Life is full of trials, some emotional, some physical, some financial, or any number of other possibilities. Trials are meant for us to grow. Not sure what I'm supposed to learn from my two most recent back-to-back physical trials, but maybe I will eventually figure it out.
On August 2nd, I discovered that I was having a lot of discomfort in my right jaw. Upon further inspection, I noticed that it was swollen as well. The swelling is evident in this picture.
Every time I ate, which would activate my salivary gland, my jaw would hurt like crazy. Hmmm...what could cause this? I researched these symptoms on-line and found that I could possibly have a salivary gland obstruction. I decided to go to urgent care. I'm glad I did. I did, indeed, have an infected and possibly blocked salivary gland. I was given an antibiotic and a steroid. After about 5 days, the swelling and pain was gone. What a relief!
Exactly one week later, my right thumb swelled up and was extremely sore. I could not use or even bend the thumb. I found special brace at WalMart which I have been wearing to minimize the movement of my thumb. It has helped alleviate some of the pain.
I also made an appointment at my Dr's office and saw the nurse practitioner. He suspected that I had gout in my joint. Gout is similar to arthritis and is caused by a build-up of uric acid. I was prescribed an anti-inflammatory drug (non-steroidal) and they also drew my blood to determine whether I had gout or not.
I had a follow-up appointment this morning to get the results of the blood test. As it turns out, I do not have gout. It is more likely that I have tendinitis. The pain and swelling has gone down over the past three days, but if it persists, I need to have an x-ray and MRI on the thumb. I'm hoping to avoid more medical intervention. At this point, I'm going to just wait and see what happens. I'm hopeful that it will heal on its own.
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