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Hi, I just thought I would introduce myself here. This is a bit about me... I'm a social worker, working full time in Canada. Here's my TMJD info: * back teeth grinded down to improve bite and major bruxism (198?), many times... * ski accident, fell down slope on face, no immediate trauma noted (1987) * major reconstructive surgery to my jaw, chin and nose when in high school (1991). Prior to that I had missed a complete year of school because of severe headaches and fainting caused by the bone on bone in my tmj joint. Following that I had about 9 years of mild to moderate "achy-type" jaw pain, basically just restricting chewy foods. * I had heart surgery in there (WPW - all is well with that) finished my social work degree, got married and had two children. * 2003, after an increase in my pain in my face, I had an arthroscope done to clear up the tmj degenerative bone. Well, that made matters worse. Since that time I have been on mainly soft foods and have attended a pain clinic in Toronto to monitor my daily neuropathic medication. This past month has been particularly bad, I have been only on fluids as I couldn't chew at all. I had bilateral joint injections 1.5 weeks ago and am feeling it was unsuccessful. We are at the point that either nerve blocks will be considered or the total joint replacement. My surgeon does not advocate for the replacement but has been honest with me about the limited options I have and the continuation of deterioration in the joints. I go for massage - only on my neck and back is affective to reduce the strain put on those areas from my face, use ice/heat - all the time, I take effexor, arthrotec and occassionally a muscle relaxer at night (not occassionally this month, nightly), sleep, hug my boys, do yoga, do centered breathing, dance when I am not in too much pain, walk at lunch, pray (a lot), window shop on ebay, put my efforts into work and taking time to thank my husband and family for being so awesome.... Wow, that's a huge introduction. So hi and thanks for having me!!
Hi- glad to have you here, you sound like you do really well despite the difficulty TMJ gives- it was good to read what you do to cope- I do many of the same things!- Deb (originally from Toronto, now Boston)
Hi there Glad to have you! Thank you for the intro! I'm Stacy, and I recently had both my joints replaced. Well, I guess it has actually almost been a year! Wow, I guess time flies when you are...not having fun. hehe. Anyway, I was wondering if your surgeon mentioned any other options besides joint replacement. I obviously do not know your situation or what is going on in there, but what I do know is that there are many options outside of arthroscopy and total joint replacement. I get from your post that you definitely understand that replacements are the last effort in trying to improve things. I have to say that a lot of the time it improves function, but because those of us who are candidates for total joint replacements have had so much surgery, pain relief is not a promise. Anyway, if you have any questions, please feel free to let me know. I'm available here and by email anytime (contact info in the link below). Sincerely, Stacy
Stacy, Thank-you for taking the time to write me back. What you don't realize is that the day I found out that I was having my arthocentesis (April 2007) and the Dr. was skeptical about anything repairing my seriously deteriorated joints, other than total replacement, I looked to the internet for help. It was YOUR blogs from 1 year ago that were the most impactful, helpful and meaningful. I read every word that you shared, soaking in every detail, trying to figure out if I could go through the same. I thought about how amazing it was to have so much in common, procedure-wise, after having so many people make off-handed comments like "I have a sore jaw too", "my jaw cracks, is that the same?", "I know someone who has TMJ", and my personal favourite, "I wish I could have my jaw wired shut to lose weight too." (etc.....) What I still wanted to ask you, and if its not too forward of me, what is life like now? Do you still have pain? Are there visable scars? Maybe this isn't the place to ask - so if not, sorry and disregard my questions!! I am happy to have the opportunity to pass along my thoughts about your personal blogs and the impact that they had on me. Thank-you so much. In response to your question, I have an amazing oral surgeon who has made many referrals, is very conservative in his treatments and has always advocated for the least surgery possible. My pain continues which makes working and functionning in general so hard. I can tell that things are getting worse (which probably makes me grind more at night). I will see him on Tuesday to discuss next steps. One more question, what was the last step you took before the decision for joint replacement? Ok, no more questions!! I just love the feeling of communicating with others who can truly understand! TTFN, Kim (aka Tinkerbell)
Hi Deb V Thanks for your reply my fellow Canadian! I actually drive up to Toronto twice a year to go to the Western Hospital Pain Management Clinic. So far its been somewhat helpful, the staff there are great. They haven't quite gotten my meds right yet but they have tried very diligently to make adjustments and suggestions to work at figuring out what makes some pain reduction. I am sure I'll be going for awhile... Take care and I hope to correspond again, Kim (aka Tinkerbell)
