HI,
I am new to this forum but in no wise am I new to a TMJ disorder. I have had said problem for over 30 years and have tried everything known to modern medicine in the treatment of said disorder! Even two surgeries have not helped; the pain is so severe that I must wear Duragesic patches, (morphine ), 24/7, along with that, I must take Roxanol, (liquid morphine), when my pain grows intolerable. In conjunction with those meds, I take a muscle relaxer, tranquilizer, sleeping pill, and an antidepressant; despite all of these "chemicals," I struggle with chronic, debilitating pain on a daily basis. I have found the best method of cold therapy is to freeze (plastic) bottles of water, new and UNOPENED: the reason for using unopened bottles is due to the fact that when the ice starts to thaw, water will leak out from around the bottles' cap. The ice in these bottles take a long time to melt, as compared to cubes placed in containers. To keep the bottle from freezing my hand while holding it snug against my face and jaw, I wrap a dish towel around the bottom part of it. I use my heating pad when I go to bed because it helps to relax the muscles, especially after having have had ice on them throughout the day.
I wear a custom made splint-$700.00, which without insurance I could not have afforded. This is my 8th splint; the other 7 were worn down and cracked due to teeth grinding and jaw clenching.