A Stone in the Salivary Gland~
What happened:
Wednesday, June 15th, 2011, I felt my left lymph gland in my neck was swollen. It happens about twice a year, perhaps from getting run down, drinking too much, and I usually feel like I’m on the verge of getting sick.
I’d gone for a full check up about a year ago at the urging of a friend, and was fine.
But on this evening of the 15th I noticed that inside my mouth, under my tongue on the left side was sore and swelling too. Eating was becoming uncomfortable.
Thursday morning, out for a birthday brunch for my son, it really hurt to eat. I had to chew slowly, and couldn’t eat much. I began to notice that my lymph would swell, and inside on the underside of my tongue too, was swelling every time I ate something. Drinking didn’t seem to bother me as much. The swelling and pain would pretty much go away when I wasn’t eating.
Thursday night, my son’s birthday bash was going to go down, and we were packing to leave the next morning to go camping. I knew I could be in trouble~ I googled “pain and swelling under the tongue” and read that my salivary gland could be blocked. It was about 8pm. I went to the Urgent Care.
I got to see Dr. Karl Segnitz, who helped me with an infected bed warmer burn on my foot more than a year ago. (I met him also when 91 year old Grandmom was sick a little bit back. She remembers and likes him too).
The doctor said I was right, and that dehydration probably caused it. A stone in my salivary gland. He tried to get it out, couldn’t, and prescribed antibiotic “AMOX TR-K CLV 875-125 mg tablets” to take twice a day. 20 tablets. Ten days?! Also painkillers, I didn’t think I wanted, but then changed my mind when later Thursday night, and the next morning when the pain was so bad after eating again (The pharmacy’s PC went down when they were trying to fill the prescriptions Thursday night- I had to go back the next morning, tho they gave me 4 tablets for until I’d return).
I was also told to gently massage from my throat, along the underside of my jaw, out to the front of my mouth, to try to help get the stone out. And to use a warm compress. If the stone didn’t come out in a few days, I would need to go to the hospital to have it removed, the Doctor said.
I couldn’t imagine it was honestly like a stone. I hadn’t thought to ask the Doctor whether the antibiotics were going to help dissolve the stone~ or what? The pharmacist didn’t know either. And everyone I told about this, no one has ever heard of it.
About 13 or 14 hours after going to Urgent Care, while we were driving to Mendocino county through San Francisco, I tried to eat again, and the pain brought me to tears. I hadn’t taken pain killers but it felt like I would want to-maybe.
I kept drinking lots of water and massaging… and I actually ate a bunch of a sesame stick snack about an hour and a half after that tear jerking pain. Surprise, I didn’t have the same pain! (I was hungry!!) Also my lymph swelling seemed to be staying down.
We got to the campsite, and set up camp. I wasn’t uncomfortable…and I could drink without pain. And then, Friday night, about 24 hours after the first antibiotic on Thursday night, I was running my tongue down around the sore area and the stone popped out!
It really WAS like a stone. Or like a miniature tooth, about a cm round? It looked a little like a mini piece of popcorn, but like a tooth, it had some sharp edges, as roots do, three of them. THAT’S what all that pain was about! From then on, all was fine. My lymph swelling proceeded to go down and go away.
Thanks Doc!!
And seeing bales of hay always makes me feel....good~
