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Q: lump behind curve of jaw
asked by:
punishedface
New User
So I will try to summarize all said
I have a lump behind my curve of my jaw. I think its a gland of some sort pushing on my jaw causing it to be out of joint. I previously had surgery (about a year or more ago) on the left side and even back then this lump was present but doctors seemed to ignore it and went ahead and put me through surgery of my other side of my face. I had bells palsy on the left side of my face and now am experiencing it on my right.
So could it be an infection thats causing a lyphnode to swell causing my jaw to be misaligned which is causing my right side of my face to feel numb and different to the touch (nerves pinched). What other conditions out there show similar TMJ symptoms? so I can tell my doctor to run tests for it and it be covered by my insurance cause they claim it can be explained through TMJ.
I am tired of not being able to smile, eat, talk and basically LIVE. My kids deserve a mommy who can smile at them and express emotions to them and I can't without regretting it immediately there after.
I had a baby Sept. 2 and I currently am just below my pre pregnancy weight from all this inability to eat. I eat soft foods, I drink ensure plus, I limit my talking, limit my smiling and other emotions, and am tired of doing it. I can't live like this much longer.
I heard botox is a way to treat tmj? has anyone else? how do you convince botox people to treat your tmj with botox?
I have used chiropractor in the past, realigned my jaw, and massaged with sonogram machine. Which the massage seemed to be the most helpful, only when they actually massaged my muscles in the middle of my cheeks (thats where my original pain was and is currently never was in the actual joint until surgery).
I forget all the rest that I had said in the previous post. and am afraid I will be logged out again so I am going to end it here.
I currently take Ibprofen 800 two tylonol and flexeril and still find no relief I been on darvocet but even in lowest dose form I am showing signs of over dose as I am very sensitive to drugs.
So anyways thanks for any insite...ask questions and I will answer as I dont know what I left out.
Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo
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Replies(10)
rooted
Supporter
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punishedface
New User
| rooted wrote: |
| Hi Rabeka,
You might want to go through some of these diagnostic test, which are generally used to diagnose TMJ. A thorough examination may involve: I guess was done * A dental examination to show if you have poor bite alignment never done * An MRI of the jaw area done * Feeling the joint and connecting muscles for tenderness not really where main pain was between my ear and nose on my cheeks * Pressing around the head for areas that are sensitive or painful they measured top teeth out to where bottom teeth moved sliding from one side to the other * Sliding the teeth from side to side Oh yeah grind pop crackle snap ewe look on doctors face * Watching, feeling, and listening to the jaw open and shut after surgery yes * X-rays to show abnormalities Many of the home-care steps to treat TMJ problems can prevent such problems in the first place: always do don't have a choice * Avoid eating hard foods and chewing gum. do * Drink plenty of water every day and get plenty of sleep. yoga * Learn relaxation techniques to reduce overall stress and muscle tension. can't scoliosis hurts when sitting straight and now epidural site hurts cause its bruised from forced epidural for just in case to save my baby if she became distressed * Maintain good posture, especially if you work all day at a computer. Pause often to change position, rest your hands and arms, and relieve stressed muscles. I avoid talking, smiling, eating with movement of jaw and face and slightest movements causes pain * Use safety measures to reduce the risk of fractures and dislocations. Do you have a diagnosis? |
I do now after surgery have a positive diagnosis I believe. But without an MRI I don't know how they can positively know for sure whats causing my misalignment of my jaw...back to the hard round lump behind my jaw curve which one doctor claimed it was my top vertebrate pushing out on my jaw and when they did the surgery it dropped my jaw on the left so I now am going out on the right and up on the left which is why I needed this splint I permanently have placed in my mouth. Doctor said there was a lot of arthritis he pulled out of my jaw joint when he did the first surgery, I was 27 at that time. The joint never actually hurt until the surgery, never really had pain in my ear. Now I have a zing feeling sometimes when I use my jaw, like biting tin foil with cavities that kind of zing and it goes up the side of my face and temple. I know its the muscles/tendons in my face that hurt and are inflamed they are sometimes warm to the touch so infection I would say that heat means. But I am no doctor and nor do I ever wish to be one. Not that its bad but here in my town it seems their hands are always tied in properly caring for me and my family due to the risk that insurance companies may not cover whats really needed. And that is sad cause doctors want to make the patient better but can't cause of the risk that they will be billed a really high bill cause insurance didn't pay for the tests and treatments they did. So I feel very sorry for the doctors cause of this fact. But I really want my face fixed otherwise I am just going to starve to death cause I will give up all together.
Yes I am stressed, I lost my baby girl I spoke of. She had Turner Syndrome and HLHS. Her heart wasn't strong enough to hold the hybrid surgery. We traveled almost 1,000 miles from home to give her the best chance for survival and the doctors did a perfect job on the surgery she needed, her heart just wasn't strong enough to hold it. I donated her to science so they could learn more from her than they did while she was here on earth. I respect science enough to do that, the least they could do for me is respect me and do the tests that need to be ran to back up their theory of TMJ being the culprit and why.
