Anxious over bruxism/potential for TMD

[Susie2271]

Hi, all,

I have been struggling since February of this year to find a way to end my headaches and sometimes migraines that started after I had a crown put on a molar. I evidently am grinding and/or clenching my teeth at night when I'm asleep. My dentist has made me two night guards. The current one is softer thankfully. My doctor referred me to a neurologist who doubled up on different medicine therapies that ultimately made me sick, but not free of the pain. I now see a physical therapist for TMD (Dentist says I don't have it, and the PT agrees, saying I am a candidate for it though.) I am to see a new neurologist, an osteopath, in July.

It's going into month 5 now, and though I know I am doing what I can to solve the problem, I am anxious, fearful and desperately sad at times that it just won't end. I can't plan anything without the fear that I will have pain in my neck, sholders, jaw and head. It's not irrational because so far not a day since the middle of Feb. have I been without the pain. I often wonder if I'm just angry at work, at having a disease like IC or what the problem is since I can't make myself not grind my teeth at night.

My IC symptoms, ironically enough, have not been as troublesome since I've been on Elmiron and hydroxyzine pamoate. I'm thrilled about that, but my neurologist had said that the Elmiron might make the headache a little worse when I take those pills. I take them out of the capsule and put them in an ounce of water as a precaution, but now sometimes I worried about that as well, that maybe the doctor is right and it's making things worse. I still haven't stopped taking those though; I'm getting better each month I take those.

I feel like there are all these arrows coming at me at times, and I just don't have the equipment to shield myself at all times. I do feel God is close to me and that He understands what I'm challenged with, but sometimes I don't always act the good soldier. While I sometimes can say, "it could be worse," or "it's not forever," there are also times I just start crying and don't want to stop.

Please pray for me, and if you know of a treatment for TMD/TMJ disorder that I haven't mentioned, please pass that along to me.

[Roxie2007]

I feel for you! I suffered with Bruxism for years and have TMJ on and off thru the years. It's miserable! I've used the mouth guards on and off but for some crazy reason I take them out of my mouth during the night and put them on the bedstand! I don't remember doing it! So they didn't help me a lot. I hope you find something that helps you......soon! I have lots of my molars capped from the bruxism. Best wishes to you! Roxie

[ICNDonna]

Have they done any testing to determine whether you actually have a physical problem with your jaw joints?

Donna

[Susie2271]

No -- I was going to go to a neuromuscular dentist here in Dayton who specializes in TMD, but unfortunately I can't afford the cost of all the testing -- X-rays and MRI, for one. He's not a provider, so I would be paying half. The bad news is I am paying on the crown I just had done and will have to pay a couple hundred for an MRI I already had done on my head and neck.

My dentist said to come in on emergency when I feel like my teeth aren't coming together properly. He said he can X-ray the jaw to see if it's misplaced. I'm honestly afraid to call because I get the feeling that I'm like the boy who cried wolf. I get this vibe from the office staff and from the lady who is the one I've had adjust my nightguard. I guess I have to get over that though and ask to get in!

[dg2901]

I've had diagnosed TMJ caused by Bruxism for 20 years. Its a miserable thing to have to deal with.
I have no advice to give, however did want to you to know you surely have my empathy!

Hope you get some relief soon!
Diana

[MakinIT]

My dentist has made me two in the last 4 years and no matter how I try I always spit them out in the middle of the night...and my teeth keep wearing down..THEY hurt...owie. But if you ever see a chiro sometimes you can get one to just check to see how hard you are clenching and if your Mastoid/lower jaw are misalinged...they can't do much but help relax the muscles (and it feels soooooo good...Man!!) But they can refer to someone who can help you. My dentist, who is the nicest man, just told me he has the same problem with his 600 hundred dollar piece and he has to deal with it. But just like with IC, ya gotta shop around.

[Cheryl1961]

I have been clenching/grinding my teeth and had TMD since 1981. I had a car accident and my chin hit the steering wheel in my 1972 Dodge Dart. I was 20 years old at the time. Suffered with headaches, neck and jaw pain for years before my first nightguard was made. I had to learn to use it as I too kept taking it out and I would find it in my sheets or on the floor or on the bedside table. Now I MUST use the mouthguard (it is a hard one) during naps and bedtime or I will pay for it later. On long road trips I even put in my purse so I can use it for cat naps in the car. After using it for about 15 years it's kind of like my pacifier - pop it in and baby (me) go night-night! Haha!

I also see a chiropractor regularly who truly helps me and showed me some self-help remedies to ease the pain. In fact, he told me that everyone should see their chiropractor BEFORE they are fitted for their night guard to attempt to get everything into a better alignment. I try to get massages every so often as that helps to. So many malls and health food stores have massage therapists working onsite with their massage chairs that it's quick and easy to get a 15 minute massage. Is there someone in your family (husband, older child) who can give you just a quick 1-2 minute neck/head massage each day? My 16 year old son has learned to do pressure points on my head and neck to alleviate my head/jaw pain and ease sinus pain and pressure. Also, for me Aleve works better than anything for TMD pain. Ultram helps too.

