I am back, well sort of. Its been a couple weeks of hell, the last one especially. Developed an infection after my oral surgery on the 31st of July, 5mm of the gum on the right lower canine needed to be removed to get access to a cavity. He gave me a prescription for antibiotics, I told him I get real sick on them, so he opted for a special mouth rinse instead. The week on the 7th of Aug the cavity was filled, along with 2 others on the right lower side of my mouth. The surgery site started bleeding all over again. I had problems with swelling and the dentist said it was due to the surgery and I am a slow healer. I have systemic Scleroderma, all sorts of problems with lungs only operating at 40%, poor circulation due to blood vessel damage, GI problems, etc. Wound healing is well documented problem with Scleroderma. In the past when I had teeth removed it would take a month or more to heal, well longer than an ordinary person.
The infection and pain started to get really bad on the 12 of Aug., I went back to the dentist, after chatting with a very knowledgeable dentist here on SI, he figured my fillings in my teeth needed bite adjustment, the dentist adjusted it a bit, but I had a lot of pain in the surgery area and jaw, and rear molar. Later that night it started to go numb. By morning of the 13th I was completely numb on the right side, swollen and had a lot of pain. The dentist had no explanation. I went to see my family doctor on the 14th and had a fever, cold chills, extreme weakness and a lot of pain. She wanted me on antibiotics ASAP. I called my dentist back and he said go to the ER and get antibiotics IV. My doctor told me if I don’t feel better by Sat morning of the 17 to go to the ER. The fever broke that morning and I started out feel a little better, still had cold chills and extremely weakness. Taking over the recommended dose of Tylenol extra strength, but I needed it for pain. Around the 12th I noticed when laying down my heart would skip a beat every 3-4 beats continuously. Then on Sat 17th my pulse was 200 resting. I called HealthLink, a service we have in Alberta that you talk to registered nurses, they have a file on you with all your medical history and meds, etc. She said see a doctor in the next 4 hours.
On Sat 17th I seen a new dentist and she changed my antibiotics, figured the numbness was from the swelling putting pressure on a nerve. I also told my doctor about my heart and she was worried that the infection went to my heart (I have heart problems as well) sent me for blood work and a ECG. Still waiting on those results. But if they were bad, they would have called me.
Seen the dentist again tonight, the swelling and numbness is still there after 6 days on antibiotics,(however the swelling has gone down) I am on them until Saturday. The dentist is really worried about the numbness, said the nerve is involved and I may need IV antibiotics as the jaw bone marrow could be infected and I can get the IV at the hospital or from an oral surgeon. He could cut and drain it, but is worried about that getting infected. If the numbness and swelling don’t subside by next week I will have to see the other options the dentist told me, so I am not out of the woodwork yet. Still in pain and numb, have a burning itch in the surgery area, but scratching it does nothing as I can feel anything, just drives me up the wall. However the weakness is gone and as of today I am eating like a horse, lost 10 pounds since this started, down to 137 pounds, was 180 three years ago.
I want to thank everyone on SI for their support. I was very emotional to see the number of people who replied and recommended Dmitry’s messages about me. I want to thank those who donated funds, they helped, have serious financial problems, but thats another topic.
Once again thank you to all the people on SI that rallied to support me in this difficult time. Will keep you informed at my progress. SI is such a special place to me, great people. No words really can express how I really feel about the people of SI.
Regards
SI Ron |
