[technigal]

Hoping you are feeling a bit better. I can tell you that it does get better and it can really help. When I started I was having treatments 3 times a week. Now I go every few months if I start to have issues.

[HALLIEBETH87]

Well he wants me to come back Wed so Im not sure how often he wants me to come yet. But let me tell...woo...it sure does hurt.

[(JD)]

I know "all" about TMD. I got it from the disabling accident 28 years ago when my jaw was knocked off both hinges...

the night guard will help keep you from grinding your teeth down...so wear it... even if it's just a sport's mouthpiece (though one you can heat and conform to your teeth is better).

Psychotherapy can help also, allowing you to handle anxiety better so your grinding (bruxism) is minimal..and the tightness in neck etc reduces or relieves.

Yes, physical therapy helps reduce the knots in your muscles, which should minimize the jaw spasms. You need to treat it..it doesn't get better on it's own, and worsening you will need jaw surgery in the future... treat it... find a doctor or clinic with sliding scale etc. but treat it!

[HALLIEBETH87]

Yay! The chiropractor didn't hurt as much today!! And, I do not feel sore afterward!

Right now the plan is to see him 3 times a week for 4 week then decrease it one visit every 4 weeks until i see him once a month for two months. He said this can change anytime according to how things are going. He asked if I was sore last time and I said oh yeah! He said "Good, that means we did something!" I will also be doing the electrotherapy everytime I go too. Im excited that it didn't hurt as much this time! lol

[technigal]

Originally Posted by HALLIEBETH87

Yay! The chiropractor didn't hurt as much today!! And, I do not feel sore afterward!

Right now the plan is to see him 3 times a week for 4 week then decrease it one visit every 4 weeks until i see him once a month for two months. He said this can change anytime according to how things are going. He asked if I was sore last time and I said oh yeah! He said "Good, that means we did something!" I will also be doing the electrotherapy everytime I go too. Im excited that it didn't hurt as much this time! lol

Told you

I am very happy that it did not hurt as much today, you should see steady progress.

[HALLIEBETH87]

Yay! I cant believe it already doesn't hurt right now. I know you never can tell when it will! But since its been hurting every single day in some manner (ears, head or jaw etc) for at least two weeks...IM SO HAPPY!

[technigal]

How is the jaw today?

[HALLIEBETH87]

Popping!

[HALLIEBETH87]

So I felt GREAT and was doing GREAT.....out with a friend and she wants ice cream. I get some. It has nuts on it. No my ears have shooting pains, jaw hurts and my ears feel full of pressure. That quick. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!

[HALLIEBETH87]

Pain today. :/ Pain. Always pain. It was gone for a few days anyway.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I saw chiropractor today and told him how this week has sucked with TMJ. He started all the adjustments and massaging on jaw and boy it hurt and he was like yep I can see why. The TENS thing helped a bit but it makes my eye and lip twitch lol

[technigal]

It takes time for the treatments to work. Sorry you had such a rough week.

Yesterday my tmj was really acting up. Spent a night using my night guard and things are better today.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I used mine too and its a bit better but Ive been anxious and I feel it starting to tense up. Its hard to stop myself throughout the day!

[technigal]

There are days where I wear mine during the day.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I bet itd help me if I had one

[technigal]

Originally Posted by HALLIEBETH87

I bet itd help me if I had one

Probably.

I had a dentist appointment for a cleaning today. OUCH, OUCH, OUCH!!! We took breaks to rest my jaw but ugh!

[HALLIEBETH87]

I go to the dentist on FRiday. dreading it!

[HALLIEBETH87]

its popping again tonight!!

[Verity81]

My tmj has deff improved since using the guard but it can take a few months.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HALLIEBETH87]

I am still using my store brought guard but have been seeing the chiropractor. The master herbalist there has suggested I try a vitamin/herb blend pill called Nutricalm but I cant afford it...$30. She also said to try calcium magnesium pill. I bought it today and have been researching it on the web. Apparently it has helped A LOT of people.

Magnesium Has Helped Me- Tmj Pain Is Gone! page 2 - TMJ Forum - eHealthForum

check that website. hopefully that works. it has a lot of people posting on their experience taking it. I would check with drug interactions before taking it though.

