Hi, I am on the tmj splint now and all the pain has gone away but when I first got on it I still had anxiety. I found that it was not tmj that was causing it but yeast in my intestines and stomach problems. I started to take asidophilus for it and the anxiety started to go away and then I started to take solarray yeast cleanse and I have just about no anxiety a great improvement. I might of had h-pylori(a water bateria) a while back because I had bad stomach pain for about a month and went to the doctor and he totally misdiagnosed me with acid reflux. So I don't go to medical doctors anymore unless I have to have surgery. I go to a natural doctor. Well anyways I took alo vera juice and the pain went away. Try going to a health food store and talk to a naturalist there, they may show you a new incite on life. Take care of your digestive system and you will feel better garenteed.

I forgot one more thing. Raw pumpkin seeds also were the key to my anxiety recovery.

In my case, tmj was caused mostly by anxiety, that's why they prescribed klonopin (clonazepam) and it was the only thing that worked.
I tried celexa but it gave me a rash so I had to quit.

Good luck,
sunandsea

I wear a splint too, sometimes it is really uncomfortable!

Yeh the splint gets annoying at times with me to. I'm a guitarist in a band and I have to be in front of people a lot and I wear the splint all the time so people sometimes look at me kind of weird when they see it. It was also a little hard for me to talk at first but now I am getting use to and i'm able to talk a lot clearer. Was it that way for you too? Anixety seems like the cause but I don't like prescribed drugs and this cleansing i'm doing seems to work very well.

So you wear the splint all day long? I only wear it at night, and sometimes in my sleep I take it off because it's so uncomfortable, although i've been using it for about 2 years. My dentist told me that I should wear it at night for the rest of my life.

[quote="saverain"]yeh the splint gets annoying at times with me to. I'm a guitarist in a band and I have to be in front of people a lot and I wear the splint all the time so people sometimes look at me kind of weird when they see it.

I'm sort of dreading that same experience, I should be in a splint next week, and i'm a professional musician (guitarist) and vocalist. Dentist says I have to see if i'll need to remove it to sing, but he's willing to work with me on that. I don't sing, I don't make money, no money, I can't pay him.

As for anxiety, that's absolutely the worst part of all this for me. I've only been really dealing with this for a few months, yet more often than not i'm severly worried, depressed, and anxious. I fear the future. I fear losing my career. I fear that there may be no help for me. I try to stay as busy and distracted as I can, but there are still times . . . .

Neil

[quote="midiveg"]

hi neil,

if you are taking any kind of medication, even over the counter stuff, you should do some thorough google searches to see if they are at all related to your anxiety. When i've taken prescription strength nsaids (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as celebrex and naproxen) I know that they give me terrible terrible anxiety. I even went to the urgent care 2 days ago because of my racing heart--i was afraid that celebrex was going to give me a heart attack, and i've been off it for several days.

Re anxiety - i've spent the last 4-5 months dealing with severe anxiety related to my tmjd. I'm not past it by any means, but I seem to have calmed down a bit, at least for now. I realize that a lot of it was because of dealing with the unknown, the ongoing search for competent medical help. As I may have finally found a dentist and an oral surgeon to adequately address my problems, I seem to be dealing better, even though I still have all the same problems.

I find that focusing on those anxious feelings makes them worse. As my business has picked up, and i'm doing more 'normal' things, it's helping me not concentrate on my problems so much. I'm also on paxil, but during my worst days I felt as if that was of no benefit. At times I just have to take a tranquilizer (xanax) and go to bed. Better than trying to fight the feelings.

Neil

Hi. I was diagnosed with tmj about 10 years ago- but I have always ignored it. Yesterday- I went to the dentist and he said my jaw is ok... It's that my jaw muscles are sooo stiff. Is this tmj. I was just irritated that he wanted me right then and there to buy a $500 mouth guard. Now, my head aches, my neck hurts, my ears are plugged, my hands and feet feel cold, and sometimes I feel nauseous... I even am starting to feel breathless and fatigued. Is this the onset of anxiety too?? Why are they related? How can I actually get to the bottom of this?

Midiveg, I took 0.25 mg xanax (lowest dose) a couple days ago and it seemed to help. I haven't had to take any since though, i've felt a lot better. I also had 2 people pray for me too and that might be the reason! Anyway, I was just wondering what your experience with xanax has been because i've read so many accounts of how addictive it can become. Thanks for any info.

Pinkmango, your symptoms aren't anxiety. If it were anxiety, you would know it. Head aches and neck aches and stuff like that is not anxiety. The anxiety i've felt is when everything feels ok physically but I feel like i'm going onto the stage to give a performance and I forgot all my lines. Like that.

