Pain

I've realized this weekend that I don't handle tooth pain well at all. Not even a little bit.
Short and condensed pain killer induced Story:
Years ago I had a crown placed on a top molar. The dentist I went to said he should've done a root canal, but thought the crown would be okay. He should've done the root canal. I had a very dull pain for about 7 years from that tooth. I adapted and changed my eating habits. A few years ago my insurance changed and I switched Dentists. I absolutely love my new Dentist. He redid my crown, changed it to a root canal and then sent me to a specialist because I still had pain. The specialist told me I was "Special" I had a hidden nerve that doesn't typically show up on x-rays, but affects a small amount of people. He told me that in order to relieve the pain I was having, he'd have to go in, slice my gum open, sever the nerve ending and sew me back up. Seeing as how I typically want to gut someone when they stick a needle in my mouth, I wasn't having any of that.
My dentist ended up filing my tooth a bit so my bite was different. I was finally out of pain and SO HAPPY!!!
He then dropped a bombshell on me: I needed to replace an old, filled cavity with a crown. With my less than pleasant experience with the last crown, I basically told my Dentist where he could stick his drill. :) I wasn't having pain in that tooth so I didn't see any reason to replace the filling with a crown. He sent the pre authorization to my insurance, and God love my husband, he paid for it in advance. I now had no excuse not to get the stupid crown. I scheduled the appointment.
Thursday I went to the Dentist and he fitted me for my temporary crown and sent my tooth mould out so he could get the permanent crown made. He has a new Assistant. I hate new people. I like consistancy. I like to know what I'm going to get and what to expect, especially with the Dentist. New people make me nervous and I'm already agitated enough just going to the Dentist.
Something happened with the temporary crown and it fell off my tooth on Friday. I've felt like someone's been stabbing frozen ice picks through my entire jaw and right ear for three days. I've been nauseated, exhausted and hungry. It hurt to eat, drink and sleep. Basically my life has completely sucked for the past three days.
Today I went back and got the tooth re-cemented. The Assistant informed me that my gum under that tooth was extremely irritated and inflamed. She had the dentist give me some painkillers so I could finally get more than 3 hours of sleep. The best news is I can finally eat!!!! I'm so happy I could cry!
Bottom line: I don't deal with tooth pain well at all. I've been holed up in my bed, reading and trying not to cry since Friday afternoon. This has completely sucked.
The next time my Dentist mentions a crown I may end up showing him where to put his drill....