Jaw Problems/TMJ Disfunction?

[flamingo]

For nearly two weeks now I've had intense pain in my right jaw joint, no idea how it happened I literally woke up with it one day. It did start to ebb away a little but then came back even stronger this week! I have been to the Doc's and was given cocodamol and told to rest it as much as possible and it will eventually go away. Problem is, it hurts too much to be able to chew, so I can't take the pain killer so the pain stays and I can't eat etc etc and I'm stuck in this loop. And (I don't know whether coincidentally or not but) my symptoms are also flaring up and I'm very tired and having lots of migraines.

Has anyone else suffered jaw problems in relation to all this? And how do you deal with it? How long does it take to sort itself out?

 

[Esther12]

I got TMJ when I had a week of not sleeping with earplugs. It took me a while to work out what was going on, and at first I was doing exactly the wrong stuff (I thought it was something to do with my ears).

When I focused on relaxing my jaw muscles it went away okay. At the time I was also eating a lot of hard nuts, tough bread etc (trying to be healthy!) and I've not cut down on stuff like that. It is meant to be linked to migraines too although I didn't get migraines at the time.

Hopefully it will just fade away once you start going easy on your jaw muscles. It took a few weeks to drift off for me, but I know that it can vary a lot.

 

[ukxmrv]

Are you prone to sinus infections? My earlier ones were misdiagnosed as jaw problems because the pain started in my jaw with no further obvious symptoms (such as a discharge)?

 

[flamingo]

No not prone to sinus infections. The doc did a fairly through check and said she couldn't find any swollen glands and that the ear canal looked fine. Starting to wonder if it is maybe stress related - I seem to keep clenching my jaw without realising but I don't know if that is a cause or its happening because of the pain. Hmmmm.

 

[Wayne]

Has anyone else suffered jaw problems in relation to all this? And how do you deal with it? How long does it take to sort itself out?

Hi Flamingo,

I've had moderate TMJ discomfort for many years. Unexpectedly, after receiving an AtlasProfilax treatment (one-time re-alignment of the atlas), my TMJ improved considerably. Upper cervical chiropractic might have similar results.

My TMJ has not gone away completely, but I manage it quite well by massaging my jaw area every morning for about 30 seconds. I believe it was the AtlasProfilax that gave me the most relief however, and has allowed me to manage it as well as I have.

BTW, I've heard that a large percentage of nerve impulses traveling from the brain to the rest of the body (~70%) passes through the TMJ. So TMJ problems/constrictions can affect our bodies in many ways. In my case, I believe the AtlasProfilax relieved the pressure on my vagus nerve, and allowed much more nerve energy to make its way down to my GI tract and improve my digestion (and immune system function) significantly.

Best, Wayne

 

[Sallysblooms]

Your doctor could have told you more things that help for sure. It started for me when my POTS started. STRESS. I have always clenched at night so I have a mouthguard for my teeth. That protects the teeth. But after I got so ill, i started having TMJ. Several doctors didn't know what was wrong, duh.

SO, I went to an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. He knew right away. He had a compounding pharmacist give me a good cream for pain, etc. You rub it on. I don't really need it because the OTHER thing and MUCH better thing he did was give me the name and number of a gal that give TMJ massage! That is the key. Good massage from someone that knows how. I have been to her twice and I have more appts. this month. I am doing GREAT!!!!!

There are many reasons you can start having TMJ. It can all improve with good care but I wouldn't just sit around and wait like your doc. said. I also massage my own jaws at least once a day.

Oh, warm compress helps too. Advil regimine is great also for inflammation. Lots of great things you can do. There are exercises also.

 

[*GG*]

Check out this thread:

http://www.forums.aboutmecfs.org/showthread.php?7904-Exercise-Cure-for-TMJ&p=127282#post127282

I know you are in the UK, but I also use a Nightguard, perhaps you are grinding your teeth at night?, and try to remove the stress from your life.

GG

 

[slayadragon]

My jaw has been a mess for a long time. I had very severe TMJ at one point.

Very recently, I've been using a product called Rizols Gamma. It's designed to treat Lyme and co-infections.

This gave me such a deep and profound reaction, with so much going on in my jaw, that I've come to the conclusion that it's killing off something very bad that's been living in my jaw for years. I had a bunch of teeth dug out or pulled out a long time ago, and that kind of thing apparently becomes a niche where various bugs settle.

