Hey!! I am 23 years old and I had 3 wisdom teeth extracted on June 22. I had no pain or swelling on the side that had two removed but extreme swelling on the other side. After a few days, it wasn't getting better and I went to see a dentist that put me on clindamycin 500mg four times a day, double the first two doses, methylprednisolone and fluconazole. The same evening, I went to the ER for and fever slightly over 101 and warmth on a lump on my jaw. The ER doctor said it didn't look infected but prescribed me an additional 3000 mg/day of amoxicillin for 5 days. I stopped the clindamycin because of heartburn but continued the amoxicillin and steroids. After I stopped the steroids, I've had no improvement. Within 4 hours of the first dose of steroids, my jaw was half the size it had been (coincidence??). It's two weeks post op and I'm nearing the end of a second round of amoxicillin 1500 mg/day. I have no fever, no pain, I rinse with salt water and brush twice a day.. But the lump on my jaw is still there. No pain. My jaw gets a little stiff sometimes right after I wake up but nothing major. Heat and ibuprofen haven't seemed to help. The lump is hard and doesn't really hurt (other than when my daughter accidentally hit me which made my head swim).. My husband keeps saying to wait until my next appt (four days) but I've become a bit of a hypercondriac after the birth of our son two months ago and I'm afraid everything is life threatening. Please help me. I'm so afraid of what this could be.

Hi Kperky,

Sometimes the swelling takes time to subside completely. But it is a good idea to still go to your post op appointment.

You have been prescribed a whole lot of meds.... I hope you are taking a probiotic supplement to help restore some healthy bacteria in your intestine that has undoubtedly been killed off by the meds. It is not unusual for people to have delayed intestinal reactions from taking antibiotics. So the sooner you start supplementing the better and it's also wise to stay on the probiotic for at least a month or more afterwards.

Let us know how your post op appt goes...
Bryanna

I will definitely let you know. Thank you. I haven't been prescribed probiotics. Can I buy them without a prescription and if so, how much are they? Even if they're prescribed, I just recently lost my health insurance and dint have a lot of money. I've heard of c. diff and was kinda concerned about it after so many antibiotics. I've been having some stomach upset but not severe or worsening. Do you think I should be concerned?

Hi KPerky,

Probiotics are an over the counter supplement. You can buy them in most drug or health food stores. I buy mine online at vitacost.com for the best price. Yes, they can be a little expensive but it sure beats going to the hospital with c diff! The brand that I personally use and recommend to our dental patients is called Culturelle.

Some other ones that are okay too ..... PB8 by Nutrition Now, Acidophilous Pearls by Enzamatic Therapy, and Florell Probiotic, to name a few. Generally, the cheaper they are the less reliability there is with regard to the potency. It it ideal to have a minimum of 10 billion live cells guaranteed at the time of purchase, not only when manufactured.

Organic yogurt or kefir without fruit, sugar or preservatives can also be helpful.

Stomach upset when taking antibiotics or after taking them is a sign that the bacteria in your gut is not very healthy. So probiotics can help a lot. Sometimes you have to combine more than one product to get the full benefit. For instance, with our patients who get stomach upset from antibiotics.. we recommend Culturelle along with Saccharomyces bourlardii which is a pre biotic and works very well in combination with culturelle. This too can be purchased at a drug or health food store... or at vitacost.com. Two of the most reliable products for S bourlardii are made by NutriCology and Jarrow Formulas.

Hope this info helps!
Bryanna

What happened to you lump?