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What Causes Severe Pain In The Jaw, Neck And Tongue?

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Posted on Wed, 14 Sep 2016
Question: for the past 2 1/2 days I have been experiencing extreme jaw, neck and tongue pain.
I have been to the ER 3x but started at an urgent care . the pain began in waves from a 2 rising to a 10. at the urgent care I was given hydrocodone which did not help at all. I few hours later with intensifying pain I went to the er. I was given a shot of morphine, and tramadol, along with a facial nerve block. I went home with percocette, penicillin and ibuprofen. I had releif for about 3 hours, was back in the er with 10 pain that did not relent. at this time they did a cat scan with IV tramadol, morphine and ativan and a second nerve blocker.
i slept from 11 am to 3pm. I had a bit of a protien drink and the pain began in my neck again.

yesterday it began with my lower molars and jaw and has extended to mandibular joint, swollen gland on L side and sore throat and tongue.

I have been unable to get a hold of the pain despite ALL THE MEDICATIONS GIVEN.
at my final er visit last night they drew a tube of blood which I have not heard the results of.

I am dreading the rest of today,as last nights pain was unbearable and relentless. Please help me decide my best next move.

(I recently moved here and dont have a primary. the ER docs gave me referrals for dental, neuro and Primary) tomorrrow is monday, I dont know what to do. Please help.

doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr.Arnab (6 hours later)
Brief Answer:
next best move as follows..

Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXXX, Welcome to HCM,

I've gone through your query and understand your concern,

Yes, it's extremely disturbing when there's acute pain attacks at such a frequent intervals, and as a thumb-rule, You should not be send back home repetitively after such intense pain attacks, so in my opinion, you should be promptly hospitalized in the first place..

There's several advantage of that, as you don't have to seek out for any neurologist/ maxillo-facial surgeon/ primary care- as it'll be taken care by the hospital itself..

Secondly, a proper thorough set of investigation and serial study as well as follow-ups are needed at present which'll be initiated at the earliest for a proper systematic approach..

Thirdly, and most importantly, considering the severity of pain and it's recurrence you should be put on round the clock Intravenous infusion of analgesics (eg. Phentanyl etc.) for the time being, and then gradually taper it down over a period of time (varying somewhere between another 24-48 hrs) then switch over to tablets and/ trans-dermal sustained release patches..

There's a need to look for any possible nerve-entrapment (entrapment neuropathy) as well as any focal lesion/mass causing this or even acute infections causing nerve inflammation (viral most likely)..these are all differential diagnosis which can be narrowed down after thorough blood investigations as well as imaging studies (if CAT scan didn't pick up anything significant, there's a need to undergo for MRI of the head,neck to look for specific neural courses..)..

So please don't wait up any more, and go ahead for the much needed hospitalization (you should be admitted under Critical Care unit/ Neurology/ ENT dept.), it'll be just a matter of time till you'll be feeling better under proper institutional care and round the clock medical supervision..

Let me know how you stay in the due course..please keep me updated how it goes later on..

Take Care
Kind Regards
Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee
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Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Dr.Arnab

Critical Care Specialist

Practicing since :2012

Answered : 1479 Questions

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What Causes Severe Pain In The Jaw, Neck And Tongue?

Brief Answer: next best move as follows.. Detailed Answer: Hello XXXXX, Welcome to HCM, I've gone through your query and understand your concern, Yes, it's extremely disturbing when there's acute pain attacks at such a frequent intervals, and as a thumb-rule, You should not be send back home repetitively after such intense pain attacks, so in my opinion, you should be promptly hospitalized in the first place.. There's several advantage of that, as you don't have to seek out for any neurologist/ maxillo-facial surgeon/ primary care- as it'll be taken care by the hospital itself.. Secondly, a proper thorough set of investigation and serial study as well as follow-ups are needed at present which'll be initiated at the earliest for a proper systematic approach.. Thirdly, and most importantly, considering the severity of pain and it's recurrence you should be put on round the clock Intravenous infusion of analgesics (eg. Phentanyl etc.) for the time being, and then gradually taper it down over a period of time (varying somewhere between another 24-48 hrs) then switch over to tablets and/ trans-dermal sustained release patches.. There's a need to look for any possible nerve-entrapment (entrapment neuropathy) as well as any focal lesion/mass causing this or even acute infections causing nerve inflammation (viral most likely)..these are all differential diagnosis which can be narrowed down after thorough blood investigations as well as imaging studies (if CAT scan didn't pick up anything significant, there's a need to undergo for MRI of the head,neck to look for specific neural courses..).. So please don't wait up any more, and go ahead for the much needed hospitalization (you should be admitted under Critical Care unit/ Neurology/ ENT dept.), it'll be just a matter of time till you'll be feeling better under proper institutional care and round the clock medical supervision.. Let me know how you stay in the due course..please keep me updated how it goes later on.. Take Care Kind Regards