I've never eaten a mud pie but I have a history of odd medical issues that seem to pop up out of no where. For example, out of the blue about 7 months after giving birth I started having increasingly intense leg pain and cramping in my thigh. When I couldn't stand it anymore I had my friend take me to the ER to find out I had a fractured hip. I ended up on crutches for the next 12 weeks. It took a long time for them to figure out why it happened as I hadn't had any falls, or traumas. They finally diagnosed me with transitional osteoporosis. During some routine blood work at my PCM she found my thyroid was not working properly and I was sent to a specialist who diagnosed me with Crones disease. I was scheduled to have my thyroid surgically removed but had to cancel because of some personal conflicts. I never got the surgery rescheduled and somehow it ended up fixing itself. My levels now measure normal!
So - it shouldn't surprise me that when I started getting sharp pains and swelling in my jaw while eating supper last night that the doctor should decide that I have Parotisis (which basically means inflammation of the parotid gland - wow, hard to guess that one right?). She thinks my specific cause though is a salivary duct stone. I repeat, I did not eat a mud pie! Basically my saliva has crystallized into a tiny stone that is partially blocking my saliva duct. It causes the saliva to back up inside my cheek and jaw every time I eat until I look like a lopsided chipmunk. The treatment is torturous. I have to suck on something sour to INCREASE saliva production (which causes more swelling and pressure as the saliva keeps filling the tiny space in the gland) hoping to force the obstruction out. Massage, increased fluids, ibuprofen and heat can also be used.
I am finding none of this useful so far. It feels fine as long as I eat nothing, but that's not what I'm supposed to be doing. Once I quit eating the pressure starts to subside and after a couple hours it's tender to the touch but is no longer throbbing. I had to give myself a break. I was starting to feel like a truck drove over my face and neck. The websites say it can cause discomfort. I wonder if I put their testicles in a clamp if they would find that pain a "discomfort"? It's pretty similar to a kidney stone only for kidney stones they give you narcotics. I have no time frame in which to hope to pass this. If it doesn't happen within a week I will be returning and asking for some better drugs!
For additional information on salivary duct stones
http://www.medicineonline.com/articles/S/2/Sialolithiasis/Salivary-Duct-Stones.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001039.htm
I'm sure there are better sites out there but I have a heck of a time finding sites in English since our IP address is German. It automatically refers me to sites in German. Fun, fun!
Ahoy me mateys! I had no idea how hard it would be to sew with only one contact in! Maybe I shouldn't be driving....hmmm.
I went to the eye doctor Thursday because I felt like I was coming down with pink eye. Any of you with children or contacts will know exactly what I mean. This was the red, itchy, mattery, dry feeling kind thats usually contagious (not the also all too familiar light sensitive, burning, watering, mattery kind caused by my contacts.) Since my daughter had been rubbing at her eye and complaining it hurt we managed to be seen during the last half hour of the day. I can't say I was very impressed. She told me that I didn't have pink eye. Actually no problems with the eyes. I had 20/20 vision with my contacts in. Apparently the contacts were the issue. She told me to take them out and clean them once in a while. WHAT?? Apparently she's not aware of my "wear them until they are painful 12 month plan." She also admonished me for not having a pair of glasses to wear in an emergency like this (which turned out to not really be an emergency since there was nothing wrong.) And if that were not enough pleasantries she scolded me for using my daughters expired pink eye medication from the last bout in our house. Hmmm. I'm not sure how well me and this new eye doctor are going to get along. I changed the contacts when I got home but the next day it was even more red and watery so I decided to leave it out a few days and rest my eye. I had to leave the other in so that I can function. I've gone months with just one in so I didn't think it would be that big of an issue but then I tried to sew. It's been interesting getting used to this lack of depth perception. I was going to leave one eye off my last project as a dedication to my new "pirate squinty eye" sewing technique coupled with the radiation leak in Japan which is sure to jump start some new species of animals, but since that's not what my customer ordered I stuck with the normal two-eyed cookie monster. Maybe I can get a job at Disneyland Paris working at on the pirate ship whilst we are there next week. ;) wink wink. Get it? Bahahaha!
