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THE USELESS DOCTORS
I called my surgeon 4 days after the operation. His secretary called me back and said these cannot be because of the operation or the drugs. He didn't even have the decency to call me himself and say unlikely to be surgery I suggest you go to your GP. Thats is totally unprofessional and I am totally disgusted... and I went private!
The first GP I went to said and I quote "I don't know what to suggest". Again totally unprofessional and I was even more disgusted. I had to cry to get a full blood count test done. He looked in my ear and eyes, he didn't notice my eyes were yellow. I didn't know at the time my eyes were yellow due to my vision difficulties so I hadn't noticed either. The next GP I saw didn't seem that bothered by my vertigo but she did ask what sort of anaesthetic I had, but not how my vertigo occurred. I suggested BPPV and she stared at me blankly. However she did order blood test for loads of different things and there was no need for crying. The 3rd GP I saw said I should be pleased about my test results as they were all good except vit D was a little low, so she prescribed me vit D tablets, it seemed like she just wanted me out the office and again ignored my balance complaints. Vit D has helped my body but its definately not the cause. Guess thats the NHS for you... don't expect quality care. So I have been left fending for myself, but at least I have ruled out lots of diseases by having the blood tests so thats a real positive.
If this happens to you I know its hard but stay positive there are people on internet that can help in lieu of any professional help!
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MY SYMPTOMS & HOW I TREATED MYSELF
MOUTH - GUMS
SYMPTOMS - As I had impacted wisdom teeth there were no sockets/holes as the gum had been stitched back together. The gums were very swollen, it was like a big lump joining my cheek together with my gums. After a few days plague and saliva will build up and form white deposits around the extraction site and it will make your breath smell. If you already have these white lumps they will fall out and smell absolutely foul. This is normal and not an infection. I never had an infection but would imagine it would hurt like hell if it was an infection. Your gum might look white but this is normal too as mouth heals differently. It will take a few months for these lumps to go down and they will feel tender (not painful). Don't eat tiny things (like grains of rice or sesames seeds) as they will get stuck behind your cheek lumps and be hard to get out.
TREATMENT - After 48 hours (not before otherwise you might damage stitches) swish and bathe (by holding water in your mouth by your lump) with warm salt water after every meal to kill the bacteria that cause the lump of plague.
MOUTH - TRISMUS (unable to open jaw) - TMJ (jaw joint dysfunction)
SYMPTOMS - For the first month I was unable to open my jaw any wider than the width of my little finger. It is normal for a week or so to have this but any longer and you maybe looking at a trismus problem. I was also clenching my teeth in the night making the pain worse in the morning. This can be a symptom of TMJ (basically a dysfunction of your jaw joint). My jaw is still stiff 3 months on but I do exercises in morning to warm it up for the day and it gets a little better every day.
TREATMENT - when you feel ready start exercises for trismus, don't push it, treat it like a sprained ankle take it easy.
http://www.toothnature.com/2011/05/trismus.html
Try exercises for TMJ, if they make you worse discontinue them, they do not work for everyone.
http://www.tmjexercisesrelief.com/
Apply warm heat pad.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5700952_make-moist-heating-pad.html
FACE - SWOLLEN CHEEKS
SYMPTOMS - My face really swelled up and had very yellow bruising either side of my mouth. I looked like a hamster :-(. After 1 week worst had gone down, by week 2 was looking more normal in my view.
TREATMENT - Sleep with your head up after the operation and apply ice packs for the first 24hours. Not a lot else you can do. If your embarrassed don't open the front door, people try not to exclaim in horror but they can't help themselves!
VERTIGO
SYMPTOMS - This was the worst part, you can't do anything totally debilitating, takes you to dark depressed places. The room spins at a million miles per hour, you get eye nystagmus (eyes dart about) and you can't see. You can't watch TV and you can't listen to music. Luckily I have my favourite bands songs ingrained in my head - this is the only thing that got me through those first 2 weeks of hell. Your friends and family just have no idea, unless they have had it themselves. Luckily I didn't get nausea, but I have a strong stomach, hence no-one believed how bad it is. Its not their fault, they have been lucky enough not to experience it.
