Almost in the clear

Progress has come in fits and spurts, but on what would be my two-month checkup with the dentist who gave me this paresthesia, I got the all-clear. My tongue was at about 90 percent from normal, the highest yet, and I have been able to feel those sharp jabs (a sign that the nerves are re-firing) that tell me the path to recovery is close at hand. The tip of my tongue is the "last" to come back to full speed because it is furthest from the strike point. I still feel the slight sensation of carrying a marble in the right front corner of mouth - the result of not being fully healed ... but as the days pass, that feeling is less pronounced. I still won't give myself the all clear until the year's end. The dentist tells me that he felt "this small" when the incident occurred, but he's glad at my positive spirit and tells me further appointments won't be necessary.

Pop rocks at 4 months

I used a new description to describe to a coworker what my mouth feels like - periods of non-improvement followed, almost out of the blue, by a feeling like I've got Pop Rocks. Those are nerve endings being rejuvenated, I'm told. Look, at this point, as odd a sensation as this is, I'll take progress in whatever shape or form it occurs. I still feel like I'm at 85% of where I was, and it just requires more patience to endure the run to the finish line.

Numbness is more than skin deep

One of the lingering issues of paresthesia, many sufferers will discover, is that what appears to be a cure is a wolf in sheep's clothing. I felt just about sharp point as the dentist took a tour around my tongue, ascertaining what I could feel. That is great news - proof that the recovery is occurring to those delicate nerves. I explained to the dentist that the paralysis still is evident when I try to speak certain words (there's an obvious impediment) and I still can't taste every food item 100% as there is still a feeling like I'm chewing on rubber bands. The next appointment is now 8 weeks away and he expects significant recovery by then. I'm amazed at my own patience level, about to celebrate my THIRD MONTH with this pain-in-the-ass-condition that I did not cause.

Tongue-tied

On a recent (August 12) Sunday afternoon, I gave a toast to my longtime friend, Barry, inside an enclosed reception hall built atop a large fishing pier in Kitty Hawk, N.C. The toast was in front of 80 people and I delivered it with aplomb only because the DJ handed me a microphone that allowed me to speak in a normal voice. Any scenario where I have to project my voice, unaided by technology, still proves difficult, because I lack the specific muscle strength in my mouth that leads to clear-sounding speech. In other words, precision deteriorates when I have to "speak up." The sensation on the top of my tongue has returned, however, it feels "marbled" and feels about 80% of normal ability. The side and bottom of my tongue is about 60% and I have no feeling in the right bottom of my mouth. I can only hope it will come back.

Still very frustrated. Still very annoyed at the dentist, and wondering whether the time for litigation is close at hand, given the worry I have about a permanent speaking disability.

Nine weeks - a setback

I can deal with the ups and downs of paresthesia as long as I can sense improvement. But today my day began with more annoying "ice" sensation on the right side of my tongue, and an inability to correctly pronounce many words without lisping. This is a disappointment as it comes nine weeks to the day since the dentist nailed me with the needle, causing the paralysis. Now, this time around at least the tongue has some sensation beyond the feeling of cold. It was crazy that I couldn't even tell I had a tongue in prior weeks when this has occurred. So it goes.

"Patience"

Saw the dentist for treatment today. His forecast of recovery of 4 to 6 weeks (which later became 6 to 8 weeks) was incorrect, but diagnosing paresthesia is not an exact science. At least he is being gracious about it, and not charging for the follow-up visits. He prescribed "patience" as the nerve heals VERY slowly, about the width of a single tine on a comb. He said he sees progress to the point where we'll now meet every 3 weeks, instead of 2.

Sandpaper at Week 7

I can "feel" recovery, but it's taking its sweet time getting here, and it hurts. I finally gained some sensation on the right edge and top of my tongue. But that sensation amounts to a feeling that there's a layer of sandpaper or roof shingle. Not sure why that is - perhaps it's part of the healing process? I still have what feels like deeper-layer numbness, and it is still impacting my ability to project my voice when I talk.

