infected that two front teeth just came out. Another thing to blame on the clueless dietician.

Well I spit up a pointy white thing that looked suspiciously like a shard of tooth, but it went down the drain before I could stop it.

I suspect the dentist broke it off and drove it into my gum.

<sigh>

my last dentist was excellent, but he took early retirement. That's the third time this has happened, they burn out early and earn enough money to make it possible. I see him around town from time to time looking much more relaxed and chatty.

In between I've had a couple of real cowboys and several mediocrities. The current guy comes recommended but I got the impression he is a bit heavy-handed.

I'm off the Co-codamol now and back onto ordinary bog standard paracetamol, not without some misgivings. Pharmacists are paranoid about selling Co-codamol and the like "in case you get addicted". Well there's a certain point to that, my father became addicted to Solpadeine which is similar, and was prescribed for his "sciatica". OTOH my mother was prescribed full strength codeine to take as and when needed, for constipation after her bowel ops when she was going to be away from porcelain for a protracted period. Sometimes she would take one every day for a week, then not need them again for ages, sometimes she'd pop one every few days or so and she NEVER became addicted. I'm the same.

The other side of the coin is that they last a lot longer than straight paracetamol so I have to take far fewer of them less often, and paracetamol/acetaminophen is far and away one of the most dangerous OTC drugs there is. Technically it's possible to overdose to the extent of permanent liver damage just from a full dose of paracetamol and adding something else like Night Nurse which also contains it.

I can no longer take aspirin or other NSAIDS due to the tinnitus, which used to be a temporary effect and is now permanent thanks to prescribed low dose aspirin "for my arteries".

It's continuing to heal up, I have been able to eat more including an entire partridge with bacon and brussels sprouts and half a pheasant the same - currently I'm still avoiding hard things like the otherwise mandatory chestnuts though, and sticky things like my beloved Vacherin Mont d'Or cheese and Somerset brie. I have had some Appleby Cheshire though, and a whole bunch of other things - including a piece of the inside of my cheek, dammit! My teeth gums and cheeks are obviously still a bit out of alignment and once you've bitten your cheek it becomes inevitable that you will bite the same spot over and over.

Liver and bacon with mushrooms and sprouts tonight and I only slightly bit my cheek once. Onward and upward . . .

Continuing to improve but still not better yet

Well that's the last time I let a man put his dirty tool in my mouth.

The dentist, I meant

chris c wrote:Continuing to improve but still not better yet

Well that's the last time I let a man put his dirty tool in my mouth.

The dentist, I meant

On a more serious note Chris has the infection cleared up 

Mostly, I can open my mouth far enough to insert useful seasonal fare like pheasants and Brussels sprouts again, or the liver and bacon I just demolished with the regulation mushroom and more sprouts, and even insert the toothbrush, but there's still a lump and a bit of pus coming out. Down to 3 - 4 paracetamols a day too, mostly at night so I can sleep.

Shouldn't complain too much I suppose, if I'd carried on on the dietician's HCLF diet I wouldn't have any teeth left at all, that's if I was still alive.

chris c wrote:Mostly, I can open my mouth far enough to insert useful seasonal fare like pheasants and Brussels sprouts again, or the liver and bacon I just demolished with the regulation mushroom and more sprouts, and even insert the toothbrush, but there's still a lump and a bit of pus coming out. Down to 3 - 4 paracetamols a day too, mostly at night so I can sleep.

Shouldn't complain too much I suppose, if I'd carried on on the dietician's HCLF diet I wouldn't have any teeth left at all, that's if I was still alive.

I had an abscess it was a long time ago not a pleasant experience, my dentist put me on antibiotics and it cleared up pretty quickly

Yeah the problem is my doctor is away until then end of the year (I have an appointment to recheck my thyroid) and I don't really want to go back to the dentist that caused it in the first place until I have to. Last time I had one the (different) doctor refused me antibiotics but prescribed me codeine. I had to drive 20 miles from where I lived to where I worked to see the dentist who actually gave me antibiotics, and what's better it was a private prescription so I got them for pennies compared to the NHS Prescription Charge.

In a way I'm trying an experiment in checking out my immune system. I've been almost totally free of infections like colds flu and stomach bugs since going low carb/keto and it seems to be dealing with the bacteria quite well, just slowly. However the thyroid thing is currently suspected to be autoimmune so giving it something to do rather than attacking other parts of me might not be a bad plan.