Klarinet Archive - Posting 000132.txt from 2011/01

From: Rachel Roessel <gsurosey@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] My face hurts
Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 00:25:01 -0500

> Also, you were awake for this?

Yes, I was awake. The only medical procedures I've been knocked out for were my gall bladder removal (in 2008 or 2009, can't remember) and the 9 ECT treatments I had in 2007. I was awake (with local anesthesia) for all 3 of my knee surgeries and all 3 of my wisdom tooth extractions (last year both on the right side came out after they broke, and the upper left came out a few years ago after it abscessed). I was also awake through the entire endoscopy before the gall bladder removal.

> As for your numbness, we were warned that happens in about
> 1% of the extractions
> of lower wisdom teeth. [1] There is a nerve in the jaw that
> in some cases can be
> impacted by the extraction, especially if it runs
> particularly near the teeth.

I saw my dentist on Thursday when I went to get the stitches taken out. She said that one of the places where they had to cut (about 1/2way back along the jaw) was near a nerve and it was likely irritated since the roots ran quite deep (I think I can see China in the socket). She was encouraged that the area is pretty small (about a square inch) as opposed to the entire side of my jaw. She said it could take days to months, but once the entire site is healed, I should get feeling back. I can finally open my jaw all the way again and blow my nose without pain. She said the socket is healing well and there is no sign of infection, which is good (I dealt with a bad infection in the other lower socket last year; the socket had to be re-opened a month after tooth removal to get the infection out - ouch!). I will go back to my dentist next week just to make sure everything is still healing well.

> For others on the list who are facing extractions, your
> dentist/oral surgeon may
> be able to tell from the X-ray if you are at particular
> risk of such nerve
> complications

My dentist said that she couldn't see how complicated things were going to be from my x-ray.

As for playing, I made it through our entire rehearsal Wednesday. Of course, the first piece we rehearsed was the Dvorak Czech Suite, so we didn't play much. There is clarinet in movements 3 and 5 only, but I'm playing the English Horn part in the 4th movement since I'm the only person that can read it. Our 3rd clarinetist told me that my on-sight transposition abilities qualify as a "psychotic illness"; I asked her where in the DSM to find that (I have bipolar disorder among other things and she knows that, so it was funny to us). Other pieces for our upcoming concert are: Schubert #8 (I love the Unfinished; I last played it about 8 years ago when I played principal in a different group), Nicolai's Merry Wives of Windsor, and Shostakovitch's Romance for Violin and Orchestra (arranged by our principal violist).

Overall, pain is slowly getting better, but numbness is still as much there as after the procedure. The intermittent tingling is promising (though it's annoying when I feel like it itches and I scratch it, but can't feel the scratching so it feels like ignoring an itch).

Rachel

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