Back with a vengence-swollen cheeks!

[rae420]

Had a good run of symptoms under control for a good 6 months and out of nowhere my head feels like it is going to blow up. Pressure on my ears, hearing loss, no tears, no saliva, and both cheeks are swollen up like baseballs. I am so dizzy I can barely stand. Dr has tried antibiotics (3 different courses), nasal sprays, antihistamines, sent me to an ENT who did a cat scan of the sinuses, scoped my sinuses, tested my hearing loss (duh!) and now I am on my second strong dose of prednisone with no relief in sight. Dr had me stop the plaqenil for 2 weeks to see if it was affecting my hearing but I started it back up again because I think without it I was getting worse. Has anyone else experienced the ear, dizziness, cheek problems? My Dr is still sketical if it is SJS related. I am miserable and looking for relief, even briefly.

[newhorizons]

What was said about your sinuses?  Have issues with them?

[Joe S.]

I know that this may sound strange to you, but have your tried a warm cup of Peppermint tea?

It helped me deal with the pain and the swelling went down. I hope it helps you also.

[rae420]

ENT said sinuses showed no abnormality, just some inflammation. I've been drinking regular tea, any special reason for the peppermint tea?

[LizM]

I have been getting dizzy spells for a number of years.  For about 3 years my ears have felt clogged/stuffed and I have some hearing loss and constant high pitched ringing, worse in my left ear.  I have also had people mention how swollen I look in the face.

Liz 

[Joe S.]

Any peppermint should help. The herb works on the stomach meridian which is the same one that connects to your glands. It seems to have a calming effect.

LizM have you been checked for Menier's (sp) disease? I have that. An abscess tooth caused similar issues.

[LizPetillo]

My cheeks and lips have been swollen for 4 months. 
Will it EVER go away?  Or is this the new normal?? 

[deeindiana]

I'm so sorry that you are going through this. It is SO discouraging/frustrating/scary when we are going along pretty good (actually feeling kind of 'normal') and then something like this flairs up out of the blue. If you are like me, you try so hard to analyze everything -- your every move, bite of food, bit of stress, medication, etc -- to find the trigger. But too often it's a mystery.

Do you live in an area where allergies could have plugged everything up? Here in Indiana they are harvesting crops right now, plus the ragweed pollen is off the charts. My mouth/sinus symptoms had been pretty good for about six weeks but just flared up miserably in the last few days. So, I'm back again to analyzing if, this time, allergies could have set me off.

I've found that a Bed Buddy is very soothing. No...not THAT kind of bed buddy! It's a rice bag that you heat up in the microwave and wrap around the areas that ache. It might at least feel good against your swollen cheeks and ears.

I hope you find answers quickly. Take care of yourself.
Deb

[LizM]

Any peppermint should help. The herb works on the stomach meridian which is the same one that connects to your glands. It seems to have a calming effect.

LizM have you been checked for Menier's (sp) disease? I have that. An abscess tooth caused similar issues.

Joe S:

I brought these conditions to my PCP after they appeared.  She tried the diuretics and they really had no effect on me.  She then referred me to an ENT who did an audio exam and said I had hearing loss in both ears.  He attributed the problems to being around loud noises and getting older.

Last week, when I saw the Rheumy, she asked about any ear problems I may have and I told her how my symptoms began.  She is of the opinion that it could be related to my AI issues because they all started about the same time.  I go back to see her in December and I will bring it up again.

Thank you.


Liz

[Daisy1234]

Rae, could you tell me exactly what's swollen in your face?  Are these your parotid glands or something else like lymph nodes or other glands like sub-mandular?  Additionally, has your doctor determined that you have a bacterial infection or is this an inflammation issue?.  If its inflammation, the swelling won't respond to anti-biotics.  No possibility that it could be mumps or some other involvement?

If its an infection, you should be feeling very ill and sick to your stomach.  Inflammations hurt but don't make me sick to my stomach.  I just had a bad infection less than 2 weeks ago and have a list of anti-biotics that I cycle thru, but I just want to make sure we're talking about a parotid gland infection and not something else.

[Joe S.]

LizM, menier's (sp) disease is an AI on one of the lists I looked at.

[LizM]

LizM, menier's (sp) disease is an AI on one of the lists I looked at.

Thanks, Joe S.  I will bring this up with the Rhumy when I go back in December.  The more I read, the more I see just how long I have had these symptoms.  They were so random, no one thought to put them together and find an answer.

Liz

[sleeeepy]

Hello, I just had a long bout of swollen cheeks and puffy feeling in my jawline. The magic bullet that worked for me FINALLY!!!! Was a dose pack of Medrol(steroids) and Clindomyacin with Flagyll. Fixed it right up for now. I am also having another CT scan of sinuses this coming Wednesday just after having a nuclear bone scan of my entire body..including jaw/facial bones just to make sure I didn't have bone infection in face.

Doc thinks that the Flagyll was the real helper since it is for anerobic bacteria like that can be found in glands and soft tissue.
Ask Doc about it and maybe give it a try.

Mary

[rae420]

Thank you everyone for your input.  My swelling is from the base of my ear forward along the jaw line.  My cheeks feel 6 inches thick! Very annoying. I have no fever and we tried the antibotic route anyway and it didn't work. It was a bad summer for allergies and we tried that round of meds too. Someone suggested OTC ear drops for the ear pressure so I went out and bought some today and will try them tonite. I think the dizziness must be related to the ear problems but I have my annual visit with my cardiologist (I have SVT) on Wednesday and he is the best doc in the world so I will talk to him to make sure its not heart related.  Tried to get in to see my Rheumy last week but of course she was out of town. I will try again on Monday.  I just can't believe the prednisone hasn't helped. That was always my magic bullet. I am just so sad that I have to have this now. My son is getting married in Michigan in 2 weeks and I was so hoping to be semi functioning. I thought my biggest problem was going to be trying to eat gluten free while out of town and now I can't even walk without staggering.  I'm sorry, I needed a moment of a pity party.  I will try to be optimistic-heck, its two weeks away. With these diseases, two weeks can be a lifetime. Anyway, if I can get in with the Rheumy maybe she will have an idea. Someone else told me to try Dramamine for the dizziness-any thoughts?

[Daisy1234]

Rae, please try and see an ENT for the swelling.  If its parotid related (which is the location you described) an ENT is better for treatment of that issue than a Rheumy.  I get about 3 to 4 parotid gland infections a year and several inflammations.  I always go straight to my ENT for treatment.

Hope you feel better soon and can make wedding in good shape!

Hugs,
Daisy