in 2007 i started having alot of problems due to a bad reaction to a medicine it caused extreme anxiety,weight loss when turned into other stomach problems
fast forward a year or so and i start having bad facial bad and headache it seemed sinus related to me so thats the dr i went to since i have a history of sinus and allergy issues
so i had cat scans done of my sinuses and had sinus surgery thinking that would solve my headaches and face pain
well after weeks of recovery i still had my pain
fast forward maybe another year i start realizing it could be something with one of my teeth so i go to the dentist and he just so happens to find a tooth right by where the facial pain is that needs a root canal
so i do that after recovering from that still in pain..and i feel that the tooth could still be the culprit just cause of the placment and i did have some pain there so i go to a surgeon and i get the tooth removed fast fwd to recovery and i still have all my symptoms
after all of this i start thinking its my jaw i start to notice things i didnt notice before such as clicking in the joint,if i put my hand over the joint i feel it pop out and when i open my mouth my jaw leans more to one side
now here is my dilemma i have severe gastro issues so that has always taken center stage and i have no job because of this im on state health insurance so tmj treatment or evaluation has been hard to do since its costly
im at the point where i need to get something done and see someone
i have the headaches, facial pain,i cant talk for a long time without pain and clicking..i occasionally get the ringing in my ear with some pain and i get bouts of dizziness
so besides looking for a good tmj specialist that doesnt just jump the gun i need someone that treats it based off finding the cause of it happening
i dont have money to waste so i need to find the right guy
looking in the ny/nj area
also because of my gastro issues theres not much i can eat right now and i like to have a salty snack every now and then pretzels are easy on my stomach but hard on my jaw any opinions on a salt snack i can have thats safe for my jaw?
sorry for the long post hope its read in full and i can get some opinions
A couple of questions for you, your gastro issues, can you provide a brief list of what you do eat? Do you have any other stress at the moment, apart from tmj etc?
Secondly the symptoms of ears ringing, jaw clicking and popping out are good indicators that you have muscular stress which is causing jaw misalignment and a lot of your pain.
This can be dealt with easily and without too much medical intervention, what works for me is to do a number of body stretches, these tend to be a mix of yoga and static stretches. I also make sure i do shoulder and neck stretches.
On top of that massage the facial muscles, especially along the jaw vertically along the ears, also spend time on the temple areas and the scalp area above the ears. Work on your neck and shoulders as well.
If you can do this 3 x week at least the symptoms will ease and your jaw alignment will improve. You can also do some jaw exercises to help get the muscles working better and help them relax.
A couple of questions for you, your gastro issues, can you provide a brief list of what you do eat? Do you have any other stress at the moment, apart from tmj etc?
Secondly the symptoms of ears ringing, jaw clicking and popping out are good indicators that you have muscular stress which is causing jaw misalignment and a lot of your pain.
This can be dealt with easily and without too much medical intervention, what works for me is to do a number of body stretches, these tend to be a mix of yoga and static stretches. I also make sure i do shoulder and neck stretches.
On top of that massage the facial muscles, especially along the jaw vertically along the ears, also spend time on the temple areas and the scalp area above the ears. Work on your neck and shoulders as well.
If you can do this 3 x week at least the symptoms will ease and your jaw alignment will improve. You can also do some jaw exercises to help get the muscles working better and help them relax.
right now im on a fixed diet due to weaning off ppi medicine and possibly going to be having hiatal hernia surgery
i eat plain chicken cutlets with veggies for dinner lunch its hard to find stuff to eat,bananas,yogurt
my main stresses are health issues my stomach and this jaw issue
the stomach has been going on for years with little positive results and the jaw took a back burner because of my focus on that but its just as much of a problem
If possible make some smoothies out of fresh fruit and veg, try and use fruit which is ripened to make digestion easier. From what you have mentioned your diet seems pretty good.
Again you probably drink a fair amount of water and avoid/reduce caffeine and soda drinks which can cause some upset. You might find some reflexology helps as that can stimulate the body and helps with some issues.
