will the numbness ever go away?

January 13, 2004

Hello all,

I've been gone from this site for a while, but have a persistent

question that maybe some of y'all can answer....

I had lower jaw surgery a year and a half ago (I was 44 at the

time). All seemed to go OK with surgery and recovery, according to

the OS.

However, I am still completely numb in the chin area, lower lip,

bottom teeth, and part of upper lip. That numbness is more on the

right side, where the OS mentioned I'd had a nerve " stuck to the

jawbone " (he wouldn't be any clearer or more helpful than that).

When I asked him if I'd ever get feeling back, he " joked " -- " Who

knows: you're no spring chicken, you know! " and " I have no idea. "

Well, maybe I was old for the surgery. But the longer I'm numb, the

less I like to think about myself drooling, not feeling kisses, etc.

the rest of my life.

Has anyone here had numbness that went away AFTER a year or so?

Has anyone here had any success with neurologists for a numbness

problem?

thanks

Ann

January 13, 2004

Inexpert answers from moi... (and Hi! I'm glad you're back, but sorry

for the reason.)

Did he tell you beforehand that you were " not a spring chicken " and

might have numbness? (In fairness, my guy did, and put it so kindly --

" We're not spring chickens any more. " -- although he's at least a

decade younger than am I, which puts him in your league, more or

less.)

Go see him again -- make a special appointment and pay for it, or ask

your insurance to do so -- and tell him of your numbness. Tell him

also that you have a friend who had the surgery (lower advancement, 5

mm, plus 3 mm to the right) who never had any numbness. Expect this

to scare the bejeezuz out of him, because he'll think you're gonna

sue. Tell him (if it's in your head) that you're not looking for

litigation, but want to know how to help recover your sensation, or

whether it's possible to do so.

I have a wonderful neurologist, who gives me things to help with the

pain where I have numbness (from nerve damage) in my hands and feet --

nope. You don't wanna know about that one. -- But I do not have

feeling back, despite her best efforts. She can, however, help the

stabs and tingles.

Cammie

Sorry you got troubles. I think it goes with the toss of the dice,

honestly, and not with age, nor anything else.

January 13, 2004

Hi Ann,

I was 39 when I had my second upper and lower jaw surgery. It was a

year ago this month. I have more numbness than I had hoped at one

year postop. I have always wondered if it would have been less had I

only had one surgery but of course will never know. My numbness is

in my bottom lip and the middle of my chin. If I run my finger along

my bottom lip, I feel a buzzy feeling, however, if I bite straight

down on my lip (which I do all the time by accident) I feel nothing.

I could bite it off if I wanted to and it probably wouldn't hurt.

Coincidentally with your post, I saw my dentist today for a

cleaning. He also had lower jaw surgery done. He is five years

postop. He asked about my numbness and I explained it like I did

above. He was not surprised and told me that he was in the exact

same place at one-year post op as well. He asked me if in the cold

weather I feel a burning or intense buzzing sensation in my lips

(which I do) and he said that's a really good sign. He wouldn't

commit to a timeframe when you " should have all your feeling back " ,

but he told me it took him years ... it was gradual. He has one tiny

numb spot in the corner of his mouth on one side (which I would

gladly be happy with) but he said it took a couple years to get there.

I realize other surgeons, orthos, etc. say that one-year or a bit

longer is the projected " cutoff " point for returned feeling and I'm

not going to argue with them if this is what they're finding with

their patients; however just wanted to throw out what a doctor who's

actually experienced it himself has gone through. He is still very

hopeful for me but gave me the old lecture on patience. BTW, he made

no comment about my age or references to chickens, young or old,

which I appreciated.

Hope it gives you some encouragement. I get down about it some days,

too. Especially when I smooch my little son and only feel my top lip

when I do.

As for 's question about whether anyone's been able to

successfully sue a surgeon for loss of sensation, I can only say I

bet it's difficult considering the consent form that you sign

beforehand. Numbness, tooth loss, even death was all covered on that

form. I bet that makes it tough. You'd have to prove your surgeon

was negligent, and how the heck do you do that? Tough one, I bet.

Wishing for less numbness for you!

Irish!

> Hello all,

> I've been gone from this site for a while, but have a persistent

> question that maybe some of y'all can answer....

