Was "Cellulitis blows,"now, "Parotid problems"

[George K]

Sialolithiasis.

[Catseye3]

@George-K How did you find out?

[George K]

@Catseye3 went to the dentist, just to be sure it wasn't anything dental (it wasn't).

I called up my ENT friend and fortunately he had an opening this afternoon. He claims he can feel the stone, but I'm not convinced. We did a CT scan, that shows, maybe, something on the right side, about 1.5 cm in size, but it's not calcified, so we're not 100% certain it's a stone.

Still symptoms, etc are all consistent.

Treatment: Hydration (moar (cheap) Scotch water). Antibiotics. Finish the entire course (of course). And things to stimulate salivation: chew on a lemon (really?) or hard candy.

Jolly Rancher order placed.

Followup in 4 weeks, or sooner if things don't get better. He says that, with luck, I'll take this stone to my grave. Too big to extract through the stoma, so the parotid gland would have to go. I HATE that operation.

[Mik]

Good to know, though.

[taiwan_girl]

@George-K sounds serious.

Take care of yourself!!

[Klaus]

Hmm....

I'd go with the second option of hiring a specialist for oral massages.

[brenda]

Improvement yet, George? Able to sleep alright?

Anything that makes the face or head hurt is miserable?

[Mik]

Yes. Do give us an update.

[Jolly]

Better to know than not. Hope the treatment course works well.

And speedily...

[George K]

@brenda said in Cellulitis blows..:

Improvement yet, George?

Marginally better. Just marginally. No fever, but the entire parotid gland is still swollen and painful.

Able to sleep alright?

No. Because of my neck arthritis, I'm a side sleeper. Can't sleep on the right side because of pain. Went to bed at 10, up at 1 for 2 hours, slept from 3 to 5.

Anything that makes the face or head hurt is miserable?

Any pressure on it. Moving it.

A twist in the tale. My ENT called last night to ask how I'm doing, and I told him what I mentioned above. He wants to switch antibiotics - he was disappointed when I told him I was on Augmentin. So, that's the plan for today.

Additionally, there's a cause for concern on the CT:

Sam (the ENT) says he wants things to quiet down wrt infection and then follow up with a CT with infusion.

[Mik]

What did he put you on?

[George K]

@Mik said in Was "Cellulitis blows,"now, "Parotid problems":

What did he put you on?

We're going to switch to clarithromycin, I believe.

[Mik]

I'd suggest 5-10 mg oxycodone at bedtime. Less pain = more sleep.

[Doctor Phibes]

Ugh, this sounds miserable. Hopefully you can get some relief soon.

[Catseye3]

Yes, me too. So sorry you're having to go through this.

EDIT: It's good how your ENT friend seems to be working to avoid parotid surgery.

ANOTHER EDIT: Very important to drink your water. From experience, I know how hard it is to remember to do that. I try for a cup of water every hour, and set the oven timer to remind me. This works very well, when I remember to set the oven timer.

[mark]

So sorry you are going through this, George. Hope you get some sleep too. I like Mik's prescription.

[jon-nyc]

Ugh. I hope this resolves quickly.

[kluurs]

Crap - sorry to hear this. This is why people don't like to see specialists. They tell you the thing you're worrying you have isn't bad enough. I hope the hydration stuff works. I second the idea of massage .

[Rich]

All pain sucks...but pain that prevents rest sucks X 1000.

Hoping they're able to take care of this asap.

[Jolly]

@Mik said in Was "Cellulitis blows,"now, "Parotid problems":

I'd suggest 5-10 mg oxycodone at bedtime. Less pain = more sleep.

Man's a gas passer, wife is a trained ICU nurse. After she gets the IV line in, the possibilities expand exponentially.