Crystall and others. What is your dizziness like?

PINKYPRISCILLA

The dizziness was horrible. It was so bad that I was becoming afraid to do anything. I thought allergies/sinus problems were making me dizzy but it was tmj. It was like this wierd rocking motion like I was on a boat, and kinda floating.
It is from your equilibrium being off/jaw being out of alignment.

PINKYPRISCILLA

Also, the dizziness caused me so much anxiety. I would get so scared , heart would pound and make it even worse.

VincentA

The oral surgeon I saw about my TMJ told me that dizziness isn't a common symptom of TMJ.
I don't beieve him either.

DianeTMJ

Hi-
Oh the dizzeness was just awful. Okay, it was like I had not slept for three days, real light headed.
Then I would get vertigo. This is an awful comparison but when I use to drink alcohol, you know when you have just had a little to much and you try to lay down and the whole room spins and stomach gets quizzy? That is what it was like for me.
Since seeing the chiro I have not had that at all. She adjusted my first rib, which there are not alot of chiro's out that can successfully adjust that rib. I am actually back to driving the car and having no fear of getting dizzy or vertigo.
HOpe this helps and hope you are feeling better
Diane

hbep

Hello there,

Thank you sooo much for your replies. I can't tell you how helpful it is to hear this. I knew that tmjd could cause dizziness, but there seems to be so much debate amongst doctors about which type. I think the best answers to these questions always come from the people who are actually suffering with it, you (and I) know what it causes as we live with it.

I may still go ahead and get the balance tests done, the waiting lists in England are so long I will have a long time to think about whether to go ahead with them anyway, see how I'm doing after my tmjd treatment has had a chance to take effect. But it is SUCH relief to know I have been diagnosed with tmjd and it can cause the types of dizziness you describe and I am experiencing.

Having a better day today symptom wise, and an even better one now I've read your answers.

__________________
hbep

TiffanyAnn

Hi:
I often get so dizzy just sitting in my chair or sometimes just standing and the trouble is it hits me so fast and so hard, I have no warning at all and have nearly fallen several times. It's really scary. It's like I can feel my head spinning (no, not like that little girl in the Exorcist...LOL) http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/dizzy.gif but it's very upsetting. Do any of you get this type of feeling as well?
Tiffany

MichaelV

Hi

You should get the caloric tests done. Rule out all vestibular disorders.
If you see an ENT he will almost certainly refuse to entertain the notion that your dizziness is caused by TMJ problems. He just will not accept it. Just let him do his thing. When he finds nothing he will simply say you have a form of mild menieres or some such drivel to shut you up. My dizziness started within an hour of having an aggressive dental extraction - and despite all the anatomical links between the ear and the tmj, he would not have it! So bollocks to him. When I had the caloric test (normal - even siad I had very good balance!) I told the technician what he said about Menieres and she utterly refuted it . She happens to be a big cheese in the menieres society so was very sure of her opinoin on this.
SOOOOO...for you...
Look up TMJ/Vertigo on the web. Lots of research and articles will come up and will help you understand how it all works. However, with tmj and dizziness the causes can be manifold and not as simple as they might seem. The neck plays a very important part in the process with the proprioceptive nerves which form a part of your balance system being affected. Much of my dizziness is actually cuased by a long standing neck problem/injury. The tmj has just made it worse and more frequent. Today for instance I was dizzy, but I knew this was becuae I had slept with my head in a bad position. It is slightly different in nature and my neck is painful. when you are dizzy, are you aware that your nexk is tense? If so, try "shrugging" your shoulders and holding them in that position for a good ten to fifteen seconds. This will take some of the pressure off your neck. Sometimes, doing some trigger point therapy on your sternocleidomastoid muscle can relieve the dizziness. Also on the muscles in the back of your neck.
If your jaw problem is knocking your neck muslces out of whack this can be affecting it. Also, the problems with the tmj can cuase some physical changes in your ear. It is not strictly speaking advisable, but putting your hands on either temple and squeezing your skull together can give instant relief. But the dizziness will comeback when you release it. This squeezing affects the major bone at the base of your skull called the sphenoid. This is an important part of the whole problem as well. But I would not advise doing that too much! There are many factors contributing to this - fluid in your spinal column, parts of the membranes, bones, pressure, nerves, blood vessels.
Anyway, get to see a cranial osteopath if you can. I just noticed your earlier message to me. Sorry I missed it.
I do not necessarily favour one type of treatment. I do wonder about some of the people I read about on here who go from one doctor or practitioner to another - often at the same time. I wonder if this is not just adding to the frustration and suffering.
With dizziness issues you have to rule out all vestibular causes. Once done, you can move onto the next phase.
I happen to believe in cranial osteopaths for a number of reasons.
1. they have forgotten more about anatomy than most doctors ever knew. They do five years training an then another 2 post graduate for the cranial aspect.
2. They take a practical and "non-quack" approach to the issue..very logical as most anatomical issues tend to be.
3. they are very very gentle but vey very effective.
4 they do not deal in any sort of aggressive "cracking" - especially not in the head and neck region.
5. they do not use weird devices or techniques
6. they have an amazing ability to feel what is going on in seemingly totally unrelated parts of your body (I have amazing stories about things my osteo was able to tell from feeling the anatomy of my cervical spine!)

