I am a little over a year post TMJR and remain in a great deal of pain. But, it is a different kind of pain than before surgery. Of course the bone ache is gone, and now it is more of a sharp pain, along with muscle tension and soreness.
I tried Neurontin for 9 months and got pretty good relief but I stopped it due to side effects. I am now on Lyrica, which is not nearly as effective. I've tried Calmare, sort of like a TENs unit but it didn't help. I remain on strong narcotics- Dilaudid- which provides some relief, although I would love to get off it.
I also have been going to PT for months, which has made the pain worse. My therapist said there are a lot of knots in the muscles, which he said he can't help, and that I need injections to fix that. I've scheduled to do this in a couple weeks...
Does anyone else have suggestions? I really don't want to be on any medication as a solution- I'm 25 and want to have kids someday!!
I've read some about nerve surgeries that are done for trigeminal neuralgia patients, although I don't know how effective they would be in this case?
I had TJR on both sides just over a year ago, the pain is more musclar and nerve regeneration now. I was lucky not to have alot of pain post op. I know my Doc. always said moist heat for muscles and ice for nerves. Never have injections in the face after replacement.
The Following User Says Thank You to Karenakm For This Useful Post: navymid (09-05-2012)
I had the same problem that you currently have, and had to have a second surgery - it turned out the problem was not a neuroma, but a giant cell foreign body reaction found in all of the scar tissue that I had produced from the replacement. It's now be about 5 months since the second op, and everything's still fine - I do have to be a little bit careful in what I eat (small bites, semi-soft food (like baked chicken that is still moist) and I sometimes still use Ensure as a back up if I have a sore jaw that day. I can live like this - it's better than it was this time last year!
Susie, I'm a little frustrated at my dr as he won't speculate as to why I am in so much pain. He just writes it off as nerve and muscle pain, which I am sure plays a role, but I am on the max dose of Lyrica, which helps just a little. Then nothing seems to completely help the muscles. I was chewing soft foods but stopped chewing all together as it was hurting so bad.
Pam, thanks SO much for replying! I was wondering how you were and if you had a neuroma. How did your dr figure out it was a foreign body reaction? Did he remove all the scar tissue? I am wondering if maybe I am having the same issue- I grew a lot of bone in response to a Mitek anchor surgery I had 6 years ago, and the drs were not sure why that happened too...
The following user gives a hug of support to navymid: Susie564 (09-06-2012)
I can only imagine how frustrating it is for you -even if it is nerve/muscle pain then surely there is something to be done to help this! I've been told that after surgery a physical/physiotherapy regime is important to heal the muscles in the area. Is the therapy you've been having recommended by your surgeon or did you just organise it yourself? Could you maybe get a second opinion from somewhere?? I can't really advise on your particular situation, only sympathise , as I had a different surgery. Thankfully my recovery seems to be going well (8 weeks post-op so early days, but fingers crossed), but I was so anxious beforehand that it wouldn't help and I would have been so upset if I hadn't seen an improvement.
I was wondering how you were and if you had a neuroma. How did your dr figure out it was a foreign body reaction? Did he remove all the scar tissue? I am wondering if maybe I am having the same issue- I grew a lot of bone in response to a Mitek anchor surgery I had 6 years ago, and the drs were not sure why that happened too...
