TMJ and LASIK?

Ceylonsky

Hi there,

I've been a bit of a 'lurker' for a while but, after seeing your message, decided to join as I have been in your position before.

I've had chronic 24/7 headaches and face pain for 16 years now. Like most people I've seen many specialists, taken lots of different drugs, had the brain scans, a sinus operation - even a shoulder operation in the vain hope of a cure!

I used to wear glasses and I can understand exactly how you feel. A lot of my pain is in and around the bridge of my nose and, wearing glasses, became almost unbearable. I was completely obsessive about them, constantly having them readjusted and my whole day was filled with thoughts as to how I hated them and how they didn't fit properly simply because they were bearing down on one of the sources of my pain.

I had successful lasik treatment 6.5 years ago and it was the best thing I ever did. It did not remove the pain I was feeling in my face (although I had secretly hoped it would) but it helped my state of mind so much.

Some years ago I did 'discover' TMJ and spoke to my dentist about it who made me a night guard. After several months of wearing this it did not help and so, at that stage, I dismissed my problem as TMJ. More recently, however, I have done more research and realised there is soooooo much more to the diagnosis and the treatment of it. I have booked a private appointment with a TMJ specialist in Wakefield who also does practise NHS so, if he deems I need treatment I will, hopefully, be able to do so via the NHS.

To go back to the Lasik treatment, do plently of research and what you think is right for you. I wouldn't recommend it to either you or anyone as I feel that individuals need to make their own conscious decision to go ahead- its an important one!

Good luck with your research

Melanie xxx

Thelma-Louise

I had Lasik done a couple years before the onset of my tmj - I went with my brother and younger sister who also had it done - they both turned out great - I on the other hand ended up needing reading glasses within 6 months - and they do say this can happen - but I felt it accelerated it. I was quite happy with my contact lenses for 25 years and then had to start wearing reading glasses and now find I keep them on my nose b/c I literally can not see what's right in front of me although I see far distances quite clearly - and I had been nearsighted my entire life. To be honest I preferred being nearsighted instead of farsighted. I also can no longer see clearly in the dark - there's a haze around lights and everything looks blurred - another thing I never had when wearing contacts. But as I said my brother and sister had no problems and feel it was the best thing they ever did - one is 2 yrs older than me and the other is 3 years younger than me. I did return to the specialist to see if there was anything he could do and he after his examination he said everyhting looked the way it should be and just suggested that I continue with the glasses - he also mentioned I would probably no longer be able to wear contacts due to the surgery - it changes the shape of the surface of the eye - and he felt I would probably find them quite uncomfortable - but I did go and get a set of disposable lenses to help with it but found with them on I was mis-stepping quite a bit so I went back to reading glasses.

Anyway - I am not sure I would have done it had I had my current tmj symptoms - I found it quite uncomfortable the first 12 -24hrs after the Lasik procedure - and I don't think given the frequency of my spasms I would have been able to stay still without twitching during it - but it only takes 1-2 mins for each eye. So depending on your symptoms you probably will be able to undergo it. But the way I feel with tmj I just don't think I could handle one more thing not feeling right or even the anxiety I felt just before I did it.

I am not trying to deter you or talk you into it either way - there are no guarantees it will make things better and only you know in terms of of your current tmj symptoms if you can handle having a surgical procedure done at this time - if your tmj is not interferring in your noraml daily life then I would think it would not be an issue in having the Lasik done.

I do wonder though if the lack of great results with the Lasik for me is actually due to my tmj - it could the procedure went as expected, like the specialist said, and the reason for my poor vision these days is due to the tmj.

kvtip

Thanks for the replies, like you said melanie my TMJ is like yours 24/7 facial pain all that, been to so many doctors and specialists and just recently have been to a TMJ specialist that has a real high success rate and has actually helped my pain alot, though I can't say I'm more than half better because my main source of pain, the worst, is my forehead which I know glasses did not help that at all


I just hope the success of LASIK is high enough to warrant me to do it, since if I had any complications I think they would be terribly devastating ontop of my already awful TMJ problems

Ceylonsky

Hi there kvtp

Yes its a very important decision to make and I spent many years debating whether to have Lasik. All I can say is that if you decide to go ahead is to research it well and research the institutions who carry out the procedure. When I had my lasik I opted for a company which had been the longest-running clinic in the UK - even though it was quite a bit more expensive than others. When I went for my initial consulatation and they deemed I was suitable they still would not allow me to book in for it that day. They insisted that I went home and thought about it for at least 24hrs. This was very comforting for me as I felt it wasn't just about the money and that they genuingly had my well-being at heart.

I'm happy for you that you are getting some pain relief from your TMJ treatment. What sort of treatment are you having and how long?

I have an appointment with a TMD specialist on 11/10 and so hope that I have some of the success you have had so far

Good luck with everything

Melane x