Ah the dentist trip - not so fun!

Yesterday I had to go in to the the second half of my dental work done. They took off the temporary crown and fitted it with the permanent crown (no root canal, just an ollllllld filling that needed replacing and it was getting so big, the tooth would be unstable without a crown to protect it). Then four fillings on the other side of the mouth - one was for a chip, the other three were cavities to be filled (two along the gum line... huh...) and then back over to the other side of the mouth, a tooth extraction for a broken tooth which was under a missing tooth. No reason to repair it without an opposing tooth up top.

So, a LOT of work. And, it wasn't pleasant.

Since I've been married (which corresponds to my weight increase), I've had problems getting numb at the dentist. I take care of my teeth but since forever, I've had soft and porous teeth. I tend to have a pretty acid system (I can corrode a watch band and get green marks right quick!) and perhaps that's part of the problem - I just eat away at my teeth. I don't know.

Anyway... so, I've had a lot of dental work and I've had problems getting numb. It's led to a lot of fear, almost phobic of going to the dentist, which then, of course, leads to me delaying going to the dentist as I am afraid. It's stupid really as the only person I'm hurting is myself, but deep fears are usually never rational.

A few years back I did sleep dentistry with this same dentist. It was 'mostly' great. I got knocked out. He did the ton of work, and I was unaware of all of it. Bad part was that I vomited as I was coming out of it and with my bladder issues that also meant I peed myself! Not so pleasant.

With this same dentist, he fit a crown and did some other minor dental work and I've had to have novocaine. And, no problem. My fears were beginning to ease up. Perhaps, my obesity had been part of the reason I had problems with getting numb? I was hopeful that those problems were long gone as I've had problems with feeling things you shouldn't feel - like feeling a root canal - way painful. Feeling a tooth extraction, and feeling regular drilling.

Yesterday, again, I had problems getting numb. Gosh darn it! I had so many shots of novocaine that my jaw is going to be tender for days and days and of course, it does nothing for easing my fears of the dentist.

The work is done and I'm just supposed to to take it easy today, but I guess the weight problem wasn't the reason I have problems at the dentist. I'm just "lucky" I guess and sometimes it just 'happens' for a variety of reasons.

I'll try not to stress out about it too much because that won't help me any!

Anyway... yesterday wasn't fun. Add to that, my teen has some bug and I hope it's not the flu. His appetite is OK, but he gets a fairly high fever if not controlled by meds and he is very congested. He's now missing his second day of school. AND my mother in law had very intensive oral surgery yesterday too. They did a bone implant to prepare for a dental implant to be an anchor for a bridge (that old tooth gave out under the crown and her bone structure isn't there enough to support an implant, but without an implant, she loses all back teeth on lower jaw as that back tooth was the anchor for a double bridge. So, it was a big deal thing.

Of course, she did another annoying thing yesterday. She was supposed to get general anesthesia. She opted not to. I  didn't go to the pharmacy to get my meds and was waiting at the ready to pick her up. She strolls in, already going to the pharmacy. Again, not telling me that a. she doesn't need a ride. and b. that she is going to the pharmacy before coming home. She thought about herself - not the sick kid with the flu at home. Not about me who also had dental surgery. She just went about her every day business. Sigh... So, after she came home, I went to the pharmacy to my pain medicine.

I feel OK this morning. I'm just taking a heavy dose of ibuprofen.

Good news though is that the scale dropped a pound for me this morning. It's about freaking time!!!! So, at least there is that.

What is the biggest issue? Obesity? or Lack of Fitness?

We all know that being overweight is bad for you. Your blood pressure goes up. Your cholesterol creeps up. You might start to have problems with your blood sugar levels. Plus, it's hard on your joints, affects your sleep, energy level, etc.

But which is it that is causing all that? The extra weight? or the lack of fitness which almost always accompanies obesity?

I keep seeing all this stuff about American's diet. Too much of this. Too much of that. Portions are huge. Food is too dense in calories, etc. It's all true. I'm not denying that, but...

Why do we not see much more about moving more? Getting off our butts? Why aren't there more recesses added to a kid's school day versus the fights over their school lunches? Or better gym programs? Or, here's a novel idea - Free physical activities for kids - free ballet, free soccer, free swim lessons, etc. Right now, all of that comes out of the parent's pockets to have their kids move/exercise.

Kids need to move. It would reduce the ADHD problems in schools too. Yet... recesses are getting shorter and school days are getting longer. Kids sit all day long. No one runs around the neighborhood any more. Hardly anyone walks or bikes to school any more either.

Skip to adulthood. Again, why do we always think about "I need to lose weight." "I'm getting fat." And not, "Man, I need to get in shape!" Sure, some people realize they need to work on their fitness, but most of the time people want to exercise to lose weight. If they didn't need to lose weight, they probably wouldn't think about fitness. The main reason they are exercising is to lose weight, not to get fit. Though, once they start getting fit, they might start to realize the benefits of it.

Why is that? Exercising regularly reduces stress, helps you sleep better, gives you energy AND it can reduce your blood pressure, reduce your cholesterol and help with your blood sugar levels. It can stave off all kinds of ills like osteoporosis.

Yet... even as adults we hear - eat low fat. Eat low sugar. Eat less. Ok. I can get on board with eat less, but why not start with - move more.

I look around me. I see a lot of thin people but are they healthy just because they are thin? Maybe. Maybe not. Will they be healthy well into their 80s? Maybe. Maybe not. My money is on the thinner person who is active. Then I would bet on the overweight person who is physically active and then the thinner, non-active person and all bets are off with an overweight, inactive person.  As a former member on a weight loss forum I frequent was told by his cardiologist, "Look around you X. How many old fat men do you see?"

And I can ask myself too as I look around my community. There are a lot of octogenarians in my area. A lot of them are really, really healthy. Want to know what else? They are also very, very active - golfing, walking, gardening, even tennis. Their inactive peers are in nursing homes or retirement homes, fading away.

My personal belief is that the biggest issue is fitness. And shock if you are more fit, you can control your weight better too!

Now how to convince everyone of that?