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Posted 9/13/2012 2:29 PM (GMT 0)
I had my implant surgery last Friday.  It went well.  Still having pain from it but its not horrendous.  I only took the codeine pills once that same day.  The surgeon gave me 2 clindamycin that morning and then just told me to finish my Ceftin which I have.  Of course now I'm getting Colitis symptoms.  I wanted to use an enema last night but just felt too gassy which means why bother. LOL  Plus I was jumping up because my dog kept getting sick.  I'm hoping tonight will be better and I can curb these symptoms before it turns into a full blown flare.  I just don't have time for that which may be part of the problem.  Feel like I'm trying to do too much but don't Moms do that? LOL

I go back to the dentist in a week and a half to get the stitches out but won't actually get crowns for 6-8 months which is good because maybe by then I will have put a dent in the over 4 grand the implants cost me.  UGH.

Hope your doing well. smilewinkgrin

Posted 9/13/2012 10:21 PM (GMT 0)
bump
Posted 9/14/2012 2:18 AM (GMT 0)
I've been thinking to ask you how it went. Hope all your pain has gone by now. My OS let the stitches come out by themselves; it took 10 days 'til the 3rd & last fell out from the implant, which healed much faster than the extraction/bone graft job. Celebrated my 5th month since implant earlier this week, meaning that I can schedule the so-called "healing abutment" procedure soon-- FINALLY!!!!! Then I will need 3 sessions with dentist to plan/install the crown. I agree with you totally; the cost is crazy. Neighbor of mine in her 40s recently had to get 1 upper premolar implant + 1 upper premolar root canal job on the opposite side; she told me her bills reached $10,000!!!!!! TAKE CARE OF KING COLON, eh. / Old Hat (31 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 9/14/2012 8:08 PM (GMT 0)
I think I have decided next Friday if the stitches haven't come out themselves I am taking them out. They are driving me nuts and are just gross feeling. I still have pain, doesn't seem to be getting better yet but its bearable. My gut feels a little better today. Yesterday was rough. I think these two implants with the crowns and the one other root canal I had done back in January will cost me over 10 grand. So much more I could be doing with that money. My teeth are so bad though. Little by little they just seem to fall apart so at least I know I will slowly have mostly implants that won't decay. Wish I could just do dentures the cost is sooooo much less.

