Posted by Dennis O'C (209.34.3.156) on December 20, 2001 at 23:28:00:
In Reply to: Tooth Pain ? posted by Vincent Winkleblech on December 20, 2001 at 22:55:17:
I posted this a while back...hope noone minds the repeat.
If you don’t get a clear picture of a Cluster Headache from what I am about to say...I’ll understand. Before I had one I would certainly never have believed that pain like this was possible to have...and live through.
At the Cluster Headache’s height, my whole being, body, mind, and soul are filled with a seemingly endless, helpless, desperate, cry of “NOOOO” as if at once I had lost my child, my wife, and all my loved ones because of some stupid accident that I had caused. This desperate moment may last over an hour for me. Not that I am responsible for the pain in any way...I’m just trying to describe the depth of despair my Psyche reaches.
THE PAIN IS ALL...The worst toothache of my life grew and festered while I was in jail. Days and nights of unmedicated, unrelenting ever sharper blinding pain, the begging to the uncaring guards, the banging of my head against wall, bed frame, and bars finally culminated in my being strip searched, shackled and transported like a rabid dog to a room with a chair to which I was handcuffed...arms and legs....no anesthesia.
I can still feel the man’s knee on my stomach and the pressure of his left hand covering and roughly pushing unmercifully against my face as the unyielding tooth refused to be pulled.The muscles of his upper body shook from the tension as he pulled again and again on that tooth.The pain and terror and helplessness took me to the edge of consciousness as the molar finally shattered and each of the three roots were dug from my head. The man’s fury and frustration were repeated with each stubborn piece.
When a Cluster peaks, it feels as if not one but each of my teeth and every root, top and bottom on the left side of my face are once again experiencing THAT pain...unfortunately so is my eye socket,temple,forehead and even top of my head...each with it’s individual spiking...all at the same time.
You probably think that with that much pain I’d be writhing on the floor, unable to stand, that I’d be screaming and crying...you would be right.
DEN