What I suspected was a tooth abscess turned out to be something else. After struggling to find a dentist who didn't want a small fortune to take me in on an emergency call (Medicare doesn't cover dental; imagine that, what a great nation) I finally hooked up with a county service.
X-Rays revealed that my teeth were in good enough shape that abscesses were ruled out immediately. In the mean time my tongue had became further ulcerated and the dentists (three of them by now oohing over what they saw in my mouth) all guessed a viral attack of some sort, a herpes strain maybe, and ruled out mouth cancer.
One of the dentists made up a prescription of lidocaine viscous, with a couple of other drugs mixed in and sent me home.
The solution, a mouthwash in effect, numbs the mouth briefly, but doesn't do much for the pain, which has been excruciating.
I was back at my regular clinic this morning, a week after having my flu shot, with new ulcers by now having grown on the right side of my face from my forehead down to my chin.
The arc, like a half-moon on my face, was suspicious and my two clinicians mulled over the possibilities, and then held a phone consultation with some dermatological pros.
The consensus for now is that I have Chicken Pox II, aka, shingles. A doc took a scraping from my tongue for the lab.
Shingles are extremely painful, and frequently a problem among elders with broken or damaged immune systems.
The prognosis? Six weeks of pain and scabrous wounds, swollen and ulcerated tongue, under a drug regimen, and I should be good to go.
OxyCon will help with the pain.
Maybe.
TS
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