Hi everyone, in the past 2 weeks that I have become a member of this wonderful website, I have noticed that some Fibro patients have or had TMJ. I lived with it for 30 years. Migraines and a lot of pain going on along with the Fibro pain? Could you all share with me if you have gone through TMJ and what steps did you need to take to maybe calm it down or get rid of it?? Thanks! Laurie
Laurie,
Welcome to the site! I have TMJ and have had it for over 20 years. My jaw used to crack and pop constantly. Then arthritis must have set in because it began to hurt. Meloxicam 15 mg usually keeps the pain under control. If I need dental work it can be very painful.
I’m not sure why I get migraines but the only thing that helps is Cambia powder, prescribed by a neurologist.
Sometimes a night splint that keeps your teeth from grinding helps TMJ. Have you tried that and had any luck?
Hope you have a good night-
Sunflower
Hi Laurie,
Well, I'm sorry to hear about your tmj and migraines. That must be a barrel of fun - NOT.
Yep, I have TMJ, seems like I've always had it. I've never had it treated because I can't afford the mouth guards the dentists use. Mine has only been excruciating once in my memory. I don't know what else there is, other than those mouth guards.
I wish I could be more helpful. Hopefully someone else will have better info. And I hope you get relief from it.
Hi Sunflower - My jaw used to crack and pop too! What a horrible sound it made.. Jeez! Because of my TMJ I lost all my teeth a year ago. I was devastated and to have the Fibro pain on top of this, was a little too much. However, I do have beautiful teeth now - but it was incredible how much pressure I put on my teeth when I was grinding them. During the day I was fine - but at night that's when all the pain of Fibro and TMJ would hit me. I first developed Migraines from the TMJ many years ago. The medicine I had, which was really good, was called Cafergot. However, Migraines started up again when I got the Fibro in my neck!! I can't win, can I? The medicine I took for my headaches isn't made any more. I find that using Aspirin with the ingredient Caffeine in it works pretty good for me. Caffeine is the main source of shutting down the Vascular vein that produces the throbbing that you might feel with a Migraine. I used to wear a night splint - I remember those days very well!! It did work for me. To be safe. over the past 7 years, my doctor recommended a brain scan to check for anything else that may be causing the Migraines. So, Far, I am fine, so he said it was from the problems in my neck and my teeth grinding. There's always something going on with us, you know?? I hope you too, have a good night. We never know till we get to bed! Hugs! Laurie
You lost all of your teeth from TMJ? Did they break? Or what? I'm feeling a bit queasy right now at the thought of this, but I'm a real big night grinder.
Hi Laurie, I have suffered with TMJ in the past, as well as migraines, I had a mouth guard made through the dental college here in town, it was still expensive, but not as much as a dentist. It kinda keeps your teeth apart so your not putting pressure on your jaw when you sleep. It did help, since then though I have had a lot of changes in my teeth, so it don’t fit anymore, but I have heard that the ones in the store work just as well.
For me, my TMJ is better & my grinding stopped after my divorce, that was 14 years ago and I still have not needed it, not like I did anyway. Lol
Hugs
dee
Hi Pet - Yes, my teeth started to break - exposing them even more to teeth decay and so on. I always had nice teeth - but they were what the dentist called 'soft teeth.' I had to go every 3 months to have them cleaned and I took the best care I could. But what happened was, the teeth were getting grinded down from my TMJ. The amount of pressure a human can put on their teeth is phenomenal. The result is that they were chipping off and so on. It was a terrible thing to go through. It took years though for the teeth to finally break down - but nontheless, it happened. Laurie
Hi Dee - I thought that after I divorced that terrible husband of mine, my TMJ would clear up!! LOL It didn't, unfortunately. I still had a ton of other things to stress over - so I was still in danger of losing my teeth. My TMJ seemed to occur at night only. During the day, I was okay. I do remember that many years ago, I went to see a dentist who was a specialist in TMJ and he took special X-rays of me jaw. The 'discs on both sides were getting worn down from my TMJ. Thus the reason for the popping and cracking sounds that TMJ patients get. Laurie
Hi Laurie, I developed TMJ right around the time I was diagnosed with fibro (13 yrs old) and since then it has never really let up. When I was a teen the doc had me using a mouth plate (orthodontist made) and did help relieve a lot of the pain by taking a lot of the tension out of my jaw. Unfortunately I grew out of my mouth plate and never ended up getting a new one. Now tho I am not sure i can wear it as i've developed an issue with sensitive gums and getting mouth sores easily. But that is something to look into (if you never have). You wear them at night and they can be made to help prevent clenching or grinding which is a common issue with TMJ.
I stay away from gum and other things that stress my jaw out. I also do these Jaw excerizes for TMJ. They don't always work for me but sometimes they really help. Also i found drinking hot drinks before bed (when my tmj is the worst) or when I've been out in the cold help relax the facial muscles I also sometimes slip a heating padd into my pillow so that whatever side of my face is touching it is warm and that helps alot. I know for some cold packs help but i rarely use them as I am hyper sensitive to cold.
I hope you are able to get some sort of advice or help from this. As a fellow sufferer I know how bad it can be. The migraines from my jaw sometimes are the worst ones.
Hi Chick - it sounds like you are doing everything you can to help yourself with the TMJ. The ridiculous cost of getting dental work is enough to give me a migraine!! About 3 years ago, when I started having real problems with the TMJ - I visited my dentist and he was the dentist I had seen for many years. I didn't have insurance at the time I saw him. By the time he examined my teeth - he said it would cost $12,000!!!! Can you believe this? I have a few friends that don't have dental insurance because it really doesn't cover anything, especially any major work. So, I had to come to the realization that I may lose my teeth, which I did. I had to work very hard with my insurance company to okay me getting new teeth. They finally agreed. It was pretty devastating to go through all that I did, because after the teeth were extracted, I developed an infection and had to have more surgery to correct it. In the end, everything turned out okay We all go through so much, don't we?? I am like you, hyper sensitive to cold and here I live in Nevada!1 LOL Take care of yourself, Chick, and know that we are all here to support you and help you out in any way we can. Hugs! Laurie