Chronic Pain

Hello....I'm Sue and I thought I would post something in the Surgery area. Why....well because I had a right joint replacement in October of 2005 and I am doing very well. Yay!

Let's see......my surgical history started in the 80's with a disc repositioning and a reshaping of a deformed, pitted condyle. Developed osteoarthritis and condyle continued to fall apart. In the late 90's...I had cartilage from behind my ear put into my joint....didn't last long. Developed pain over the years until in 2005 the pain got unbearable and continued to get worse.........

Sooooo, I had the joint replaced in October of 2005....and I am doing wonderful. Some things still bother me....mostly the weather changes. I can usually tell when a good rainstorm is on the way.........but the pain is not anywhere near what it was... . Also, I can't move my right eyebrow and I have some numb places...but that does not bother me...the look makes me unique. Hehehehehe!

All in all it was a great success for me. I hope to hear from other who have had joint replacement surgery. Most of all I hope this helps others who are faced with the same surgery. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have.

Well....I have gotten long-winded here (sorry)...Sooooo I hope e1 is doing well!!

Take care...............SUE

Sue,

I've never had surgery for TMJ, but I wanted to write to say "YAHHHH!!!" I'm so happy you are feeling better.... That is such positive news.

Btw- I can't raise my right eyebrow either, but I think it's a 'Tami thing' ;-).

That is such great news Sue, so glad to hear you are feeling good.

Tami

Hello Sue - this is the old aka Ginny from tmjfriends
I am waiting for insurance acceptance to have my right tmj replaced. I have been like, yes, no yes no and I am still not convinced about having this done. How long was it before you could eat? Was there a lot of post op pain?
Pleased to hear you are doing well and I hope you continue to do so. Kindest Regards NanaD

Hi Ginny....It is great to hear from you. I understand the "yes, no" stuff. I just went for it...had to be better than the pain I was in.

To answer your questions......I was able to eat soft foods right away, in fact it was encouraged. My pain was not too bad....pretty much just incisional pain. I kept taking the pain meds as directed so the pain did not catch up to me. Worked very well and I went back to work in 2 weeks......could have used another week recovery but I tend to rush things.

I hope this helped....feel free to ask anything you want..........and thanks for your well wishes. I hope you are also doing well and I look forward to hearing from you again.

Take care.............SUE

Still waiting for acceptance to get Joint Replacement. Meantime my OS has said the joint is "totally wrecked". Before the Insurers will accept I had to have an MRI which I had a coujple of days ago. I had to be sedated as I go into "Panic Attack Mode" just looking at those MRI machines. Anyway all is done now so just wait wait wait!!! Meantime the left side TMJ is getting to be extremely painful but knowing out NZ Accident Compensation Corp. (ACC) they will stall as long as possible and try to get out of having anything done to it. It is typical New Zealand government BS. If and when the ACC accept my MRI results I go for a CT scan which is to measure me up for the new joint and the results of that are sent off to America for the joint to be hand made there. Hope everyone else is doing ok and I so miss our old site!!! Regards to all......NanaD (aka Ginny)

Hi Ginny- it's great to hear from you. Hope it all works out and you can move forward towards getting better!- Deb

How did they decide the joint was wrecked without an MRI or CT?

Hi Deb --- thank you for your thoughts. Once this is all over I will be able to move forward and upwards ...I hope

Alex......I have had an Arthrocentesis and an Arthroscopy. The latter enabling the Specilaist to view and photograph the damage whilst he tried to clear the debris from the joint. There is absolutely no doubt the joint is "wrecked" as when I move my jaw "everyone" can here "bone on bone".

Ahh, that explains it. Thanks.

I'm getting very curious as to how doctors "diagnose" TMJ problems. You certainly can't argue with someone that saw the damage firsthand

Good luck with the insurers and the surgery.

Usually the bone damage is visible on a Pannorex x-ray done at the office. You can see the deterioration very clearly.

Other TMJ problems can be diagnosed with MRI or CT scans.

Hi all....still waiting for a decision from the ACC Dept. Had the MRI under sedation that ACC DEMANDED!! My OS said "the joint is totally wrecked". BUT now he is saying he wants to either repair the disc or remove it if necessary. The mention of Joint Replacement has been filed in the too hard basket for now. Due to the mention of "degenerative" and "Osteoarthritis" - two words this country's collective Insurers just love to use in denying people agreement to have the appropriate surgery they need. It is going to be very interesting for me as my claim is under Medical Misadventure which they accepted but now those to famous words have cropped up could be a totally different ball game. They will probably say I had a problem before the misadventure... Should hear something next week and IF I get a "yes" things will move fairly fast (probably before they change their minds!!)... Hope everyone else is doing OK.

Sue;
RE: joint replacement; what type/brand of joint have you gone with?

I have a Right Lorenz..........SUE

Sue,
I've suffered with TMJ over 15 yrs - my story is very similar to others - and my quality of life is horrible. I now face a total joint replacement - battling insurance protocol first.
May I ask - what system was used? My surgeon recommends Lorenz - holding the TMJ concepts for most likely a second replacement I will need due to my age. Where did you have your surgery ? We are contemplating several facilities in Dallas, Chicago, Philly or even here at home with my surgeon or my surgeon accompanying me to any chosen location. You offer hope that I will feel better - My life is consumed with pain. I take morphine now orally, a durageic pain patch - trigger point injections in joint and neck- also have fibromyalgia , myofascial pain disorder too -
thank you !!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Smile:
My surgeon recommends Lorenz - holding the TMJ concepts for most likely a second replacement I will need due to my age.

That's interesting. Did he explain why he thinks that's a better approach? I have a surgeon suggesting the TMJ Concepts straight away, even though I will also likely need replacements in the future.