Tmj ?

[HuskyPup]

Anyone suffer from this? I have a ton of pain/stiffness issues stemming from this, have spent a fortune trtying to get it treated, and am still in very bad pain much of the time. Now I have a pile of me4dical bills, and still, a lot of pain. This has often been a huge trigger for drinking: it does numb facial pain. Was wondering if there's anyone else out there with TMJ.

[Sugah]

Sug raises her hand...

Yup. I went to the dentist today for a cleaning, and my jaw is throbbing right now from holding my mouth open so long.

Have you tried wearing a mouth guard at night? My former dentist made me one at no charge (likely because he was a friend -- but I can't imagine they'd be expensive). It fit over my top teeth and kept me from grinding at night in my sleep. That relieved a lot of the pain.

Relaxation exercises are also helpful. I no longer chew gum or eat chewy candy. I also gave up meat a few years ago -- and not surprisingly, I have a lot less pain now that I don't spend so much time chewing.

Though the drinking may relieve the pain while you're awake, I'd suspect that you grind your teeth as much or more when you're sleeping -- and hangovers are hell on it from what I remember. Drinking and trying not to drink also increased my levels of stress. I had to learn how not to need to drink before things got better.

Peace & Love,
Sugah

[hydrogirl]

Yeah, me too. My jaw pops and clicks all the time. I clench my teeth at night (but I don't grind, thankfully). I used to have this fancy custom-made bite guard for night. You could probably try the over-the-counter ones you can boil in water and then sort of mold to your teeth. Advil seems to work well for me. Sometimes one of those microwave heat packs works well, too.

Good luck!!!! HG

[Done_With_It]

Yup, another one here with it. Had it forever. In High School it was so bad my jaw would lock. At one point the dentists were advising to do some surgery that involved breaking it, my parents were like UH NOOOO.

I had one of those fancy things but never used it, lost it when I was younger. I've bought the wrestler guards they work just as well imo.

What has worked the best has been learning how to control my stress. I carry all my stress in my head I've learned, lol, so when I'm stressed one of the many things I do is grind.....

[evmdimples]

Chiropractic adjustments. In my case, TMJ is caused by a misalignment of the bones in the neck/jaw area. Most chiropractors have a decent rate for the uninsured, ab. $30-40 per visit. This has worked every time my neck/jaw has gone out of whack.

[Live]

Agree with above, chiropractic treatment has been most effective to me.
I also practiced and learned to hold my mouth differently...I slip the tip of my tongue between my upper and lower teeth, this loosens the lower jaw and moves it forward.
STRESS....that is the biggie. It is also my stress-o-meter. Have learned to do self acupressure and massage. Do not chew gum etc. Avoid caffeine. Get enough sleep.
It rarely bothers me at all anymore and I used to consider a good day was the rare one when I did not wake up with a headache.
I didn't grind teeth at night, so it does sound like a mouth guard would be helpful.
Initially I was put on strong drugs...phewey..I had small children and the drugs (medicine) zonked me out..not an option....and certainly no cure!

[greysparkey]

I too have severe TMJ. I just spent $1500 on a specialist and he constructed a nightime and daytime splint. I also went to a physcial therapist who specializes in TMJ. There are certain medications that my be helpful, but that is between you and the doctor. I do a lot of stress management tecniques since stress aggravates the pain. Good luck.
Mary Jo

[HuskyPup]

What has been hard for me, is I can't afford treatment. I have about $14,000 in old medical/dental bills from the era of having no insurance, and now am now getting my wages garnished as a result....so has been about impossible to get any help for the TMJ. Dental schools won't do anything for it, and can't find anyplace that doesn't want like $250 just to walk in the door. Hard to have this, and also be poor. Not sure what to do. Have tried various stop-gap measures, el-cheapo bite guards, just use them as chew toys, still seem to put just as much pressure on my jaw when I sleep regardless of what's in my mouth. Not much seems to help a whole lot that's in easy reach; have adjused diet, don't chew gum.....I guess also all the stress over worrying about keeping a roof over my herad has been hard, have not weathered the recession well, am really one 'disaster' away from having no place to call my own. I can usually shrug a lot of things off, and not worry, but this has been tough, and just seems to keep feeding the cycle.

Wish I could find help, spent the day looking for TMJ specialists, none are in my crappy dental plan, all are a fortune.....

Arg, this sucks. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemies.

[endzoner]

Maxofeioglist ... now i know i didnt spell that correct , but there specialest in TMJ .. I have it really bad as well there not many teeth left in my mouth but what is there i do grind or more like clamp down . yrs of dental work since childhood has resulted in zippo help . From grinding /biting dwon Ive created excess bone in my jaw and in order to get dentures I have to have extencive oral surgery . " joy " so that the dentures will fit in my mouth . or its just a waste other wise , and the starting price is 10g's just for the surgery . but one day .. one day ill get there mean while its just do what I can , some days are worse then others . hope you find some professional help on it , its out there just gotta get to where it is ..

[cmc]

I used to have it. All of the above applied to me re the stress and proper alignment---especially in the neck, collarbone area and spiraling down from there into my back.

I went to an osteopathic physician who used manipulation on my entire jaw area...inside the mouth along with the usual face and neck work I had done there. I would hurt for a few days after treatment.

I had some strict guidelines for awhile after my treatments...no gum chewing and while healing I was not allowed to open my mouth any wider than needed to use a spoon or fork. That was tuff because I was a singing alot back then and had to quit until it got better.

If I remember correctly I had no more than three sessions and maybe two check ups afterwards. I always had massage therapy done in the office prior to seeing the doc.

Once in awhile I might start up with some tension there, but I can usually use mild stretching techniques for it; and I've learned to relax and let go of stuff better than I used to do which helps alot in a physical sense.

[funma]

I too have TMJ and it hardly bothers me. I have the popping in and out at times when I eat and my muscles are really sore along my jawbone.
I also have TN and for a long time I wasnt diagnosed correctly because they tried to blame it on my tmj.
My chiro hasnt said that tmj and an alighnment go hand and hand...
I too had a night guard made and they are expensive (350) and it made my jaw pain worse.
Good luck to you and I did want to mention one more thing; If you have hospital bills you need to call them and ask for a write off or some financial aid and thats how I pay my hospital bills. You can also check the doctor offices.
Good luck