I thought it was my wisdom tooth coming in when the pain hit. I got the lovely advice from the college clinic doctor: You have TMJ, don’t eat meat, and here, have enought ibuprofen to zap your liver into next year.
Since then, I’ve found that chiropractic sometimes helps, that getting my wisdom teeth out helped a little, and that I have lots of sympathy for anyone with mouth pain.
I would talk to your union rep as the TMJ may have been aggravated due to the job requirements of being a crack whore.
Perhaps there’s some company insurance you can access that will help you pay for any needed devices, that is as long as the people who run the union haven’t bought and smoked a ton of crack with all the dues they’ve collected.
You may have to sue.
Until then, there’s an acupressure technique that can greatly reduce and in some cases completely block the pain you are experiencing.
Take an ordinary ice cube and place it between your thumb and index finger of the hand that is on the same side as the pain. Hold the ice cube firmly and you should find that the pain in your jaw will subside a great deal. My ex cow - orker’s wife suffered from TMJ and I showed her this technique. It took less then 30 seconds for the pain in her jaw to completely vanish. I have rarely seen anyone this happy.
This also works for any dental pain a person might be suffering… I had an abcess some years ago and made it quite a few days just by using this technique. When I saw my dentist he couldn’t believe that this worked better than the other pain medications I had (tylenol 3’s). I had to go on antibiotics before the root canal was done and my dentist (bless his heart) prescribed me percocet. When I couldn’t take any more percocet I would just get more ice from the freezer and all was well.
Good luck.
Wow! Rummaging thru desk for ice cubes (Hey, there’s as good a chance of finding one in HERE as there is of finding one in the office freezer…)
I will try it–thanks! I’ll keep you posted on that, and my “meeting” with my union rep. I hope he wears pants this time…
Ya know, I just realized why this thread has so many views. Every time I come across it I read the title as:
TMI (or There Goes My Career As A Crack Whore)
Well, auntie em, maybe this will be somewhat reassuring…
I have no problem at all giving head unless it’s for a really extended duration (more than 45 minutes). Then I get a headache. Otherwise, I just make sure to <tmi warning> add in some licking to give my jaw a rest periodically.
Honey, I could be SUPERWOMAN and I wouldn’t be able to give head for 45 minutes!
And, um… don’t let that get out, OK? I’m planning to use my new TMJ as an excuse…
I thought about that, Little Bird… but, then, the thread does seem to have degenerated a little, into TMI…
I hope you weren’t disappointed that it was only about my jaw to begin with…
Dang! I’m proud to even be on the list of hopefuls!!
A great honor.
You won’t even feel me, guaranteed-LOL!
B.
I went to a specialist last June for a modified version of TMJ. (See here for the thread I posted about it. My sig was different then - it said “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature!”)
End result. $400 for the specialist (not in network, and I hadn’t fulfilled my deductible yet), and the offer of another $1500 for them to fit me with an “appliance” so it didn’t get any worse (they couldn’t fix the problem). I refused, and my jaw is back to being mostly normal again.
So - it could have been worse. You could have spent nearly $2000 of hard-earned crack whore money on something that wouldn’t have worked anyway.
That ice cube trick sounds cool.
You can also try massage, with or without a vibrating massager (mmmm, vibrate…)
I sometimes massage in a circular motion, starting at the TM joint and working my way down my jawline, with the mouth hanging open (it needs to hang loosely–if you’re trying to keep it open, you’re stressing it too much). That helps somewhat. I used to have a presciption for Motrin which eventually ran out, so now I take three regular ones which equal the same strength as the prescription one (600 mg).
My TMJ was at its worst in college, I guess due to stress. My dentist periodically asks me if the chips missing from my front teeth bother me much. :rolleyes: Nah, who needs 'em.
Hmmm…could be related. All the dental work could have aggravated an existing, but mild problem.
Here is the advice my dentist gave me in any case:
-
Avoid opening my mouth past the “clicking point.”
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Avoid keeping my mouth open for a long time.
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Yawn without opening your mouth widely (this is very hard to do!)
Jesus H. Chavez! 45 minutes? Poor hubby my ass…
My personal record involved a car, a highway, a couple of hours at night and 4 advils.
I was not in a good mood the following day.
Good God, I don’t know who I am more in awe of, you or your husband. (Assuming this was all one event as far as he was concerned, not eight or nine).
Do you have a sister?
Cousin?
Distant female relative?