[dontstopbelieving]

I've had TMJ for about 4 years now. Lots of clicking and popping at first, and my jaw has been completely locked up at around 22mm since last July. Tried physical therapy, heat therapy, bite splint, everything but surgery to fix it.

Some days I wake up in so much pain that I can barely handle it. It's been getting a lot worse lately.

Just had an MRI done that says I have degenerative disc disease in the jaw. My only remaining options seem to be surgery. Does anyone else have this? Any ideas for solutions? Everything I've read says to avoid the surgery at all costs, which is also what my oral surgeon told me. I just want the pain to stop!

[HALLIEBETH87]

Annnnnnnd the popping has begun again! Dang! I thought it was getting better!

[slummerville]

Keep in mind TMD is a chronic pain condition -- You can't be getting treatments for it and eating nuts, etc meanwhile. Any hard food such as nuts or tough, chewy bread (bagels come to mind) or large sandwiches you have to open wide for will cause a complete flair up of pain. I stopped chewing gum and have been on a soft food diet for years. If I were to eat a bagel, I would have a swollen bloody lip from the lateral deviation of the disc.

Also, a popping sound is normal in most people whether or not that have TMD symptoms. The pop sound may be around forever -- don't let that be indicative of your progress. Continue the soft food diet for at least a month. Then try something and see if your symptoms flair up.

My TMD started from a traumatic injury.. I didn't get treatment for the jaw right away but 4 years later I am. I have been going to physical therapy a few times a week for about 2 months. In addition to working on my lock jaw/mouth opening/jaw pain, we are working on my posture because the stress on your back and neck with unload stress onto your jaw joints if your posture is off due to uneven stress on your neck and back.

About TMD surgery -- I think there are some that are minimally invasive such as the arthroscopy procedures to just wash the joint out. They do fat graft ones as well to beef up the disc and joint a little more to prevent arthritis. Much of the reason that jaw surgery is a bad idea is because of the recovery -- it's nearly impossible to restrict your jaw after surgery as you need it to eat, drink, and talk. I think the only procedure they will still wire your jaw after is called a Leforte, but I could be wrong.

TMD really sucks. I would take an aleve before the chiropractor and ice for 20 minutes after to reduce residual pain and soreness.

[(JD)]

Everyone:

Avoid surgery at all costs???? No way.
Botched wisdom teeth extraction? YES that occurs and my oral surgeon would not allow anyone else to extract my wisdom teeth but him, to keep my tmjs adjusted... yes physical therapy and jaw exercises are a must...

If you have tried everything and it hasn't solved the problem...

You obviously need surgery... and the longer you wait the more involved it will be and the longer the recovery because you've developed bad habits trying to counter it.

I know... I had to wait 2 years for the disability insurance to authorize and pay for my bilateral TMJ surgeries.

BUT I went to the best in the world (he travelled to train other surgeons around the world)...

AND I DID EVERYTHING TO THE LETTER before and after the surgery.

That's important to follow the "rules" as most people who have TMJ surgery have to have it two or three times BECAUSE THEY DON"T LISTEN AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS.

The instructions are limiting but not difficult: don't chew tough meat, don't eat nuts, don't chew bread crust (anything that "springs back" essentially), DO your jaw exercises, work on good posture, wear your splint when you're supposed to, learn to deal with your stress (so you don't grind your teeth)

etc.

BUT I followed all the instructions, and am careful today still (and I can now eat meat, nuts, etc in moderation) AND I have NOT had to have any more surgeries for TMD in over 25 years!

Yes, you can do something to limit the pain---the TENS works great on the tmjs--but it doesn't solve the problem. If you continue to exacerbate the TMJ problem of disk wear, you also wear off your teeth and then have to have crowns or veneers (like I have) which is very expensive...and if you don't then you have failing health because you can't eat right anyway.

Please PM me and I will give you the name of my oral surgeon and they probably will give you the name of a respectable oral surgeon in your area that you can trust to do the very best work for you!

Don't delay, you deserve to live without this problem!

[slummerville]

Agree with the above poster. Actually, many joint surgeries are unsuccessful in patients because they do not strictly adhere to the restrictions for the given amount of time for recovery. It's even worse with TMJs because the joint is so complex and hard to restrict that the outcome can be disastrous if not properly rehabbed post surgery.