With the holidays, (doctors all go too) this couldn't be happening at a worst time. I have never heard of this in all the years of posting here before. I don't like the idea that the doc doesn't have a clue, but at least he has said as much. I would not opt for any tooth removal and such, as this is treating the collateral issues and not the problem. The solution isn't to make more room, the solution is to reduce the swelling!! Steroids are a good start, but if in 3-4 days there are not measurable improvements, I would be on the phone to the doc and directly ask him what he is going to ACTIVELY do. That logically would be to bring in others or a referral to a specialist that has more experience, since he is out of answers. But if the steroids don't do the trick, don't wait for this to magically resolve. Be proactive. Also remember if they were not on top of this enough to tell you that steroids can be hell on the stomach, and that once you start taking them in any significant dosage you should not go off of them suddenly. One of their issues is that they trick your immune system into thinking it isn't necessary to stay on top of things, and abrupt ends to steroid treatment can leave people at risk for other things that immune system would have intervened in, while it gets back up to speed.


Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.