I've written a few times and was looking for answers on a few specific symptoms. When the pain comes (every 5-6 hours if not popping advil or tylenol) it's usually my left ear, left masseter muscle (jaw) and then my teeth, all on the left side, get very sore and hurt. The quesiton I have is sometimes my throat hurts - and hurts only towards the left side - and directly under my jaw line hurts. When it hurts, this area looks swollen. Does this sound like TMJ as well...the throat and jaw line issue?
Aaron,
Sorry this didn't get addressed before hand. But the sore throat and jawline pain are absolute symptoms of tmj! Sometimes I get what almost feel like egg size lumps in my throat, but there is really nothing there. I have also had very swollen glands all in my neck area without any illness from tmj. My dentist explained the sore throat comes from deep nerve irritation and it inflames nerves all around the tmj. As far as the swollen glands he said they come from trying to constantly fight off inflammation in that area and they fill with lymphatic fluid. The egg lumps I feel in my throat are due to muscle tightness and spasms. I have been to every ent/oral surgeon in the area trying to get allt his dianosed and this new dentist I happened upon, he knew right away what I was dealing with!
Good luck Aaron! Oh yeah, how was the wedding?
Karen
Hi Karen and thanks for the reply...The wedding was very nice.
I just want to thank you for replying and talking with me. the TMJ specialist I've seen has been practicing for over 25 years and he said he was fully confident of what I'm going through and that it was TMJ issue due to teeth grinding. It's just so frusterating as the pain always comes back, every 5-6 hours after taking Ibuprofen. Sometimes the pain will not come back for 10-12 hours but it always does. I guess I should see this as improvements as the first couple of weeks it was every 4 hours, on the nose. Hopefully I'll get better soon. This is so depressing.
Aaron,
I know it is depressing, but I am glad you are getting in with a dentist now. Hopefully he can keep you from it escalating to the point of where some of us are, myself included.
One thing, if you are taking alot of over the counter meds, you might see if your dentist will prescribe you something a little stronger so you are in turn not recking havoc on your stomach! Sometimes as little as one pain pill a day or a good muscle relaxer will do the trick. When I first got in with the dentist I am seeing now, I was taking 3 ibuprofen every 4 hours, 4 Toradol a day ( very dangerous med ) and tylenol in between. He said he would rather me take the strong pain med and a muscle relaxer and myself down to 4 pills a day rather than the 16+ I was ingesting, see what he thinks if you are still taking alot of them.
Karen
hi karen. well, the Dr did give me Bextra Valdecoxib for pain (it's like Vioxx i guess). I've been taking a muscle relaxer at night for 10 days now. The Bextra only seems to last about 8 hrs. I've been taking the bextra and flexeril at night, which has allowed me to sleep. it's weird, sometimes i can go 10 hours without having to take more ibuprofen. lately it seems i've been taking abiout 9 ibuprofen/day which is not too bad i guess. i've onyl been doing this for 3 1/2 - 4 weeks. hopefully that's not too bad for my stomach.
any idea how long you are allowed/supposed to stay on flexeril? i only have 5 pills left.
feelines,
Toradol, is a medication used to relieve inflammation due to a surgery site. It is usually only prescribed for a 5 day interval. It is VERY hard on the kidneys and liver which is why it is only to be taken for a few days. I took it for 3 weeks, at the time I didn't care about my liver! You are right, it does take that pain away!
Karen
I had all those symptoms too, it wasn't like a sore throat from an infection, the soft tissue just beyond the roof of the mouth actually was sore, at the time I thought I had a sore throat, but it was more like sore tissue. Mine was always on the right side & most tmj sufferers have it on one side more than the other.
Here are a few tips to releave the pain & prevent it. Do not chew gum, do not eat things hard to chew, do not pop your jaw, from side to side, I did, it was a nervous thing & I think that made it much worse, also do not grit your teeth, I did when I was stressed. It took a long time to break these habits & sometimes I go back to them unconciously & the pain is right back. Here's a little exercise you can do when the pain is bad. Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth right behind your front teeth, let the lower jaw drop & relax, you can do this thru out the day, it actually helps me get rid of headaches from tmj. Hope some of this helps.
TMJ symptom question 
