What does Healing look like?

I have been debating whether to write about this for quite a few months. But today, I had some time and thought it might be useful for people to know that their practitioners are also human and that sometimes healing does not happen so fast!

It all started with some popcorn…..

I was enjoying some homemade popcorn one day and few days later I felt this pain at the back for my mouth. I had a look and thought….hmmm this is strange. Arranged an emergency dental appointment and the culprit was discovered and removed! However, a few weeks later when I went for a review, my dentist still was not happy and I heard the words I never wanted to hear “it’s your wisdom tooth. There is a tiny minicule gap, food is getting stuck, it is getting infected and will have to be removed.” Now this might not seem problematic but it was for me. Why? Well, ten years ago I had my upper two wisdom teeth removed. They were fully impacted, meaning they sit under the gum against the tooth with no where to go. The lower ones are the same BUT I was told because of their proximity to the IAN (Inferior Alveolar Nerve) to never touch them unless absolutely necessary. Well, it was now absolutely necessary. I had also been reading loads of things from Biological dentists about removing teeth unnecessarily so naturally I was a bit worried, but infection is no good and low grade infections can be very damaging for health overall.

Now this problem did not just emerge from nowhere. As expected, the body always keeps the score. In the months leading up to the removal I had terrible tonsillitis and I was starting to get these big spots all on the same side of the culprit tooth. I was also really tired. In fact, when the dentist removed the tooth (more on that later) she did ask me ‘surely you must have been feeling really unwell?’. Well I had been, but maybe because I had already spent many years not feeling right I just thought that was my ‘normal’. It wasn’t. I now have so much energy and manage to play tennis a few times a week! I would definitely not have been able to do that last year! She also asked me if I had suffered from migraines and I had! All on the same side of the tooth!

The surgery was a little tricky because when she went to remove the first part of the tooth, the real problem was discovered which apparently does not always show up. There was a huge infection in between the tooth and the bone! Some impacted teeth can form in sacks and these sacks sometimes get infected and form cysts….insidious and problematic. The removal was tricky because of this but there was also a very high risk of the nerve being damaged which it already was because of the infection!

Healing was an uphill battle. I had to take antibiotics for the first time in years, but I had loads of homeopathic remedies and the wound itself and incision healed well. My nerve on the other hand……the IAN innervates the chin and the lower lip (left side in this case). So what happened after the surgery? Well, you could have slapped me and I would not have felt a thing! Not a good joke but it was true. I would say I was numb for about a month before the nerve started to come back online.

I did all the things; homeopathy, acupuncture, used my healy device, coconut oil pulling, castor oil on the face, gua sha, cayenne pepper shots, bach flower remedies, reflexology, hynotherapy and so the list goes on. All these things helped but at some point, I was extremely frustrated because I thought, why can’t I heal myself faster? I should know right? I am a practitioner! Nerves take a long time to heal unfortunately but I am glad to say that 5 months on I am at 90%. I have all sensation just a tiny bit of innervation left to go. A chiropractor friend of mine told me and so did my dentist that the last bit can take time. I have also scoured all the forums and I had all the good signs of nerve healing. There was nothing else I could have done but that thing had to come out! I now understand why I used to get these terrible migraines on the left side. And in fact, the dentist said she had a patient with a similar issue, went for MRI’s etc but in the end the cause was found once the wisdom tooth was removed….infection under the tooth.

What has all this shown me? Firstly, that I am very impatient but I have become more patient through this experience. Secondly, that even though it was not a nice experience, I feel so much better in myself. Thirdly, I have more empathy for some of my patients - especially those who are in a lot of pain.

Healing does take time. Healing is also not always about getting rid of all symptoms and having everything be ‘perfect’. Sometimes it can be about finding wellness within youself away from your symptoms.

So what does true healing look like? Is it perfection in the body completely? I don’t think so. Astrologically, Chiron has been in Aries hitting my sun. Aries is the head…so at least that explained some of my woes.

The good news is, I now know what to do should this ever happen to someone else. And like I tell my patients; healing does not happen overnight. It truly doesn’t. True healing takes time.

Gabrielle

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