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Post by jjuls22 on Jan 24, 2007 18:11:45 GMT -5
so i have TMJ ( dont ask me what it stands for b/c im not quite sure!) which usually doesnt bother me, but lately my i feel like i just need to remove my lower jaw and let it rest! I try and hold it up, so it can rest but that doesnt seem to help at alll. Its making my neck hurt and my head hurt and everything else hurt that is tied to your jaw muscles. UGHHH... this sucks. If its not endo pain, its ALWAYS someething else. Sometimes i wonder if people think im a hypocondryact.. hahaa... ugh, anyways, my cat is crying at me so i pay attention to her! Thanks for listening ;D Julie
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Post by ouchy on Jan 24, 2007 18:30:34 GMT -5
I have that, too!!! TMJ= Temporal-Mandibular Joint (where your jaws meet). There is a set of muscles (Pterygoids, if I remember right--God, it's been a long time since I had anatomy!) that stretches and gets out of whack, allowing your jaw to drop too much or move in a weird way. Once the muscles and ligaments are stretched, there is no going back without surgery. I have braces right now to help w/ my TMJ--"bite turbos" were glued to the back of my front teeth to re-align my bite, and I can say that my pain is about 90% reduced!!! Within the first week I had about 80% less pain! I get my braces off in April, and I can't wait! I have a new braces system called Damon 3 (3 or 4..can't remember). There are no rubber bands on the brackets, just little metal gates.
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Post by ouchy on Jan 24, 2007 18:39:01 GMT -5
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Post by jjuls22 on Jan 24, 2007 21:34:56 GMT -5
thanks for that site ouchy!! I know that i have TMJ b/c the doctors have told me, but i never knew all of the OTHER common side effects to having TMJ... as i was reading it i kept going.. yep thats me!!
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Post by jess333 on Jan 24, 2007 22:09:32 GMT -5
soo weird I have TMJ too.. The ear pain I get from it ....OH my god..good luck with it. I put my whole face in the tub when it acts up. Painkillers will not help I take flexarol wonder drug that and some heat perfect match.jessa ;D
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Post by ouchy on Jan 24, 2007 22:42:45 GMT -5
I can totally say the money I've spent on braces (2nd time w/ them!!!) has been TOTALLY worth it! For this kind of relief, I would have paid 3x's the amount I paid, just to be without TMJ pain! I didn't really think it would be possible without surgery, but I sure am glad it is (at least in my case)!
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Post by ouchy on Jan 24, 2007 22:44:49 GMT -5
Oh yah, my migraines have not gone away with resolving my TMJ problems, but for some people I've heard that resolving TMJ problems eliminates migraines.
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Post by akcheryl on Jan 24, 2007 23:44:16 GMT -5
Interestingly enough, many women with endo also have fibromyalgia, which often presents with TMJ. I was diagnosed with TMJ in 2000 after the cartilage in my jaw dislocated, locking my jaw open. It wasn't until last November (or October? Too many doctors visits, I can't keep them straight) that my rheumatologist diagnosed me with fibromyalgia. The papers he gave me on fibromyalgia mentioned endometriosis, and it was a week later that I had my transvaginal ultrasound and the "large, complex adnexal masses" (endometriomas on each ovary) were found and I was scheduled for surgery (and diagnosed with stage 4 endo).
Oh, and technically, it's TMJD or TMD (TMJ is the temporomandibular joint; TMJD or TMD is temporomandibular joint disorder).
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Post by ouchy on Jan 24, 2007 23:54:35 GMT -5
^Yup. Everyone has 2 TMJ's. So do cats, dogs, etc.
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Post by ouchy on Jan 24, 2007 23:56:18 GMT -5
I just say "TMJ problems" ...because I know the TMJ is the joint, and most people think TMJ is the disorder itself. I've found if you tell people you have TMJD...they have no clue what you mean, in most cases, yet most people think "problems" when you say TMJ. So, I just cover all ground and say "TMJ problems."
