I was smacked upside my head today as I was driving into work. It started slowly, like perhaps I pulled something the day before and it was just starting to flareup. By the time I got to my school, it was solid pain from the side of my chin to my CKed side ear and down my neck. It progressed into my clavicle area. As the minutes passed, this pain grew in intensity and started messing with my comprehension and focus. My ears were tearing and when you teach 5 year olds, they are lovingly in your face when something's amiss. After one lesson, I called the building sub and was driven home.
As I am on the east coast and 3 hours ahead of Stanford, it took awhile before I got a call back with a plan for steroids, heat and ibuprofen. Folks there think it's tumor swelling and compromising the trigeminal nerve and suggest a sooner, rather than later MRI.
Pain subsided after 5 or so hours with just short flare ups through out the evening.
I was first CKed on Halloween... until today, I have "just" had the everyday headache, fatique and insomnia (yeah, it's almost 1AM here) and what I call tumor tantrums- short, INTENSE stabs of pain up my jaw to the ear. Thank GOD they last on a second or two and have been infrequent. But this episode today was like one LONG tantrum that just wouldn't stop.
SO... questions for my AN CK friends and been there experts, does this sound like something you've been through already? Do these episodes return? increase in severity? length?
What ELSE can I expect down this pike?
Thanks for your feedback, support and knowledge.
I appreciate this place and ALL you folks out there on the pike with me!
Terry