TMJ Support Group

Temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMJ syndrome, is an acute or chronic inflammation of the temporomandibular joint, which connects the lower jaw to the skull. The disorder and resultant dysfunction can result in significant pain and impairment.

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Contemplating cortisone shots.....

sultandave
sultandave
hi, i am at my wits end with this damn tmj!!!! its driving me crazy! i primarily have the symptoms on my left side. after having a bad cold 3 weeks ago and all the coughing and sneezing i did, i think i messed my tmj up even more. I've had headaches and muscle spasms ever since. unrelenting torture! i've tried the heat packs, ibuprofen, even low dose valium (2mg) at night. and none of this helps, it just relieves it for a while. i wear a MORA mouthpiece, have been wearing it for the past year and a half. and at night i wear plastic mouthpiece. My TMJ Dr. is Dr. Klemons. he has the website called headaches.com being that i go to school in south carolina, its hard for me to make those trips to New Jersey to get treated, its sad i had to go that far for treatment, but the doctors down here acted like they didnt even know what the hell tmj was. being that i am a native of new jersey, i sought treatment close to home, i will be returning for treatment ASAP!!! i need a quick fix for NOW! lol im thinking about asking a doctor or go to the hospital and ask for a cortisone shot, i was wondering if anybody had any good results with the cortisone shots? thanks!
deleted_user
deleted_user
hey sorry about your troubles, i can definitely sympathize. I havent heard much about coritsone myself, but i did have a pain management clinic try to give me one. I didnt go for it. Seems a bit risky to me, as the tmj area is much more complex and innervated with with nerves that are poorly understood(trigeminal), so I'd be very leary. Unfortunately there arent many magic wands or quick fixes. Have you checked out the NTI? it's been the only thing that has helped me and i've tried tons. www.headacheprevention.com and www.drjimboyd.com The inventor is a sufferer himself and knows more about this prob than anybody ive met. I bet your doing some serious clenching like most of us with "tmj" pain that a regular splilnt just lets us clench down harder. There's dentists everywhere using them exlusively and they are only a few hundred bucks and are much more conservative than something like a cortisone shot which is very invasive and considered a type of surgery.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Hi--sorry to hear the pain you are still in. If you haven't seen an improvement with the MORA by now, you need to find a new doctor. Not knowing your whole tmjd story, it's hard to comment fully on your case, but if I were you, I'd try to find a good tmjd specialist on the ICCMO website. Click on members, see whose in your area. Make sure that they do neuromuscular dentistry, and are a Functional Jaw Orthdontist as well. In my opinion, if you need to be in splint therapy, you need to find a competent tmj specialist who is expertly trained in Functional Jaw Orthodics. Bottom line, with splints, if they cause more pain, and you don't see an improvement with pain, muscular tension within 2-4wks of getting the appliance, they are not made correctly. It may be that there is not enough vertical dimension, it doesn't have enough indexing to "hold" you lower jaw in place, and they may not have you in the right mandible position. (or all three unfortunately..).
Good luck with everything.....:)
deleted_user
deleted_user
beware the neuromuscular. It's a theory designed to lead to full mouth reconstruction.....(50K maybe?)
deleted_user
deleted_user
Neuromuscular does not cost 50K---and it's not a "theory". I know many people who have been helped tremendously by a Functional Jaw ortho., neuro. dentistry, and braces afterwards for tmd. Not a one needed FMR. People need to have all the info. about treatment for tmd, not just the NTI. I know way too many people that have been damaged by that appliance, than traditional splints. Just be careful, and do as much research as possible before choosing the style of treatment for tmd. Take care all..:)
sultandave
sultandave
Thanks for the responses, i think that my anxiety makes everything worse as well... i mean come on, wouldn't you be constantly anxious if you felt like crap day in and day out? i really wish i could go to any of those good doctors you mentioned, but the thing is, i have no health insurance. im a junior in college. my family doesnt have much either. just thinking about this makes me even more depressed. i try to laugh and enjoy the day but its hard when your constantly in pain, and always suffering from one of the 30 some odd symptoms that come with this crap!!!!! i do have some good friends here at school, what i try to do is stay active and try to keep my mind off of the BS! its so hard though! ugh! my tmj was caused by a car accident, too bad i listened to others about my condition and went to this semi o.k doctor, it started with muscle spasms in my back and one day i woke up with the worst headache ever! and it never seemed to go away, the week all of the good symptoms with tmj started to show there evil face! im thinking mines is more muscular than of a disc problem. myofascial maybe? idk i just have my undies in a bunch!
deleted_user
deleted_user
I'm so sorry that you are dealing with all this. Some at home remedies you can try until you have some $ to get a consult by a good tmjd dentist are:
Hot water bottle, heating pad every night on sore muscles, even facial muscles
taking advil, as directed with magnesium supplements acts as a natural muscle relaxant. (about 500mg. per day, with advil)
High protein diet, limit fats. They cause acidity in the body, especially when you are having joint pain.
sleep on back , instead of sides, to limit pressure on face, joints.
Google neck , upper back exercises for tmjd. Do them everyday to relieve muscular spasms.
You may try going to a certified massotherapist who is trained in mayofacial release. Then, you can do it at home for free after you see how they treat..:)

