Temporomandibular Joint Disorder: Help!

In the Summer of 2007, I began hearing/feeling a clicking/grinding on the right side of my jaw, just behind and in front of the right ear.  I would have headaches that I couldn't seem to shake.  I took Tylenol and Advil, but, of course, these were merely placebos to treat what I was feeling.  In August 2007, I was driving with my mother to the movies when it felt like something on the right side of my face and the back of my head exploded.  I was dizzy and had tight chest pains; even my heart was beating fast (palpitations).  After visiting the emergency room, and later my family doctor, it was said that I had anxiety, though I had no history of it.  Two months later (October 2007) I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed, hoping that my impacted teeth were what caused my "anxiety attack" and many more that followed.  I was fine for a couple of weeks thanks to the painkillers, and then it happened all over again.

Since then, I've seen an ear, nose, and throat specialist, eye doctor, family doctor, oral surgeon, and have had x-rays, blood tests, and even a catscan performed.  Nothing has been able to pinpoint what's ailing me, not until I heard of TMJ.  I believe this to be the closest condition/disorder which describes my experiences best.

Is there anybody out there who has TMJ, has dealt with it in the past, and/or can help me with this?

Sincerely,

WatchingPaintDry

I have TMJ although mine is very mild and not close to what you are experiencing. I also worked for three years for a DDS MD who specialized in TMJ and the surgery to correct it. He had all of his patients on NSAIDS as you must control the inflamation in order to control the pain and he highly recommended trigger point injections. Advil is not just a placebo hiding your symptoms it is a corner stone of treatment but must be taken several times a day or you can get a script for a longer acting NSAID. If you can find someone in your area who does the trigger point injections they should help.
Sj

PALady, yes, it works GREAT!!  I haven't really been taking it through my back pain, as I didn't think it would help with the nerves, BUT it has the antioxidants that everyone says decreases inflammation, so it should help!!  I was totally AMAZED when it started to help!  I was shocked and still am, though I'm getting into Homeopathic meds now, because I have many health issues too, not just the back, but this one helped me more than any other treatment that I had!!

With the TMJ, they had injected me at the trigger points, they lubricated my joints, they gave me topicals, steroids, NSAIDS, pain meds, Neproxen, you name it, they did it!!  Only they didn't do any major surgeries, I'm SO glad they didn't!!  When I found that Cherry Tart, to tell you what kind of sincere, sweet doc he was, I told him and he was almost in tears with joy for me and told me that he CAN'T WAIT to tell his other patients!!!!  I was in that bad of shape with my TMJ!  The Maxiofacial had never seen anyone so bad, and he was with the U. Penn doctors!!  I was SO lucky to find him, and the Cherry Tart!!  That was such relief for me, you couldn't even imagine, well, then again, you all can relate, with such pain, just being GONE!!!  I was functional again, sleeping again, until I was rear ended and in pain again!!  LOL!  But that was my Godsend, you know, I can't even explain how wonderful it was to be pain free for a while!  I didn't need any medication for my TMJ, I still don't!!  I still eat a good bit of cherries when their in season, and I go through very minor pain at times (nothing like my back or what I went through, not nearly!), and occassionally my jaw will pop out of joint again, and cause a little pain, but that Cherry Tart is the key!!!  I LOVED IT!!  And you can add it to juice, it was good with OJ, sounds funny, but it was good to me!  Or, as I did, took it like a teaspoon of medicine!!  It's not sweet, so don't think it is, or it will shock you!!  LOL!  It did me!  My mom laughed at me because of the face I made, but I got very used to it and was glad to do it daily!  You couldn't believe how alive I felt after that!!

Thanks for the interest PALady!  I am SO glad to share!!

Good luck to all, and I wish you all some sort of relief!!

