Ah, I should've mentioned that this is a doctor that she's seen for years, so he has a history with her pain levels I think the problem with numbers is that it's so abstract that people will think, "Oh, I don't know...I think this is a 5 level pain..." then a little later, "Oh no, I was wrong, THIS is a 5 level pain, the other one was more a 3....". If a doctor can say, "okay, is this pain worse or better than a bad headache for you?", then there's some basis for comparison. On the other hand, it's hard to compare different types of pain - I was absolutely fine with labour pains, even though they hurt badly during each contraction, because I knew they were each finite, but I absolutely detest bad headaches, because I don't know when they'll end. Not sure about the solution to this.

My dentist actually gives her patients the option of whether to have injections or not (she always asks); on the principle of the above, I've never had injections either, since I'd rather endure the short term sharp pain than have numb, chipmunk cheeks for hours!

I think it is as it is not meant to be eaten during pregnancy because of the raw egg.

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Margia Stevens even peeped inquiringly into the great jar where the flour was kept. Needless to state, no Jo was there. (Jo of)

And yet my mother, for years, believed period pain was, if not imaginary, at least exaggerated as she never suffered a twinge! My sister and I both hate her for that.....

I should clarify that by the time we were old enough to have periods she had discovered that she was mistaken, so was sympathetic and administered painkillers and tlc when we needed it. But my sister has endometriosis, so when my mother blithely says she never had period pains..... we want to kill her!

When I worked in a nursing home I had a (female) boss who thought period pain was imaginary, and was also so regular that she knew when her period was going to start to the hour. When I started working there everyone hated her as she simply didn't accept that it might be more painful for some people, and that lots of peple are genuiniely irregular. She thought everyone was making a ridiculous fuss about something perfectly ordinary. After I'd worked there for six months and fainted, regularly, from period pain she began to rethink her prejudices, and my colleagues clubbed together and bought me a box of chocolates to say thank you!

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The Chalet School has done it again!

Local anesthetics don't work on me, so I don't have the option of injections. Or at least, I do, but they'd be pointless. Numb cheeks sound blissful though, I think!

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euphrosyna.net

They're a nuisance when you have lunch immediately after a dental appointment - trying to eat spaghetti with red sauce, with no sensation in your mouth is, well, a trying experience! (this happened to me after one procedure with a different dentist, and I wound up looking and feeling as messy as a 2 year old!)