A Pain In My...

We arrived on scene to find a woman waving us down. We were led into the townhouse to an upstairs bedroom. There we found a 50 year old male, shivering with pain, lying in bed.

He said that he had had a tooth ache for the last 3 days. A few hours ago he got in to see his dentist and had had a root canal. After the procedure he had been sent home with a prescription for Tylenol 3 for pain.

Let me set the record straight. I've had tooth aches. I know they hurt, a lot.

So I asked my patient how long he had been in this much pain and he replied for the last 3 hours. I then inquired if he had called his dentist? He said that he had. I had to follow that question with another, what did he say?

My patient, who was now spitting on the floor because it hurts to swallow and whispering because it hurts to talk (I thought it was as tooth ache, not a sore throat) told me that his dentist had given him a stronger script for his pain. And that his dentist had even called it in to his local pharmacy. 


But did he get it filled? No. Instead he decided to call 911 so he could hold my hand (he really did). My 7 year old daughter handles pain better.