Toothaches and a trip to the ER

[Modelworks]

I started having problems with my teeth about a week ago.
One of the front teeth was sensitive to the touch, so I set up a dentist appointment and took some aleve.

I go to the dentist and he says its infected and I need to take antibiotics before he will do anything. He prescribes penicillin and vicodin.
About 2 days into taking those drugs I started sweating bad.
I felt like the room was an oven.
I also developed small sores on my gums.

The dentist was closed so I go to the ER.
I sat there for two hours till I was called and then the ER doc says its an allergic reaction and gives me a shot of benadryl . He then comes back and says to quit taking the drugs the dentist gave me and he will prescribe something else.

He goes out of the room and I sit there for about another hour.
A nurse comes back with discharge papers.
I asked her about the sweating and the sores , neither of which is better, my temp actually went up from 99.1 to 101.2 , and she says, let me talk to the doctor.

Wait another hour.
The doctor comes in asking if I had been using any street drugs!
I asked him what that had to do with anything, and he said I was displaying classic drug withdrawal symptoms !
I honestly haven't used anything like that in over 15 years.
He leaves the room.
I wait another 45 minutes then a different doctor comes on call and says he wants to do a blood test and start an IV because at this point my clothes are soaked with sweat.

Its now been almost 5 hours before they even take a blood test.
After another 2 hours my temp finally drops and the doctor hands me the discharge papers with the new prescriptions. I wanted to know what was the cause of the fever ?
He doesn't know.

At that point I was just too tired to care so I left.
I fill the two new prescriptions, Darvocet-N, and Cleocin.
This morning I awake with a large , what I think is a puss filled sack about an inch long across the front of my gums. The right side of my face from my lips to my eye is swollen badly and sore to the touch. The fever has returned.

I really don't want to go back to that ER again, and its the only one in the area.
My dentist will not be back till monday, so I have another day+ to go.

What would you do in this situation ?
Anyone been through something like this with some tips ?

 

[wwswimming]

i read the whole thing, and then i realized it was ModelWorks.

hold on man (you are a guy, aren't you ?), we need members who
can answer all the 3D questions.

it sounds like you're dealing with American medical care (boy,
that was helpful, wasn't it ?)

i've had a tooth needing a root canal, and a visit to the ER. but
not both at the same time.

the reason the dentists make you take the antibiotics - i presume
they told you (partially to protect themselves, in case the germs
use openings in your teeth to get into your bloodstream which can
affect your heart.)

http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/clindam_ids.htm

so Cleocin is an antibiotic.

i haven't been in your exact situation. once i had 10 cavities
and there was a delay in getting dentist appointments. so "just
hang in there" might have worked then, but ...

my experience with ER's is that they sometimes make things worse.

however, it really sounds like something a doctor should look at
today. i've never seen or had an infection like you're describing.

it sounds like you should take an antibiotic, it also sounds like
you might be allergic to something. can they test you somehow to
see if you're allergic to the Cleocin ? (besides experimenting & giving
you another antibiotic).

if it was me, i'd be very scared, burned out from the Saturday appointment,
and probably just take the approach of suffering another 24 hours, till i
can see someone who can work on teeth & gums.

it really sounds like you need a dentist who works weekends. can you
have a friend get ahold of your main dentist to get the message across,
MW needs to see you today TODAY, not today tomorrow, please cancel
your camping trip and schedule an appointment Sunday.

 

[XZeroII]

Do you know why they did the tox screen? Because you got indignant when they asked about street drugs. A liar will usually avoid answering the question in some way exactly like you did. In other words, you answered their question exactly like a drug user would have. If you had just answered the question without the attitude, they most likely would have believed you.

 

[rezinn]

You've got an infection and your antibiotics didn't work, go back to the dentist. You might need to see an oral surgeon.

 

[Java Cafe]

These accounts of "experiences at the ER" are all too familiar and they really make me sad and angry. Honestly, if this is what you get in the world's purportedly best medical system, then a whole society has embraced too much denial. I have walked into clinics in so-called developing countries and have encountered intelligent, capable, and compassionate health care providers, who don't treat patients' symptoms like weeds in a lawn.

One month ago, I had a stress echo cardiogram done at the clinic of the doctor. The actual procedure was about 1o minutes long. (And, my heart is quite well, thank you.) But, I was there from 8:15 am till about 1:00 PM.

More to the point, dentists will always want to control inflammation and infection before any intervention. So, as was mentioned before, the antibiotic that you were prescribed either did not work for you, or gave you and allergic reaction or, very likely, both. The solution appears to be a simple one . . . change antibiotics. If the pain medication wasn't working, that too can be changed.

If I were in these shoes, I would certainly try the new antibiotics prescribed, and even increase the dosage of the pain medication. A trip to a differenrt ER is what I would keep as a fall back defense.

Good luck. I hope you feel better soon. Let us know how things turn out and what your dentist eventually says.

 

[Modelworks]

Thanks for all the input guys.
Things really went downhill after I posted here.
I started vomiting about every hour and couldn't even keep water down.
Add to that headaches and so I managed to make it to a different ER.
I was allergic to the new antibiotic cleocin.
Apparently the first doctor should not have given it without doing a check for an allergic reaction as its apparently a very dangerous antibiotic if you are allergic.

So I'm back home on a clear liquid diet after spending a half day in the ER on IV fluids again.
Sigh, I'm so tired of these damn teeth of mine.
For those interested I did some web searches on cleocin.
All of them begin with the words "Because clindamycin (clecoin) therapy has been associated with severe colitis which may end fatally, it should be reserved for serious infections where less toxic antimicrobial agents are inappropriate,"

Definitely a drug now on my do not take list.