I went to my dentist yesterday for my semi-annual teeth cleaning. She noticed a white spot on my tongue that had been there off and on for a couple of months so off I go to an oral surgeon this morning for a tongue biopsy.
Silly me for not asking more questions. I assumed (yeah, I know, my bad) that they would take a small sample of the spot, send it off for a biopsy, and call me in a week. Boy was I wrong.
After two painful shots of novacaine, the surgeon started the procedure. Only a few seconds into it, I started to feel pain deep in my tongue. Yikes! Not completely numb, he quickly shot two more doses of novacaine in my jaw. He ultimately took a chunk out of my tongue over 1/8" wide and over an inch long. 7 fricken stitches…. in my tongue. Ow ow ow ow ow.
It’s been 12 hours and I only have one stitch left. I must have a hyperactive tongue because even being careful, I’ve accidentally removed all but one of the stitches. As long as the tissue holds together and it doesn’t bleed, the doc said I didn’t have to come back in for even MORE shots of novacaine and MORE stitches.
At least I can be grateful for the power of Vicodin.
Keep your fingers crossed (a) that my tongue holds together unstitched and (b) that the biopsy results are negative when they come back in two weeks. Thanks for listening to me whine through the Vicodin fog.
<shudder>
How on earth are you going to eat? Liquid diet? I guess anything salty or too hot or too cold must hurt like the mischief.
Good luck. Post when you get the results.
Eating has been a challenge. Today I’ve mastered warm (not hot) soup, applesauce, and a vanilla Frosty from Wendys. I’m huuuuuuuungry. (yes, more whining)
I’m all for Ben & Jerrys…as long as it doesn’t have any chunks to chew. I made the mistake of trying to eat cream of broccoli soup for lunch and even chewing soft broccoli was a challenge.
Thanks for granting permission to be a whiney butt.
Yippeeeee, I get more drugs in 21 minutes…and counting…
Following my last oral cancer surgery, my Darling Marcie kept me supplied with ice cream and milkshakes. In order to vary my diet, she threw some mashed sweet potato in one of my milkshakes. I don’t recommend sweet potato milkshakes. Straight ice cream is much the best choice.
Hang in there, though. The stitches are a pain, I know. Please let us know the results of the biopsy as soon as you can. In the meantime, good luck and keep a positive attitude.
At least you get some serious bragging rights: one of my colleagues is in medical school at the moment, and he tells me that the tongue is apparently one of the most painful regions to biopsy.
So next time someone asks, tell them that you’re the Jack Bauer of oral health.
I believe Qadgop the Mercotan has stated here that the most painful injury out of his his (small, 2-seater) plane crash was biting a hole in his tongue. That being said, I guess I’m kind of surprised the stitches didn’t last longer. I wonder if that’s just a problem with stitching up the tongue in general or what.
When my brother was 2yo he almost bit off his tongue completely after jumping on the bed. It took seven stitches to put it back together. The stitches started to come loose after just a couple of days and fell off before the required amount. That left him with a bump on his tongue. Luckily the biggest problem is that he has an ugly tongue.
I once had a large canker sore on the very tip of my tongue, and I can state unhesitatingly that it’s the second most painful thing to happen to me. The first most painful was a particularly nasty back spasm. Tongue wounds are major ouch, all right. You have my sympathy. If you get famished for some protein, perhaps some Gerber’s strained chicken or something?
oooo - am so sorry. Tongues are serious painful spots because of all the nerve endings. Sending you all the virtual ice cream and jello you can eat.
I am having issues with mouth sores from the colchicine and fully feel for you [the sores start along the underside edges of my tongue and spread from there. ]
I have found that when the pain gets really bad and it isnt med time, hold ice water in your mouth to help numb the tongue [unless you have the sensitive mouth issue.] Next time, see if he will give you the oral lidocaine suspension, you mix it with a small amount of water and hold it in the mouth until it numbs slightly. I find it a lifesaver right now. Keeps me from trying to balance other painkillers with the indocin.
Ruby, you have my sympathy. I had a tongue biopsy last week – I was due to get my single stitch removed on 3/14, the day you had your surgery…but due to a conflict, my stitch removal has been rescheduled for 3/17.
Sounds like yours was orse than mine, and I’ve been grumpy about mine all week.
I hope that your test results come out negative for cancer. However, I have a family member who had to undergo surgery as a result of a similar biopsy (I’ll spare you the details, unless you want them), so if you need one, I can recommend a really good head & neck surgeon (although he’s based in Manhattan). And my family member found it helpful to talk to other patients who had undergone a similar procedure before her surgery.
