Why is there no cheek flexibility on the AN side?

[sgerrard]

Hi Marg, I hope you are feeling better by now. It is too bad about the sick leave for teachers, it seems like all employers have decided that if they limit sick leave, people will just stop getting sick, which is of course ridiculous.

I met "4cm in Pacific Northwest" (4) at the meeting, along with several others, both new cases and old hands. It would have been great if you could have made it - next time for sure. The Tai Chi was interesting, but the round robin of "tell us your AN story" was the most interesting, with all kinds of stories to tell. Hopefully some of the people there will be dropping in on this forum as well. And 4 seems to be doing well, by the way.

Steve

[lori67]

I knew it!!!  "4" does have a real name!   

[MLB57]

Hi Patti--I had re-growth after 2001 surgery for a 1 cm rt AN and completed 30 FSR sessions at Mass Gen Boston MA last Fall. My rt back of neck muscle has always been tight since surgery (feels like a hard lump) and two months before FSR it got worse and during the FSR my AN side of face tightened up some--Dr Loeffler wasn't concerned that it had to do with AN swelling. 3 months after the FSR my face is really tight around my mouth and my eye and my eye is pulled down more --it's almost as if the synkinesis is worse --I can feel the muscle in my neck when I swallow or close my eye hard so I believe it must have to do with the muscle and not any AN swelling from radiation. And the neck muscle is extremely tight now and I've had  headache problems so it seems this muscle has tightened and I think goes into spasm--why I wonder 6 yrs after surgery???  I am looking into the cost of massage as my PCP wants to go that route before prescribing any muscle relaxants..  You mentioned earlier you had a Botox shot to your neck muscle--Did you try muscle relaxants and/massage first? What kind of MD did the Botox injection? and did your PCP initiate the referral?

I am one of the Aners who meets w/Phl every 3 or 4 months at Maxwell Silverman's in Worc, MA for a roudy brunch!!  

Otherwise apart from increased tinnitus and balance issue (due to neck muscle) I fee okay and one year MRI is due Oct of this year to see if the FSR worked or not....  

Whatever info you can share w/me will be greatly appreciated!!

Regards, Mary from MA