I have been suffering from tmj for almost 15 years now. I usually just end up taking lots of ibuprofen and tylenol, and when it gets really bad, something like vicoden.

I'm trying to stay away from medication of any kind. I take so much I know it has to be messing me up.

I've been having a bad tmj episode that's been lasting about 2 months now. I get these long-lasting episodes about once every year. This one isn't so bad, only moderate pain, but it's almost constant. I'm only getting a few minutes to a couple of hours of relief on any particular day.

I don't have insurance, and I can't aford medical care right now. I can't even hold down a job, and haven't been able to for a few years now, mostly due to tmj pain. I would like to try something like massage, accupuncture, accupressure, or some other form of pain control. I cant afford to try those, so I'm thinking of possibly trying meditation, or even self-hypnosis, as these would be free methods.

I guess what I'm asking is if anyone has had any luck with either of these things for pain control, or any other methods like this? Any advice would be helpful.