One of the problems of living with a brain tumour is the constant worry that the thing is growing again. To make sure that is not happening I have regular 3 monthly MRI scans which are reviewed by my neurosurgeon. But aside from that, occasionally something strange will happen and you can’t help jumping to the conclusion that it’s the brain tumour again. For example, see my post from August 3 2012
http://oligo-lucky.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/new-symptoms-portent-for-3rd-recurrance.html
Well following some dental work recently, some strange numbing has occurred which not only makes me nervous but the doctors are quick to point the finger at the brain tumour when they read my medical history.
A week ago the left side of my mouth became numb. It started on Thursday and felt like the injection the Dentist had given me a week before in the upper left jaw was repeating its effect on me! Very weird stuff, but that was my first thought. I was hoping it was some known (if rare) side-effect of dental anaesthetic. Either that, or it had to be something neurological like a bleed (i.e. stroke), or something associated with the old benign brain tumour. I was hoping it would go away over the long weekend but when it was still numb on Tuesday morning I got back into the dentist at short notice for them to have a look at it. They told me that they had never seen such a thing before, given that the anaesthetic had worn off as usual after the original injection and did not"repeat" on me until a week later. The Dentist told me I should go see my GP about it. The GP thought that possibly the Dentist might have damaged a nerve with the tip of the needle, so referred me to a maxillofacial surgeon at the Wesley Hospital who specialises in that part of the body. I had that appointment and, unlike the GP, he does not think it is likely to be from the Dentist's needle hitting a nerve. Unfortunately, he is thinking it is more likely to be something neurological, especially given my history with a benign brain tumour.
As it turns out I already have an MRI of the brain lined up for this week for my regular checkup with my neurosurgeon, so the maxillofacial doctor is writing to my neurosurgeon about this new problem and asking him to see if he can spot anything in the images. If he does, it is quite possible that I may need brain surgery again! The maxillofacial doctor wants to see me again on 23 May.
