12/6/09
I just wanted to say thank you to everybody who wrote in the comments section of the last entry - they were humbling, heartbreaking, hopeful, and were the subject of many emails and conversations over the weekend. It has put our own present tribulations in stark relief, and made me feel better in particular about something we're going through.
I'd have more to write, but instead of the usual strep-throated viral Cipro-inducing infection bullshit that usually accompanies the holidays, I've been afflicted with the worst pain I've endured since kidney stones... and I don't even know how to describe what it is. Essentially, one whole side of my face is inflamed, and explodes with unrelenting, unmanageable pain every time I chew something.
I know I've been grinding my teeth at night, and I was chewing gum the day before this came on, but it feels like my jaw muscle has been punctured with a hot poker, and at this stage I can barely talk. I'm amazed at the pain, truly, the depth and breadth of it, and how it can linger at full strength for so mercilessly long. I didn't even know this kind of facial pain was possible.
I'm on four self-administered Advils to write this blog and got an emergency dentist to see me here in the woods tomorrow, so hopefully, they can tell me what the hell happened. It's not in my saliva gland, so it's not mumps, but... okay, I'm bored now.
Ian, I don't want to alarm you, but sometimes jaw pain can be an indication of a heart attack.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002109.htmWhat's weird is that I've had jaw pain all day, and I googled "jaw pain" before reading your blog. Mine gets worse when I bend over or lower my head, so it's probably the beginning of a sinus infection. Oh joy. I hope yours is nothing serious and that the dentist can help you. Take care.
ian - i had something like that once and it was TMJ syndrome. it was amazingly painful. unfortunately the solution is not so quick. you basically have to let the flare up subside. pain meds are only so so and you have to go on a liquid diet to the extent possible until the flare up stops. and then they sent me to get a night guard from the dentist to stop grinding at night. the good news for me was that it worked although the night guard is kind of nasty. i hope that it is "only" something like this. and if it is you will be fine - and you will NEVER chew gum again! be well.
Crap, that sounds awful. I hope the dentist can solve your problem quickly.
I didn't list any woes on the last entry because they just seem rather trivial compared to the BS everyone else has gone through.
Looking forward to putting the decade to bed.
I second the possibility of TMJ inflammation. If this is the case, a night guard helps a lot (custom-made by a good dentist).
OTOH, it also sound like a deep abscess. Good luck -- hope the local guy can help you out.
P.S. Just read kjf's post about TMJ and the night guard... I've worn a custom night guard on my upper teeth for about 10 years now, and mine isn't nasty at all (LOL)... has to be cleaned every morning with antibacterial soap and (if you like) toothpaste, then stored in a little case. I don't even notice the thing at all; it's small and custom fitted. Once I went on an SSRI in 1999, I was grinding and cracking molars like crazy (bruxism is a side effect of some meds, such as Paxil), spending all kinds of $$ on dental crowns, getting TMJ-related dizziness and ear problems. Haven't had a single crown or replacement (knock on wood) since using the night guard, and no more TMJ soreness.