>

> I had lower jaw surgery a year and a half ago (I was 44 at the

> time). All seemed to go OK with surgery and recovery, according

to

> the OS.

>

> However, I am still completely numb in the chin area, lower lip,

> bottom teeth, and part of upper lip. That numbness is more on the

> right side, where the OS mentioned I'd had a nerve " stuck to the

> jawbone " (he wouldn't be any clearer or more helpful than that).

>

> When I asked him if I'd ever get feeling back, he " joked " -- " Who

> knows: you're no spring chicken, you know! " and " I have no idea. "

>

> Well, maybe I was old for the surgery. But the longer I'm numb,

the

> less I like to think about myself drooling, not feeling kisses,

etc.

> the rest of my life.

>

> Has anyone here had numbness that went away AFTER a year or so?

> Has anyone here had any success with neurologists for a numbness

> problem?

>

> thanks

> Ann

January 14, 2004

Of course, one sign of being in the '50s is that one can get

forgetful... Which I all too often do. I forgot to mention that my

neurologist also recommended lots of balanced b vitamins, as well as

fish from deep waters (oysters, salmon, tuna) three times a week, to

get the omega oils.

She also was helpful about the forgetfulness, though. She theorizes

that back when we were all 20, we really (at least most of us) had a

lot of relatively unimportant things to remember. Now that we're

older, the things we need to remember are generally more serious and

important, so we miss them more and notice more.

I likeher approach!

Cammie

> I had a SARPE surgery in mid-July 2003, which is a walk in the park

> compared to what most on this site have been through. It's almost

> six months post-op for me, and I still have numbness on the left

side

> of my upper lip and upper gums. My surgeon and ortho have been

> completely unhelpful in terms of the mumbness, but my primary care

> physician referred me to a neurologist. The neurologist says there

> is nothing he or anyone else can do about the numbness. He

> recommended that I get plenty of vitamin B6, which apparently helps

> the nerves.

>

January 14, 2004

Seven years ago, our son had all four wisdom teeth removed during the same

appointment. The doc couldn't get his jaw to close after the procedure so he

took an xray and found that he had broken our son's jaw clear thru on both

sides. He only had a horseshoe shaped jaw bone floating around unattached.

Needless to say, he was rushed to emergency surgery. Now, seven years later, he

still is completely numb on half of his lower lip clear down to the end of his

chin on that side! He has been told that he will never have feeling there since

it hasn't come back thus far! We constantly need to tell him when he has food

on that part of his lip or chin because he cannot feel it. Poor guy! He even

wonders what a full kiss would feel like - lol!

Re: will the numbness ever go away?

If your lower jaw bone breaks the way the nerve is not exposed at all

(i.e. the surgeon does not see it) you do not get any numbness,

temporary or permanent. It happens, but extremely seldom and

surgeons have no control over it, as the nerve canal seems to be

a natural weakness in the bone to break along. Those people

are just blind lucky.

> > Inexpert answers from moi... (and Hi! I'm glad you're back, but

> sorry

> > for the reason.)

> >

> > Did he tell you beforehand that you were " not a spring chicken "

and

> > might have numbness? (In fairness, my guy did, and put it so

> kindly --

> > " We're not spring chickens any more. " -- although he's at least

a

> > decade younger than am I, which puts him in your league, more or

> > less.)

> >

> > Go see him again -- make a special appointment and pay for it, or

> ask

> > your insurance to do so -- and tell him of your numbness. Tell

him

> > also that you have a friend who had the surgery (lower

advancement,

> 5

> > mm, plus 3 mm to the right) who never had any numbness. Expect

this

> > to scare the bejeezuz out of him, because he'll think you're

gonna

> > sue. Tell him (if it's in your head) that you're not looking for

> > litigation, but want to know how to help recover your sensation,

or

> > whether it's possible to do so.

> >

> > I have a wonderful neurologist, who gives me things to help with

> the

> > pain where I have numbness (from nerve damage) in my hands and

> feet --

> > nope. You don't wanna know about that one. -- But I do not have

> > feeling back, despite her best efforts. She can, however, help

the

> > stabs and tingles.

> >

> > Cammie

> >

> > Sorry you got troubles. I think it goes with the toss of the

dice,

> > honestly, and not with age, nor anything else.

January 14, 2004