My story is lengthy, please bear with me. I am a 33 year old woman with a history of joint pain/fatigue for the past 12 years. It was diagnosed as 'fibromyalgia' three years ago. For the past four months I have had a flu-like illness (diagnosed as a virus in the ER). Not sure if it is relevant, or not. PCP told me that I had 'past Epstein-Barr virus exposure' in my recent blood tests.

One month ago I had tooth #14 removed. It had been root canaled 12 years ago, redone a few years later, and was a pain issue the entire time with poorly fitting crowns (I had three, the last one was by far the best). However, about two months ago I started getting a burning pain in the tooth area with swelling. The pain kind of felt like it was between by two molars and went up into the jaw. I was told at one point that a root may have been missed. I went to a well-regarded dentist and she gave me a cone CT scan and showed me the infection at the tip of a treated root. She told me that if it had been the fourth root, she'd rather treat that root than extract, but, since I'd had repeated issues with this tooth, her recommendation was an extraction and an implant or a partial (my preference, since I have health issues that some doctors think is fibromyalgia with sensitivities/allergies).

So, I get the extraction after being in a strange burning pain heck in the left side of my face. I assume that this could help me feel better as I'd had flu-like symptoms that were pretty bad for four months. I should mention that I'd been deterred from extraction many times over the years, and I weighed the pros and cons, so this was a big decision, but easy to make, due to pain.

The extraction was without sedation, it was 'less than ideal', according to the dentist, and it took many shots (more than I've ever had--the dentist said more than they give 250 lb folks, usually). At this point I'm worried. But, the infection makes it harder to dull the pain. During the procedure, my arms started to go numb on both sides, and I had to sit up. They finished the last half of the procedure with little/no pain relief. It was a very difficult experience, and I fully regretted not taking any sedation. Again, I'd hesitated due to sensitivities to drugs. I did not have a bone graft to avoid an immune response. The dentist did not want to stitch the site.

Fast-forward to the first night. I wake up with not just pain, but searing, acidic nerve pain, shooting into my scalp, my nose on the left side, my ear, and pins and needles pain down my neck, shoulders, and mostly left arm. I was terrified. I made it through the night, called the dentist the next day, and he basically told me that I was overreacting.

My husband had to take off of work to help me work through the intense, burning nerve pain. I missed sleep for many nights over two weeks. I went to the ER, had pain meds thrown at me, a bag of Levaquin and a script for it, that I could only make four days of before I stopped from intolerance. I became nearly suicidal (which is *not* like me, prior to the extraction, I was planning excitedly (even with fibro fatigue and a virus) for my brother's graduation) from the pain, grasping at straws at what cocktails I could tolerate/that would actually be effective in numbing this type of nerve pain. I called my father who lives 850 miles away and cried like a baby, telling him that I worried that something was seriously wrong. I felt neurological symptoms, like weak arms, rapid heartbeat, feeling 'off', etc. I had a bad virus prior to this extraction, including a couple of scary episodes of feeling confused, so I was really wondering if I made a huge mistake in taking the tooth out. All of the facets/nodes on the left side of my neck were huge, inflamed, and my neck, face felt hot, yet no fevers.

I went to see my local dentist, my PCP, ENT, and neuro, and all though the extraction site was clean, even though it still burned three weeks out.

I have had numerous blood tests ran for autoimmune disease, infection, mercury toxicity (the tooth contained mercury), adrenal insufficiency, Lyme disease, diabetes, so many things.

I have a cardiology appt tomorrow to check my heart function, because I woke up two nights gasping for breath, and my PCP just wants to be sure that it's functioning properly, especially since I have fatigue/palps. My next step is an MRI with/w/o contrast.

My point is that this was no regular procedure. It triggered an extreme nervous system response that paralyzed me with pain, fear (I was suddenly terrified to be alone), and scary symptoms. I now have periods of extreme fatigue, spaced-out feelings, burning skin, a strange sensation in my left eye, and attacks of terrible nausea. Last night, around 4pm to bedtime, I felt more like myself than I have in over a month. I was sad to realize that I was afraid to enjoy it, because it would go away. It did, and I awoke to burning in my scalp, nausea, what my husband says is an acidic smell in my mouth, and weepiness. The mood swings are probably the worst part, are totally strange, and, while a normal response to intense pain, still come on after having several nights of okay sleep.

In addition, I am not certain that my wound is healing properly (it's been 27 days). It's pink, has some burning in it at times, and the bone above the extraction site is tender to the touch. There is an issue with molar 15, in that it has kind of floated downward since the extraction and now my bite is off. I wear TMJ splints on my molars on both sides (I grind very hard), and I was only wearing them on my right side while the left side was healing in the first handful of days. I have noticed some white stuff in the wound, and after reading, I am concerned about fatigue being triggered by necrosis/poorly-healing bone. My dentist are hesitant to give antibiotics, and I understand why. But, I just don't know why I feel so unwell for much of the day. If anyone has a similar story or any advice, I would love to hear from you. This has been an emotionally destructive experience, simply because doctors don't seem to know, at all, what is happening to me. I don't want to be written off as 'anxious' or 'depressed' and that's it. I want to know why I had such a severe reaction and why I still have burning pain in the socket of my tooth at times/why it won't heal up quicker.

I have attached the best picture that I can get. Again, 27 days post extraction, the skin is red around the edge near tooth 15 with calculus. I am careful to clean it and rinse with saltwater, but it persists. You can kind of see the white spot in the center that collects there. I am concerned that it is pus. I have burning pain in my scalp as of right now, burning pain radiating from the extraction side into the left side of my upper palate and into my sinus (again, my sinuses are clean), and some scalp nerve pain (that I had a little of before the extraction). If you've made it this far, I commend you. And, I really hope that someone has some advice/helpful thoughts. I am going nuts with weird pains/worry. I do have Klonopin, but it gives me some rebound depression, so I only take it when I absolutely have to.

Note: I have tried flipping my picture several times, but it keeps showing up upside-down. That is not my lower jaw, that is my upper-left jaw with the extraction site.

Attached Thumbnails