TMJ headaches?

hello, i cant get rid of these tension headache. ive tried so many things....the amitriptyline has taken care of my depression and anxiety, muscle relaxants , psyiotherapy, ive gone to a chiropractor and perfected my posture. The thing that helped the most is an NTI dental device which i wear at night but this has seemed to give some sort of improvement but has not stopped the consistantcy of the headache thus i think it must have something to do with my jaw...im now convinced that my jaw is not alligned properly but i dont know if im just paranoid about it.does anyone think this is a possiblity for causing these headaches or have any other suggestions what else it could be or anything that might help. Please reply cause this is really wearing me down, thanks

I have a problem with the ligaments in my jaw. When I was first diagnosed, I had to wear a "splint" at all times except when I was eating. I went from missing work from, on average, 3 times/month to not missing work for 6 months...and then it was due to a cold!

So to answer your question (I think), grinding at night isn't the only issue associated with TMJ dysfunction. Obviously that was part of your problem, but you may have additional jaw problems.

thanks for the reply. im so glad to hear that you got relief from using the splint....ive talked to my dentist to ask the possibility of an occlusion, he said that this is much more complicated because if the jaw is rectified it would be a permanent thing and that even then he cant promise that the headaches would go away plus it might even make me worse. this is a no win situation and me head is getting quite bad now, there is nothing i have to even help me get any relief...i took a double dose of my muscle relaxants and dont feel much of a change. its not really the pain itself which i cnat stand as i know migraines are more severe but its the consistnecy... it never goes away. im hanging on by a thread and dont know how much longer i can take

Post Edited (timur) : 3/26/2006 8:11:41 PM (GMT-7)

i have had regular tmj and it is excruciating. ibuprophren- lots of it was the only thing that helps me when i flare up ( think cause it is an anti-inflamatory). did u try heat pack? massage? i feel awful for you- please don't give up.

i got indomethacin (anti-inflammatory), i just took a high dose and that has helped quite a bit. Cold definately works better for me. How long for you did take after wearing the splint for your condition to improve?

TMJ definetely causes headaches. The night guard should help. Good luck.

I have TMJ problems really bad. Also, I clentch a lot. I tried splints but they made my migraines worse and just gave to sometime to bite on. I broke my in half after one week from clentching so hard ( but they do help some people especially those who don't clentch) The splint keeps your jaw from closeing completely and allows those muscles to relax.. I even had surgery for chronic dislocations on my jaw, hoping it would help the Migrainies too, but now they are worse than every. I was wondering...do you take OTC meds daily, or what Scrips. do you take daily? Habitual analgesics can cause reboud H/A almost as bad at the real h/a. With my jaw, I use heat packs EVERY night. Also, when I took the muscle relaxer Zanaflex it caused me to have headaches. Flexaril worked good for my jaw to relax, but did not help the headaches. Just throwing out a few ideas. Hope things get better

PS
have you seem an oral surgen. they don't just do surgery but might could help you.