I don't usually post in the chronic pain area here, but I saw your post on the menu list and had to read it. I have TMJ and was diagnosed when I was maybe 14? It was a long process. I had doctors that didn't believe me, thought that I was a mental case...which technically I guess I am lol...but that's not what was causing my pain, and I had doctors that thought I was just trying to get attention or pain meds! At 14 they thought I was a drug addict or something. Not that there aren't young teens taking drugs, but this just shocked me. My pain was by my ear the most when it started so I was treated over and over again for ear infections, basically by a quack that just wanted to get me out of the office. I finally went to the ER one night because it was so bad and the doc looked in my ear, blew in my ear, and was in shock that this doc of mine would think I had an ear infection when there were no signs of it whatsoever. He scheduled me for an MRI I think, and in the MRI they gave me this thing to put in my mouth at different times during the test to get a view of my mouth opened and closed. They sent the results to an oral surgeon and he confirmed it was TMJ. It was actually worse than what he thought it was going to be because of how well I apparently was tollerating the pain. I never did the surgery...they made the mistake of showing me a video and pictures of the surgery so I refused it. What has helped me since I am a jaw clencher and I grind my teeth like you wouldn't believe is a mouth piece that they specially make for you. Unfortunately I lost the best one I ever had, it worked so well and was actually comfortable, and I haven't been able to get a new one because now I don't have dental coverage and some places charge hundreds of dollars for these custom mouthpieces or at least they did back in the day when I used to get them. I went through many mouthpieces because I would grind them down in my sleep with all the grinding I do. I've tried the ones the sell in the stores, but they're really uncomfortable to me and I end up taking them out in the middle of the night. I guess I just got really used to having one fit perfectly in my mouth. So now my primary care doc occassionally gives me flexeril, a muscle relaxer to help relax the muscles...obviously, and I take advil as needed. Just thought I would share my story. Never heard of the cherry tart thing before...maybe I'll look into it.

Hello Watching Paint Dry

And welcome to the forum. I'm so glad you found the cherry tart juice to help you. It's so good that you shared this info with others too. I think a lot of people suffer with TMJ, so it was very helpful.

Keep posting and let us know how you are doing from time to time, OK? We look forward to hearing from you.

Gentle Hugs,

Lindaloo

Hi, Everyone!

Been away from the computer for a few days.  Well, it's been an interesting few days.  I had decided to visit the ER after posting my initial topic thread.  The pain was so intense and debilitating, that I needed to be in an environment where they could "possibly help."

We all know how long it takes before you are seen by anybody.  During the ninety minutes I spent grazing the waiting room, people with cuts, seated in wheelchairs, and even puke buckets walked in.  All the while my pain is nowhere to be felt.  Watching others in worse shape than I was in seemed to heal my pain...temporarily, at least.  It's indirect Schadenfreude, which means "taking pleasure in others' pain."  Only in my case, I was feeling better knowing I wasn't in as bad a shape as the others.

That being said, I was finally called into a flowery waiting room which seemed designed for children.  Not a good sign.  I was seen by a doctor who must've been clicking a survey clicker, counting how many people he could fit in fifteen minutes.  Now, I had my four wisdom teeth removed, and I never like mentioning that simply because as soon as I do, they'll say, "Well, there's your cause."  But, I'm more skeptical than that as the pain in my TMJ started well before my surgery.

Anyway, he checked my ear and the inside of mouth, and that was it.  I was told to wait in the flowery waiting room.  I did.  A nurse came out with two yellow cards: one with an Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist's name on it, and the other with a Maxillofacial Surgeon's name on it.  The nurse, having felt she had done her job, was stopped by my assisting mother who asked to see the doctor.  See, to the doctor, his "work" with us was done, but to us, I didn't have any time to ask questions, etc.

So, the nurse says she'll get the doctor.  Minutes later, the doctor breezes by us and calls in and examines the next patient.  We finally get his attention to which he looks at us as if to say, "Who are you people?" and then recognizes us and says, "You're still here?"  I asked him about who it was I was actually calling (on the yellow cards) and what it was I could be doing in the meantime to, you know, deal with the pain I came in for.  He shrugged his shoulders like a person who was asked the square root of 1,678,235 and spoke the punchline, "I'm just a family doctor."

