Morticia,

By the time I got to the root canal bit it was all a breeze. By then you are all anaesthetised in the jaw area and anything goes. Once the dentist starts getting rid of the bits inside your tooth there is nothing left to make the pain so it's smooth sailing from there on - in my experience.

Use a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel or one of those heat/cool first aid gel-filled pads if you don't have a heat-bag. Anything which is completely safe and can be moulded around your face & neck will help (i.e. don't try to do makeshift stuff which might break and spill hot water on you).

The antibiotics should be kicking in by now. Are they starting to work? For quick relief when the pain gets really bad I use an over-the-counter drug known as Nurofen or Ibuprofen in Australia. Do you have it there? I know you asked for drug-free assistance but if it gets really bad one or two of these gets rid of the pain really quickly and then the other remedies help to keep the pain away or at least keep it at a minimum. I only used the Nurofen once or twice over a period of a few days.

Look after yourself. Stress may make the pain worse so Praise's suggestions should help keep the stress-monsters at bay.

Helen