I was wondering if anyone could help me. I am 7 weeks from upper and lower surgery (Aug 3rd). A couple weeks ago I discovered that my right side was swelling a bit more than the left. Plus I woke up and my right ear seemed clogged, kind of foggy. So, I called the OS and he prescribed some heavy-duty antibiotics. He is 2 hours away, so I can’t just go see him at a moments notice. Well, everything seemed to be better right away.
I finished the antibiotics last week and this morning I woke up with my right side a little more swollen again. I don’t have any pain. Also, my nose gets stuffy every evening and I can’t breath out of the right nostril. I use nasal spray to alleviate that problem, but it stuffs up everyday. The swelling is on my jaw line on the inside at the point of the lower incision and below my eye next to my nose where the upper bone plates are. I don’t know if the infection is coming back or if it is just from regular use of my jaw. I am chewing more these days. I still have numbness on the upper gums. My OS said that most people are numb on the lower. Hmmmmm…I wonder why I’m different? Anyway, the right side of the roof of my mouth is still numb, but the left side is not. I find that really weird too.
Maybe I will just wait a day or two and see what happens.
Your help is greatly appreciated.
Carly
Concerned about infection
Moderator: bbsadmin
Concerned about infection
Class II Overbite
Full Braces 9/28/05
Yeah, I know. I was going to give it a day or two and see if it gets worse before I call. The nasal stuffiness every night is concerning. I wonder if it’s a sinus infection and I need ‘more’ antibiotics. The last ones were very strong to the point of diarrhea for a week….Yikes ! I don’t want to go through that again. You’d think that would have taken care of any infection. I too was wondering about the plates and screws. The right side has always been sore since day one after the surgery. I don’t see him (OS) until December. Last time I went everything looked ok. 
Class II Overbite
Full Braces 9/28/05
I have experience of infection around the maxilla plates. What you describe is similar to my symptoms. Basically I had all maxilla plates removed after surgery due to problems. The first about a year or so after surgery and then now 18 years post surgery I developed a serious infection under the right plates and they had to be removed.
My symptoms were extreme pain around my right maxilla sinus, stuffy nose with congestion, sometimes smelly discharge from my nose and eventually, which is very rare, a sequestrum, dead bone coming away and out down my throat. I was on antibiotics for 5 months which kept the symptoms at bay but as soon as I stopped taking them it came back. It would not clear until they removed the plates.
Now yours doesn't sound exactly the same and you have not long had surgery so your case is different but the fact that you have swelling and congestion in that area would suggest to me you do have infection. Like I say I'm not medical at all and this is just from my own experience, but I would go and see your OS and get this checked further and I'd go sooner rather than later.
My GP sent me to ENT and I had to contact the maxillo facial people myself to get action taken. The GP and ENT kept telling me it was just a sinus infection but I knew it was much more serious and related to the plate and if you leave it then it is much more difficult to get rid of. So do go and see the OS, tell him you think you have an infection and want an appointment and they should see you quickly. I was in and had the plates removed very quickly once I had seen my OS Prof.
Good luck with it and let me know how you get on, I'd be interested to see if it is related to the plates.
My symptoms were extreme pain around my right maxilla sinus, stuffy nose with congestion, sometimes smelly discharge from my nose and eventually, which is very rare, a sequestrum, dead bone coming away and out down my throat. I was on antibiotics for 5 months which kept the symptoms at bay but as soon as I stopped taking them it came back. It would not clear until they removed the plates.
Now yours doesn't sound exactly the same and you have not long had surgery so your case is different but the fact that you have swelling and congestion in that area would suggest to me you do have infection. Like I say I'm not medical at all and this is just from my own experience, but I would go and see your OS and get this checked further and I'd go sooner rather than later.
My GP sent me to ENT and I had to contact the maxillo facial people myself to get action taken. The GP and ENT kept telling me it was just a sinus infection but I knew it was much more serious and related to the plate and if you leave it then it is much more difficult to get rid of. So do go and see the OS, tell him you think you have an infection and want an appointment and they should see you quickly. I was in and had the plates removed very quickly once I had seen my OS Prof.
Good luck with it and let me know how you get on, I'd be interested to see if it is related to the plates.
Hi Carly,
I only had BSSO, so I can't speak to the upper jaw symptoms, although I know BrandyLeigh had some upper numbness. What I can say is that I had ear problems for several weeks after surgery. Especially my R ear felt clogged. My OS said it was because my jaw was moved more on that side and the symptoms resolved after several weeks.
I have had a stuffy (sinus?) nose for a few weeks, too, but I think it's the changing seasons here. A lot of people have a cold, etc., and I do have asthma.
I would think that tenderness would be a sign of infection, but this is definitely something to ask your OS. Even a phone call might help you with answers.
Take care.
Lo
I only had BSSO, so I can't speak to the upper jaw symptoms, although I know BrandyLeigh had some upper numbness. What I can say is that I had ear problems for several weeks after surgery. Especially my R ear felt clogged. My OS said it was because my jaw was moved more on that side and the symptoms resolved after several weeks.
I have had a stuffy (sinus?) nose for a few weeks, too, but I think it's the changing seasons here. A lot of people have a cold, etc., and I do have asthma.
I would think that tenderness would be a sign of infection, but this is definitely something to ask your OS. Even a phone call might help you with answers.
