Because my tooth hurts!!!
Now of course, there's nothing I can do about it this weekend. I could go to an ER and cry and let my medical bills continue to rack up (no, I don't have any insurance) while they stuff me with pain pills and refer me to an oral surgeon. Eh, no.
So as I usually do, I research online for an herbal remedy.
Now I have been using herbs instead of western medicine for quite a few years now. It all started when I was pregnant in 2009. I was on at least 9 different medicines during my pregnancy. 9!!! I wasn't even 30 yet! I suffered from extremely high blood pressure towards the end of my pregnancy and was close to a stroke as I was told by my doctor. As a matter of fact he said that he was surprised that I didn't have a stroke.
Again still not even 30 years old. Who the hell wants to hear that at that age???
In any case, right after my daughter was born, I looked at my dresser. It looked like an F-ing pharmacy. I took my hand and swept all of it into the garbage. Then I looked into other methods.
A very good friend of mine, TJ, became a practioner in Ayurvedic medicine and taught me how to use herbs and holistic methods for healing.
It literally changed my life. I took pleasure in growing and collecting herbs and learning about their healing abilities. My first herb garden started right in my kitchen window. It was just amazing to realize that the things growing right in front of our faces could heal us. That the most simple of ingredients could calm a cough, clear sinuses, and now, calm tooth pain.
Here's a bit about oil pulling:
Oil pulling is a practice in Ayurvedic medicine where you take oil and swish it around in your mouth. The idea is that it "pulls" the toxins out to decrease inflammation. This is not just for tooth pain; it apparently also helps with headaches, migraines, type 2 diabetes, and even asthma!
So my dear Dr. TJ (as I call her so lovingly) recommended I take warm sesame oil with turmeric (turmeric is the bomb by the way; I'll tell about that later!) and swish it around in my mouth. Let me just tell you I'm broke. I actually didn't have any sesame oil in my house. So I did a little reading and found some people who had used olive oil instead. Long story short, not too long after I did this, I did start to feel less pain--still a little bit of throbbing but at least I wasn't crying anymore.
The moral to this story is...see a dentist! This tooth problem I must confess has been happening since before my daughter was born. I used to grind my teeth in my sleep and ending up cracking this tooth in half, woke up with bits of tooth in my mouth. And then I just let it go foolishly. I did see a dentist after my daughter Jordan was born, but because I was vain I didn't want that dentist pulling 3 teeth out of my mouth (I still have my useless molars). Stubbornly, I let it go. Lesson learned.
Now this oil pulling is definitely not a permanent solution; I mean the tooth is broken--it's gotta go! But at least I can sleep and I'll make it through the weekend.
Please believe me; I don't suggest giving up whatever your common practices are for healing. I am a strong believer in everyone should do their own thing all the time. Find what works for you and keep up with it. Most healing is in the mind; that reigns true for all practices. Believing in the healing power of whatever it is you use will make it more effective. Try it sometime. Next time you have a headache, concentrate on the medicine actually working as opposed to focusing on the pain. Visualize the medicine attacking your headache monster with swords or shooting it with arrows. I bet your headache will disappear much faster.
Right now, I'm going to go concentrate on finding a dentist.
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