I need help fast.

do you have insurance?

I live in England so we have the NHS here.

I live in America where only the rich and powerful have access to best medicine has to offer. I am not familiar with the plans in England. Hopefully they are good. You need to see a Neuromuscular dentist. You are young and you need to get treatment now. Do not delay. You will be fine..you just need to get this treated now. WHat was the injury? when did it occur? and do you have family that could help you locate a good dentist. You may need something as simple as a night plate made..specially since you grind at night. I cannot say, i am not a doctor. I am just speaking from experience.

As far as I know, my jaw has always been mis-aligned, but I had a childhood full of abuse so I cannot be certain.
I have a mouthguard and I go through them quite quickly.

I am so sorry you suffered child abuse as a child..I did too and I am guessing that may be what caused my tmj. I cannot say. When you say your jaw is misaligned..what do you mean? Did you contact the NHS today and ask for what TMJ services they provide. Have you tried relaxation at night to help with grinding? there is a new product out called GrindCare..look it up..see if you can get one. It keeps a person from grinding at night. Are you with family now? You are just a young person and need some family...to help you located the resources where you live. do you have any other symptoms? When it swells, put 10 minutes of ice, and then 5 minutes of heat and alternate. Take an aspirin. Drink a lot of water.

When I say it is mis-aligned I mean that my jaw is slightly set to the left, it is not in the right position. Which causes me more grief.
I have tried relaxation but I find it incredibly hard to relax.
I also have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder which doesn't really help
I have headaches, my jaw pops and clicks all the time, it locks up, all my muscles tense up around my jaw/neck/shoulders, and I get massive toothache.
When I try to apply heat to my jaw it doesn't do anything for me, I just end up getting very hot as well as having a huge pain in my jaw. Nothing seems to be strong enough.

Zoey, I am so sorry. I can relate to the pain and the frustration it causes. I can also relate to the child abuse and trauma. Your case sounds like it definitely warrants medical attention. Headaches are caused by TMJ. My jaw is also shifted..mine to the right. I honestly think it was caused from child hood trauma as well as I also have damage to several of my neck vertebra. Your muscles are all tensing up because all those muscles are related. I know it hard to relax..esp. when you are dealing with this nightmare of a problem. You said you were 17, are you living with an adult who can help you located resources in your area? Is there an adult who can take you to the NHS and get treatment? Do they offer treatment for TMJ at this hospital? YOU need a DENTIST that will fit you in an re-positioning mouth appliance that you wear 24/7. That is how I got my tmj under control..after that I have to move toward functional orthodontics( not standard braces). I also do physical therapy everyday. Do they offer any of these at this hospital that you mentioned? ARE THERE any other members on here that are familiar with England's health care system that can help this young lady? I am from America and not familiar with their system...any other members from New England. This girl is too young to struggle with this..lets help her. Zoey, I will look into this hospital you mentioned tomorrow when I get out of school. If heat does not help...maybe massaging the jaw gently..there are also TMJ jaw stretches that can be done...but I cant say whether you should do them or not..because you have to usually get an exam before they can say of the exercises are going to be good or bad. It really depends on your case..but you are YOUNG and you will get better..you just have to get the treatment you need. Do not give up. When my TMJ first began, I got so down, I tried to take my life. I survived the incident and since then have been determined to fight and BEAT this. Since then, with treatment things are a lot better. We just got to figure out what options you have where you live. You mentioned you had night guards...who made them? what did they say about your other symptoms?

I got the resources myself as my closest family member lives 3 hours away.
I cannot get hold of the hospital that saw me before, so I'm waiting for another refferal form to come through the post. It's been 2 months since then.
I am going back to my dentist next week to try and speed things along.
I have tried massaging my jaw and it ends up worse than before, nothing I do helps at all.
My dentist does my mouthguards for me, and they said they couldn't do anything.

Zoey, I am going out of town tonight and will be back sunday night. I will get back to you on what I find, I promise. check here on monday and I will get back to you. I also put a post on the forum looking for others who live in your area..people that may know more about the resources there than me. but either way, I will get back to you. I see my doctor sat. and I am going to ask him. stay strong

Thank-you for your support

I went to the dentist yesterday just for a general check-up and to get myself a new nightguard.
I asked her about the refferal to the TMJ specialist and it turns out that they 'misplaced' my paperwork and my dentist got pretty angry with them.
Now she has to re-do all the paperwork.
Hopefully I'll get somewhere this time.

Hey Zoe, I am sorry I am just now getn back to you. I was out of town for my doctor..I have to drive 16 hours to my doctor and then I had to wrap up the end of my school semester. I did look into your area and as far as I could find, TMJ is not treated by the public hospitals per se...they will make night guards and things like this or send you to an oral surgeon but nueromusular dentistry has to be paid out of pocket..You are young though and there may be some charities that will take you under their wing..like http://www.littlebabyface.org/..this organization helps young people 18 and younger with any facial issues. From your posts though..it looks like they are going to get you into a specialist so that is good..do you know what type of treatments this specialist offers? Well keep me updated. I will try to find more charities..check the one I sent you out..they seen to do really good things for young people who need help but have no financial backing.

This post has been removed because it did not meet our Community Guidelines.

Just an update;

I'm in intense pain at the moment. It's like this almost everyday now and I don't know how much more of this pain I can take! It's agony!

Zoey,

I have sent messages in response to your posts but it says that they are being reviewed to make sure they adhere to community guidelines. I am not sure why they did not go thur. Maybe we talk via phone or private message. I found some info for you but I dont want to keep typing it out and it not going through. I will inbox you my personal email and phone number. I am really sorry you are in agony. I know how that feels and I am so sorry. It is hard to explain to others what you are feeling to because they just look at you with a blank look..please dont give up, and I am going to inbox you now with the info I found out and My personal email.

Hi Zoey, I am from the UK and understand your position as my wife suffers from severe tmj. You need to
1. book an emergency appointment with your gp and ask them to prescribe you a muscle relaxant like diazepam as well as take constant painkillers.
2. Ask the gp to look up a renowned tmj specialist and refer you immediately. You may need surgery if your jaw is totally out but don't worry as this will fix the problem.
3. If the gp is not responding you must go to a&e at your local hospital and tell them you are in intense pain and your jaw keeps locking. This will get them panicking and get you treated by shortcut.
Make sure you demand assistance now and if you don't get it get a booking with the head of the gp practises. Your problem is advanced and will only be sorted with expert care. Good luck and don't give in.

DENWOZZ,

I am not sure if suggesting taking pain killers and relaxants constantly is good advice. I am just thinking that those are only temporary fixes and cause addiction problems on top of the issue at hand. There has to be doctors in the UK who treat this disorder with out pain meds. I have never been given any pain meds by my doctors.

I was offered diazepam but because of current medication I am on it was strongly recommended that I don't.
I see my dentist again tomorrow and hopefully she has some good news about my refferal and I am going to ask about other places I could go to that have appropriate treatment.
Only thing I have been told to settle the pain is heat compresses, massages to the muscles and pain relief. It does not help me and they won't listen and think I'm making it up. (Well, that's what it feels like.)