Just got a split but still having headaches & pain - TMJ Disorder -TemporoMandibular Joint Message Board

nynavey · 08-15-2008, 11:05 AM

I'm new to this board, and new to a TMJ diagnosis. Two days ago, I was fitted with a hard acrylic appliance to keep my lower jaw in a correct position. Yesterday, day 1, I was fine and feeling pretty good. But today I woke up with a headache and jaw pain, and both have been getting steadily worse. Upon rising, my jaws were aching like mad, just about like my worst day without the nighttime appliance. I felt like I'd been clenching down on the appliance during my sleep, but I have no way of knowing.

I'm struggling to find my natural position, and to not clench down on the daytime appliance. But my real question is how long will it take to start feeling the benefits of this, if I'm going to feel them at all? The doctor's office made it sound like I should start feeling something very early on. But I didn't expect my symptoms to get worse before improving. Has anyone else experienced this? And what do you do to make your transition with an appliance in your mouth 24/7 easier to handle?

Thanks in advance. A newbie.

MissHeadache · 08-18-2008, 01:41 AM

When I first got my splint, I was in awful pain for the first two days with it, worse than without. It does take a while (a month or so) to get used to having to eat with it in and wearing it 24/7 but believe me that soon it will just feel like a part of your mouth. I'm 6 months into my treatment and can now eat almost anything except for things like crusty bread and steaks. Your mouth will take a while to find its correct place too and this will alter every time you have it adjusted. It took me 3 months of treatment before I found my pain beginning to go, in those three months I was terrified that I would never feel better and was wasting my money, but then suddenly over the space of a week I was suddenly not taking painkillers, I was going to work and not wanting to leave at lunch time, I was feeling sociable again, it was amazing the sudden change. Everyone's mouth is differernt and a "one size fits all" approach doesn't work - if after a couple of weeks there is no change, go back and get it adjusted again. There is a lot of trial and error involved in finding the right height for your splint, but once you do you should notice a big difference. When you've got it right it will need building up again every month or so as you will wear it down a little by eating, clenching/grinding and you may find you start to feel worse again, but the adjustment should fix this. For now, stick to soft foods like soup, mashed potato, minced meat etc and try to keep relaxed, you just have to let your body adjust, there is not much you can do to help it. This is not a quickly fixable illness so hang in there and let us know how you get on. Good luck.

temera2 · 08-18-2008, 02:04 AM

Miss Headache,

I would just like to say youre response is a brilliant one and completely true..

nynavey i was just wondering... what other symptoms do you have apart from the headache? Do you get earaches...

I am 3.5 months into my lower splint and 5 weeks into upper but seriously theres nothing you can do but wait... my jaw is also aching like hell.. for the time being sleep with a heatpac...

Do you get achey jaws with sharp tinges off earaches???.. thats what im getting.. i was doing brilliant for 3 weeks them BAM theyre back..but let me know what you have...eg. displaced jaw disk.. etc.

Thinking of you...gosh i hate TMJ

nynavey · 08-19-2008, 06:56 AM

Thanks so much for the feedback!

To answer, I have displaced disks on both sides, and the joint on my right side is pretty much right in the socket (I don't know the term) with no breathing room all of the time. X-rays show the ball of the jawbone has taken the shape of the socket and I hear occasional grinding on that side. Not much in the way of earaches, sometimes a sharp pain in the ears, but more stuffiness and itching feeling (I also have allergies that I'm getting immunotherapy for). My biggest complaint has been headaches that felt like they were behind or above my eyes.

The quest to find an answer to migraines is what brought me to the dentist in the first place, by way of my ENT who noticed during an ultrasound examination how much my throat and ear structures changed when my lower jaw was manipulated forward. There is hope that my sleep apnea will improve too - as losing weight has not made a dent in it.

It's been 6 days with this lower splint and things are getting better. I had that terrible headache just like old times when I posted previously, but the next day I woke up with ZERO headache or brain fog - very unusual for me. Day 2, muscles deep under the jaw as it joins the neck were so incredible sore and tight - felt like marbles to the touch. But by day 3, they felt less so. Still sore by the end of the day though. I can now touch the front and back of my neck and shoulders with relatively little pain. It was always bearable, but now I am starting to realize how much tension and pain I've been carrying around without realizing. I wear a nighttime appliance also, and that is not comfortable and I am struggling with it. I think I'm clenching it as I sleep, but it's very tight and if it doesn't get better soon I'll have to go back and get it adjusted. I'm doing heat therapy in the mornings and at night, but not for very long.

Can anyone recommend a good microwaveable heating pad that holds heat a long time? Something I can wrap/velcro around my head so I can heat both sides at once?

It's encouraging to know these things will get adjusted frequently (I go back to the doc monthly) because my new bite is becoming easier to handle, but it still doesn't feel 'right'. It still feels too far back, even though it's way better than my natural bite.

Thanks so much for the info. I will continue to read here and learn from others who have gone before me.

temera2 · 08-20-2008, 12:59 AM

Dearest NY navy,

Thank you for you responses to me and my other threads.. you are doing wonderful..

the monthly adjustments are crucial for your wellbeing.. i only use a heatpac at night, i cant explain how it looks but its the ordinary ones you get from k-mart.. i leave it in there for 4 minutes and lightly place it on my jaws ... i used to have both on but im trying to wean myself of using it all the time.. i have used the heatpacs religiously for 1 year and a half .. ever since my tmj nightmare began! ( i had it also throughout 2002-2004 but it disappeared completely on its own and returned with a vengeance in 2007 - present)....

I have both a upper and lower splint... please keep me updated how you are progressing.. i cant wait until you tell me you're doing perfect.. because you will.. just takes SO SO much patience.. i have seem to relapsed.. i just visited the chiro and although my ears are still annoying an d painful he helped fix my neck and everything..

I understand how you feel about your bite, let your dentist know asap..

Are you waiting for your disk to slip back into place.. i am waiting too... We'll get there.. thinking of you.. you have us here all the time whenever you need

God Bless

P.s Try sleeping on your back, and ask your dentist if fish oil supplements and magnesium vitamins are good for you to take.. i take them .. they speed up your recovery, i also see chiro and a podiatrist..