Take care.
Lo
Thanks for all your replies. I did not go to the OS and the swelling seems to be going down as of now. So hopefully I don't have an infection still. I don’t have any pain either. I seem to swell up some days and not others. That could be from chewing. Ibuprofen helps a lot. The stuffiness is still there in the evenings. Throughout the day it is not stuffy, but every evening I stuff up just on the right side. Because my symptoms are not that bad I will just caulk it up to still healing. It’s been 8 weeks. Although, I have not read about this with anyone else and the stuffy nostril does concern me. It is the side I had the infection on. These symptoms don’t get me down and I seem to be getting better (slowly), so for now, I will endure.
Carly
Carly
Class II Overbite
Full Braces 9/28/05
Here’s an update on my condition:
I thought everything was fine and the infection was gone…well it’s not. On Wednesday evening of this week, I started developing a stomachache, then diarrhea, and then the worst case of the chills I’ve ever had. I took the next day off work and slept most of the day in between my trips to the bathroom. I never did vomit, but thought I was going to couple of times. Then this morning I was cramped up in the bathroom again, but finally it got better and I made my way to work. I thought I had developed a case of food poisoning. Although, my jaw on the upper and the lower right side (it’s always the right) was a lot more swollen.
I decided to call my OS and see if it could be related. Remember I had the diarrhea after the antibiotics I took for the infection on Sept 24th. That had cleared up for about a week, so I didn’t think it was related. When I talked to the doctor she said that I needed a different antibiotic to treat the diarrhea, and it was definitely related. She said the first one was to kill the infection in my jaw, but it made the bacteria in my stomach grow, which lead to the diarrhea. So, anyway, they prescribed another antibiotic over the phone. Like I said they are 2 hours away, so it’s hard to just stop by for a visit. Plus the traffic into the bay area is dreadful.
I don’t understand why they couldn’t tell me that if I developed diarrhea, I could need another antibiotic to clear it up. They did warn me I could develop diarrhea. Even the pharmacist warned me I could develop it, but neither one ever said be sure to call back to get another kind of antibiotic. Jeeeeeeeeeeeez ! These doctors. I sure hope this one works and clears it up. Looks like I could be on the same road as Karigan. Needing to have my plates removed. YIKES! I hope not.
Thanks everyone for your help. I will keep you posted and maybe I can help someone else.
Carly
I thought everything was fine and the infection was gone…well it’s not. On Wednesday evening of this week, I started developing a stomachache, then diarrhea, and then the worst case of the chills I’ve ever had. I took the next day off work and slept most of the day in between my trips to the bathroom. I never did vomit, but thought I was going to couple of times. Then this morning I was cramped up in the bathroom again, but finally it got better and I made my way to work. I thought I had developed a case of food poisoning. Although, my jaw on the upper and the lower right side (it’s always the right) was a lot more swollen.
I decided to call my OS and see if it could be related. Remember I had the diarrhea after the antibiotics I took for the infection on Sept 24th. That had cleared up for about a week, so I didn’t think it was related. When I talked to the doctor she said that I needed a different antibiotic to treat the diarrhea, and it was definitely related. She said the first one was to kill the infection in my jaw, but it made the bacteria in my stomach grow, which lead to the diarrhea. So, anyway, they prescribed another antibiotic over the phone. Like I said they are 2 hours away, so it’s hard to just stop by for a visit. Plus the traffic into the bay area is dreadful.
I don’t understand why they couldn’t tell me that if I developed diarrhea, I could need another antibiotic to clear it up. They did warn me I could develop diarrhea. Even the pharmacist warned me I could develop it, but neither one ever said be sure to call back to get another kind of antibiotic. Jeeeeeeeeeeeez ! These doctors. I sure hope this one works and clears it up. Looks like I could be on the same road as Karigan. Needing to have my plates removed. YIKES! I hope not.
Thanks everyone for your help. I will keep you posted and maybe I can help someone else.
Carly
Class II Overbite
Full Braces 9/28/05
Carly, that sounds awful, poor you. The antibiotics I was on were fine on my stomach. I was worried because my stomach is not good anyway but I had no problems, just as well as I was on them for 5 months.
I really hope this next course of antibiotics clears it up for you. I am getting pain and some smelly discharge from my nose again and am concerned that my infection hasn't completely gone despite all plates being removed. Unfortunately, with bone infections they can be very persistent and serious to get rid off and I am wondering if this one is still there. I had to go to the GP and get more strong painkillers. If it hasn't improved by the end of this week I'll phone my OS and go and see him.
Good luck with yours, hopefully you've caught it early enough and it'll clear. Mine had become chronic before they got it so it is much more difficult to clear. Still, fingers crossed it will be sorted out.
Take care,
Kari
I really hope this next course of antibiotics clears it up for you. I am getting pain and some smelly discharge from my nose again and am concerned that my infection hasn't completely gone despite all plates being removed. Unfortunately, with bone infections they can be very persistent and serious to get rid off and I am wondering if this one is still there. I had to go to the GP and get more strong painkillers. If it hasn't improved by the end of this week I'll phone my OS and go and see him.
Good luck with yours, hopefully you've caught it early enough and it'll clear. Mine had become chronic before they got it so it is much more difficult to clear. Still, fingers crossed it will be sorted out.
Take care,
Kari