Do you have any obvious back tension that you are aware off? If so where?
If possible make some smoothies out of fresh fruit and veg, try and use fruit which is ripened to make digestion easier. From what you have mentioned your diet seems pretty good.
Again you probably drink a fair amount of water and avoid/reduce caffeine and soda drinks which can cause some upset. You might find some reflexology helps as that can stimulate the body and helps with some issues.
Do you have any obvious back tension that you are aware off? If so where?
i do juice veggies and some fruit during the day i cant do the smoothie route just yet due to my digestion the fiber is to hard for me in that amount
no im not aware of any back issues i did have my back checked out a few years ago it was fine
the thing is the last few years im pretty inactive im only 27 years old but i dont do much because of how i overall feel physically my stomach really prevents things for the most part but my head/facial symptoms are a close 2nd
Then I think it could be something else which is bothering you, do you feel a lot of tension in your stomach area? When did the symptoms start and did anything happen just before the onset?
Sometimes it can be anything, it doesnt have to be a major incident just something that meant a lot to you.
You are still quite young and I think you can recover from this all that you need is the right combination of treatment. Try some reflexology treatment, you can do it yourself, it takes a bit of flexibility but you can do it. You dont have to be that accurate just generally work on your feet.
Let me know your progress. Look for some tmj exercise videos and some stretches for the neck and shoulders. this will help with the tmj and might also start improving your stomach.
Scott, I'm no doctor but it seems very odd indeed your stomach problems are happening with tmj symptoms.Most doctors don't believe or dwell into food intolerences and it may be something you should research.As lance explained tmj can also be caused by muscle tension pulling your jaw out of alignment.Muscle tension weither in the face or anywhere in the body can be cause by a food allergy or intolerence (very big difference between the two ). An upset stomach especially acid reflux can certainly be cause by this as well as tmj symptoms.i used to live on tums and Zantac daily,I then cut out gluten and no more tums or Zantac for me.If I drink anything with caffeine I get major neck/jaw tension, no caffeine after 5 days and I barely if at all feel tmj symptoms!! So if you have time take a look at food intolerence full symptom list for adults ,you'll be surprised!
Scott, I'm no doctor but it seems very odd indeed your stomach problems are happening with tmj symptoms.Most doctors don't believe or dwell into food intolerences and it may be something you should research.As lance explained tmj can also be caused by muscle tension pulling your jaw out of alignment.Muscle tension weither in the face or anywhere in the body can be cause by a food allergy or intolerence (very big difference between the two ). An upset stomach especially acid reflux can certainly be cause by this as well as tmj symptoms.i used to live on tums and Zantac daily,I then cut out gluten and no more tums or Zantac for me.If I drink anything with caffeine I get major neck/jaw tension, no caffeine after 5 days and I barely if at all feel tmj symptoms!! So if you have time take a look at food intolerence full symptom list for adults ,you'll be surprised!
well technically my tmj symptoms started well before most of my stomach symptoms i understand things can be connected but i definitely think for the most part these are separate issues
I suffer from GERD too. STarted before I had significant TMJ issues.
Carefully review your diet - to deal with GERD - avoid spicy foods; chocolate, alcohol, coffee/black tea; salty foods and foods in fat (french fries kill my stomach). I know its a drag but it really, really helps.
To deal with you jaw issues - eat soft foods that are easy to chew.
You seem to feel a lot tension and anxiety - which is understandable. This could be having an impact on your jaw - we all express tension differently in our bodies and that can be impacting your jaw.
CAn you look at relaxation techniques like meditation? There are audio tapes out there; perhaps there places in your area you would offer meditation classes but at a reduce cost (like the ymca).
As for treatment for your jaw - you need to find a specialist in oral and maxiofacial pain - not just any dentist and I don't think they are cheap. Are there any universites near you with dentistry programs? If so check them out they may have clinics which you can go too which are less expensive or free and that might be a start.
Avoid do anything permanent at first - that changes your bite; filing your teeth etc. And definately get a second opinion on any treatment that will result in permanent changes.