Week 6

So I hit a milestone today: Six weeks ago, the dentist whose needle into the back of my mouth caused this paresthesia said I would return to normalcy in the 6-to-8-week window. But I'm far from recovered and, in fact, it's still impossible to communicate clearly to others, especially on the phone. Being limited in your speech has taken its toll on my mindset. I continue to be social, but when I join coworkers for lunch I keep my mouth shut. My words can't keep up with the conversation at the table. It's frustrating. And, every day where I feel some progress, the next day I experience a regression.

Metamorphosis

The cold sensation on my tongue that was the source of constant annoyance finally dissipated [albeit  briefly] over the weekend, with the numbness shifting to the lower side of my mouth. Again, holding a conversation is incredibly frustrating - either because the listener has trouble understanding some of the words in a sentence, or because of the soreness involved with overcoming the limitations of my tongue. Another day ...

Warm beverages help?

The cold sensation returned in force this morning (and it seems like morning is when I experience the biggest odd effects from my paresthesia). What seems to minimize the symptoms is consuming warm beverages and food served at room temperature. Not unlike how honey can temporarily minimize the annoyance of a sore throat, the beverages seem to "raise the temperature" inside my mouth. It's the only way I can combat the frustrating, unrelenting coldness that has become part of my life since June 7.

An ice shelf in my mouth

Woke up today with a most-annoying sensation: the cold has returned. It feels like frost has embedded the lower right corner of my mouth. For the second time during this malady, the numbness takes a back seat to the cold sensation. Oddly, what seems to abate the sensation, if only for a few seconds, is my warm container of coffee. I've taken another dose of ibuprofen hoping it will drop the "temperature" but no good, so far.

Third trip to dentist reveals progress

Almost a month to the date from the dental work, I still have a numb tongue and no feeling in the area of my mouth (the "valley") under the tongue and just below the toothline. The dentist repeats the procedure that he had done on two prior visits: using what I presume to be the dental scaler, or pick, he moves along the surface of my tongue and asks if I can feel anything. Later he uses a dry cloth and has me describe what I'm feeling. Afterwards, he says he's compared his analysis to the previous trips and says the feeling is returning, albeit slightly.

Ice, ice baby

Woke up with a new sensation. I could finally feel, unobstructed, the taste of a food item on the right tip of my tongue in addition to the left. However, this feeling of relief was marred by the fact that the sensation of fire-ants-juggling-thumbtacks has been supplanted by an ice-cold feeling. It literally feels like an ice cube is sitting on my tongue. It's a sensation that isn't painful but annoying and has me reaching for hot coffee. It's persistent.

2nd checkup with the dentist

Today was Day No. 17 with this annoying malady. I described to the dentist that it no longer felt like I was carrying a golf ball in my mouth; rather, it felt like three or four marbles. Couple that with the oddity of feeling like the tip of my tongue was on fire, or a crackling sensation, which the dentist likened to the nerves regenerating. Still problems with speech that prevent me from adequately pronouncing any word with a "s" or a "th" sound to it.

Malpractice, anyone?

A conversation from Facebook

An apology & timetable for healing

After a miserable weekend of mouth paralysis, I get to see my dentist and find out what's happened. He points out where in my mouth the numbing agent was placed and says I'm only the second patient he's ever had where he apparently impacted the lingual nerve. Over the phone on the weekend he had told me recovery time was 4 to 6 weeks, but he adjusts the healing forecast to six to eight weeks - on the upper end, that's two months away!

How am I, a professional communicator, going to function on the job? My coworkers are actually quite accommodating as I learn to speak to them with my limited vocabulary.

Diagnosed with paresthesia

I was injured by a medical professional during a routine dental procedure - replacement of three fillings in my teeth - on June 7, 2012. It was a rare injury caused when the needle used to inject anesthetic left a paresthesia, or numbness, that so far hasn't fully recovered. Paresthesia is so rare many online dictionaries suggest corrections to the spelling. That's because paresthesia impacts less than 1% of the population in a given year.

There's a few articles online about what paresthesia is, but precious few that describe the perspective of someone who is afflicted by it. Forced to endure weeks of discomfort and pain. Forced to suffer in silence. A speech impediment. Anxiety over the exact time frame of recovery. This journal, written in "real time," will help, hopefully.