because I didn't want to just go on a whinge rampage. For the last two months my bottom right jaw has been killing me - aching, throbbing pain that gets so bad it keeps me up some nights.
I went to see my dentist and he took an x-ray but couldn't find anything. Surprise surprise. We tried a week of antibiotics to make sure it wasn't an infection, but no result there. It's amazing how you can WANT something specific to be wrong just so there is a way to fix it (well, hopefully). But when the pain can't be located, as such, it's like looking for a needle in an hay stack!
Next stop was to see the endodontist. I was referred by my parents neighbour - they had gone to dental school together. I find it helps to have some sort of background or introduction to new doctors so they don't look at your chart and listen to you and think you're just an hypochondriac. You'd be surprised how many daft doctors there are out there. Or perhaps you wouldn't be...
I went to the endodontist on Tuesday morning. He looked, banging, made me bite hard things, blew cold air, etc. And again, he couldn't figure it out. It wasn't a failed root canal, it wasn't another tooth needing a root canal. He thinks it's nerve-related, but not "that" nerve type of thing where he would know what to do to fix "that" nerve. He was very nice and not too patronising. He said he would talk to some colleagues to see if they came up with anything. It's Friday and I've still not heard from him, so I'm guessing no one was able to come up with an idea.
Yesterday I went for acupuncture though. I told my doctor what was going on with my jaw, as well as with my hip (it's been wonky and limpish for the last couple of weeks) and knees (they're swollen and not happy). I filled him in on the PT I had been doing and told him I thought my hips were unhappy b/c of the core exercises. He agreed that could be it, even though the PT lady (who was v. nice and good) didn't think it should be a result of that. But he's had two hip replacements and does all sorts of keep-fit things, and he said ever since his hip replacements he's not been able to do core work either as it irritates it. So, yes an answer, but still a new catch - 22 b/c how am I meant to strengthen my core if I can't do the exercises?
Regarding my jaw, he felt it and said - "it could be the muscle there". There's a muscle there, under my tongue, and no one else thought to mention that? This is why it's good to have all different types of people around you - everyone thinks differently. So he shows me his Trigger Point poster - I love this thing because it's like someone who didn't know me drew it and put big X's on all of the parts that hurt me, what a coincidence! :-) And sure enough, on the green part that is the disxxxxx whatever name I can't say muscle, there is a big X EXACTLY WHERE IT HURTS!!! Now mind, is this 100% the problem? Who knows. But at least it's some sort of start and we can try to fix it and see what happens. This time we did more needling on my legs and hips than my neck, but a little on my shoulder and in my tmj. He needled me under my jaw into that muscle and sure enough, there was a trigger point - and a slippery one at that, took a bit to get the needle in (not pleasant) but (touch wood) afterwards I did feel a bit better. He things the trigger point is from clenching my jaw, related to my tmj, which is related to stress, which I've been under because of the world and the pain I've been and not being able to sleep and there goes the never ending cycle. So, as with all acupuncture/dry needling, we will wait a bit and see what happens. I am trying to be hopeful but not overly so because, well, I know my body.
I did feel all over a lot better when I left his office last night though. A combination between him and the treatment me thinks!
So next appointment is 30 April, the day before I leave for England. Fingers crossed!!!
4 comments:
When I first started reading this post, I was going to suggest a muscular origin. Ta da! Dentists and endodontists, among many other types of specialist, tend only to look at their area of specialty. Glad the acupuncturist figured it out. Don't be surprised if your SCM muscle is also involved. Mine is. Has you dentist every suggested a custom mouth guard/night brace for your teeth at night? Helps reduce the strain on your jaw, teeth, and enamel.
Speaking of muscles, has anyone looked at your sacroiliac joint and the surrounding muscles for some of your hip pain? I had horrible pain for years and was constantly misdiagnosed and given the wrong treatment until my PT figured out that my SI joint was completely out of whack. The resultant muscle spasms pinched nerves in that lower spine area, and all sorts of pain and difficulty walking made me miserable. Just a thought. Can't hurt to check it out. It's an easy fix - relatively.
Need to find a PT who can deal with instability and core exercises that won't exacerbate your hips. Sucks to go on yet another search but it might be worth looking around/interviewing different PTs. A good PT should be able to vary the exercises to work the core without flaring up other stuff. I've had too many PTs leave me in horrible pain after just one or two sessions because they didn't understand how to deal with hypermobility and instability. Just my 2c.
I hope you have a good weekend and whining is just fine. EDS sucks and we need to vent sometimes. :)
Kind regards, elise
Thanks for the tips Elise. I had hip surgery Sept 07 for a torn labrum, FAI and they also cut 10% of my psoas to try to help stabalise the joint. I will look into the other stuff. I do have a night guard that the dentist had made for me, and will try wearing it again regularly. It had been increasing the pain but after the trigger point release last night I will see if perhaps it's better.
Have a great wkend! Take care,
T
Hi T,
For a while, I thought my hip pain might be a torn labrum. Turns out it was just my SI joint - instability plus muscle tork Ask your PT to check your pelvis to see if it is tilted unevenly on one side (short leg can be a symptom too).
The psoas muscle is one of the the primary muscles involved with walking and sitting. Seems strange to me that they would shorten it. :( I hope you recovered well from the surgery! Stinks that your hip is bothering you again though.
Problems with your hips would definitely make your knees unhappy! Do you hyperextend your knees when you stand? I used to have horribly swollen knees due to weak thigh muscles, wobbly knee caps, and standing with hyperextended knees (all EDS!!!). I worked hard on strengthening my thigh muscles to stabilize my knee caps, then learned to stand with a "bend" in my knees to put them in "neutral". Haven't had problems with swelling since then (20 years ago) but my knees do get kinked up when I sit too long. I make that all sound easy, but nothing is easy with EDS, except yoga poses! ;) bad joke.
My dentist spent a lot of time smoothing my guard until my bite was even and not catching on grooves in my nightguard. Once we got a nice balance after a couple of month tweaking the guard, I had much fewer problems for 2 years. My guard needs replacing at this point but I still have fewer headaches and tight muscles.
Do you have problems with your neck being unstable? Those muscles in the front of the neck and around the jaw can be just as affected as the ones in the back from neck instability. Massage and stretching help, but the trigger point work is the best. Check out this book if you haven't already: http://www.triggerpointbook.com/ I bought a copy and find it helpful for days like these. I hope your jaw feels better soon!
hang in there,
e
Hi,
I found your blog by accident. I saw you said you could recommend a good genetic doctor in NYC? Could I get his/her name? I am doing the EDS diagnosis dance right now. I live in NYC. Please e-mail me jls559@nyu.edu. Thank you so much.
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