Over the last 36 hours the left side of my face has swelled up to the size of a tennis ball. I can’t eat, drink or move my mouth without pain, and I look like I’m storing nuts for the winter.
According to the research I’ve done so far, the problem is in the salivary gland just under my ear. The swelling could be due to anything from an obstructed gland to an autoimmune disease. I’m hoping to get some answers when I see my doctor tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll be reading the NIH Web site and making more half-assed attempts at self diagnosis.
One of these days I’ll learn to stay away from medical Web sites.
In his case it was an obstructed gland. The doc put him on powerful antibiotics and made him suck lemons to get his juices flowing (and hopefully pass the obstruction). Apparently that part was quite painful.
Anyway, good luck getting rid of the swelling, and I hope you don’t have as many people sitting around laughing at you as he did.
I didn’t have something as interesting as a blocked salivary gland, just run of the mill wisdom tooth extraction. All 4 at the same time. I was the sole source of entertainment for my friends for about 4 days. Fun was had by all.
Well, I went to my doctor this morning and she diagnosed me with parotitis. It’s similar to mumps, but it’s not mumps. (I’m not sure exactly what the difference is except that my doctor said it’s not mumps. That’s good enough for me.) So I don’t have an obstructed gland or anything more serious. Whoo-HOO! My doctor gave me an antibiotic and a referral for an ENT doctor if I have any more problems.
I’m feeling much better than I did this time last night. I still have a little bit of a fever, but the swelling in my face has gone down quite a bit. I’m looking less like a chipmunk and more like my usual round-faced self. Thanks for the replies!
pasunejen: No laughing, but I got a lot of stares at work. I think my coworkers wanted to ask what was wrong with my face but didn’t want to offend me by asking. BTW: I hope your dad didn’t have to go through that treatment for very long. That sounds painful!
vanilla: Thanks for making me smile. I wonder if I should change my username …
TheRealStrawberry: I can’t imagine having all four wisdom teeth removed at once! I know a lot of people do it that way, but I took the wimp’s way out. I’ve only had one removed so far because the other three haven’t bothered me. (Of course, now that I’ve said that they’ll all flare up on me tomorrow.)
I wonder if I should change my username …