I suppose first I should tell a little about myself. I am a 35 year old married male. I have been married for a little over two years. My wife and I recently move to the state of Washington so I could go to school after tearing up both of my shoulders. I was a smokeless tobacco user in my youth. I have a hard time anymore remembering the time frame that I used it in, but I would have to say that I only used it on and off from age 8 until maybe 12 or 13. From 13 to 17 I used it most every day until I quit when I was 17. I have never used it since. I average an alcholic drink once every one to two years or more.
Last week, I went to the dentist thinking that a tooth I had a crown put on needed a root canal. The pain intensified unbearably overnight. When I was in the office, they of course took x-rays and checked it over. Then he pointed to a part on the x-ray and said that he wasn't sure if that was a pathology issue or not (indicating a spot under my tooth). He decided to put me on a corticosteroid to see if the tooth would calm down or not (you couldn't even push on the tooth). It has settled down almost completely, but now my mind can't stop wondering over a few other symptoms that I have that I could have explained from other causes.
First, I have what I can only describe a catch in my throat when I swallow (and that it may feel like something is caught). It doesn't hapeen all the time, just occasionally. Up until last Tuesday, I would have thought that it was what an Orthopedic surgeon told me could be caused by a problem I have in my neck with a couple of vertabrae. The discs have caused the ulner and brachial nerves to "stretch" as he put it, and said that I may have other symptoms that can come and go from time to time. The swallowing was one of them.
The next symptom is that I have a sore throat. I actually didn't get the sore throat until Wednesday, but it so far is not going away. I normally would have thought that it was because it has been hot here and my wife and I have been sleeping with the fan on at night (which I have gotten colds and sore throats from in the past). When you combine everything, it's scarey.
My wife and I are also expecting our first child. What a slap in the face it was hear the dentist say what he said on Tuesday and see my baby in its first ultrasound on Wednesday. So I'm left now to ponder until Tuesday again, when I go back for him to take some more x-rays, will I live long enough to see my baby be born or take its first step? I have to say that I have never been more scared in my life. I can't think of anything else. I just look around at statistics and stories and wonder. Has anyone else had (or known someone who has) similar symptoms and it turn out to be simply coincidence?
