my story

[patti28]

in 2002 i was told i had tmj it didnt hurt i had perfect teeth so i didnt pay much att to it .not to long latter i started to feel pain on both sides of my jaw and my jaw would pop once in a while so i went to my docter he said his jaw pops to he showed me his and said see this doesnt hurt made me feel as if i was imageing this pain i was haveing after alll the doc said itsnotsuposed to hurt.the pain wasnt there very often anyways so i went on a couple more years with a flare up every few months. until in 2005 i woke up with my face swallon ears hurting i could bearly hear my jaw line on both sides hurting my mouth wouldnt open i stayed this way for about 2 weeks so i went to 3 different denist to in which work with tmj they said i had a6mm open bite and needed mandidibular surgeryto correct open bite and restablish normal occlusal and informed me my insurence wouldnt pay for it so i was walkin out of his office in tears depreessed scared not knowing what to do were to turn all i knew was i was in pain.but what can i do just get on with my life contine to work and try to save money so maybe one of this dentist will help findly in 2006 i went to another denist he also said i need double jaw surgy but in the mean time he could make me a splint so i gave him every penny i had in hope the split would make me better.but it only made me worse i took a lower pay at work i was a cna workin agnecy in nursing homes &hospitals i was missing to much work because each night i would work all the lifting just made me worse.so i started doing home care doing home care which is less lifting il ive day to day in servere pain dizzy & trying to raise 2 kids with less pay i cant pay for an help

[GoodThings]

Hi,
Sorry to hear that you're going through this. Do not listen to the OS. You don't need surgery. It will most likely make you worse. Understand that tmj is basically a dislocation of the tm joints. Putting the joints back to where it should be will fix this problem. Try splint therapy first. It's totally reversible.

GT

[Essare]

Hang in there, Patti. You have been suffering too long - I hope that you can find help. I know many people have been helped by splints, and others not so much. Let us know what area you are in - maybe someone can recommend a good specialist. But then the treatment is probably not covered - this condition/disease is such a nightmare. It's got to be so tough being in pain while raising kids.

Looks like I'm no help at all. It just makes me so angry that

1) there is no official medical "specialty" in the jaw joint
2) tmj is usually not covered under medical or dental (unlike any other joint in the body!)

We need an International TMJD patient revolt day, to bring attention to people like you, Patti.

S.

[Thelma-Louise]

Originally Posted by Of The Woods

Hang in there, Patti. You have been suffering too long - I hope that you can find help. I know many people have been helped by splints, and others not so much. Let us know what area you are in - maybe someone can recommend a good specialist. But then the treatment is probably not covered - this condition/disease is such a nightmare. It's got to be so tough being in pain while raising kids.

Looks like I'm no help at all. It just makes me so angry that

1) there is no official medical "specialty" in the jaw joint
2) tmj is usually not covered under medical or dental (unlike any other joint in the body!)

We need an International TMJD patient revolt day, to bring attention to people like you, Patti.



S.

I get news letters from the Nat'l Org of TMJ and they are lobbying for exactly what you stated - many states now mandate or legislate that medical health insurance cos in their state recognize tmj as a medical condition - some ins companies have done this on their own - but it usually only covers phase I which is testing, orthotics and therapies to treat symtpoms - once you go into Phase II to ensure the tmj is resolved for good (crowns, braces, etc) it becomes dental again - which I feel is so wrong.

Patti - I am so sorry you are going through this - I haven't been able to work since my tmj started so I know what you are going through and I DON'T have kids to worry about - just me. You may want to look into partial disability benefits. Also, surgery is not the only option - splints can help, but you need to find the right tmj dr who knows what he is doing. I went to so many drs my first yr and got so many different recommendations that did not agree with the other that I was very distraught and actually went along with some treatments just out of despair that made things worse. So don't give up hope - check out the Great tmj dr thread posted and start searching the web for specialists in your area.

[patti28]

Originally Posted by Thelma-Louise

I get news letters from the Nat'l Org of TMJ and they are lobbying for exactly what you stated - many states now mandate or legislate that medical health insurance cos in their state recognize tmj as a medical condition - some ins companies have done this on their own - but it usually only covers phase I which is testing, orthotics and therapies to treat symtpoms - once you go into Phase II to ensure the tmj is resolved for good (crowns, braces, etc) it becomes dental again - which I feel is so wrong.

Patti - I am so sorry you are going through this - I haven't been able to work since my tmj started so I know what you are going through and I DON'T have kids to worry about - just me. You may want to look into partial disability benefits. Also, surgery is not the only option - splints can help, but you need to find the right tmj dr who knows what he is doing. I went to so many drs my first yr and got so many different recommendations that did not agree with the other that I was very distraught and actually went along with some treatments just out of despair that made things worse. So don't give up hope - check out the Great tmj dr thread posted and start searching the web for specialists in your area.

how do i go about getting those news letter and thank you all for your replys