The dementia diaries VII

It is 5:04 AM October 5 2023.

Why am I awake? It might be because I'm a night owl? Nah.

Because weeks ago, I had dental work, two posts put in for implants, and the pain is still enough to wake me in the middle of the night. I ran out of the real painkillers a while back, so now I rely on Tylenol and ibuprofen in alternation. My wife, a retired RN, is always ready to tell me the possible problems of medications, of which I take many for depression, my heart and the longtime effects of weight loss surgery in 2003. Since I am an addict, I show my wife how many painkillers I am taking if I get them in the middle of the night. I have a history of taking too many then when I'm in serious pain, so I have to show her how many I have gotten.

When I am woken up by my jaw pain, I have to stay awake until whatever painkiller I'm taking is starting to take effect. I also use my medical marijuana vape for pain, the combination with ibuprofen or Tylenol is good. I have used medical marijuana now for several years, and even though there is a lot of THC, the effects reduce over time and use, or they did in my case at least.

One of my problems has disappeared at least for the moment; that is the brain buzzes. My appetite is not great; I usually eat about half of what I take. Lots of leftovers in the fridge from here and restaurants. For some reason I am…