First off welcome. secondly the first thing that you want to do is not go right "under the knife" For one there are other treatments out there that do work for tmd and secondly a good doctor isnt just going to cut into you before trying all the conservative treatments first. I have a good Idea of who can help you. If interested in my help please do contact me and I will give you all the information and help that you need. Surgery costs a ton of money--take it from me------Im still recovering and Ive had all the possible treatments and Ive lived with it much longer than you have so I know where you are comming from. I too have had drugs pushed on me. There is a way around that too.

If you need me Im right here. You can email me or pm me at any time. I will do all in my power to help you.

Oh Alex..., I feel for you so much. I understand that exhaustion and frustration mentally and physically. It makes me so mad to read about TMJ sufferers being shuffles from doctors to doctors with no help. If I swore, I might put a bad word here, but I don't.

What have you been doing to help your TMJ symptoms? I mean, have you been wearing a bite splint? Did you read my posting to Jodester with all the self-help suggestions I could come up with?

Please, please, don't even consider surgery. It won't stop with one surgery. It just keeps going on and on. The statistics do not support TMJ surgery successes.

If meds have been pushed at you - are you taking an anti-depressant? Believe it or not they can be a miracle pill for TMJ pain. Stress, posture - all of this, plus more, are so important to evaluate. Have you been to a physical or massage therapist? A good one is worth his/her weight in gold.

Please read the postings to Jodester and come back with some questions. We want to help you. Contact Dyan to search for a specialist in your area or start calling around and asking questions of dentists, like, "Do you treat TMJ patients?" "How?" Etc. Get mad and fight for your health.

Please, take care and God bless you,
Carol

you ust remember that statistics are statistics and that some surgeries do work.I am a success. I have had no tmd pain/symptoms since surgery Its only muscle related pain with the surgery and that fact that my top teeth are not connected. Sometimes surgery is needed and can be a very good thing---IF it is needed and you have the right surgeon. With the right surgeon one surgery is all you need as in my case. But dont get me wrong You have to be VERY careful with this as the wrong doc will only cause more problems.

for instance On another board there were docs telling tmj patients to go to wallgreens or a drug store and get a otc night guard. Bad Idea. says on the box not to use if you have tmd.
As carol said Contact me if you need help finding a specialist. seems to be one of my specialties now:) anything you need im right here.

Thanks for the responsive support. I don't wear any night guard. I don't think I should because I don't grind my teeth at night (at least I don't think) but I do have a habit of grinding when I do things such lift heavy stuff or just when I do something aggressive. I believe I also have an uneven bite. My pain is only on the right side from my head to shoulder. I tend to bite on my right side. I also had a habit of moving my jaw side to side before and that could be why I have the cracking. But it all started from pain around my orbital area (behind eyes) then slowly progressing to my face and ear. After that I always had such an urge to move my jaw side to side forward and back. It then crept down my shoulder causing alot of tension. Also headaches is an everyday occurrence. I mean I have it all but I fight it daily. Sometimes I act normal, I act as if I feel no pain but most people out there have no idea the pain I go through. I would say the worst symptoms I have are the pain, almost like swelling around my eyes. It feels like its full like a strong wind is always blown into it. Also the back of the jaw next to the ear and facial area as well. Oh what the hell it's everything. Should I not get surgery? If I did how much would it cost? Well I live in the Bay area Oakland, ca. I've done a little bit of research and had read about san francisco's pacific tmd specialist as being very good and knowledgable. Any suggestions as to who and where I should go to. FYI something I didn't mention. I use to wear braces 11 years ago. I still have a permanent retainer on the bottom row, front 6 teeth. Even my dentist found it strange. Not sure if braces played a role in why I have tmj or maybe the bottom retainers could be the culprit. I don't know I'm just throwing everything on the table.

ahhhhhhhh braces!!!!!!!!!!! that is usually a good factor. I know of so many people that have ended up with tmd from a orthodontist. Regardless of the fact that you think you dont grind your teeth you should have a splint of some sort. Uneven bite is a big red flag to me that you should have one. Your muscles are probably all out of wack not only cause of the braces but I can tell by the fack that you are haveing headachs. Ive had all the syptoms that you had.

Remember that surgery is the LAST option. All conservative methods must be tried first. No good surgeon is going to cut in before all conservative methods have been tried. PM me and I will set you up with an excellent doctor. All Id need was your zip and the distance that you would be willing to travel.

If you did do surgery, depending on the type, It would be well into if not over the 50k range---and dont forget that most insurances will not cover tmd.

oh WOW. 50k? forget about that. I guess I'll have to live with it then becuase I don't have that money. If the doctor could just perform conservative methods where I'll be paying 1-2k or less then that's fine even if it didn't cure it. At least I know I gave it a shot. So where do I buy a splint? You know what.. now that you mentioned it I really do think it's because of the braces. If I could recall it was shortly after my braces were taken off that I started to have the symptoms. You are so right about my problem. It has to do with the muscles being all whack. It's real tense and I feel like I can move my muscles around my face. And when I do it's like my ears move as well. It's really weird but it is whats causing the headaches. Makes alot of sense.

Well like I said I'm willing to spend under 2k for any sort of treatment. I just hope it's not a waste of money and time. I had no idea surgery for tmj would be so costly. Are there any insurance out there that would cover tmj surgeries? Anyway my zip code is 94606. I live in the east bay- San Francisco Bay (Oakland). Any help would be appreciated. Please find me a really really knowledgable doctor who's highly regarded and one who really cares about their patients. I find that lots of doctors are just about the money. Hope to hear from you soon. Gosh my pain was really horrible today. My ear and jaw plus headache all day has been driving me crazy. Hurts like heck right now. Hope I can sleep tonight.

i sent you a pm with the info for you. let me know how you get o.

Alex, even tho you may think you do not grind or clench your teeth, a bite splint can help in many other ways. First, is just opening up the jaw joint itself and taking pressure off the joints can be beneficial. Second, your bite may not be perfectly balanced and the bite splint allows your mouth to feel totally balanced while sleeping, giving you better sleep (so important for TMJers). I was (and am) benefitted by both, but especially number one reason now. My jaw needs to feel like it is open with my teeth always apart and relaxed. During the daytime when I don't wear my bite splint, it's always teeth apart, lips together relaxed (or slightly apart) and tongue on the roof of the mouth. I had to work on that for years.

You might want to reconsider a bite splint. But, it is absolutely necessary to find a good bite splint maker, have the best kind of splint that works for you and have it adjusted frequently at first and then taper down the adjustments. I hope and pray you find the help you need.

God bless...
Carol

be careful of splints though some put pressure on the joint by compressing it . even though you may see results you may back slide as a result of it. I did. Im not saying that you would but id like to see you get better not worse. If you need help finding a doctor let me know and I will help you. In the states its my specialty I try out of the states but its harder cause i dont know the country as well as this one. but i try .