PC82

Hi, I am new to this board and am pretty scared because I've been to a lot of doctors and don't know what's wrong.

I have had this funny feeling in my left cheek for about 2 months, like as if I had stuffed some cotton back there a la Marlon Brando. It is also swollen. I don't feel or see any distinct lumps, just a general swelling from around the parotid down to the submandibular area.

My primary care physician gave me antibiotics, said it was a lymph node, and gave me a referral to the ENT if it didn't get better.

The ENT told me to put heat on it and drink lots of fluids and come back if it didn't get better.

My dentist did a bite wing Xray, ruled out an abscess, said I had TMJ and says that it can cause swelling. I have no locking, popping or pain symptoms however.

Keep in mind that during all this time nobody did an Xray or an MRI.

I went to an oral surgeon who says it is parotid hyperplasia. The panoramic Xray showed no evidence of TMJ other than flattening of the condyles. The bite is aligned. However Xrays don't show tumors, is that right? He told me to suck on hard candy and massage the salivary glands.

I did an MRI last week and am very anxious waiting to get the results.

Last night I noticed what feels almost like a tendon in the area between the inside of my cheek, and my gum. It's not a round lump or movable, it almost feels like a swollen muscle.

Does TMJ cause swollen tendons or muscles inside the mouth? Could this be a tumor? I am so scared and I am terrified of getting the results of the MRI. I don't have any family here other than my mother who is in a nursing home and has no idea that I've been going through this. I am 39 years old and female. I don't smoke.