But their hands are tied by insurance companies. Not at all their fault, but I need something to suspect so they can run these tests. How about a tumor? could this lump behind my jaw curve be a tumor? its about the size of a quarter, at first it was just the size of a nickle. The surgery didn't help things it made things worse and the doctor claimed I was addicted to pain meds and refused treating my pain I went three weeks without pain meds in agonizing pain I wanted a gun to just get it over with. Finally I had a doctor listen and prescribe me Demerol which before my daughter worked perfect, now it shows signs of OD when I take it. I am more sensitive to medications more so now than ever.
I had my baby girl Sept. 2, 2008 and my epidural site still feels bone bruised.
So yes I am a mess. But my main concern is my jaw and face. I can't live much longer like this. I sometimes wish dr. kavorkian how ever the heck you spell it lived in my town so I could just get this over with cause I literally can't live like this much longer. I am sorry I just am in THAT much pain right now. I am far from suicidal. I just want it fixed yesterday if you know what I mean. I have had 4 other children all natural and even if I had all that pain combined into one pain I still wouldn't think this would touch the intensity of the pain I feel in my face at times. So on a scale of 1-10 I say 20 or more 10 being the worst pain (Childbirth) I ever had.
Anything any type disorders that show signs of TMJ or a tumor suspection or lymphatic problems cause there are glands in my cheek (right below the cheek bone) they are oval shaped and swell up and go down from time to time. ANYTHING you can tell me to be able to tell my doctor so they can run an MRI on my head and face and neck it would be absolutely appreciated.
Thank you for your time and patience. Any more questions? ask I will respond as soon as I am able.
Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo
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rooted
Supporter
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punishedface
New User
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rooted
Supporter
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punishedface
New User
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rooted
Supporter
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punishedface
New User
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punishedface
New User
Finally got that CT scan had to see a sub doctor in the same building and he said he wanted to send me to an Ear Nose and Throat Doctor...OK so I went to see him, and he wanted a CT scan with Contrast of the neck his DX: Right parotid tail fullness possible mass.
So we got that done and it came back as NO MASS so that was a relief. But now he says something about Salivary glands being blocked and that I need to suck on sour candy to get these possible stones to pass. I really wish I would have known this before I had the TMJ surgery of flushing the joint cause I really don't believe it was a TMJ related issue it was this parotid tail that was pressing on the jaw causing it to be out of alignment...so now that I started the sour candy and massaging of my lump in my neck it has gone down substantially in size and now my jaw is starting to go where it used to be and well now my whole face is in agonizing pain. I am on Ibprofen 800's and a muscle relaxer that is in the same family as flexeril along with also darvocet. But hour later edge is taken off of the pain then on hour 3 I have full fledge pain again and take the darvocet again...(I can take 2 at a time as needed) And still cannot find comfort. I am pretty sure I am going to need to get a new splint to fix my bite again cause my bite is changing now that the mass is shrinking....so I don't know how I can do that cause we are scrapping by as it is and this sort of thing is considered cosmetic so the insurance won't cover any of it...even if my ability to eat and survive is at stake.
So if you have any ideas on how to make this new issue medically required my doctor would appreciate the loop holes she needs to go through to get my splint and braces covered by insurance.
Thank you for your time, I really appreciate you all on here
Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo Drew (punishedface)
So we got that done and it came back as NO MASS so that was a relief. But now he says something about Salivary glands being blocked and that I need to suck on sour candy to get these possible stones to pass. I really wish I would have known this before I had the TMJ surgery of flushing the joint cause I really don't believe it was a TMJ related issue it was this parotid tail that was pressing on the jaw causing it to be out of alignment...so now that I started the sour candy and massaging of my lump in my neck it has gone down substantially in size and now my jaw is starting to go where it used to be and well now my whole face is in agonizing pain. I am on Ibprofen 800's and a muscle relaxer that is in the same family as flexeril along with also darvocet. But hour later edge is taken off of the pain then on hour 3 I have full fledge pain again and take the darvocet again...(I can take 2 at a time as needed) And still cannot find comfort. I am pretty sure I am going to need to get a new splint to fix my bite again cause my bite is changing now that the mass is shrinking....so I don't know how I can do that cause we are scrapping by as it is and this sort of thing is considered cosmetic so the insurance won't cover any of it...even if my ability to eat and survive is at stake.
So if you have any ideas on how to make this new issue medically required my doctor would appreciate the loop holes she needs to go through to get my splint and braces covered by insurance.
Thank you for your time, I really appreciate you all on here
Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo Drew (punishedface)
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punishedface
New User
I forgot was it a CT or MRI that I got? Its where they slide you into a donut hole on a table...um yeah not sure which that is lol oh well I had the donut test done
Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo Drew (punishedface)
Sincerely,
Rabeka Jo Drew (punishedface)
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