Good luck with the abutment. I think thats just when they take a mold of how your mouth has healed? Not my favorite thing to do and I think last time that cost $800. For a mold! LOL
Posted 9/15/2012 5:40 AM (GMT 0)
No, Sherbear-- I decided to look up "healing abutment" & it is another surgery, rats! Colgate has good Web photos showing results of this procedure. The text there states that the healing abutment needs to stay in place for 10-14 days, and THEN an impression can be taken for the crown. At least their site explains the reasons for all this lengthy process! The abutment part has been the most confusing for me to sort out. It does vary among patients so I guess that's why the OS didn't give me any details on it in advance. But I want to know what I'm in for at the next appointment if the x-ray shows (hopefully) that the implant made a solid bond to the bone ... yuck. RE stitches: Keep rinsing with warm salt water because that's the safest way to make them loosen. I hate those blasted things! / Old Hat (31 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 9/15/2012 12:57 PM (GMT 0)
Ugh. This is not something they told me. I really wish they would tell me everything. Thats what I will need to have done. I'm wondering if I will be able to do it awake. Thats probably why they didn't tell me so that I wouldn't worry too much. I liked it better when the told me the top of the implant would be showing. Oh well. Its only money right? LOL My stitches are pretty loose which is what drives me nuts.
Posted 9/15/2012 9:39 PM (GMT 0)
RE stitches: if you see a knot hanging down, you can cut it off with a short pair of scissors. Then pull briefly & very gently on the loose string. If you feel any resistance, STOP. Give it another day. Just test that way until the stitch becomes so loose that it comes right out with a very slight pull from you. If/when that happens, rinse with warm salt water right away. You shouldn't feel any discomfort whatsoever. The Colgate Website says that installing a healing abutment just requires local anesthesia. You must have been traumatized in childhood to be afraid of having treatment with locals. I had the implant done with 2 Septocaine injections; it worked great & I had absolutely NO PAIN when it wore off a couple hours afterward. I'm the opposite, though; I hate being knocked out-- would rather feel minor pain than be put out-of-it. (Same with c-scopes; I like to watch the monitor while it's going on. LOL.)/ Old Hat (31 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 9/15/2012 9:46 PM (GMT 0)
Yep majorly traumatized as a child. Not at the dentist but with something else and now I just can't deal with it. I could probably handle it if he didn't have to cut open my gums. I don't know. I will have to talk to my dentist to see what he thinks. He won't bs me if he thinks I can't handle it awake. He knows what a wuss I am. LOL I've taken out a couple stitches in the past. I don't think they are ready to come out yet but I wish they were. So annoying. Maybe one or two will fall out within the next few days. A girl can hope. I could never do a colonscopy awake either. The thought freaks me out but I would like to see everything. They should tape it for me. :)
Posted 9/16/2012 4:08 AM (GMT 0)
Agreed-- they should give us a DVD if we can't follow the monitor during the procedure. Would you believe: when premolar needed extraction last Nov. I asked the (1st) OS to see it. (I was mainly curious about its root because a cyst had developed there & abscessed.) He told me I couldn't see it because it was a biohazard! But I think he just didn't want to take a couple extra minutes to show it to me before disposal; he had another patient waiting. / Old Hat (31 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 9/16/2012 12:24 PM (GMT 0)
Thats really strange. I think mine would have let me see it if I had asked. In fact, he has asked me to bring in a tooth when it broke so he could see it. A tooth was a biohazard! Now that is funny.
Posted 9/26/2012 7:58 PM (GMT 0)
Yep, he's kind of a strange operator; roves with an assistant or two while doing procedures in different sections of his office. So I'm sure he just didn't want to take a few extra minutes to show me #13; he made his assistant pack it right off to disposal so that she could do something else (backup activity) right away. But the OS doing my implant has a much better office system + a tropical fish aquarium in the reception room. (Just love a small purple fish in it, which has a yellow tail & moves VERY fast!) I made the appointment to get that healing abutment, which will cost $200+ & will update you on THAT procedure in a couple weeks. / Old Hat (32 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 9/26/2012 8:53 PM (GMT 0)
Yikes and I need to have two done. Ugh. I just had my follow-up on Monday. I took out the stitches last Thursday. I couldn't stand them anymore and it felt much better once they were out. Said it all looks fantastic. I go back in 3 months for an xray to see how its healing. One of the rods isn't in there perfectly (it moves) and the hopes is that the bone will fuse around it and there will be no problems. He said it could have been that it was spinning in the hole in the bone and that would have been a failure at that point. So I'm hoping for the best. Hope your next procedure goes well.

I'm currently on another antibiotic for a bladder infection. Can I fight off symptoms yet again??? Hoping so.
Posted 9/27/2012 4:31 AM (GMT 0)
Oh, yuck! Sorry to hear that. Can you tolerate natural cranberry juice? Good for keeping bladder pH at the right level ... / Old Hat (32 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 9/27/2012 12:20 PM (GMT 0)
I hate cranberry juice and cranberries. I've forced myself to drink some cranberry juice cocktail. The one I got yesterday was Simply Cranberry-has cranberry juice but lots of sugar too. I did buy some cranberry pills too. I'm hoping that is an ok subsitute. I may take them forever just to avoid this ever again. Ouchee
Posted 9/27/2012 7:11 PM (GMT 0)
Cranberry j. cocktails have too much sugar. Try Knudsen's pure cranberry juice-- better tasting than Whole Foods' pure cranberry, I think-- though you might want to "cut" either of them with a bit of water before drinking. I haven't tried the capsules, but heard from the wife of an internist that he takes them to good results after some chronic kidney/UT issues. Hope you'll get over the UTI fast!!!!! / Old Hat (32 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 9/27/2012 7:19 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the info. I feel alot better at this point. I do have some lower abdominal pain which I think may be UC related but don't know for sure. I think I will just pop a cranberry pill and leave it at that. :)
Posted 10/10/2012 6:22 AM (GMT 0)
UPDATE: Sherbear, I got the healing abutment. It only took 4 shots of Septocaine & about 10 minutes of the oral surgeon's time. But, would you believe, after I had been told 3 times in the past by staff there that I would just need a regular x-ray at this stage, a different staffer grabbed me this time & immediately took me to the CAT scanner!!!!!!!! I said: "NO WAY-- I've already had 2 of these." She then tried to tell me that a regular x-ray would expose me to more radiation than CAT scan, & added the now-usual propaganda about diagnostic radiation ONLY exposing the patient to "as much radiation as a cross-country flight"! I'm sick of hearing this nonsensical comparison & calmly told her so. She next escorted me to a dental chair & left to get the OS. He arrived in about 10 minutes beaming a huge smile at me, & said: "Everything is going to be O.K." So I got off w/o any x-ray, hurray, & $200 bill. Now hopefully in 10 days the dentist can do my crown impression. Will be so glad when this project finally is done-- as you can imagine. Hope you're feeling well again. / Old Hat (32 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 10/12/2012 11:51 PM (GMT 0)
Sherbear-- In case you get the healing abutment (or 2): it really helps to rinse with warm salt water 3-4 times a day. The metal collar seems to change position slightly as the gum heals below & around it. / Old Hat (32 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 10/13/2012 12:12 AM (GMT 0)
Glad it went well for you and that you avoided another xray. I did a panoram xray before the rods were put in and then again two weeks after. My insurance of course wouldn't pay for the second one. They told me I should only have to do a little xray next time. We will see. I've still got a long way to go before I have the healing abutments. Really wish there was an easier way.