After my first visit to my CO my dizziness was much more stable. I have not seen him for a couple of months and it is getting a bit less predicatble now.
He certainly made a difference.

I would have NO hesitation whatsoever in advising you to see a cranial osteopath. I think there are so many treatments out there for tmj which are just so aggressive and counter-productive. TMJ smptoms can be very acute but the problem itself relatively small and easy to fix. Not always of course but often.

The only CO I can vouch for in London (I think he is in Tooting now) is John Trigger. The Osteopaths society or college will have his number. My own one in Maidenhead is very good and lectures on the subject and his name is John Qureshi.
Good luck


[This message has been edited by MichaelV (edited 06-05-2003).]

[This message has been edited by MichaelV (edited 06-05-2003).]

crystalll

Hi,

Michael has given an excellent explanation in regards to the dizziness. I tend to agree with him that there can be a lot of factors involved. I have been constantly dizzy for almost 2 years, so I'm almost "used" to it, if that's possible! I believe it's a secondary problem to the TMJD. Maybe not directly caused by it, but more of a chain reaction.

My dizziness can be best described as a sense of disequilibrium. It's not a spinning, vertiginous feeling that normally comes with Menieres. Some days are worse than others, but it's always there. Crowded areas make it worse. I'm assuming that's because my eyes need to focus in on closer objects. I find that if things start to "bounce" in front of me, that closing my eyes brings relief. One thing that I find interesting is that I've always had problems with elevators etc. The motion doesn't bother me, but when the motion stops, everything around me "bounces". At one point I thought I was suffering from Mal de debarquement, but that just doesn't make sense.
I had an appointment with a neurosurgeon, but was forced to cancel because he needs an MRI first. I'm currently 6 months pregnant, so the MRI has to wait.

I'm now seeing a chiropractor who does soft tissue release, as well as a craniosacral therapist. I'm hoping one or both can help with the dizziness.

Again, I agree with Michael that you should go ahead and have the balance tests done. I had all of that done, with negative results. Take whatever the ENT has to say with a grain of salt. One ENT told me my problems were caused by anxiety. The second ENT, who did all of the objective testing, simply told me that he predicted I would feel better soon. I didn't even bother to argue.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm still wearing the splint in hopes that a simple millimetre adjustment will correct my problems. Just hang in there and believe that you can be "fixed"! I wish you the very best of luck!

Crystal

TiffanyAnn

Can someone explain to me what the caloric test is?
Thanks,
Tiffany

MichaelV

Tiffany

Basically they are a series of tests for the vestibular system. They look to see how your brain and the things it controls (eyes for example) respond when they introduce stimuli - such as spinning you on a chair, hot and cold air in your ears, moving objects etcetc. It is quite a long series of tests. They put a sort of pair of goggles with little video cameras in them which tells them how much movement in your eyes there is when these stimuli are intorudced (nystagmus).
By the end of this, they can tell if there is dysfunction in your vestibular system.
Some people find them quite unpleasant - essentially the technician spends an hour or so trying to make you dizzy!

Stacie212

Hey,
I suffer from bad neck and tmj problems. my posture is completely messed up and i have lack of corrdination and balance. I lose my balance very often. i get dizzy a lot. the feeling i get is like - i'm walking and then suddenly everything goes black and the room spins. I have to grab onto something or i fall down. i've had this for a few years. it comes and goes. i constantly have a feeling like i'm hungover or am drunk - just a weird feeling in my head. i can't concentrate at all sometimes. I've never even heard of the type of doctor you mentioned Michael. What exactly does he do? an ENT first diagnosed me with TMJ and he sent me for a hearing test -which showed loss of hearing in one ear- but never any balance tests. How can they fix all this? The TMJ specialist I went to gave me a splint and told me to go to physical therapy. I can't tell if it's helped the diziness at all because the diziness has always been comepletely random. the pain is horrible -in neck and jaw
-Stacie

MichaelV

Stacie

Well you could have a problem with your neck - occlusions of blood vessels, the issue of proprioceptive nerves in your neck etc.
I would be interested to know what your ENT said the actual ear problem was.

A cranial osteopath is a specialist pradctitioner who works on the bones and structures of your head and neck. He or she will manipulate these structures to ensure proper blood flow, innervation, balance of pressures and tensions and generally structurally straighten you out.

PINKYPRISCILLA

If your doctor says dizziness isn't a symptom of tmjd
I would think twice about his credibility.

hbep

Apologies, computer probs, I posted this twice.

[This message has been edited by hbep (edited 06-06-2003).]

__________________
hbep