Make sure you have a supportive pillow and are not sleeping with your hand up under your chin or pressing against your cheek as to throw your bite off.

Bone up on some reflexology/pressure points as this may help ease the pain too and you can practice them on yourself. I tell you what I use that really really helps: heat. I got a new thick sock and filled it about 2/3 full of regular rice, put a thick rubberband or non-metallic hairband/ponytail holder a couple of inches from the top. Throw it into the microwave and heat to your desired temperature (you may need to experiment),lie down and put that rice pack on your jaw/cheek/neck/shoulder area and try to relax. The rice conforms perfectly to your face/jawline and is so soothing. I have one of these for my face and one for my bladder pain. They just seem to conform better than anything else I've tried.

One last thing, if you're like me you may be clenching/tightening your jaws or facial muscles around the jaw during other times of the day and not really even noticing how severely you're doing it. For me it's when I am driving, shopping, feeling stressed, or having bladder pain. I try to consciously evaluate myself now to make sure that I am not contributing to the TMD problem inadvertantly. You might put in your night guard to evaluate this too as you will instantly know if you're clenchingl

Hope this helps. Good luck to you.

[Susie2271]

Thank you for the posts. I've been taking Aleve and Zanaflex for pain (Excedrin when the headache grows closer to migraine). I have never tried Ultram though so will have to look into that.

My PT does chiro techniques on my neck and jaw, and it feels better for like a couple hours, then the pain returns, but sometimes is not as bad for a few days. I am hoping that means I'm closer to finding relief. The knots keep coming back to my shoulders it seems, even with massage and the exercises I do. Some days I just get so frustrated. But -- usually my IC takes a backseat in my mental ramblings then, which is mentally a plus because I used to obsess about whether I was doing all I could to feel better there. lol

Seriously though, the stress of work and living with pain must have manifested itself in other ways. Maybe that's why we clench and grind. My husband wants me to just let it all out when I need to.

I'm now going to see a dentist who specializes in TMD. My dentist made minor adjustments to my teeth Thursday. I thought I was fine, but realized that two teeth in the front hit when I started to talk. I went right back in, and he said through a dental assistant that he can't help me and referred me to a prosthodontist, a restorative dentist. I decided to go to someone my PT recommended as a result.

I'm hurt that my dentist behaved like that and wanted to ask him why he would fix the bite (he did make adjustments after all), but decided against that this morning. My hubby said he may have been chasing the problem around my mouth -- adjustments leading to more needed adjustments.

[Susie2271]

update: a diagnosis, but still in pain

I wanted to provide an update. I went to an orthodontist instead of a prostodontist (spelling), and he said I have a slipped disk in my jaw, so it is my jaw and my bite as I had wondered. I definitely have TMJ syndrome. He suggests braces since he said I have a crossbite and an open bite.

I also went to see a new neurologist. He made a comment about the fact he's the third one I've seen. The last time I saw the first neuro though he suggested Tylenol for my migraines and didn't have time for my questions. He did this every time I saw him and I had finally had it. The second neuro tried pill/injection combos until my stomach said "no more." Her staff argued with me when I would call and tell them the side effects I was having. My pharmacist would tell me which drug it could be; the staff would say that it's not in their database that it causes this or that side effect. The neuro then wanted to try alternate approaches, and since I'm a sensitive anyway, it freaked me out to think what weird side effect could be next. I was hoping this neuro, an osteopath, would consider the whole person. He couldn't believe there's a connection between migraine and IC. I got the feeling he thought someone was "smoking something." (I hate it that I have to explain IC connections to doctors. Instead of scoffing, why don't they just say, "Hmmm. That's interesting" and then go look it up?) Anyway, I take one (2 mg) of Zanaflex in the morning, one in the afternoon and am moving slowly up to 4 (8 mg) at night.

My weeks at work are turning into hit or miss with me taking hours off for the pain -- headache/nausea, facial spasms, neck, should and back pain. I had my family doctor get the ball rolling for the Family Medical Leave Act in the event my leave runs out. Also, my boss, who has always been a bully, has recently upped the scrintiny of my leave time (because of an incident where I ended up going to the union for help. They were the ones who told me to protect myself with the FMLA.) Stress from work definitely factors in to the problem. Your thoughts and prayers are most welcome.

Hey, the funny thing is that my IC pain is limited. That's a blessing. My vestibulitis drives me nuts at times, but otherwise, I can handle it. Before, I was thinking about both problems constantly. Of course, I still feel most days like I'm falling apart, you know?