To Be At Crisis Point With TMJ Pain

[BeeDaisy]

I am really struggling. I’ve been to the dental hospital numerous times to see the TMJ consultant and they just give me a mouth guard and send me on my way. It doesn’t nothing but cause even more pain.

The doctor just throws medication at me all of which I’m struggling with. I came off Amytriplyine because I couldn’t cope with the side effects. I’ve now had to do the same with Nortyriptyline.

I take cocodamol and naproxen daily. I try and take breaks at the weekend and switch to ibruprofen and anadin. Nothing fully gets rid of the pain.

I went to see an osteopath and felt relief for two hours afterwards. Unfortunately after this I was in agony much more than normal for 2 days and still counting.

I just don’t know what to do with myself anymore. I’m so fed up and sad about it all. Not a moment goes by when I’m not in pain. My sleep is disturbed.

I’ve been reading up on Botox and other private things but I’m worried I will pay all that money and it won’t do anything.

I am also worried about the damage all the painkillers could be doing to my body.

I also want dental treatment to make my front teeth look nice but no one will touch me whilst I’m in so much pain with TMJ.

Has anyone found a long term solution please? Or got rid of most of the pain?

It is really affecting my quality of life at this point.

I don’t know where to go from here.

I’m hoping it’s not just coincidence but..

The pain is much less today. I’ve still had to take pain killers but they’ve mostly gotten rid of all the pain.

My jaw doesn’t seem to be pushing itself into the clench position as much and I’m finding it easier to hold it in a relaxed position.

Im really hoping this is the start of it actually working!

After a few days you’ll notice that you can’t clench your teeth together with much force. It’s a very strange feeling at first.

Botox every 5-6 months.
Only cure I've found!

I really hope it works for you

Even less pain today. Still taking painkillers but they are fully getting rid of the pain. It feels so weird!

Sounds like a strange one, but I’ve found giving up caffeine really helped my TMJ pain. Only happened upon it by accident when I gave up caffeine for IVF, didn’t realise the link until I started drinking coffee again and the pain came back. Gave it up again for another round and it stopped again. Looked into it and it’s something to do with caffeine making muscles more tense. Just thought I’d pass that one on in case it helps, as I searched for a solution for me and never saw this as an idea, but apparently it is a thing. I actually couldn’t believe, after all the painkillers I’d been taking, that this is what would stop it for me

Did you go to a dentist to get botox? Did you need a referral from your nhs dentist?

I had acupuncture.. Best thing ever.. l had first lot on NHS.. the physio my dentist referred me to did it.
Then because I'm good for money.. l now pay private.. it lasts between 3 to 4 months .
£ 60 per session.
Botox did not take away my pain.
I'm already on morphine patches for other pain.. but nothing helped my TMJ .. until l had acupuncture. If your considering this do your research for a good knowledgeable one.

Can I ask if anyone has had botox who has mainly experienced pain in the muscle above their ear in their head? The one connecting to the masseter muscle (but above the jaw).

I don’t personally feel the pain there so much, but that area can be injected too.

Botox doesn’t work for me.

But hypnotherapy on the other hand made a massive difference.

I had to stop going because of difficulty getting appointment times that worked with my working hours but one session every couple of weeks was a really effective treatment.

This. I was on amatritaline ( sp?) Then some epilepsy drug. Then while on that had acupuncture. I think mine was a irriated nerve stuck "on" just turning it "off" broke the pain cycle. At least I think.

Weirdly I don't think I had normal sensation there anymore after the pain stopped. But mine was on the back of my head, not my jar. Same root nerve but less important. Therefore one of my options was to have a steroid injection. Touch wood it's never flared up again.

Can I ask if anyone who’s had Botox has it improved movement in your jaw? Mine locks and unless I do this weird unlocking thing to the side and open it (which makes a horrendous noise and pain) I can only open it a little way. Eating is becoming a nightmare and really embarrassing!
I’ve gone to the dental hospital numerous times ( waste of time), physio, private, few different splints which has made it all worse and had an mri scan. Botox is my only hope! But need it more for the unlocking as I’m kind of used to the pain now.
OP glad to hear you’ve noticed some relief! X

i had exercises which cured it
it was due to stress

So I think the 2 days of much less pain after Botox was a coincidence. I’ve had pain again since. So another thing that hasn’t worked for me.

Feeling pretty gutted especially when it cost so much too! Not sure where to go from here.

I had acupuncture for mine. It worked within minutes and TMJ has never come back.

Botox has helped me a lot. My practitioner takes photos every time and it's clearly visible how much the big jaw muscles have gone down (so I look better too!).

I had a lot of issues with jaw pain, once so bad after Christmas I went to A and E to get stronger painkillers (dentist said I had no cavities, and I should wear a mouth guard, very helpful!)

Interestingly, the pain has reduced/stopped in the last couple months (touch wood) for me, I been feeling less stressed at work and I think this has caused me to not clench as much at night? I am not entirely sure. If the pain was still occurring, I would have tried botox next.

I know reddit have a TMJ forum, may be worth looking on there also for advice OP? I hope it stops for you too ☹

My dentist recommended acupuncture and it fixed my TMJ within 4-6 sessions. It was driving me insane.

Botox can take up to 3 weeks to work to relax the muscle. Give it time.

I'm surprised none of the mouthguards have worked for you. Do you give them a decent try and not just give up within a few days. When I got my first it worked within 2 nights of wearing it but a recent replacement is a different shape and some of the pain returned for a while - I think it slightly change the resting position of my jaw compared to the earlier one and I need time time adjust.

I have tmj. Similar story re: Pain. I had botox from a dentist twice and haven't had it for over a year. I'm mindful of where I keep my tongue, followed a soft food diet as well for first month

OP can you describe the pain a bit more? Where exactly is it and is it triggered by any particular movements? Can you open your mouth fully/ chew and is there any noise or grinding? I posted previously about my TMJ turning out to actually be severe arthritis within the joint meaning botox would not help but steroid injection into the arthrtic joint gave great relief. It is very important to really know what is going on in the jaw to guide the treatment. You have my sympathy it really hurts.

The pain at the moment feels mostly like my front teeth hurt. And it radiates all the way around my jaw.
The right side where the joint is normally hurts the most but since the Botox that seems less so now. If I hold my jaw open that hurts again.

My jaw is back to going into clench mode as its relaxed position. But the muscles at the bottom of my jaw are not as big as you’d expect from someone who clenches. I’m not sure why. When I clench the pressure seems to be more on my front top teeth and around that area.

I was told a while ago that the disc on my jaw on the right hand side was too far forward and this is causing the limited movements.

My jaw muscles are big but the botox slimmed them too much, I felt I looked a bit strange and developed slight jowls. I'm not sure if it's dose-dependant... presumably not as it either paralyses the muscle or it doesn't I'd think.

have you tried exercises @BeeDaisy

A friend of mine has her jaw replaced.