Hi Julie: Back about
three weeks ago I had excruciating pain on the left side of my face. I was totally baffled. It began in the lower jaw, where there is no tooth, as it was removed about
ten years back, it began as a rumbling kind of pain. Like a drumbeat. Then it would shoot up into my upper jaw like someone stuck a hot skewer into the upper jaw. It was totally, unbearable. All I could do was sleep as I waited to see a dentist. They took x-rays and said there was nothing there. Then she (dentist), put some kind of mirror in my mouth and found a fractured tooth, split right in two, it was a molar closely connected to the sinus. She warned me that it would come out in pieces and I was running the risk of having a piece of tooth penetrate my sinus which would require immediate surgery. I said "get it out". I could not envision going forward in that degree of pain. The whole thing was resolved once she got it out. However, I do get a pounding in my right temple about
three times a week. I take a migraine medicine (Zomig) for that. When I have excruciating pain in my temple and face sometimes I take a smaller dose of amyltriptilene, ie. 25mgs. and lie down. It generally passes in about
two hours. Good luck. My mom has TMJ.