TMJ problems? anyone?

[laura001]

Yesterday I awoke with awful pain in my TMJ. I work with a Chiropractor and he did some manipulation etc. with it yesterday and I will have it done again today.

This morning it is still very sore, can't chew very well or open my mouth too wide. Has anyone else ever suffered with this, can you give me any idea as to how long it lasted, how you got over it etc.?

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

I have TMJ (I've had it for the past 10 years or so) and I've never had pain lasting more than a few minutes at a time. Hope the pain subsides soon!

 

[Rachie0507]

Do you have a cold? My TMJ is awful when I have severe congestion. I think it is because I have to breath through my mouth, therefore holding my jaw in a different position. I'm in the midst of that right now. I take more Motrin than cold medicine when this happens because the jaw pain is worse than the congestion.

 

[laura001]

Do you have a cold? My TMJ is awful when I have severe congestion. I think it is because I have to breath through my mouth, therefore holding my jaw in a different position. I'm in the midst of that right now. I take more Motrin than cold medicine when this happens because the jaw pain is worse than the congestion.

I don't have a cold or anything, but yesterday it felt as if I had been clenching my teeth for days.

Funny thing though, my ear feels like it is plugged a little, it must be from the inflammation from the TMJ.

 

[Poohnatic]

Try massaging the webbing between the thumb and index finger. I find that helps when the pain is really bad.

I've had trouble opening my mouth lately, but not too much pain. The massage helps before I eat.

Suzanne

 

[MrsPete]

My husband suffers from this malady -- and I do mean he SUFFERS.

He goes for months without an episode, then suddenly it's awful for a couple days. The swelling forces his jaw apart, and the headaches and pain are awful. Sometimes the episodes are brought on by stress, other times they're brought on by having over-indulged in foods that require lots of chewing like nuts or beef jerky. Sometimes a headcold will "lead to" an episode.

He has some pills that help with the swelling, and they are lifesavers. Usually he takes his pills for a day or two, then he's back to normal and won't think about it for a couple more months. Also, he found a doctor who suffers from the same problem, and he feels that he gets better care from a doctor who understands the problem first-hand.

It's MUCH better now that he understands the symptoms, and he takes his pills at the first inkling of a problem -- he can almost always avoid a full-blown episode by doing this. In the past, he'd ignore it until the pain was SEVERE.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I have it, but it hasn't flared up in about four years. I think it lasted around 4-7 days.

The last time was the worse flare-up ever. I could hardly open up my mouth to eat, much less talk. The guy I was dating at the time loved it.

I hope you get to feeling better soon!

 

[laura001]

I have it, but it hasn't flared up in about four years. I think it lasted around 4-7 days.

The last time was the worse flare-up ever. I could hardly open up my mouth to eat, much less talk. The guy I was dating at the time loved it.

I hope you get to feeling better soon!

What did you do to try to help when you had it?

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

What did you do to try to help when you had it?

Kept my mouth shut as much as possible? Seriously, I did. And for me, you have no idea how hard that really was!

Advil is also an anti-inflammatory. I would take four - which my dentist told me was the prescription strength - with milk.

 

[RonnieJo66]

My TMJ seems to come in waves. I'll be fine for months at a time, but then it hits. I'll have pain in my jaw that radiates down to my neck and shoulders. Sometimes lasts for days.

I find when I'm really desperate for relief that and couple of motrin of advil with a glass of wine helps! (ok, so probably not the best choice, but it works )

I have also found that relaxing your jaw by putting the tip of your tongue behind your 2 front teeth helps. Let the jaw kinda hang open. Ortho told me that one.

 

[DisneyBug1995]

I have had TMJ for years. I went to a TMJ specialist when I first started having problems. They had a special massager that gently massaged the jaw muscles and applied heat at the same time. So when I am having problems with my TMJ I massage the muscles with my fingers or lay on a heating pad. I havn't been able to find a massager that works like what they had, it was soooo relaxing.