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Post by ouchy on Jan 25, 2007 0:02:54 GMT -5
Oh yah. My TMJ problems were caused by extraction of a baby tooth for which there was no permanent tooth---grrr! The state I grew up in is kinda' backward medically speaking, and no one told me that I needed to get either an implant or a bridge to fill the gap left by the extraction. So, after my first set of braces came off and the retainer quit fitting (4 years later), my teeth started to move. As my teeth started to move, I got more and more of an overbite on my left side. My right TMJ is fine, but my left TMJ had quite a bit of stretching over a decade, and my TMJD is the result of lackadaisical dentistry/old orthodontistry not informing my mom that I needed a spacer or something to hold the gap.
NOTE: I no longer have trailer park teeth. lol. I now have an implant. HA.
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Post by ouchy on Jan 25, 2007 0:19:25 GMT -5
Interestingly enough, many women with endo also have fibromyalgia, which often presents with TMJ. I've read a bit about a lot of women being diagnosed w/ fibromyalgia having TMJD and then later being diagnosed w/ only TMJD. I've also read about women having TMJD as a result of fibromyalgia when fibromyalgia causes their bodies to be SO misaligned (can be seen visually) that the platysma is pulled inferiorly and distally, causing the distal side from the neck contraction to become stretched (pulling the head at an angle, stretching the opposite TMJ). (If that doesn't make sense, pull your head to the side and try to put your ear on your shoulder. Feel the pull on the opposite TMJ? Over time, that would HURT like heck!) However, I haven't been able to find any substantially valid studies specifically correlating fibromyalgia to TMJD. I've only seen it as either a proposed, hypothetical, or concomitant disorder. If you know of any good studies (w/ charts, graphs, how many subjects involved, etc.) please post a link, as I would be quite interested to read more on the matter.
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Post by jjuls22 on Jan 25, 2007 13:43:27 GMT -5
I had "missing" baby teeth, I had braces for the first time when i was in 4th grade, they just closed the gaps, for where my "missing" teeth should be instead of putting in impants. I believe i have one on the top and one on the bottom. I got braces on for the second time when I was in my first year of college 2001 and got them off in 2003 sometime. I have a permnante retainer wired to the back of my bottom teeth and i have a removeable top one. I think my TMJ acts up more when I wear my retainer at night, im not sure why that would happen though. Im going to a "head" specialist on the 14th, for my little dizzy spell i had about a month ago, after reading that website ouchy had posted, it said that vertigo could be a symptom of TMJ. UGH why me!!! ahahah why US?!?!? don't we have enough pain in our lives already? Im at work right now.. i wish i could put my whole face in warm water, that would be nice. They should make face heating pads.. hahaha.
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Post by Nari on Jan 30, 2007 0:12:51 GMT -5
Oh yea! Count me in. I also have a TMJ issue. However what my doctors call it is a TMD instead of TMJ. Now the only difference is the D means disorder because everyone has the TMJ (JOINT). I suffer from this stupid thing and have for years. I sleep with a bite guard/night guard that the dentist made for me. If i happen to fall asleep at night with out it. I wake up in the morning suffering. I am also a clencher not a grinder of teeth. This guard helps with that becuase the clenching harms my TMJ and makes the TMD worse. I was told by my dentist who specializes in this issue that most women get relief from the problem when they go through menopause. So here is to waiting on menopause. TMJ/TMD and Endo relief! By the way, I had braces as a teen and well, it did nothing for my issue. SUX!
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Post by Martha on Feb 4, 2007 17:13:51 GMT -5
I suffered from TMJ (temporal madibular joint) disfunction for years. I finally had surgery when I could not open my mouth to eat tater tot!. I don't know where you live, but I had a wonderful maxillofacial surgeon in Corpus Christi, TX who corrected my problem. It has been about 12 years, and I"ve been pain free. The only problem I have is soreness after a long dental appointment.
I did have to have my mouth wired shut for about 6 weeks, but it was worth it! I wouldn't think twice about having it done again.... it was a great success. My doc was fantastic!!!
Funny.... I suffered from endo too. finally had a hysterectomy and still have had it return!
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