Hello family, 6 years post chemo / rads I am running into some more problems. This week I started accidentally biting my tongue . OUTCH !!!. Then the other day I was having really bad neck spasms in my neck and started to notice that I was slurring my speech a bit. Now my tongue feels like it's a bit paralyzed on one side. It's crooked and I'm unable to gather any saliva from that side. I've read a bit about this and I'm wondering what OCF members have experienced this and if there is anything they they have found helpful.
Much thanks.
Will
Hey WIll! Nice to see you posting but Im sorry its due to a problem. My cancer was in my cheek and jaw so I havent been thru the problems you mentioned. Hopefully someone who has been thru this will reply sometime soon. I always err on the side of caution and suggest seeing your ENT for a good check up to make sure you're ok. We can never be too careful after what we all have been thru. Good luck!!!
Hope its nothing serious and resolves itself quickly. Feel better soon!!!
If your tongue is crooked and saliva production is noticeably lower on one side, you may have something pushing on the main nerve on one side of the tongue at the base.
Don't wait, schedule a visit to your ENT as soon as possible. Could be an issue at the base of your tongue. Hard to spot and usually found only with scans.
Good Luck (Don't wait for this to resolve itself.)
Hi Will, the symptoms you describe are what started us on this journey.
Kris began having trouble with his speech. Slurring his words. Not always in the beginning, but over a couple of months it became consistent. He also wasn't able to stick his tongue out straight. It deviated markedly to the right. Turns out that he had a lymph node that was pressing on the Hypoglossal nerve. This nerve inervates the tongue.
I recommend that you see your oral cancer ENT to get this issue looked at.
Wishing you all the best,
Tammy
I'm please to report that (per my scans) it was neither a stroke or a re-occurrence of cancer. It is some pressure on my Hypoglossal nerve from fibrosis resulting from radiation 6 years ago. It looks like I might even have some options to correct it. HUGE PHEW and thanx for your replies !
Will
Thanks for posting the update. Congrats on the great news. Options, no cancer or stroke are always positive things
