Anyone w/ TMJ?

are you getting the headaches with it? because with my TMJ causes migraines and I use the razatriptan (sp) for pain....

I have it too, nothing seemed to help...I was on flexeril and naproxen and vicodin, ice and heat didn't really help either.  I had to go to physical therapy and have them stretch my jaw and un-spaz the muscles of my neck, everything had seized up so bad only physical therapy and muscle manipulation could help.

I have to do these exercises now, you put your tongue against the top of your mouth and open your jaw a few times, that keeps my jaw from getting useless again, and I have to rub my neck and shoulder a couple times a day too.  I still get the popping and clicking and pain, but at least I can eat again.  I know that probably doesn't sound too awesome but it's better than being in constant agony from the pain...maybe if you can still use your jaw to some degree the stretching stuff can help you.

I have had it since a car accident in 79. I wore the mouth piece for two years and it really helped, but wow back then my dentist charged me $500 every time I needed a new one. I still to this day use one at night. Susie

Get trigger point injections. They relieve the inflamation and pain in the joint. Then I agree you should also use a mouth gaurd.
Sj

My jaw has collapsed on both sides so I often, often get TMJ...it is excrutiating. thankfully it doesn't happen on both sides at once. No pain meds can touch it....so my doctor suggested massage, ice and heat...neck excersises.

Night guards work wonders.  I don't have TMJ but grind my teeth and have pain from it.  If I don't wear my night guard I wake up with a lot of pain and discomfort, sometimes even from a nap.  It is not the most attractive look but really helps a lot.

Definitely the mouth guard.  I had pain and even my hearing in the right ear was effected.  Wore the mouth guard a few times and hated it but then one morning woke up and the pain was gone and even my ear felt better. Now I only use mine when I feel pain coming or when I am stressed, but it definitely worked for me.

Potato, a little background: D.O.s are doctors of osteopathic medicine, which was founded in the 1800's when "modern" medicine was making people sicker than the illnesses themselves. In the current era of medicine, D.O.s have equivalent educations of their M.D. (doctor of allopathic medicine) counterparts, i.e. 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, residency, boards, etc. The major difference is that D.O. students in medical school are given hundreds of hours of additional training in this therapy called osteopathic manipulation, which is essentially specialized musculoskeletal treatment. Some of the stuff I have learned this year is a bit "iffy" (not evidence-based, kind of bizarre, etc.) but there's a lot of support and peer-reviewed research in OMM as a treatment for certain disorders such as migraines, asthma, IBS, temperomandibular joint disorders ("TMJ"), lower back pain, etc. I am becoming quite a fan of it for patients with musculoskeletal injuries especially.

One of my faculty members is a "OMM guru" and I had extremely painful TMJ problems for about a month during my first semester of school. After a month of eating applesauce and milkshakes (I couldn't chew anything), he treated me with OMM for 30 minutes. I kid you not, within 48 hours my jaw was completely functional again. Now I'm a skeptic by nature - but this stuff can work for people in certain situations, and it's worth a shot. The relief is often immediate and doesn't require constant "sessions" like some chiropractors would have you believe.

You can check out osteopathic.org, I would recommend that you find a specialty OMM (or "OMT") clinic if possible...or call to make sure that the doc specializes in doing OMM, because it takes a lot of upkeep to maintain the skills...

Sarita thank you so much for all that great information. I will absolutely look into it!

I have TMJ and had it really bad earlier last month. When my flares there is nothing that takes it away except a a couple of antihistimines (releave the swelling) and then one each day for a while. I get migranes from mine and they are so frustrating.

Shoshanna

Hi Malibou05,

Wearing a night guard definitely helps with jaw pain and migraines associated with TMJ. I have a soft night guard that I wear at bedtime, and I clench less when I wear it. Even those times when I still clench with it, I have less pain and it protects my teeth from cracking.

Do the CVS night guards work? I can't imagine why one from the dentist costs $500+ when they sell them at CVS for $20. I haven't bought one yet because I always used my retainer to keep me from grinding too much. But then my dog ate my retainer. I was fitted for a new one but haven't picked it up yet.