TREATMENT - You can do the Romberg's test to see if its your sensory system and not your brain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romberg's_test
If Romberg's test is positive then it coule be caused by BPPV. Go to doctors and ask for Epply Manuaver. If you have a rubbish doctor who looks at you like you're mad you can then try it at home if this is your only option.
http://www.webmd.com/brain/liberatory-maneuvers-for-vertigo
Reflexology - I never tried this before (tried out of desperation and was very skeptical) but it helped me pinpoint which side there issue was on. When my reflexologist massaged by big left toe my vertigo really came on with a vengence. I also felt wonderful after reflexology, more energy and vision clearer, so I am a total convert now.
EAR TINNITUS AND PRESSURE
SYMPTOMS - I always had tinnitus occasionally before the surgery. Now it came on frequently and it was high pitched note and the swishing wave sounds. I had to keep manually equalizing the pressure in my ears constantly. I am an amateur musician so when my guitar pitch suddenly dropped I thought it was my new strings going out of tune. When I checked them with my tuner they were perfectly in tune. This is how I know something was definately going on in my ears. I hadn't lost any hearing but the tone of sounds was very different. Thankfully over the last few months it has returned to normal!!!!!
TREATMENT - Go to doctor and get them to look in your ears to rule out an infection.
MUSCLE TWITCHES AND SPASM
SYMPTOMS - The 2nd night after my surgery all my muslces would twitch in order starting at the jaw muscle, neck, body front, legs, feet and back up the legs, back and neck. The cycle was in time with my heart beat which was beating at normal pace but loudly. Over the course of the first week my neck and shoulders stiffened up (but this can be bought on by vertigo). By the end of the week I could not move my arms or head which made it impossible to get dressed. My muscle twitches have been constant but getting less everyday. It is a constant tense/relax cycle. This has also been in my eyes which has affected my vision.
I always had bad shoulders (probably too much time on computer) so this may have contributed to severity of the symptoms.
TREATMENT - Remedial massage on affected muscles.
Try Reflexology.
HEADACHE
SYMPTOMS -I didn't really have a headache until week 3, but could have just been stress of vertigo. The headache I then got lasted about 3 weeks before finally leaving me alone. So this got me looking at symptoms of migraine with aura.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/migraine-aura/MM00659
I'm afraid I can't offer much help here.
HUNGER AND THIRST
SYMPTOMS - I was constantly hungry and thirsty. It was like my body was busy doing something (who knows what) and needed lots of water to flush the by-products out. If I didn't eat constantly I started to feel dizzy on top of all my other symptoms... not good! I wondered if the antibiotics they made me drink before the operation killed all my good bacteria coupled with the fact I had to swallow whole bits of unchewed food meant my body couldn't easily absorb nutrients. I started taking a couple of teaspoons of manuka honey every day, I upped my intack of fruit and magnesium (in seeds and nuts). I had a craving for boiled potatoes and bananas which I normally detest. After a few days of manuka honey I did feel better inside, I didn't feel bad before but I just felt better now.
TREATMENT - Eat little snacks or drink smoothies to keep energy levels up. Take constant sips of water so you never get dehydrated.
Check yourself against vitamin deficiencies by checking your diet
http://www.whfoods.com/foodadvisor.php
Go to the doctor and ask for vitamin D test. When I started taking vitamin D3 tablets this is when the hunger went back to normal. Also it was like everycell in my body was compressed and 3 hours after my first tablet I tingled and pressure released, especially so in my face. Vitamin D is needed for many things including reducing inflammation and repairing bones in your mouth, so if your low your body is likely to use it up!
