I have TMJ, but it doesn't really bother me anymore. I guess I got used to it. I used to go to a chiropractor when it was hurting, and he used this "gun" type thing to pop on the outside of my jaw, and after a few weeks, I didn't have the popping anymore, but I'd imagine you would have to keep up with this treatment because now that I haven't done it in years, it's back to it's old ways. I would go see a chiropractor and get an opinion!

 

yep my chiro really helped ask about stretching exercises for when it locks.
However I did have to have surgery and now I have had practically no headaches and most of my other tmj symptoms have not returned get a max/facial consult too to make sure you still have good cartilege etc

also learn some relaxing the facial muscles exercises. I never tried acupunture or cranial massage but people do swear my those. But my issues were structural and I didn't want to loose the cartilege becasue of my bad off bite. I hate that crunch/pop sounds!

 

I lived with it for years and had a treatment by a dentist when I was young and dumb. Mine was stress induced. I would clench my teeth and not realize I had not opened my mouth for hours. I found sucking on hard candy or anything that would NOT allow me to clench helped tremendously.

 

I have TMJ. I'm pretty sure it was caused by nail- and lip-biting, which I've done basically since I've had teeth. I got one of those night-time splints for it years ago but I've hardly ever worn it because it wasn't comfortable and didn't seem to do much good, so now it's not much more than a $1300 paperweight (ins didn't cover it.) I felt like surgery was too invasive at the time. Insurance would have covered THAT, and I sort of regret not having it done, because it's worsened a lot the past few years.

I don't often have much pain, but I pop my jaw constantly as sort of a nervous habit (hm... a lot like nail biting) and sometimes if I've been popping my jaw a lot I will wind up with a whopper of a headache, like now.

I've only had my jaw lock up for short periods, usually after a few minutes it will unlock and I can move it again. One trick I use when my jaw is locking or feeling funky is to cup my chin in one or both hands and push my jaw back towards my ears, gently but firmly. This will often help to re-align it so that it's sitting more correctly.

 

Thanks for the response. Still hasn't opened yet --- I think this is hormone related. I have horrible PMS and just carry all this anger in my jaw. That's why I'm going to se an acupuncturist, I feel like I need to start with my wacky cycles and move slowly through the rest. Craniel sacral helped me tremendously through my pregnancies so I may try that as well.

I'll keep ya posted as to when the jaw opens

It has put a damper on things with my husband - whenever we kiss, I make these popping sounds

..not very romantic!

 

I had it really bad after Dd1 was born, like you, I couldn't open my mouth & I hate the popping!!!

After seeing a maxiofacial surgeon, an ENT (it was so bad it was affecting my hearing) I finally saw a chiro who palpated my mouth which helped immensely.
Getting adjusted regularly helps keep it under control. I also got a custom nightguard because I clench & grind like crazy. Ultimately, I think stress has a lot to do with it.

Some things that help me relax a little are, a good B-vitamin complex, fish oil & cod liver oil & a magnesium supplement.

 

My chiro too has done wonders. It hurts like the dickens when she rubs/stretches from the inside of my mouth, but the popping is almost non-existant. I unconsciously clench my mouth, and have become much more aware of it, which has helped a bit too.

 

yep i have it. mine was brought on by trauma when i got all 4 of my wisdom teeth taken out. a year later i had surgery on it. scar tissue was scraped out and sterroids were injected. it helped for about 2 months then back to the snap, crackle, pop. now i just deal with it.

 

for acupuncture.

I'm a dentist, so I deal with it a lot, but I also have it myself and have since dental school off and on. Acupuncture really made the most difference for me.

But while you are at it, have you put heating pads on your jaw joints at all to reduce the inflammation? That along with an anti-inflammatory (I just use ibuprofen 800mg 4x a day ONLY when it's bad) can work wonders. (and the soft diet, but you don't really have a choice on that one).

I've had patients have luck with chiropractic or physical therapy exercises. I think what help depends on whether you have a skeletal or muscular problem going on, what the underlying cause is, etc.

