Fibromyalgia Support Group

Besides TMJ, I thought trigeminal neuralgia. It's a painful illness that affects the trigeminal nerve in the face and jaw area. It's usually only on one side of the head.

I've worn an orthotic for about 24 years now? since the late 80s. It does well at keeping the TMJ managable, but this one's old and cracked and broken in several places and I need a new one. However, I can't keep my bottom teeth clean enough under it, and they are rotting. I need massive dental work, and of course, my dental insurance covers $1500 per year (not a lot). My problem is one side of my jawbone is 3/4 of an inch longer than the other, so my jaw sits sideways in the joint and it torques the muscles and used to cause 3 and 4 day migraines.

I don't know what I'm going to do either. Not worth getting a new orthotic if the teeth are rotting under it, can't afford to get the dental work done I need. Catch-22

I want to thank everyone for all of the comments and support....I am excited to tell you all that the pain is completley gone! It really is amazing...I want to share with you how..so I went back to my doc..she decided she felt is was TMJ...she said I could go to dentist or a specialist...she absolutely would not give me anything for the pain....well, I was so desperate I decided I would figure it out on my own..I have taken it upon myself to learn all I can about the body and how it works so I can understand what the fibro does...this was a whole new ballgame for me as I have never flared in this area before...I have a book on Trigger points and came across it while digging out all my fibro books....I decided to take a look at it..as I was reading I started noticing that they were describing all the same sort of pains I was experiencing....so I read on and on and on....finally in a desperate attempt I thought ok maybe there is somethin to this..so I began to find and map out the muscles of my jaw and started massaging the muscles feeling for the trigger points...I found like 5...so I spent an hour self massaging all these muscles using the diagrams in the book..I am sooooo happy to say that it healed those pains completely..the day before I did this I counted 9 seperate episodes of unrelenting pain in one day.....I am thrilled to report I have not had even one episode since.....

What book was it that helped? I'm sure there's many of us here who'd love to try the same thing becuase of similar pain!

Including me!

i was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia and had the most excruciating pain in the jaw and teeth i thought it was my back teeth and begged the dentist to take them out . This was before i was diagnosed so i had a lot of teeth taken out for nothing, but i never associated it with my fibro

one more person on the roles of the TMJ afflicted. When it is very bad, you can try switching to a soft diet. I have had to reduce how much talking I do at times, and figured out lots of lttle things that aggravate it, like turning to look out of the car window too long when I'm a passenger, or baxking out of numerous parking spots when I've been doing errands, and somehow that hard turn of the neck triggers it. I also really lightened my purse, and try not to hang it high on the shoulder/ neck.

I have patches with 12 hour continuous release of an anti-inflammatorry. The patch is called Flector, and it also come in the gel Voltaren. The patch works so well, I cut a suitable size piece and wrap it around my jaw. It can pull partially offf when you turn your head, but I have to have it some days. If you're in public, you may prefer to keep applying the gel. If the headache spreads to my scalp muscles or temples, I put gel there too. oral anti- inflammatories help, but I like the topical. Also need a muscle relaxer sometimes, when it won't let up.

Even innocuous tasks like having my head down at a desk too long, or wrapping too many presents will set it off. it's like all of the fibro, you have to be disciplined when it's being bad, and attentive to not overdoing, to keep it good.

the book I have is called The trigger point therapy workbook written by Claire Davies..It maps out every single muscle in the body and where the trigger points might be...it also gives a full and thorough explanation of the exact types of pains and symptoms that each area can cause...then you use self massage techniques to find the trigger points which are like little lumps or knots located somewhere along the muscle...when the knots or trigger points release then the pain goes away....it is almost like magic..I still have not had one more episode....I wanted to share in case it could help some of my fibro friends...it has me wondering if some of my "Flares" are actually related to myofacial pain and or trigger points....so I am finding a massage therapist that is knowledgable of these and see what happens....big hugs to all of you..