Christine, thanks! No, I don't have tubes, and I think I'll be okay there ... my ears seem to be doing a bit better. The tooth/jaw pain is the same, which is what has me concerned, and I don't think that's related to the ears. It definitely kicks in during the pressure change times, though. I need to figure out which of my doctors to ask about that, and which ones are open this week (being a holiday week). The nurse/tech does check my vitals before and after, but my meds and anxiety make my blood pressure run low normally, so I expect I appear fine most of the time. Go figure. As for anxiety meds, I already take so many that it's not possible to prescribe me anything more without flat-out sedating me (which I wish they could do, but then I don't think they could do the dives?). I do have one strong migraine pain-killer with a somewhat sedating effect, which I do take each morning before I go (to prevent the pressure headaches as well as for the calming effect), but that only works so much.

The drinking idea is good. What I should have clarified is that the panic disorder causes extreme nausea, so eating/drinking is more a problem of making my body accept food and keep it down. And that scares me too, because I can't see vomiting as being good for my stitches later ... panic upon panic. I do like the vitamin idea, and I didn't know they had a liquid form. That's a great tip.