 

I've been dealing with it for 14 years!!! I just delt with it for awhile. Then the pain got to bad to deal with so I started taking advil. Then I started takeing more advil (800 mg at a time). Then it got beyond that so I took the pain meds that I didn't use when I had my wisdom teeth removed. I finally had insurance that would cover a myofacial pain docter. I thought that this was going to do it. Found out I have both types of TMJ and in both joints. He made me a splint and put me on amytriptalene. I quit grinding at night and the pain went away! I was happy and then he said I was done and to wean myself off from the nightguard and the meds. Well the pain came back. He said he could but me bvack on the meds. I was falling asleep well driving because of the meds so I declined.

I went searching for a better cure. And The best news ever is I found it. I thought it was too simple and didn't try it for over a year from the first time I heard about it. But it works, its cheap, and it helped with some other problems I was having.

It's magnesium!!! I take about 800 mg a day of magnesium citrate. If you take too much you get the runs and you need to back off. I have been taking this for over a year. It works great! Give it a try. I noticed improvement within 2 weeks.

Good luck!

 

Quote:

It's magnesium!!! I take about 800 mg a day of magnesium citrate. If you take too much you get the runs and you need to back off. I have been taking this for over a year. It works great! Give it a try. I noticed improvement within 2 weeks.

I take that too, but it gives EBFing Ds the runs too.

 

I had terrible TMJ. Got to a point where I couldn't open my mouth very far. It runs in my family. Weird skull anamoly. Had a great grandmother who could only eat soup after she was 40!

I ended up having EXTREME surgery about 16 years ago. They broke both my jaws and realigned them. I'm not going to lie- it was the most horrific thing that I've ever gone through - the recovery. PLUS they had wired my jaw shut on my tongue and I had a bad reaction to pain meds so when they had to clip the wires, they found that my tongue was damaged. I also did not react well to the anesthesia and was in ICU for a few days. I have permanent nerve damage in my face and tongue BUT I don't have the pain in my jaw anymore. I can open my mouth and eat and my teeth are not in risk of falling out.

I do understand they have better treatment for TMJ now but I think it depends on the severity of the case.

I can tell you one thing-- childbirth was a breeze in comparison. LOL

 

see a chiro or a craniosacral therapist. Both can help with it.

 

I was diagnosed with TMJ back in middle school, and it hasn't been much of a problem since then...but I have been having some jaw trouble recently, and I was wondering if any of you could let me know if this could be related.

Sometimes the left side of my lower jaw feels numb. It always goes away within a few hours, and I don't have any trouble moving my facial muscles when it is happening (so I don't think it would be anything neurological). More recently I have started having sort of a deep pain in the jaw, and often I will have sort of a dull/muted type popping if I open my jaw too quickly (more-so in the mornings). Then last night in the middle of dinner, I got this sharp...seriously painful...pain in the back of the left side of my jaw.
It's hard to explain where, but I will try.
Feel along your jaw bone toward your ear.
When you get to the sharp corner, the next thing is that vertical flat area that goes up toward your ear. Right along that flat vertical area is where the pain was. It may have been a muscle pain, but it was sharper than I would expect. This morning it is still sore, but it hasn't gotten up to that *it hurts so bad I want to stab myself in the eye* level thus far.

any thoughts?
(and yes, I would go the dentist...but I still owe him over $600 for a root canal and I can't afford to pay him anything right now

: )

 

Janet, I would start at a good chiro - it'll be far cheaper than the dentist & less invasive/more holistic. It could just be a pinched nerve & if blood isn't getting to where it needs to go, you'll have numbness & pain. My chiro does work inside of my mouth. Also, laying face down, the back of the neck is adjusted for TMJ pain.

 

Im wondering if I have the begining of this. My jaw has been sore for bout a month, in front of my ear lobes, just below the joint mostly. I am also having ear trouble (yeast, I think) so it could be connected, but Im thinking its most likely from the incredible stress Ive been under the past few months. So Im wondering how yours started, and if there's anything I can do, or if this doesnt sound like it (no popping, no teeth grinding, I relax my jaw as often as I can ... I find it sometimes *feels* more when Im laying on my back....) Thanks for any insights!

