Diagnosis

November 6, 2023 to November 7, 2023

Monday

Zero miles again? Yes, zero miles. My cardiologist says I should stay off the saddle for three weeks, so I won’t be getting back on for nearly another two weeks - which should push us out beyond the last decent biking days we’ll see in Portland this fall. Foop.

The saga of life goes on though, and today’s episode finds me walking down to my dentist’s office after an abbreviated morning coffee & croissant break. I need to find out what’s happening with my apparently cracked molar, and I figure that my best plan for getting immediate attention is by just showing up first thing when they open their doors.

I’m in a hurry to get to the dentist, but there’s time to stop for a shot along the way.

It works, and I get hustled into a dentist’s chair almost immediately. Fifteen minutes later we’re examining the X-rays of the sorry tooth in question, and it doesn’t look good. True, it’s cracked - I’ve got a broken crown, which sounds treatable enough. Below that is a cavity though, and further down (or up actually, since it’s an upper molar) is a pretty unhealthy root. The tooth’s a goner.

The news isn’t all dismal though. I’m here in the country instead of overseas, there’s time in the calendar to manage it, and they’ve had a cancellation so they can squeeze me in first thing Thursday morning to rip the sucker out. The best I can hope for, considering.

Just one thing - I’m on blood thinners now, and I’m concerned that I might bleed out when they open up my mouth. We agree that I need to get an OK or advice from my cardio. They book an appointment for me in case I’m green-lighted, and then they call Kaiser and I send my own message and we wait for input.

With nothing else to be done in the meantime I head home, give Rachael the sorry news, coach her with some back exercises for her aching lower back, and then drive down to Willamette Park to walk along the river and look for birds. It’s fair at first but it’s not long before conditions change and I start wondering if I’ve made a mistake by not bringing my parka along.

Another look across Tanner Springs Park.

Kelly was asking if we liked our place better than the one last spring. The short answer is yes. It’s much better, especially the location. spacious, more convenient, and in a safer feeling neighborhood.

On the other hand, it’s got a few negatives including the fact that a deck refinishing project puts limitations on the HVAC usage as well as our privacy. We’d be whiners if we listed out all our other quibbles, so we’ll stop here.

I’m missing out on some cycling, but as compensation I’ve been enjoying getting out on short walks and seeing some familiar areas in a different way. Today I walk from John’s Landing down to the far end of Willamette Park and back, a stretch I’ve biked through many times but never covered on foot. I enjoy it quite a bit, even though there are no new bird sightings and a brief squall leaves me hiding under a tree briefly.

Conditions are very pleasant when I start out.

A ring-billed gull? I’m not sure. Winter gulls are tough. He could help out by showing a little leg so I can see what color it is. Oh, wait! I can see his leg, under the water. Yellow. He’s a non-breeding adult California gull.

It’s not long before the sky darkens ominously and I start wondering if I’ve made a mistake not bringing my parka along.

Still one of my favorite trees in town. It looks better with a bike leaned against it though. And in the sun, which I just missed. The tree went under the clouds about a hundred yards before I reached it.

It doesn’t last long though, and the day turns gorgeous after it passes.

In the evening we drive over to the east side to Nuestro Cucina for dinner, since I want to bank a few meals at our favorite restaurants before my tooth gets yanked and I’m regimented onto a soft diet. Tonight we’re served by Michael, a man we’ve gotten to know casually over the last many years we’ve been frequenting this place. Tonight he hangs around the table for an extended conversation, first because he wants to hear about my ablation surgery because he’s looking forward to his own before long; and then he wants to talk about Sicily (which he remembers we’ve been to before), because his extended family will all be going there for a few weeks this spring to explore their roots - this is the first time that we’ve heard that Mike is Sicilian.

Tuesday

Yesterday I heard back from Dr. Lin. He’s concerned about the idea of me stopping my blood thinners for the extraction, and wonders if it can wait a month or two. I relay this to the dentist, who says waiting would be a real concern to them. It’s infected and they’re worried about it abscessing or injuring its neighbors or my health. So I relayed this back to Dr. Lin and asked if he could talk to them directly.

