Hanging In There

Anonymous said...

Hey, I know you haven't posted anything recently about your complications after oral surgery, but I read that blog while researching the complications my brother is having due to his oral surgery. He is on his third set of antibiotics in less than a month and a half and is sick in between the oral infections. Our oral surgeon wasn't much help, just like yours wasn't. We have a doctor's appointment scheduled in October to maybe check into immune problems, as that is the only thing the oral surgeon could suggest. Has yours gotten any better or has it gotten worse? Please let me know what you have been doing to deal with the problem.







Anonymous,

Sorry to hear about your brother’s health issues. I cannot offer you advice on the matter, as my own oral health issues have not been resolved.

My original oral surgeon told me that my next/last option would be to have an MRI, after I finally broke down in tears at his office. After he told me that I looked good, I explained that I was feeling very ill. He took my temperature. I had a fever. He suggested that I was possibly having pain due to nerve damage. I haven’t gotten the MRI yet, since my regular physician said she cannot ask my insurance to pay for it given that my oral surgeon told me that my pain is related to nerve damage. I had a fever of 100.4 at her office.

I got a second opinion from the head oral surgeon in my area, who told me the same thing or suggested that I was having ghost pain, which is absurd. However, I still have swollen lymph nodes on the left side of my neck under the extraction site. I also had a fever at his office.

After these visits, I was off of antibiotics for about six weeks, during which time my fever remained in the low-mid range and my jaw, throat and neck became more and more painful. I had leftover antibiotics in my drawer, which I was avoiding due to my previous problems with antibiotic induced colitis. However, I got desperate enough to take it when the pain became so acute that I could not sleep on the left side of my face.

I took two courses of doxycyline as prescribed by a periodontist who told me that it would not cure my infection, but rather suppress the toxins which the bacteria produce, until I get appropriate treatment from an oral surgeon. During those two weeks, my symptoms improved a great deal after 3-4 days on the medicine. It was a huge relief and I was able to function almost normally.

After discontinuing them, the pain began coming back first in my jaw and then in my neck and throat. I began taking a leftover bottle of clydamycin, which were the offenders that gave me colitis, but relief from the jaw pain and other symptoms.

I was able to function almost normally for the week I was on that medication, too. However, I developed mild colitis symptoms at the end of the course of medication, which resolved after being off of it for a week. However, my deep jaw pain under and behind my extraction site came back the same week.

I also had a bottle of Avelox in my drawer as prescribed by my ear, nose and throat doctor, which I was putting off taking due to some of the scary side effects. However, I have been taking one pill per day as prescribed. I still have mild jaw pain and sore lymph nodes, but my throat has stopped screaming and the ache in my jaw has dulled. The headaches that I was getting on the rear left side of my skull have also resolved.

I am frightened about finishing the medication due to the fact that I think that my symptoms will return and worsen as they have each time before.

I have an appointment with a third oral surgeon late next week. I am hoping that this doctor will be able to help find the source of my problem and help me resolve it.

I believe that I should have been given IV antibiotics to eradicate this problem. I think there is a pocket of infection deep in my gums and jaw that has not been visible on X-rays or CT scan.

I am also concerned that the infection may have made its way into my jaw bone, in which case I might need to have my bone scraped.

I had a battery of blood tests which were all within normal limits. I do not have a problem with my immune system or my blood cell counts would be abnormal. I was tested for everything!

I heal rapidly from colds or injuries, etc. I rarely become ill and have never had other health problems. I believe that due to the fact that I waited 3-4 years to have my wisdom tooth extracted after I began getting pericorinitis, I gave the infection too much time to spread to deeper tissues and/or the bone.

I have read that osteomyelitis can go undetected for a number of years, all the while causing damage your jaw and adjacent teeth and possibly spread to your heart and/or bloodstream.

I am hoping that I don’t wind up with a high fever and get very ill before my doctors will intervene. I am being treated like a hypochondriac and keep being told that I do not have an infection.

If my symptoms were due to nerve damage, I would not start having fevers when I discontinue antibiotics. My lymph nodes would not become more and more swollen and painful -- and I wouldn’t be suffering with headaches and sore throats. My lymph nodes become less swollen and painful while on antibiotics and my fever resolves. There is also less fluid crackling sound when I bite down on the left side during antibiotics, but it returns and becomes louder after I discontinue them. My jaw pain also becomes a constant throbbing, aching and stinging, which starts to spread into my throat starting on the left and then all over. My tonsils also become more red and swollen and develop white patches.

I have an uncle who was recently hospitalized a few months after having oral surgery. He had problems with prostate infections afterwards. He also developed a very high fever and went to the emergency room. It was discovered that the infection in his mouth damaged his heart and he will need surgery to repair one of his valves. He was put on IV antibiotics. I hope that he will be okay!

I also hope that my issue does not become life threatening! After finishing this medication, I will have no more antibiotics left in my drawer. I will likely have to request/beg for an MRI. However, I’m still hopeful that after finishing this expensive oral antibiotic, I will be well.

My sister’s wedding is in a couple of weeks. I am going to be her matron of honor. My little girl is going to be a junior bride’s maid. I want to be well, so we can enjoy her special day.

I want to be well so I can be supermommy!

Anonymous, I sincerely hope that your brother gets well soon!