Wow, this forum is an eyeopener to me

i am a little confused .. Does anxiety cause tmj or viceversa... 4 months back everything was fine.. Then it slowly started. I had a problem which I thought about a little deeply. After that my jaw started clicking(this continued for a month) and after that it locked permanently. I didnt think there would be any connection but now I think they might be interrelated.

Now in the past 1 month I had diarrhea. Since the lab tests turned out negative, the doctors werent sure if it was bacteria and said that it might be due to stress. After 3 weeks of diarrhea they gave antibiotics(as there was a possiblity that lab tests will be negative even if bacteria was there) and my diarrhea got cured. Then I visited my doctor for this jaw problem.. He said it might be due to disc dislocation. I dont remember any incident where my jaw suffered damage.. Dont know why this happened to me

the main problem is I dont have anything that should be bothering me so much now. But I feel so heavy at heart sometimes recently and keep thinking about something. I am no longer the cool person.. I get tensed for even small things.. I tend to be more absent minded. Nobody seems to understand what I am experiencing...

I dont know what is the cause and what is the result? The doctors dont seem to relate things and see in the big picture. After seeing this forum, I have become a lot hopeful.. May be someone in this forums can help me out. Thanks a lot for any info that you can offer me.. Pls.. I am desperately looking for some help

Hi swethal... -
anxiety, tension and depression, etc., does "cause" tmj. This isn't the physical cause, though, for tmj to flare up - anxiety, etc., frequently cause us to grind and clench and they are now coming out and saying that almost all, if not all, tmj is caused initially by grinding and clenching the teeth while we sleep.

Unfortunately, even after you may have thought you have worked out your anxiety, tmj will still linger on because the discs, tendons, cartilage, muscles, etc., have all been abused for a while and may even be damaged and it takes time for them to heal (if they do). Surprisingly, the tmjs affect the physical human body much more so than anyone would think.

Xanax and valium are not the usual way of "healing" tmj. They should only be used for a very short time as they lose their effectiveness and are extremely addictive. Anti-depressents that are seratonin regulators are much better to take regularly. The correct kind of bite splint is essential. I stress correct because there are several kinds of bite splints and several makers of these splints. Some makers are much better than others. And some bite splints are better for you depending on what needs to be done. A good tmj specialist would hopefully be able to figure this out, sometimes with trial and error. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to find a good tmj doctor and bite splint maker/adjuster.

Tmj can be very difficult to "cure," and it can be easy. It is a very bizarre dysfunction. To end this long posting - you need to get a game plan. I would recommend -
1. Lots and lots of researching
2. Find a good tmj doctor
3. Get a good bite splint
4. Take ibuprofen for pain
5. Use moist heat and ice
6. Go to physical or massage therapy (especially someone trained in tmj or face pain). Yoga can be good. Wait until much later to try chiropractics.
7. Do not eat anything hard, chewy or gummy, no yawning, keep mouth, jaw and tongue relaxed as much as possible; no caffeine (bummer).
8. Anti-depressant if pain is uncontrolled by pain pills
9. Don't let anyone talk you into surgery
10. Don't get braces or have several teeth in your mouth filed until you are positive it will help and then only have someone good do the work.
11. Be patient and go slow and conservatively.

There are several other hints, but these are the best starters. Remember that you have a lot of people in the same "boat" as you. We are a great group of people and will support you all we can.
Nite...
Carol

Thanks carol... I have no words to express my feeling but I want to say that I really appreciate your time and concern ... Thanks again

Hi I have been suffering from TMJ and anxiety for about a year no with no medication just by my own will and its getting much worse. I suffer from constant stiffness in the back of my neck and dizziness. My hands and feet go numb at time as well. My sense of fear is through the roof now mainly just about my state of health. I dont sleep much either. I am so lost and dont know what to do! CAN ANYONE HELP??

hi i have been suffering for about 7 months with the same symptoms as you also trouble swallowing. i have been to tmj doc i have been wearing orthotic device for 5 months(its like a retainer that goes on your bottom teeth) it seems to work some, dizziness is not nearly as bad. thank god! but, anxiety is just as bad. i have tried using xanax but its only a temp. relief.(does help you sleep) just dont give up go see the doc if he dont help go see another. keep me posted. i will let you know if and when something works for me.

Hey im 18 and havent gotten diagnosed with tmj but i think its the cause of my problems. You see for some time now I have been over loaded with anxiety and fear ever since the start of college, I live about 70 miles away from home and some things happened at the beginning of this year that really set my anxiety and stress through the roof. My tmj symptoms seem to only come around every now and then like earlier in November and then just recently last night I started getting pressure around my temples, neck pain, pain along my teeth and jaw bone... Is there anything I can do to ease the pain? I am under a great deal of stress and anxiety now because my roomate has seizures sometimes and i have 3 exams this week and then i finally get to go on spring break. Any help is appreciated its nice to know that there are people going through the same things...