I have been struggling with fibromyalgia since 1995 immediately following the birth of my only child. It has been a very steady downhill progression pain wise along with other autoimmune conditions. Lately, I have been getting swelling in my right jaw area near what would be the parotid gland internally. It flares up some days where it is very noticeable as well as tender. My gp sent me to a ear,nose and throat specialist who sent me for a ct scan in order to see if there was anything that could be causing this problem. Didn't find anything and is not sure what it could be and suggested seeing another type of a doctor..said possibly an autoimmune condition. I was wondering if anyone has ever experienced this before? The other side will also swell a little but not as much as the right side. They ruled out parotid stones. Thank you.
Hi Liza,
Have you ever been diagnosed with TMJ? I was diagnosed with TMJ about 18 years ago by my dentist and then an orthodontist confirmed it was TMJ. My jaw is always sore and I do have problems with swelling in the jaw near the parotid gland. Sometimes I swell on both sides or I will just be very tender on one side or both sides. I have heard that TMJ is pretty common with people who have fibromyalgia.
I usually take some over the counter pain reliever, then I put ice on my jaw for a while. I hope you find some answers soon.
Hugs to you,
Shell
Hello Shell,
Thank you for your thoughtful response! As a matter of fact I have been diagnosed with TMJ a very long time ago. Through the years I have had pain on and off....did get a nightguard from my dentist to help with the clenching at night but have difficulty keeping it in especially since being diagnosed with sleep apnea and having to wear a cpap mask. I've never had swelling though. I did ask my dentist about this and he didn't seem to think it was due to a tmj problem but I'm not sure if it can be ruled out since they can't seem to find anything else at this point. It's so frustrating because as I have said before I believe that all of this interrelated but am unable to find one doctor that can connect the dots and figure out a solid treatment plan as least to get some relief. Well good luck with you tmj problem. I hope that you are getting some relief. Have you ever tried a mouthguard/nightguard?
Hugs back,
Liza
ShellColl43 said:
Hi Liza,
Have you ever been diagnosed with TMJ? I was diagnosed with TMJ about 18 years ago by my dentist and then an orthodontist confirmed it was TMJ. My jaw is always sore and I do have problems with swelling in the jaw near the parotid gland. Sometimes I swell on both sides or I will just be very tender on one side or both sides. I have heard that TMJ is pretty common with people who have fibromyalgia.
I usually take some over the counter pain reliever, then I put ice on my jaw for a while. I hope you find some answers soon.
Hugs to you,
Shell
Hi Liza,
Your welcome. Yes, I did use a nightguard in the past, but it did not work that great. My dentist is actually going to fit me with a new one next month. Hopefully it provides some relief. It is bad enough trying to deal with fibromyalgia by itself, but then the added pain with TMJ just makes it worse and so annoying. My dentist after ruling everything else out said he could only relate the swelling to TMJ. I also get dizziness from TMG, although fibromyalgia also causes dizziness.
Well, I hope you find out what is going on, so you can get some kind of relief.
Hugs,
Shell
Liza005 said:
Hello Shell,
Thank you for your thoughtful response! As a matter of fact I have been diagnosed with TMJ a very long time ago. Through the years I have had pain on and off....did get a nightguard from my dentist to help with the clenching at night but have difficulty keeping it in especially since being diagnosed with sleep apnea and having to wear a cpap mask. I've never had swelling though. I did ask my dentist about this and he didn't seem to think it was due to a tmj problem but I'm not sure if it can be ruled out since they can't seem to find anything else at this point. It's so frustrating because as I have said before I believe that all of this interrelated but am unable to find one doctor that can connect the dots and figure out a solid treatment plan as least to get some relief. Well good luck with you tmj problem. I hope that you are getting some relief. Have you ever tried a mouthguard/nightguard?
Hugs back,
Liza
ShellColl43 said:Hi Liza,
Have you ever been diagnosed with TMJ? I was diagnosed with TMJ about 18 years ago by my dentist and then an orthodontist confirmed it was TMJ. My jaw is always sore and I do have problems with swelling in the jaw near the parotid gland. Sometimes I swell on both sides or I will just be very tender on one side or both sides. I have heard that TMJ is pretty common with people who have fibromyalgia.
I usually take some over the counter pain reliever, then I put ice on my jaw for a while. I hope you find some answers soon.
Hugs to you,
Shell
Hi Liza with a z,
I am going to include some links to discussions about the swelling and autoimmune illnesses. I would suggest that you take a look and then maybe ask your doctor about those possibilities:
http://www.mdjunction.com/forums/lupus-discussions/general-support/...
http://patient.info/forums/discuss/help-please--359271
Could this be a possibility?
http://healthquestions.medhelp.org/trigeminal-neuralgia-jaw-swelling