Mouth Sores

Well, rats and shoot. Woke up this morning with a huge sore on the left underside of my tongue. That's one of the symptoms to call in the daytime about. I called. Hum. My last bloodwork showed my immune system stuff is on the low side. Only 300. Any other symptoms? Fever, chills? No - just a few spots on my arm and neck. Sort of red raised blistery looking with a bit of white at the tip. Are they in a straight line? No. Any nausea? Not really.

Well, it might just be a canker sore. Have you ever had one before? Of course! Hasn't everybody? What a relief that its just a canker sore. Still, I had to promise to take my temperature when I went home for lunch to check on Sugarbear (yes, silly name for a dog, but that's what she ended up as). Anyway, Kiel is home with some sort of stomach bug - probably something he ate. I have to check on him too.

I take my temp. 96.8 - I always run low. No fever. I feel a bit weak, but nothing as bad as I have felt recently. The nurse will check with my oncologist and if there is concern, they will call me back. They take it quite seriously. Meanwhile, I am commanded to rinse my mouth with a quart of warm water laced with a tablespoon of baking soda. I don't think I have any. I'll have to get some.


Then the second call - please come in and see the nurse. We want to make sure what we are dealing with to be on the safe side. Though your indicators show your immune system beginning to rise, we don't want any trouble. I go see the nurse. She looks at my tongue and my skin spots, takes my temperature, asks me a few questions, then steps out of the room to call the oncologist and report.

Well, it is a mouth sore, but its starting to heal on its own now. Regardless, we are going to give you a prescription for a mouth rinse with lidocaine, an antibiotic, and a coating material. Rinse with it twice a day while the sore is bothering you. But don't get used to it. If you use it too much, your teeth will turn brown.

Yikes! I get the feeling that this is early for this symptom to appear, but I am only a few days from round 2, so I will rinse a bit until the sore goes away. I heal slowly these days. Brown teeth? I'll have to start a new fad, but this one will be a hard sell.