A Lump in my Neck and More Dental Work « No Junque Living

So much has happened since my cavitation surgery early July. Actually, a couple days before the cavitation surgery I noticed a big, hard lump in my neck. The next day it seemed smaller, the day after that I had the surgery, and then things kind of went crazy with die off, pain, gallbladder attacks, anxiety and more. So I kind of forgot about the lump or maybe it did go away.

In the meantime I went back to see Dr. Foley for a dental cleaning and some x-rays. She had noticed a mercury tattoo on my upper right gums and wanted to see what was going on. She found that I still had a PFM (porcelain fused to metal) crown on the top right and her take was that it contained mercury which was causing the mercury tattoo. I got my cleaning and we scheduled the crown and tattoo removal for earlier today. I also had a little skin tag that formed after the cavitation surgery on the bottom right and she said she would remove that as well.

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So I went in at 7 AM today and I left at 10 AM. While working on the crown, tattoo, and skin tag, she also noticed some leftover amalgam on the bottom right. Since she was already working on me she decided to go ahead and remove that as well (free of charge – thank you Dr. Foley!). That means I was numbed and had work done on the top right, bottom right, and bottom left. I think all in all I got 8 shots and now I am left with a hole in my upper gums and a very sore mouth. However, I am SO glad the remaining metal is now gone.

Back to the lump in my throat. I noticed that it was back around August 18th. I was tilting my head back and it was just sticking out. It felt very hard, just like the first time I noticed it, but I could move it from side to side, which felt really weird. Not sure if you can tell in the pics below, but it’s rather big. DH said I should name him Herbert. I was thinking Ezra.

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I happened to have a phone appointment with Dr. D the next day and described the lump to her. At that point I hadn’t taken pictures of it but now wish I had. She said it could just be a calcified lymph node but to be on the safe side, to have it checked by my local doctor and get either an ultrasound or a biopsy. Other new symptoms were excessive sweating, increased appetite, minor weight loss despite eating more, and mild anxiety. I called my local doc’s office and was able to get an appointment August 26th. The doctor who saw me, not my usual doc, took down all my symptoms, then felt around on my lump for a while, then said she would go talk to my doc. After a few minutes she came back in with him, he also felt around on my lump and said he could order a CT. I asked if an ultrasound would suffice but he said it wouldn’t but that he is not really concerned about what is going on. He suggested waiting 4 to 6 weeks and if it’s not gone by then to come back and get the CT. Since I had just had two CTs within 4 weeks I decided to wait.

Once I got home I took the pictures above and my very smart friend who is also a nurse suggested it could be a goiter. Since the other symptoms I was describing above are consistent with hyperthyroidism, and that can be a cause of goiters (not just hypothyroidism), I decided to reduce my thyroid medication again slightly. On a side note, when I first started seeing Dr. D I was on about 75 mcg Cytomel and I a now down to 56.25 mcg! After a few days on the lower dose most of those symptoms were gone or reduced but the lump is still there. Luckily I am going to Seattle next week for more appointments with my doctors and will have them check it out.

I also went to see an oral surgeon about having some metal plates in my upper jaw removed. Dr. K thinks they might be impacting my health negatively. The reason I have them is because I had a cross bite but did not have braces when I was a child. By the time I started checking into it, which was in my early 20s, I was told that the cross bite was not fixable with braces alone. I consulted three different orthodontists I believe and they all said the same thing – braces and surgery. So that’s what I did. After I had had the braces for about 1 1/2 years they broke my upper jaw in three places, expanded it, then put the plates in to hold it all together. I was hoping that Dr. Foley could remove them but she said they go too far up to right under my eyes and she is not qualified to do it. That’s why she referred me to Dr. McKenna at Vanderbilt hospital.

While Dr. McKenna did not think that metal in my body is an issue, or that the plates could be causing health issues, he did say that he could remove them. He said at most it would take 2 hours depending on how much bone has grown on the plates. It would be outpatient surgery, full anesthesia, and he said they would have to cut into my gums so they can peel my face back, and then cut out the plates. Fun! I was hoping to get all this done before my trip to Seattle next week but there just wasn’t enough time. When I mentioned it to Dr. D on the phone she said to wait at least 2 weeks after the surgery before flying. Plus she felt that getting the mercury tattoo and metal crown removed were more important.

So I got all that done and now I am actually hoping that the plate removal is not necessary anymore. Maybe with the cavitations gone and all the metal removed from my mouth, that will be enough to tip me over the edge as Dr. D called it and I will see some significant healing. That would be so awesome!

Last but not least, I have had a UTI since Saturday. As if all the dental work, increased die off, and the usual stuff going on wasn’t enough! I am trying to get rid of it with d-mannose, cantharis 30C, increased Vitamin C, and baking soda. If it’s not better by tomorrow I will get a urine test and will see what Dr. D recommends. Praying I won’t need antibiotics and that my lump is nothing serious.