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/26/maximizing-vitamin-d-exposure.aspx
Try Manuka Honey (make sure its the active kind)
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/manuka-honey-medicinal-uses
IMPAIRED VISION - PHOSPHENES, BLURRY, NYSTAGMUS
SYMPTOMS -I am still not sure if it is phosphenes. What I see is constant black and white tiny flashing dots in all areas of vision. They are worse in the dark to the point where I could not see anything at all but these dots. My vision also appeared blurry but it was hard to see through the spots. I think this could be from the vertigo. I also had nystagmus (eyes uncontrollably flit about) which normally comes on with vertigo.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphene
TREATMENT - Go and get retina scan at opticians to rule out any eye causes.
My vitamin D tablets and reflexology greatly improved my vision. Get vitamin D test from doctor and try reflexology.
FATIGUE / LACK OF CONCENTRATION / INABILITY TO PROCESS NUMBERS
SYMPTOMS - For the first month I was very fatigued. I just wanted to sleep and do nothing else, concentrating was just too much effort. Lifting a finger was too much effort. Also when I looked at numbers I just didn't understand what they were, it was like trying to read chinese/japanese. I work in finance so this made work absolutely impossible! Luckily the ability has returned and I can now do my job.
It could be due to the anaesthetic, doctors deny there is long term effects but there are a few forums on the web with people who think differently. Also could be post operative stress, you are more at risk of this if you wake up during your procedure which I did.
http://www.anesthesiaweb.org/dementia.php
http://isitnormal.com/story/general-anesthesia-side-effects-38/
I also considered anaemia especially as I also had yellow eyes. My blood test results came back normal and my ferritin level was 29. However I could be OK compared to the average but low for me so I have changed to eating a high iron diet to see if it helped. My nails are much stronger, brittle nails can be caused by anaemia. Along with all the others things I was trying at same time I think it helped but can't be sure. I do like a steak and duck liver pate so its been enjoyable anyway.
TREATMENT - Get a blood test for anaemia from the doctor. If your a woman then there is some thought that ferrtin level should be at 50 not within the normal ranges your doctor gives you. Mine was 29 and I have been on a high iron diet eversince. Do not eat cooked spinach it actually inhibits iron intake, only eat raw spinach. Red wine inhibits iron intake but white wine helps. I didn't want to take iron tablets as they cause constipation and other things, so I didn't push this with the doctor and just changed my diet to mainly red meats. There are many seeds with high iron if you can't eat meat, like pumpkin seeds which are delicious.
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/new-study-about-ferritin-levels-fatigue-and-iron-supplementation.18664/
Manuka Honey contains Boron which is a co-factor to vitamin D and can alleviate symptoms of vitamin D deficiency. I felt I had a bit more energy when I started taking the honey.Get a vitamin D test, my energy levels came back up when I started taking D3 tablets.
Rest but don't do nothing, At week 6 I started trying to run, just once a week and its mainly a walk. I get a little better every week but I don't push it.
FEELING HOT & COLD
SYMPTOMS -Whenever I exerted myself my vertigo would get worse and I would also start to feel really hot and start to sweat. This is when I realised I had to really start to take things very slowly. At other times I also felt cold. Could be anesthetic side effects or just symptom of feeling unwell.
http://isitnormal.com/story/general-anesthesia-side-effects-38/
TREATMENT - All I can suggest is take it easy and stay warm when you feel cold, but don't overheat yourself.
YELLOW EYES
SYMPTOMS - Underneath my bottom eyelids my eyes looked yellow. Over the last 3 months this is fading back to normal white like the rest of my eyeballs.
Yellow eyes occur when the whites of the eyes (sclerae) take on a yellowish tinge. Also known as scleral icterus, yellow eyes are generally a sign of jaundice caused by a buildup of bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is a yellow-colored pigment that is produced by the breakdown of old red blood cells. Bilirubin is normally processed by the liver and released into the intestine in bile before being excreted from the body through the feces. Hence it can be serious and therefore you should go to doctor and make sure he looks at your eyes properly, this is what I failed to do.
TREATMENT - Go to doctor as soon as you can and make sure they give you blood test for liver, kidney and anaemia.