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

Motrin helps us.

The only thing that has prevented me (and DS) from these episodes is wearing our nightguard. Ours was brought on my clinching and grinding our teeth. I wear it every night and there have been a couple days that I wore it around the house when I can feel the pain coming on. It stops it. Our dentist fit us for these. Good luck!

 

[AuntieM03]

My TMJ seems to come in waves. I'll be fine for months at a time, but then it hits. I'll have pain in my jaw that radiates down to my neck and shoulders. Sometimes lasts for days.

I find when I'm really desperate for relief that and couple of motrin of advil with a glass of wine helps! (ok, so probably not the best choice, but it works )

I have also found that relaxing your jaw by putting the tip of your tongue behind your 2 front teeth helps. Let the jaw kinda hang open. Ortho told me that one.

I also learned about the tongue behind your teeth and it helped me.

 

[MyGoofy26]

I usually put pressure on my jaw with my thumb. . . seems to help the ache. A lot of time times stress or lack of sleep for an extended period of time will trigger mine. I'm usually alright with Motrin or Advil if the ache is too bad or the headaches are too much.

Did you do any major chewing recently? I stopped chewing gum more than 10 years ago because the pain was unbearable. I've noticed though if I have a sandwich or something with tough bread or anything that involves a lot of hard chewing that I end up in pain very quickly, LOL. Oh yeah, and having my jaw cranked open for an hour and a half for my root canal last week didn't help. LOL!

 

[MsAmerica]

Have you been wearing your mouthguard?? If you don't have one, make an appt with your dentist and get one immediately. It is the only thing that really helps long term. Usually when one wakes up with TMJ pain it is because they have been grinding or clinching their teeth all night long.

With all due respect to chiropractors, I am not sure it is the place you should be.

MsA

 

[laura001]

Have you been wearing your mouthguard?? If you don't have one, make an appt with your dentist and get one immediately. It is the only thing that really helps long term. Usually when one wakes up with TMJ pain it is because they have been grinding or clinching their teeth all night long.

With all due respect to chiropractors, I am not sure it is the place you should be.

MsA

Actually, I happen to work with the chiro and I have seen great results with people who suffer from TMJ problems, it is just not an immediate fix.

This just happens to be the first time that I have ever experienced this problem so I don't have a mouthguard, but I will be taking care of that next week for sure.

My reason for asking other's opinions was to see what worked for them, I usually don't take any pain killers (motrin etc) either, but I am going out this afternoon and buying some. I hadn't thought of the heating pad either, so will be trying that too!

Thanks everyone for all the help!

Oh........the keeping my mouth shut thing will probably help too.........but it is awfully quiet here

 

[cybrkitn]

I've had it for about 20 years or so before the medical field even had a name for it. It usually hurts when my allergies and sinuses flare up or when I have any dental work done. Even the cold weather can effect it. Warm compresses has helped me in the past with the pain. However, when my jaw locks on me, it can last for a few days. When I first got it as a teenager, my brother was teasing me saying he could fix it for me by punching it.

When I had my first set of wisdom teeth out in 2004, I couldn't open my jaw fully for 2 weeks and eating (even soft foods) hurt. I had to take it day by day and the more use my jaw got from chewing the better it got. I went to a different oral surgeon for my last set this past year and the next day I was able to open my jaw up fully and eat without as much trouble.

My left side of my jaw "clicks" when I open it fully and that is caused by the TMJ. So it is kind of a pain to keep adjusting my jaw when I'm at the dentist.

 

[korbbec]

Try massaging the webbing between the thumb and index finger. I find that helps when the pain is really bad.

I've had trouble opening my mouth lately, but not too much pain. The massage helps before I eat.

Suzanne

I second this remedy. Not sure about TMJ- never heard of it, but I do use the pain remedy Poohnatic mentioned- works great for menstrual cramps.