Yesterday I received the results of an MRI scan I had for TMJ pain. I have a tear in the cartilage of my left jaw joint (which was caused by trauma a couple of years ago) but there appears to be nothing wrong with the right joint, although this is the one that causes me the most pain - it grinds, clicks, hurts when I eat, talk, yawn, and even locks sometimes when I open my mouth. When it locks, if I press my right joint it releases fine.
I would like to know if there's anything I can do about the torn cartilage in my left jaw joint? When I asked the consultant she kept referring back to pain management and offered to prescribe me pregabalin for a 2 week trial. To be honest I'm not interested in covering up the pain and would like to deal with the problem head on.
Regarding my right jaw joint, I've read that a certain amount of clicking and grinding in jaw joints is normal but not sure whether jaw locking is.
hi michelle and so sory to hear you're having tmj issues.. the more so that you're apparently not being given all the info and options from your own consultant. may i ask.. are you in the uk and attending a maxillofacial clinic? i've noticed how very different the choices available are depending on where you live!
my own started 30 years ago.. i had an op that was a bit of a disaster a while after the accident (hit by a car) and more recently for lack of anywhere else to go, a total tmj transplant so yes, the options are many depending what the damage was.
as for the apparent 'oddity' of a damaged right side but problems over in the left ..not so odd as it seems. just think for a moment if you were to take a doorhinge off and put it back even slightly out of alignment, it would soon tear itself up, including the 'good' one. all the things you describe are classic tmj 'outcomes' plus many you don't yet list ..leave it unattended and you may start noticing those too! you've already spotted the "press here to unlock" trick.. u might just want to try this - if you can find that same 'sweet spot' and gently apply pressure as you chew it can help keep it in place. the other thing is something my surgeon said back in '84 - guarded eating ..never try to bite into an apple. same with yawning, coughing, singing - just try to remember it's always there waiting.
as to what to do.. pain management's good even if not your ultimate aim. congratulations on your 'go kick the stuffing out of it' attitude, btw.. definitely consider asking for a second opinion if one's available to you..
there are loads of impressive links to helpful info rite here on the site.. i highly commend nhs choices.. i'm sure you'll find masses of ideas to try minimise disruption - both 'techy' and 'in my experience'. i think you'll find the numbers thought to have tmj issues and the number of those who actually go on for treatment. the first number's huge; the second, small.
if they aren't enough there's a whole web of it out there and i think i've got pretty much every page bookmarked! ;o)
whatever else michelle, no ..jaw locking AIN'T natural!
go check some of the other tmj posts - there are a few good ones.
hope some of the above is helpful and i send all best wishes for a happy new year.
Hi Jas, thank you so much for your response and kind words. My problems actually started on my right side when I was in my teens, then the trauma to the left side occurred in my 20's, making everything worse. I've been seeking help for the last year and a half, starting off with being fitted with a night-time bite splint, which hasn't really helped. It actually makes the muscular pain worse. And I'm under NHS Scotland btw.
I just feel really let down by the health service when I thought I was finally getting somewhere. I've decided though to keep a diary of all of my pain, symptoms, number of times my jaw locks in a day etc, and will try to get an appointment with the consultant. I think part of the problem was that my appointment for my results was supposed to have been with my consultant but it ended up being with someone else who went away to seek advice from someone during the appointment. So I didn't actually see a consultant that day. Anyway, I know I've probably got a fight on my hands to find proper, constructive help, but I'll keep trying!
thanks for writing back and for the info.. not a good start by the sound of it. i wonder if there isn't a tendency for any 'specialist' to view an issue through their own 'prism' ..i.e. a dentist will likely look for dental solutions (upper splint in your case) rather than handing you straight up to the 'experts' for assessment and direction ..likely the local maxillofacial mob at the hospital. that of course delays treatment which might stop or even resolve the issues you face.. at worst they can actively exacerbate the problem so do go rottweiler on hunting out the right and appropriate professionals for your condition.
i'm so sorry to hear you were left feeling rather 'palmed off' over your results meeting - after all, it's a big deal! how come your clinician can run off for advice mid-meeting but you can't?? ..lol. you may well feel none the wiser as to what the results actually mean; what options they present - if you're like me you may only remember little of what was said, so do think about asking the hospital for a record of what was said.. they'll also have written to your gp so you might want to ask them for a copy of that letter too.
you've probably already trawled through all the 'related info' on site here.. can i also suggest a thread by which i've been well inpressed by kate9956 - a lass who's come up with some pretty sound advice and practice through which she's all but eliminated her pain and difficulty. granted, all our cases are different so one size will never fit all but you may find her a really useful person to discuss it with. another interesting one is by jonathan58 (kate's commented on there.. thus far i've only been following). 1.. it shows just how random all our tmj stuff is and 2.. it also highlights something you'll quickly spot - contributors who will readily diagnose you on just a couple of sentences and insist you have some dreadful condition which in all likelihood you don't. to purloin a misquote.. "beware of greeks bearing diagnoses". common sense i guess, but weigh everything you're told cos some of it can be quite whacky.
as for the rest, i can only say i think you're approaching it absolutely right.. but i can also say that once you do finally manage to fall into the right hands, my guess is you'll feel like you landed in clover! for now though, you're at war michelle.. not perhaps with the doctors (although sometimes they can be worth a skirmish) so much as with the system itself - but it is one you can win!