Chronic Pain

Wow - I am just floored at all of this. I am a new TMJ sufferer and all of this is scaring the crap out of me. WHY is it so hard to be treated? Do the doctors not understand TMJ?

I have not seen a doctor yet. Just went to the dentist and see a chriopractor tomorrow. Neck, headaches, jaw pain, etc. - seem to be the norm for TMJ - why isn't there proper medical support? This has me confused.

I hope you get the attention you deserve - and suffering with this is NOT an option. Pain is pain - I have never heard of anything so crazy? Don't "do" jaw pain. Yikes!!

Just my 2cents worth - but don't worry about work. If you are due sick time or short term disability - take it. Its hard to work when all you can think about is how much pain your in. I'm also light headed and wouldn't want to be out there working - just not safe. Stay home, take some meds and work through this.

Karen

A little update: I went to the TMJ specialist yesterday and got fitted for the NM splint. He had me take home one of the impressions to just hang out in at home and while sleeping. Definitely was great last night, am a little sore today though ... I'm sure just from the moving around of the muscles. The dentist's office is new to me, and was fabulous. They were so nice and very thoughtful of my pain while taking x-rays etc. They were also very reassuring, and I hope everything turns out as well as they expect it to. The good news was that the first round of x-rays didn't show major joint damage - but did show the disc pushed forward pretty far. I'll have to read more about this.

thanks again for all of the posts

quote:

Originally posted by Chrissy:
What sort of doctor are you seeing? Are you seeing an OMS that specializes in TMJ?

I'm seeing a lot of doctors. One is an OMFS, and I'm seeing a second one soon to get a second surgical opinion.

I also go to a pain center which limits their practice to TMJ and a few other conditions. They have various specialists.


I just wouldn't want to jump to conclusions. It's not unthinkable for a doctor to say they don't have the skills to treat a condition. I wouldn't even be surprised that as they got more involved they realized it was beyond their capabilities. I'd hope they'd point a patient to another office rather than just saying no, that's the part I think is odd.

quote:

Originally posted by alorcoy:
An update:

Pain doctor refuses to see me, his office says he doesn't "do" jaw issues.

I know this baffles many of you for a pain management doctor to say that he doesn't treat jaw issues. It's difficult for the pain management docs because some of the time (not all of course), the patients that call asking to come in could be helped much more by a dentist or oral surgeon.
I have found that with pain docs it is ALWAYS helpful to have a referral from either your primary care physician or an oral surgeon. Dentists, unless they specifically "specialize" in orofacial pain, usually do not give the referrals.
If you do want to see a pain doc, get all of your records together (I know that can seem daunting at times lol) and ask your primary care physician if he/she is willing to refer you somewhere. This, in my experience, works much better than calling there without a referral or having a dentist refer.
It also depends on your history and how long you have had problems. Since "chronic pain" is defined as pain that is present longer than 6 months, most pain specialists will not see a patient if he or she is just starting treatment.

stacy