I was feeling ok until my daughter started getting sick tonight. My gut always has sympathy pains. LOL
Posted 10/13/2012 5:16 AM (GMT 0)
Aw, sorry your daughter took sick. Did she start kindergarten this fall? RE dental x-ray costs: my oral surgeon has several excellent patient reviews on the Internet, but 1 guy blasted him because his insurer refused to pay for the CAT-scans (LOL). / Old Hat (32 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 10/13/2012 2:00 PM (GMT 0)
She started preschool. She misses the cutoff for starting kindergarten. When she was in daycare she was sick constantly. So far she hasn't been too bad. A bit of sniffles about the second week in and now this. Just part of the fun of having little ones. Just hoping she doesn't share. ;)
Posted 10/20/2012 7:46 AM (GMT 0)
Sherbear-- I went to dentist 10 days after OS placed the healing abutment. Dentist said my #13 site had healed enough to take the impressions. Well, that took more effort than I had expected! The dentist removed the healing abutment & attached a long so-called "extension abutment" that gauges the angle of the implanted rod, then had the assistant take 3 x-rays of it. Dentist said the reason for doing that is loss of the periodontal ligament with the extracted tooth; they have to calibrate the angle to install the crown as securely as possible. After x-rays dentist put healing abutment back on, made impressions of left side upper & lower jaw & scheduled me to return in 10 days for fitting of permanent abutment/preliminary crown. BTW, dentist was glad I brought in a full-mouth mold from a past procedure that included my real #13 tooth & is sending it to the lab together with the new impressions. Says it helps them to see how the real tooth fit in. (A bit crooked-- lol!) I was in the chair for about 40 minutes, but dentist kept me amused with tales of household pets. This implant business takes forever, though! (Phooey!!!!!) / Old Hat (32 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 10/20/2012 12:22 PM (GMT 0)
Yikes there has just got to be an easier way. Well at least your more to the end of all this nastiness. Hope it all continues to go well. :)
Posted 11/2/2012 5:05 AM (GMT 0)
My #13 premolar site is such a jinx! I could not have the next step done on Tuesday due to Hurricane Sandy. Dentist's office is near a monstrous construction site where the crane was partly torn loose during the storm & left dangling above the street. / Old Hat (32 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
Posted 11/6/2012 5:48 AM (GMT 0)
Sherbear-- the lab sent my permanent abutment to the dentist, who gave me a test fitting today. Took another x-ray, yecchhh! Commented that in some cases the gum tissue needs to be reshaped at the surface, but mine is o.k. (Phew!) Decided what shade of white the crown should be, then removed permanent abutment & restored healing abutment on my premolar site. The permanent abutment now goes back to the lab, where the crown will be bonded to it. So-- my final step is scheduled for the end of next week. (That will be a yr + a day after extraction of premolar & bone graft!) / Old Hat (32 yrs with left-sided UC; presently in remission taking brandname Colazal)
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