tee em jay
smart people have said it before.
but if you want to hear it from a not so smart one like me, let me say it again…
if you feel anything out of the ordinary, uncomfortable enough to let you drag your heavy behind to the clinic, and you were diagnosed with something you either know or clueless about..
do not,
i repeat, DO NOT google your diagnosis.
i do not want you to end up thinking about the horrors of unsuccessful surgery, when you know quite well that the future is not in your hands.
i already googled TMJ disorder. and i’m already overwhelmed with paranoia, thinking of the possible worst case scenarios.
next time, remind me to be smarter, okay?
for the mean time, any personal or personally known story to convince me that i will not end up in the OR with this will be very much appreciated. and also, tips from those of you who know something about surviving this thing gracefully, i am desperate for suggestions, because the pain and discomfort are literally getting on my nerves on and off.
thanks.
I have TMJ. Diagnosed when my jaw locked and I couldn’t get it open without the help of a doctor.
I had my wisdom teeth removed and stopped chewing gum and it helped. I still get achy when I have my mouth open for long periods of time or if I for whatever reason forget and chew gum then it gets sore.
I don’t think they do surgery anymore to correct it. Just like everything else-relieve the symptoms. Oh yeah, I stopped eating red meat if it wasn’t real tender.
Hope that helps, and good luck!
Comment by kimmyk — July 31, 2006 @ 7:10 pm
I discovered that my TMJ flare-ups were because I was grinding my teeth at night while I was asleep. Get a bite guard and sleep with it for a while and see if it gets better.
Comment by Janet — July 31, 2006 @ 7:58 pm
ditto for me, the bite guard at night really helped.
Comment by rnrealnurse — July 31, 2006 @ 11:04 pm
I bought a bite guard about 6 months ago. It was the best $700 I ever spent. I sleep like a baby and my jaw doesn’t hurt anymore.
Mother Jones RN
Comment by Mother Jones RN — August 1, 2006 @ 6:11 pm
Thank goodness they still do not have names for the various psychological disorders from which I occasionally suffer, but from which I also routinely benefit.
“Madness” I suppose is the general, though medically unspecified
catch-all term.
It’s all good.
Comment by shrimplate — August 1, 2006 @ 8:18 pm
kimmy, janet, realnurse,mother jones…thanks. i am taking NSAID at themoment and will go back to the dentist if the pain is worse. then, the bite guard. i am actually better after just 2 days…
shrimplate…i say madness is self diagnosed and a fancy name is uncalled for
Comment by may — August 2, 2006 @ 7:23 am
I SO agree with the “whatever you do, DON’T google it” philosophy. Googling TMJ when I was experiencing the height of my TMJ pain was reduced me to tears several times.
Thankfully, my troubles are not as dire as I feared (in fact some of the pain might be due to something else, although I do definitely have TMJ), and the pain tends to come and go. What bugs me most is the clicking popping and my occasional obsession with engaging in these activities in public.
I’m lucky cuz I live in Boston and Tufts Dental School has a TMJ clinic in their Craniofacial Pain Center. The specialists there did some electromyograms to confirm where the jaw misalignment was that was giving me problems. They fitted me with two bite plates, one for night (upper) and one for day (lower). The day plate was to help position my jaw differently, so that at rest it’s in a position that it doesn’t crack (as much) every time I open it. The night one was mainly to protect against the grinding, but also somewhat to hold the jaw in the “better” place while I slept.
These plates did help, and after a year or so I gradually stopped using them. Now my jaw naturally rests in the more forward position where it cracks less, and when it slips into the clicky position I know where to move it to lessen the clicks. I do sometimes backslide, though, and indulge in the clicking for long periods, so maybe I will need to go back to using the plates temporarily.
I would definitely suggest that if you can find a TMJ specialist in your area, go see him or her. While I did get a bite guard from a general dentist when I was first diagnosed ~10 years ago, it was only for the purpose of protecting from the night grinding, which while important isn’t necessarily the whole picture. The specialist is the one who evaluated my need for the repositioning plate (we are not talking drastic repositioning, which I’ve read is not a good idea), fitted me for it, and did all the periodic adjustments during the time I was wearing it (to save me from getting headaches from the device, etc). Obviously, you may not need all of this, but a specialist — an honest one, anyway — will be able to evaluate your needs best.
Comment by Chantelle — August 3, 2006 @ 7:02 am
Yes, I always start twitching when patients show up in the office stating “I looked this up on the internet” (though I must admit I am guilty of the same crime!)
Comment by Lisa — August 3, 2006 @ 5:37 pm
My coworker’s husband had surgery at UCLA for that condition. It was a long recovery period, but now he’s perfectly fine. Surgery is not the worst thing that can happen to you.
Comment by Melissa — August 4, 2006 @ 6:56 pm
[…] heartfelt thanks to all. first, for your suggestions on my now better TMJ, after a few days of 500 mg Naproxen twice a day. the discomfort is still there, but the paranoia is lesser. second, for the responses on my last post. what i gathered from all of you is that…being polite does not hurt when it comes to responding to comments and on deciding who, and who not to link. at the end of the day, it’s my blog, and i can do whatever i want to do with it. so, i decide to try be polite as much as i can. if in any way you find me doing otherwise, it won’t hurt if you let me know. right? […]
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