TMJD

[thetemptationofchocolate]

Has anyone here had this problem?
I have had pain and terrible stiffness in my jaw for a couple of weeks now and I can't actually open my mouth very far at all (about 1cm clearance between my front teeth). I have seen the doc and she says just keep on with the painkillers and it will go away, but she can't tell me how long it's going to take.
I'd be glad to hear anyone else's experiences of this, particularly if you have had this seized up jaw, and how long it took to go away. I am getting fed up with only being able to eat thin food.

The only bonus is, I have lost some weight :)

www.pat.nhs.uk/gps-and-partners/Joint%20Pain%20Leaflet.pdf

I don't know if this is worth a try.

cks.nice.org.uk/tmj-disorders#!scenario

I don't have TMJ, I have trigeminal neuralgia, but I have found that a lot of doctors aren't really in the know about facial pain. And that they don't always follow the NICE guidelines.

Thank you Charley

I had this before, I didn't go to the doctor as it wasn't as bad as yours sounds, but my dentist did give me some jaw exercises which I think helped. It did lessen and I haven't had it for a couple of years now, but I remember it lasting for a good couple of months I think.

I get a flare up of this every year ago. I never found anything that helped but it did start go after 2-3 weeks and completely gone after 4-5 weeks.

I had successful physiotherapy for mine. I do the goldfish thing (shown on the first leaflet) regularly.

I am careful about chewing, for ever, and have done things like given up chewing gum.

Dentist might be a better choice than Dr, dentists do a tiny amount of training on TMJD at uni, I would be delighted to hear that Drs do any at all.
Have a google of the British society of occlusal studies. You may find a dentist near you with a special interest.

I'm a dentist and a fellow TMJD sufferer. Things that I can't do are chew gum, chew anything chewy, open my mouth without pushing my jaw joint from the outside (useful when eating sandwiches etc).

Sucks but it can be improved.

to trigeminal neuralgia sufferers.

Yes I have this too. It's been ok lately, but probably because I just avoid chewy things. I had a square of chocolate the other day and had to wait it for to melt in my mouth - it was too hard to bite. No gum, crusty bread, anything too hard (like choc). I also do as Mrsmorton and push on to my right jaw joint when I eat or yawn if it's in a clicky mood. I basically never open my mouth really wide unless I'm at the dentist. After a check up my jaw is always stiff and achey.

I try to keep my jaw relaxed as I hold a lot of tension there. My dentist didn't have much advice. I got a night time guard as I grind, but I can't bear it.

I live on bananas and soup when it's bad and take ibuprofen with codeine for 3 days.

Poor you, it's horrible! I had this and still do a bit - I recently found out it was caused by a tremor in the roof of my mouth (it's rare so probably not the usual cause) which had caused the muscles around my jaw to tense up and push my jaw out of line. The tremor is still there (and still being investigated-they think it may be connected to nerve damage) but my jaw is better than it was (no longer clicking) though still feels tense by the end of the day!!

Doc has given me amptriptaline (sp) which has helped me relax a bit. I did exercises and also used heat packs. Before I started on the amptriptaline I was taking ibuprofen and also cocodamol or nurofen plus in the evenings which helped me sleep and relaxed me a bit.

I think the doctor should refer you to a max fax consultant really as appointments take a while to come through. If it is better by then you can always cancel.