I've taken a whole lot of this stuff, and the die-off has been very intense. I wouldn't be able to do it if I weren't mostly well at this point. (I actually think the jaw thing is one of the problems that's keeping me from being really well.)

So other people might not be able to treat it.

Best, Lisa

 

[Wayne]

Very recently, I've been using a product called Rizols Gamma. It's designed to treat Lyme and co-infections.

This gave me such a deep and profound reaction, with so much going on in my jaw, that I've come to the conclusion that it's killing off something very bad that's been living in my jaw for years. I had a bunch of teeth dug out or pulled out a long time ago, and that kind of thing apparently becomes a niche where various bugs settle.

Thanks for posting about your experience with the Rizols Gamma Lisa. I too have both Lyme and lingering pain syndromes in my gum and jaw areas. I'll be following up on this product; thanks much.

Best, Wayne

 

[flamingo]

thanks for all the replies.

no doubt its at least partly stress related - im constantly worried about money and the future atm. ive tried pain killers which only dull the pain, hot compress which dulls the pain whilst its there, resting it and gently exercising it, eating soft foods/not eating a lot (because its so tiring to chew! and btw i am STARVING). hopefully one day ill be able to afford to get a mouthguard :S

slayadragon - what you said actually makes a little sense to me. about this time last year i had an infected gum around the wisdom tooth at the same side that is causing me problems. it was categorically THE worst pain i have ever been in, even more painful than this tmj issue now. i always had the feeling that as the pain spread outwards it was damaging the jaw, and when its cold i get pain in the part of the jaw bone that was 'damaged' (btw this part is not up by the joint, more towards the chin). i dont think the antibiotics cleared the problem up properly - like it got all the active bugs but left some behind somehow. the Rizols Gamma sounds interesting, just did a quick google search on it, but i seriously doubt my doc would recommend me using it :S and tbh it sounds scary!!

 

[Sallysblooms]

Have you looked for a great therapist to massage the jaw for TMJ. For me that is the best thing to do. My ENT told me about my massage therapist.

 

[lcollins64]

Flamingo,
I have TMJ and back in the 90's when I had insurance that would pay half, I went to a special orthodontist that put me first in what they call appliances that move your teeth, then braces and realigned my jaw. Also put me on the no sugar, no white products., etc, diet, no hard foods, no chewing gum. To this day, I still don't chew gum. But, ah, it did help, not that I can't say that I've never had a headache again,, argh, wish I could. I went because at that time i had a bad headache everyday for 3 months, with no relief. I know you can't afford all that right now; but a simple mouthguard to help you relax your jaw would probably help a lot. Try this: close your eyes and open your mouth slightly and and move your jaw into the most comfortable position until it feels its most relaxed. Umm...I'll have think of some more stuff. Hope some of that helps you!

 

[flamingo]

happy to say the pain is ebbing away i realised the other week that i was slowly clenching my jaw tighter throughout the day, and so every so often i decided to just open my mouth as wide as i could manage for a couple of seconds and then not close it tightly again. seems to have helped a lot

lcollins64,
i had the whole orthodontic ordeal about 10 years ago now (because of having big teeth and a small pallet my teeth were all over the place) had some removed, had the whole 'headgear' thing, fixed braces, and then a retainer. then the bottom retainer started to pop out on a night and eventually wouldnt fit back in. i went back to the orthodontists (by this time my orthodontist had left) and the woman i saw was really mean and said it was my fault for not wearing it and now my teeth had moved and i was told not to wear it anymore. my mum was really annoyed with them and got them to give me a bonded retainer (basically it is stuck onto the back of the teeth much in the same way as a fixed brace is fixed to the front) which had been on my original treatment plan but when my orthodontist left it was like they couldnt be bothered with me anymore.
anyway, i went back to the orthodontists a couple of years ago now (about 4 years after having the bonded retainer put on) because it came off of one of the teeth, and i expressed my concerns that my teeth were no longer meeting at the front and it was all getting a bit misaligned again. they dug out my patient file and did some measuring etc etc and discovered my jaw had grown quite a bit. and i was told that the only thing they could do about it was break my jaw and reset it to realign the teeth. to which of course i said hell no. and now i have 2 teeth on the left that meet and non on the right that meet. no doubt it is causing me problems, probably even headaches like you mentioned but i cant afford to do anything about it because alas i live in the UK and as much as we supposedly have an nhs, they still charge for dentistry. and im broke from having so much time off sick from work :S

ramble over! :S