obliviousally (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
obliviousally) wrote2024-03-31 06:11 pm
obliviousally) wrote2024-03-31 06:11 pm
Entry tags:
stuff and gross health issues
so this last week the weather was making my gums swell, which isn't an uncommon occurrence. i often get some sinus issues around this time of year and, because of that, my gums swell, as well. i wasn't awfully worried, just kept an eye on things
thursday it was definitely hurting more, but i went out and had an early bday dinner with my mom and came home afterwards. it was definitely more painful and, over the night, i took a cocktail of meds lol (sinus meds, gabs, arthritis asprin, some of tony's leftover kidney stone painkillers - only the latter really helped in any significant way). friday, i woke up and the swelling was SIGNIFICANT and i started thinking it was a more serious infection or an abscess. medicated myself again, called off work
saturday i woke up and what as DEFINITELY an abscess of some sort was big enough that it was impacting how i spoke (tongue was touching it when my mouth was closed), so i threw on some clothes and went up to the ER (the good one at akron general). got taken back pretty quickly (waiting room was empty when i got there) and when the NP came to see me, she sent me for a CT scan to see how deep the infection was
waited around for results to come back and, yeah, definitely a dental abscess
BUT ALSO
a large nodule on my thyroid 🙃🙃🙃
5.5 x 4.0 x 3.0 cm large
like, kiwi-sized at 5cm
so the NP tells me, get this checked out ASAP. the bigger they are, the higher chance (7-15%) it could be cancerous. but, either way, over 4cm, they require surgery. it may not be immediate, i imagine there's variables to it, if it's benign then it can probably wait. if it's malignant it's a higher priority
so, i gotta make an appointment to follow up on it, but i also don't have insurance anymore b/c i make a cool $300 over the threshold for medicaid so idk how this will actually pan out in the long run here
anyhow, i get discharged, drag my ass up to walgreens and pay out of pocked thirty-four fucking dollars for antibiotics, then head home and on the way home the abscess pops x_x thankfully just fluid and not nastier abscess contents, at least. but it was a big relief - after it drained a bit and i took the antibiotics and some more painkillers i was able to eat something substantial last night and today and i'm feeling marginally more functional (was able to attend pathfinder today)
i am hoping SOME of the swelling/size is related to the infection and just the general swelling in my sinuses/face and it goes down a little bit in the next couple days, tho
so now i've been combing thru thyroid issue symptoms to see what i missed. i actually WAS aware there was a lump there, but it didn't feel out of place b/c it was so close to the center of my throat, i just thought it was muscle/fat moving under the skin when i pressed it. now i'm hyperaware of it lol and can feel why it's concerning
apparently some of the things that are common in early/perimenopause have overlap with thyroid symptoms in women - irregular/missed/super heavy periods (i've rambled about this here and there, it was one of the first things i noticed after my birthday last year) and changes in hair (my hair has gotten a lot thinner? i haven't lost any, persay, but its texture is a bit different and it gets oily a LOT faster than it used to). i sometimes have to clear my throat a lot after eating certain types of food (definitely mcd's, maybe greasy stuff in general??) that wasn't a thing before.
but a lot of other thyroid symptoms i haven't noticed (things like weight loss/gain - i've stayed about the same, nothing significant). i did wake up soaked in sweat last night, but i think that may have been a combo of antibiotics, the heat kicking on, and the warm blanket my mom just bought me. if it keeps happening, i'll add it to the symptom list lol
i also wonder if the thyroid issue is what's been causing my neck/head aches when i try to draw certain ways, as well, because that didn't seem to be a huge thing until the last year or so
but all of these things didn't pop up until around/after my birthday last year, so at least i have a time frame. i know i got a CT scan when i got that minor concussion a few years ago and i would imagine they also scanned my neck at the time, as well, and i would think something like this would come up on it even without the contrast dye
so, yeah, maybe gonna take off tomorrow and make some calls and see what the damage for this shit is gonna be
thursday it was definitely hurting more, but i went out and had an early bday dinner with my mom and came home afterwards. it was definitely more painful and, over the night, i took a cocktail of meds lol (sinus meds, gabs, arthritis asprin, some of tony's leftover kidney stone painkillers - only the latter really helped in any significant way). friday, i woke up and the swelling was SIGNIFICANT and i started thinking it was a more serious infection or an abscess. medicated myself again, called off work
saturday i woke up and what as DEFINITELY an abscess of some sort was big enough that it was impacting how i spoke (tongue was touching it when my mouth was closed), so i threw on some clothes and went up to the ER (the good one at akron general). got taken back pretty quickly (waiting room was empty when i got there) and when the NP came to see me, she sent me for a CT scan to see how deep the infection was
waited around for results to come back and, yeah, definitely a dental abscess
BUT ALSO
a large nodule on my thyroid 🙃🙃🙃
5.5 x 4.0 x 3.0 cm large
like, kiwi-sized at 5cm
so the NP tells me, get this checked out ASAP. the bigger they are, the higher chance (7-15%) it could be cancerous. but, either way, over 4cm, they require surgery. it may not be immediate, i imagine there's variables to it, if it's benign then it can probably wait. if it's malignant it's a higher priority
so, i gotta make an appointment to follow up on it, but i also don't have insurance anymore b/c i make a cool $300 over the threshold for medicaid so idk how this will actually pan out in the long run here
anyhow, i get discharged, drag my ass up to walgreens and pay out of pocked thirty-four fucking dollars for antibiotics, then head home and on the way home the abscess pops x_x thankfully just fluid and not nastier abscess contents, at least. but it was a big relief - after it drained a bit and i took the antibiotics and some more painkillers i was able to eat something substantial last night and today and i'm feeling marginally more functional (was able to attend pathfinder today)
i am hoping SOME of the swelling/size is related to the infection and just the general swelling in my sinuses/face and it goes down a little bit in the next couple days, tho
so now i've been combing thru thyroid issue symptoms to see what i missed. i actually WAS aware there was a lump there, but it didn't feel out of place b/c it was so close to the center of my throat, i just thought it was muscle/fat moving under the skin when i pressed it. now i'm hyperaware of it lol and can feel why it's concerning
apparently some of the things that are common in early/perimenopause have overlap with thyroid symptoms in women - irregular/missed/super heavy periods (i've rambled about this here and there, it was one of the first things i noticed after my birthday last year) and changes in hair (my hair has gotten a lot thinner? i haven't lost any, persay, but its texture is a bit different and it gets oily a LOT faster than it used to). i sometimes have to clear my throat a lot after eating certain types of food (definitely mcd's, maybe greasy stuff in general??) that wasn't a thing before.
but a lot of other thyroid symptoms i haven't noticed (things like weight loss/gain - i've stayed about the same, nothing significant). i did wake up soaked in sweat last night, but i think that may have been a combo of antibiotics, the heat kicking on, and the warm blanket my mom just bought me. if it keeps happening, i'll add it to the symptom list lol
i also wonder if the thyroid issue is what's been causing my neck/head aches when i try to draw certain ways, as well, because that didn't seem to be a huge thing until the last year or so
but all of these things didn't pop up until around/after my birthday last year, so at least i have a time frame. i know i got a CT scan when i got that minor concussion a few years ago and i would imagine they also scanned my neck at the time, as well, and i would think something like this would come up on it even without the contrast dye
so, yeah, maybe gonna take off tomorrow and make some calls and see what the damage for this shit is gonna be