Good luck to you, I wish you all the best of health. :)
deleted_user
deleted_user
I am sorry you are having such a hard time. I dont'know about the shots and did visit Dr. Klemons, but couldnt afford him. I am glad you like him. Maybe you could call his office and see if they can provide you with some advice about the cortisone. I know how hard this is and being a college student is the pits. I am at least in my late 40's and just started several years ago, but being younger is a real pain. (so to speak). I wish you luck.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Get an NTI and feel better.
deleted_user
deleted_user
the rest of it is doctors and dentists with 500 dollar an hour exam fees. Control the clenching and the headaches stop. The NTI is the only FDA approved splint for tmd and migraine.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I can realy synpathise with you here, I came out of college last year and moneys realy tight, as soon as I have enough I'm gunna try botox treatment, you might what to look into that (costs about 400).

About the NTI: It dosnt work for everyone but like jermey says it might work for you so its worth a try. Unfortunatley it wasnt the magic fix it made out to be for me but I don't regret trying it and certainly havnt had any adverse side effects from it.

This site is realy good for advice, read the threads here and see what you can try out, 2 years after developing symptons my pain is atleast managable now but there are still days when it realy gets me down too.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I'm sorry for your pain. I've never had cortisone in my jaw, but I had lidocaine (I'm pretty sure that was it) several times and it did nothing at all for me. Hopefulmommy has some good ideas. Heat on the jaw is good. I much prefer it to ice. Mucho Advil is good if your stomach can handle it. I too sympathize. I hope you find relief and feel better.
sultandave
sultandave
Thank you all for the warm comments, i also have trigger points in my back and neck from the car accident. i found the one in my trapezius is killing me! when i pressed it, it made me have a aura like a migraine and that "wave" of facial pain and this funny sensation through the back of my head and temple area. i seriously think that my problem is of muscle origin. maybe even myofascial pain. and this tmj makes me have panic attacks. i think it has something to do with the nerves in the area that go to the amygdala which controls emotions, memory, mood etc. im thinking that if i can get my muscles calm the nerves will soon follow! keep me in your prayers!
deleted_user
deleted_user
I've had cortizone shots a few times in the trigger points in my neck and around my shoulder blades. I've found it was only somewhat helpful, but for the most part, wasn't really worth my time.

If you're looking for some immediate relief, try an acupuncturist! There are places where you can get group acupuncture (theres a free clinic here that does it for $5 every friday) and I guarantee you'll walk out of there feeling better. It doesn't fix you much in the long term, unless you are getting it done very frequently, but it does make you feel a hell of a lot better.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I WAS TOLD BY A SPECIALIST TO DEFINITELY NOT GET CORTISONE SHOTS- IT WOULD ACTUALLY MAKE THE JOINT DISENTIGRATE (sp?)