Isew4work

HI Everyone on here. I used to post alot but lately I just read. I have tried to keep track on how you are all doing. I have been trying to take the "don't think about tmj all the time" approach, and for me it seems to help out, a bit anyway.

Here is where I am in the treatment process. I first went to a regular dentist who had specialized in tmj. He gave me an upper splint which I wore at night for about two years. When that did not help he prescribed I go to an oral surgeon who did a procedure called Arthrocentesis. It made me worse, to the point of locking up all the time. Then my two doctors agreed that I needed more surgery. At that point I got scared and started reading and posting on hee. Thankfully, from reading on here and much deliberation I left those doctors and sought treatment from a Neuromuscular Oral Surgeon. He still preforms regular oral surgeries but does not do jaw surgeries, does not believe they are a successful choice in treating tmj.

Well, now I am almost 6 months into treatment wiht the Neuromuscular approach. I have spent about $2,000.00 on my jaw and I am not feeling even close to getting better yet. My muscular problem is all cleared up, thankfully, due to the tens machine I purchased. My bite is moved forward from the splint that I now wear, and it does feel better on a muscular scale, but here's the thing. My jaw still aches. It hurts like a mild headache most of the time right in my two joints. My Doc told me I am a pretty severe case of tmj and I still need to go through 2 more years of braces at least. I just called the orthodontist who my doctor suggested, one who has studied the jaw in full. Now I hear that it is going to cost me over $6,000.00 more to get the braces on, but they cannot promise that it will enlarge my upper jaw enough to get rid of the tmj. Man, where does this end??? I am getting discouraged. Just wanted to see if any of you feel the same way.

ps, I met a lady at the Dr. office last week who told me she really hoped what she had was tmj so that she could finaly get rid of the headaches. I just smiled because I could not tell her what a long drawn out process this whole deal is.


Thanks for taking time to read this very long post.
Mary