I left the ER so disappointed that my pain came right back.  I could've visited my own family doctor in half the waiting time if I knew this was going to be the case.  The last time I went to the hospital, I was there for a total of a day and a half for a combination of CATscans, blood tests, and X-rays.  What a difference!

I threw those yellow cards out and saw my maxillofacial surgeon, the one who removed my four wisdom teeth, and had a successful visit.  We spoke for about an hour.  He walked me through my problem, which, in fact, is not my TMJ (by the way, I learned that it's TMD [TemporoMandibular Disorder], not TMJ as everyone has a TMJ).  He prescribed me an anti-inflammatory pill that I must take for three weeks, and he's also put me on soft food diet (the same as if I had my wisdom teeth removed) for the same length of time.  It's been four days and I feel a bit better.  Not sure if I'm being psychosematic, but it's doing the job.

My sincerest apologies for the lengthy reply, however, I feel it my duty to respond to all of you who have taken the time to respond to my thread.

Thanks to all who responded.

I will be back on a regular basis, that is, of course, unless I'm in the ER practicing waiting.

I used a mouthpiece that moved my jaw slowly for about a year(like braces do to teeth).  I put it on every night before bed and it worked like a charm.  It was uncomfortable, but I've not had TMJ since.

Wow i have delt with this for years and thought i would just have to deal with it like everything else lol but i am gonna have to try this cherry tart! Thanks so much

Dragoness Warrior said...

WatchingPaintDry,  I have TMJ, and I found relief by taking a teaspoon or more a day of Cherry Tart Concentrate!!  For YEARS I suffered and I went to my dentist, doctor, oral surgeons, etc.  I finally went to a Maxiofacial surgeon!  He was WONDERFUL, compassionate, sweet, and HELPFUL!!!  I wish that I could recommend him, but he's in PA, so I don't know!  But anyway, I went through all kinds of procedures and pain meds to help that too, and nothing was helping until I tried the Cherry!!  I was in the same pain, I was so bad I couldn't sleep and I would just moan and cry!!  And I can handle pain VERY well!!  I had a constant headache, was always nauseous, couldn't eat, sleep, function!!  I was REALLY bad!  I couldn't open my jaw more than 1/4"!!  I look back on that and get very upset!!  Mine was caused by this doc that took my wisdom teeth out, he dislocated my jaw and didn't tell me, put this device in my mouth, that was a one sized fits all, and I have a small mouth!!  But when I finally found this GREAT maxiofacial, he told me what they probably did, so I have a slight dislocation in my right side too, so I still get the pain, but I am doing GREAT with that one, now it's just a VERY bad back!!  LOL!  But I wanted to tell you, that it's about 15 years out now, and I've gotten relief from that, and I have told MANY others that have had the same results!!  My mom found the info watching Fox 29 news one night, she said that people with Gout, Arthritis, TMJ, etc. found relief, so I tried it, and I was amazed, I felt the relief STARTING about 1 month in, but didn't get results immediately, but was feeling much better in about 3 months!  So, I would suggest trying it!!  I got it at the Health Food Stores!  I wish you the best of luck!!  And any questions, please feel free to ask!  We're all here for you!!

Best wishes!!

I too would find my mouth pieces all over the place when I'd wake up. So every morning for a while it was a serach mission. I actually lost one...couldn't find it anywhere...don't know what I did with it. Not good for something that costs hundreds of dollars.

I developed TMJ syndrome from getting a broken jaw and it has taken over the past 10 yrs of my life. I've tried every procedure you can do. I am realy mad they are switching off the soma medication bc I can be ok with Tylenol for pain " most the time" but I need my soma not this new stuff, starts with a D? I hate it. im very depressed, woke up to my gf dead laying next to me and have panic attacks still which make my face hurt at the same time. makes me just wanna die. I take Xanax and everyone shuns me for it. I hate that. They just don't get it. I want to know some advice as to explain to my doc that I want my soma back without making him mad or think im seeking drugs, which in a way I am but only because I know it works for me and have taken it for yrs. Its been 3 yrs since he has prescribed it to me though, and probly wont want to mix it with my xanax, but I believe I neeed it, at least 2 or 3 times a day.