 

saskiasmom, what do your ears feel like? Why do you think it's yeast? My ears are funny too, stuffy or something, like I'm going up a huge mountain. I have always believed it's from the TMJ, which it very well could be, everything is all right there in the same area.

I came here to complain, I took a sip of coffee with my jaw in some weird position & now it's popping

, it hasn't popped in so long. Off to drink some magnesium....chiro isn't until NEXT Friday, maybe I'll try to get in this Friday.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metasequoia saskiasmom, what do your ears feel like? Why do you think it's yeast?

Because Im battling yeast elsewhere (post antibiotics

: ). My ears range from mild pressure, to itching, to dull pain - usually a combination. But the more my ears are noticeable, the more my jaw is - that is, they act up at the same time to the same degree. I know there is a connection btwn. them in diagnosis of tmj ... that's why I asked. I dont really know what all is going in in my body right now, or what is yeast caused and not. Sorry about the popping

 

What do you do for the yeast? Diflucan or a natural treatment?

Sometimes I think my ear problems are allergy related, it definitely flares when the seasons change, usually fall for me but occasionally spring too. The ear thing is enough to drive me over the edge, as if the popping/stiff jaw wasn't enough.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metasequoia Janet, I would start at a good chiro - it'll be far cheaper than the dentist & less invasive/more holistic. It could just be a pinched nerve & if blood isn't getting to where it needs to go, you'll have numbness & pain. My chiro does work inside of my mouth. Also, laying face down, the back of the neck is adjusted for TMJ pain.

and my health insurance covers chiropractors

I have honestly never been to one. Do they typically have special tables for those who cannot lay face down normally? I have an illeostomy (I had my colon removed) and I can't lay on it at all. Maybe they have a special table with a hole in it that they use for pregnant women or something??

I guess I'll call around and find out.
Thanks for the suggestion

 

my ears are crackly...does that make any sense? If swallow or make certain other movements I get this crackling noise in my ears. It has been there as long as I can remember, and my dh can hear it if he puts his ear up to mine.

I saw an ENT about it back in 7th grade and he just said it was my sinuses and that was it. (but he was older than rocks, and could hardly move...so he didn't really put much effort into finding out the real source)

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metasequoia What do you do for the yeast? Diflucan or a natural treatment? The ear thing is enough to drive me over the edge, as if the popping/stiff jaw wasn't enough.

Talk to me about it! All my yeast symptoms are in my head - literally; ears, throat, eyelid rash, and then the jaw thing, which Im not sure what it is (the beginning of tmj maybe, b/c Im sooo stressed about the yeast - ugh). So far Ive been on the strict no carb diet for 2 mos and natural antifungals. No change, and new symptoms !! I may try the prescriptions, but havent heard much success there either so .... onward ....

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by grace474 and my health insurance covers chiropractors I have honestly never been to one. Do they typically have special tables for those who cannot lay face down normally? I have an illeostomy (I had my colon removed) and I can't lay on it at all. Maybe they have a special table with a hole in it that they use for pregnant women or something?? I guess I'll call around and find out. Thanks for the suggestion

Yep, they should have a belly table, call a few chiros, not all are created equal, go to i.c.p.a. & find one near you.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by grace474 I saw an ENT about it back in 7th grade and he just said it was my sinuses and that was it. (but he was older than rocks, and could hardly move...so he didn't really put much effort into finding out the real source)

Me too & he was older than dust! He told me to get a nightguard, rollseyes.

 

Just wanted to update that I am on day 12 of my jaw being locked!

It is started really hurting and I've been getting ear aches and sinus pressure and I can feel all the muscles in my neck and jaw really clenching. The doc gave me a muscle relaxer - didn't work and valium - didn't work.

I have to say it is starting to take an emotional toll on me. It started out kinda of funny and now I'm beginning to realize this could stay like this for a while.And watching me try to eat is not a sight anyone wants to see...

The acupuncturist can't see me until the 18th!!! I may call a chiro although I have mixed feelings about that right now...
the dentist says as soon as my mouth opens they'll fit me for a mouth guard - don't really want that and can't afford it.

I'm thinking of doing a week long cleanse, seeing as how I can't eat that well anyway. The previous posts on yeast got me thinking about it...

UGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

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