I finally hear back from him this morning over coffee. He’s spoken with them, and with their assurance that they can manage any possible bleeding problems without me going off meds he gives the OK. So that’s a decision and Thursday morning it is. I send off messages to two friends down in Salem that I had plans to drive down and visit Friday to reschedule them, because it doesn’t seem shrewd to plan on driving down there and back the day after oral surgery.

And then I let the HAC Group hear the news as well, because we have a meetup scheduled for Thursday at noon. We’ll go ahead with it because it’s really the only day possible, but it’s a pretty funny situation. Originally, Jen warned us that we can’t start before noon because she has a morning dental appointment. And then Andrea chipped in that she’s getting the permanent crown for her implant that day also, and will have to step out for a few minutes for that in the middle of the gathering.

And then Rachael gets diagnosed as needing a new crown, and gets a temporary and a sore mouth to live with in the meantime. And now there’s my little issue. It should be a merry gathering.

After that though, today’s a near repeat of yesterday. Rachael goes out for her walk, and I drive out to Broughton Beach on the Columbia to walk along the river and look at the birds, of which there are very few again. It’s like yesterday in that it’s another spot we’ve biked many times by it I’ve never walked. Birds or not I like seeing the river from a new perspective, walking on the beach and then on a footpath just above it.

In the evening we go out again, to Gallo Nero this time for my last real meal for awhile - I should have taken food photos. On the way out we enjoy a conversation with the owner, an immigrant from Tuscany. Tonight he shares with us one of his passions, mushroom hunting. He pulls out the phone and shows us photos of his latest finds and then describes what it’s like and how it’s what he did as a child growing up in the Appenines.

So we often have misgivings about coming back to Portland, but there are definitely some good points too. It’s really nice running into some faces and places from the past like we’ve done in the past week.

The view east toward the Glenn Jackson Bridge. After biking along it for over twenty years, I’ve never been down here to see the river from the shore.

The footpath is about halfway between the river and the bike path at the top of the berm. You can just about see it in the upper right corner of the frame.

It’s not like there are no birds today, but pretty close. It’s a little disappointing because often when we bike out here in the winter there are many - osprey flying above and rafts of scaups bobbing on the surface.

Mount Hood rises above Government Island. When I began the walk it was still hidden behind the clouds.

Here’s the more familiar perspective I’ve seen over the years.

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Kathleen ClassenTooth issues! I had similar but fortunately in July, before we left for Spain. No symptoms, it was caught by a routine X-ray. No extraction either, but fillings on two upper molars, root canal on one, new crown and generally a pain in the mouth. I asked the dentist if he needed to do a temporary crown and the answer was no. I had to promise to keep the area clean and that was it. I found it much more comfortable than a temp. Something to consider if there is a next time for Rachael (or you). Hopefully not.
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11 months ago

Bill ShaneyfeltI had a molar extraction several months (after my widowmaker double stent LAD) while still on blood thinners... It took 4 hours of sitting in the chair swapping out cotton balls before the seepage stopped enough to let me go home. No further problems though.

Was glad when the year of medication was finished! I was tired of looking like a mishandled banana from all the minor bruising.

I wish you the best on your dental adventure.
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11 months ago

Rachael AndersonTo Kathleen ClassenThe temporary crown has been a hassle and sometimes painful. I’ll keep your advice in mind next time.
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11 months ago

Jacquie GaudetYikes! I have appointments set up to replace my 40-plus year old crown later this month, before my dentist retires and I have to find another one I trust. Front and centre so I think I’ll have to suffer (I hope not) with a temporary.

Is it our ages or this age?
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11 months ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Jacquie GaudetDo ask your dentist if you really need a temporary. Mine said it was mostly for my comfort which I found hilarious because I don’t find them comfortable. It saved me some money not having a temporary as well. I had to have a root canal in that tooth so there were no sensitivity issues, so that may be a factor.
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11 months ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Jacquie GaudetI just processed the front and center part of your post. That changes things a bit! Mine was an upper molar.
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11 months ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Rachael AndersonHopefully there won’t be a next time!
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11 months ago

Jacquie GaudetTo Kathleen ClassenThe root canal on this tooth happened in the mid-1980s, while the original crown was late 1970s. I remember having a temporary crown for a week or so back then with no issues, but that was a long time ago!
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11 months ago