Interestingly, the same treatments are used (and have the same success rate), regardless of what Stage someone is in. There are some options like cortisone shots, or splints + medical-grade anti-inflammatories, or surgery. But the success rate for each stays the same, regardless of the stage you’re in.
Mine is pretty much identical to Marvel’s, but with fewer infinity gems.
So. While it’s not the developmental cyst, I actually need to now schedule an appointment with a neurologist (and possibly get an MRI). Dr. Powell said that the issue I’m experiencing isn’t dire… but it’s important to try to figure out why it’s happening. He said that 99 times out of 100, it’s nothing. But there’s a slight chance the issue is happening due to something like a brain tumor. So it’s important to get and rule out the bad stuff.
On Saturday, Liz and I met up with Julie and Bob at the University of Chicago, inside the Center for Care and Discovery building. Bob was scheduled to undergo a surgical procedure (something I really haven’t mentioned on here, before now). Without going into details, suffice it to say it was a serious procedure and we’ll leave it at that.
I learned that the numbness is normal, and usually takes a long time to recover. The cyst (which is what I have) was impacting the nerve endings in the roof of my mouth – and at times, it can stretch the area. In some cases, numbness goes away after 2 weeks or so. But if the nerve endings end up dying as a result of being stretched, it takes longer for them to grow back. The rate Dr. Powell told me was something in the area of 1mm per day.
Oddly, I’ve found that brushing my teeth sometimes helps. Perhaps this is due to the act getting the blood circulating more in the affected area. But it seems that once an hour or so, I’m back in the bathroom cleaning my teeth like someone with OCD.
This “developmental cyst” that I have (and its subsequent infection) has really put me out of commission the last few days. I’ve been unable to concentrate, and mostly unable to even relax. The pain/discomfort is ever-present, and only in a few instances has it abated enough to where I could really focus on something besides the discomfort.
Though Dr. Heath had some suspicious as to what this might be, he told me that none of the potential causes was “frightening.” Which is good, because in my head I was concocting up a whole slew of possible things (and all of them were frightening).
Going without alcohol won’t be all that bad, though I have gotten used to having a beer when I get home from work. The coffee thing will be a bit harder to kick, as I’m used to sipping on coffee throughout the day. We have some pretty terrible Starbucks packets at work, so it’s not like I’m missing all that much. I guess it’s the caffeine I miss, more than the coffee.
Last week, I trekked out to the suburbs to visit the place that supplied me with my CPAP machine – a device that provides continuous pressure/air while I sleep, via a mask. This is something I use for my sleep apnea, a condition where my body “wakes up” due to low oxygen levels.
Over the past few months I’ve had this odd, persistent issue with my right index finger. It hurts a bit, from time to time, but there’s nothing specific that seems to cause it. Some days it’ll be uncomfortable, other days I don’t notice it at all. For a while, I assumed it was a repetitive…
So a while back, I had some blood work done and discovered a few things. First off my cholesterol is a little high. Not dangerously so, but enough that it’s gotten me trying to be better about my meal choices… and trying to exercise on a slightly more frequent basis. I’m going to the gym…
Last week, I had heard about Continuous Chest Compression CPR – a new way to perform CPR that doesn’t involve mouth-to-mouth contact, and requires no certification – anyone can do it. I first saw it metioned online, and a few days later happened to see a brief commercial on TV, detailing the process. Since I’m…
So my left wrist has been hurting recently. And oddly, the same symptoms I was experiencing (a slight burning sensation at times, and difficulty in putting a lot of pressure on the wrist) made me think I had injured it. In fact, they were eerily similar to the symptoms I had, when I tore the…
This morning, I got supplied with a CPAP machine for my sleep apnea. I got a brief runthrough of how the guy works, and… hopefully, it’ll help me sleep better at night. The part of the left is a humidifier (I’m supposed to add in a tray of distilled water); through this machine, air will…