Sinusitis. Fuck fuck fuck. Nobody I know who has had it warned me about how FUCKING painful it was.

It started with a toothache. It hurt so much I was forced to go to the dentist despite my massive fear of needles and lack of money (In the UK, you have to pay for the dentist. Reduced rates for NHS, but still.) Luckily, my boyfriend paid for it. The dentist gave me a temporary filling and sent me on my way. The pain subsided for a few hours, but came back with a vengeance.

I went back the next day. She was puzzled, but scraped the nerve pulp out of my teeth and filled it with with antibiotic temporary filling and gave me amoxcillin. My face was swollen up on one side (my sister-in-law nicknamed me puffy) my nose was full of yellow shit, and I spent a lot of time rocking back and forth in agony, moaning under my breath, holding my cheek with tears running down my face.

By the evening the dentist was closed so I went to the emergency dentist. Who turned out to be my normal dentist working after hours at the hospital. She xrayed my mouth and said "OH right you have sinusitis!!" Facepalm.

I hadn't eaten anything in three days, so the antibiotics just made me puke which made me hurt 10x worse. Whilst I was puking up green bile in the hospital toilet they called my name. My partner was banging on the door "stop puking honey, they've called your name!"

I was given extra strong antibiotics (made me puke more) and Tramadol. The next week was me waiting for the next painkiller like a junkie waiting for a fix. I watched the clock like Miss Dubose in To Kill A Mockingbird. I had codeine, tramadol, paracetamol and the antibiotics. It healed up, more or less. I lost a stone in weight and haven't gained it back since.

A fortnight later I had the tooth out, which was a terrifying trial I never want to repeat. Afterwards, she held my nose and told me to blow. Pus from the infection came out of the tooth hole. She made a hospital appointment for me in London but I never went.