First I want to thank the creator of these forums. When I first found out I had a mucocele, I was immediately worried about what it was, how it could be removed, if I would have scarring, etc. etc. I searched with google and found these boards, and was really glad I did so that I would know what to expect.
I first bit my lip about...I'd say about a month and a half ago. It immediately formed a large bump, and at first I just thought it was a bruise and swollen from biting it. About a week later it was still there, and slightly larger, so I decided to have it checked out at the local health center on campus. As a college student, I was really self conscious about the bump, and after my brother had a strange experience with blood poisoning and enlargement of his lip, I didn't want to play around with it.
I was told to visit with the dental clinic, and had to schedule an appointment almost a week and a half later, which was slightly annoying. After visiting a dentist, she told me what she believed it was (a mucocele), but she still wasn't 100% sure. She told me to come back two weeks later to see if it had gone down at all. Let me just say, those were the longest two weeks of my life, as the mucocele only grew larger. Unlike a lot of people who have posted here, my mucocele did not change sizes, it only grew larger and became more of a hassle and embarassment, almost to the point where it was impeding my speech. I returned to the clinic and the diagnosis was confirmed, and she referred me to an oral surgeon nearby. Of course I had to make a consultation appointment (which took about 5 minutes), which again took about another week and a half, but after the consultation we scheduled my surgery only a few days later.
Now almost a week later (I get my stitches removed tomorrow) my lip is feeling much, much better. It turned out I had not one, but TWO mucoceles in my lip, both of which were removed along with the damaged glands. I had a decent amount of swelling, many stitches, and pretty painful bruising. Suffice to say, my weekend was spent sleeping while on my painkillers and carefully slurping water and soup through a straw.
Obviously this has not been an enjoyable experience, but I am so glad I got it checked out and removed as soon as I did. I read about other people having these things for months, and I really recommend that if you aren't sure if you HAVE one, just go have it checked out. The process for me was a hassle due to me being a student, and it took 5 different visits to doctors, but I'm glad it's almost over with. I think the worst part would be the inability to smile or laugh and speak normally after the surgery, but in less than a week I'm feeling much better! So far nothing has gone wrong.. *crosses fingers*, and I haven't yet worried about scar tissue as my stitches are still in, but I'll post an update in about a week or so to let everyone know what happened.
Well, I just wanted to share my experience with everyone, because all of the things people posted were really informative and made me less scared and took away that feeling of "Wow I must be the only person this has happened to!" Good luck everyone!
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