Please Help...no One Can Figure Out What's Wrong With Me... Posted: 09-14-06 20:30pm
Hi everyone,
i've never done anything like this, but
i'm so desperate that I don't know what
else to do. I've been suffering with what
started two months ago as severe pressure
behind my eyes. Then it became this
constant headache, all day and every day,
as well as pain around my temples, cheeks,
and around my eyes (like the eye sockets I
guess). After about a month or so it
progressed to what felt like a lot of
pressure around the bridge of my nose, so
I thought maybe all of this was my sinuses
acting up. Sleeping was a nightmare,
especially when I lay flat and didn't prop
my head up (and that barely helped). I've
always had a history of nasal allergies
(i.E. Cats, dust), but the weird thing
was that I never felt like I had a cold or
post-nasal drip or anything like that -
one day, my eyes just randomely started
feeling really weird. More recently, I
thought my ears were starting to bother
me, and I thought maybe it was that if I
had an infection somewhere in my
respiratory system, that it had spread to
my ears and that I was just getting worse.
But just today I realized that actually I
think that that pain is stemming from
right in front of my ears (where that jaw
joint is I guess). I had noticed some
discomfort in my jaw area earlier, but I
thought it was unrelated, or else maybe
just part of the stress associated with
this constant discomfort. When I try to
read, or frankly do anything that forces
me to strain my eyes too much, it's is so
unbearably uncomfortable and almost
painful that it makes me nauseous. I've
also noticed that my eyes have become more
sensitive to light.
So far, i've been to an eye doctor, a
neorologist, several internists, several
"naturalists" (one put me on a strict food
diet + vitamins), and two ent doctors.
The eye doctor said there was nothing
wrong with my eyes, the neurologist said
there was nothing wrong with my nervous
system. Most of the doctors so far have
sort of guessed that my sinuses are the
problem, but none of them seemed all that
confident about it. My ct scan showed a
little build up of fluid in my sinus
behind my left cheek, and for a little bit
I felt a little more of the headache on
the left side of my face (esp my left
eye), but the other side of my face still
felt far from great and so i'm still not
really convinced about a sinusitis
diagnosis (at least not only that). The
treatments i've been given for sinusitis
include amoxicillin, prednisone, claritin
+ benadryl + 9 ibuprofen/day + sudanyl,
and now moxifloxacin (aka avelox). The
moxifloxacin helped with the pain around
the bridge of my nose, but the constant
headache and eye pressure is literally
driving me crazy, and nothing helps. It
even bothers me when I try to just close
my eyes and/or sleep.
Today I went to the second ent doctor, and
although he informed that I have a
deviated septum, he said my sinuses didn't
look inflamed and that he really doesn't
think that's the source of the problem.
He was the one who suggested that what I
might have is tmj. This was the first
time I had ever heard of the disorder, so
I know very little about it.
If anyone who reads this has any
information - if you have had/are
suffering with the same thing, you think
tmj might finally be the right diagnosis -
please please please let me know!!!
I'm desperately hoping I don't have to
drop out of school this semester because
of this...
Thanks,
vickie
|
catswolds
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 May 2006 Posts: 62 Location: Michigan
Posted: 09-15-06 13:42pm
Hi vickie,
i'm sorry to read that you are having so
many problems. I have had tmj for 26
years and my eyes are also sensitive to
light and burn quite frequently (they are
right now). It took me years of seeing
doctors, etc., before I realized that
everything going on in my head is because
of tmj.
Unfortunately, tmj can be very difficult
to get treat properly. It is possible,
but you have to find the right tmj
specialist (usually a dentist) and that
almost seems to be the most difficult part
of treating tmj.
The easy scenario would be that your bite
is off just a little bit and you are
grinding your teeth at night because of
stress or really any reason. This
situation puts strain on any/all the
muscles, tendons, cartilage, etc., in the
area around the temporal mandibular
joint(s). Our tm joints must work well
together (or balanced) usually in order
for the mouth system to work properly.
It can just be one little part of a tooth
that is throwing everything off. So,
your first step would be to see a good
dentist who specializes in tmj.
Usually before I recommend that
appointment though, I highly urge you to
educate yourself as much as possible by
going to support groups, message boards
and general internet surfing. There is a
lot of information on the internet (i wish
it had existed when I really needed it),
but be careful to not compare your
situation to someone else's. Sad to say,
tmj is so very different for each of us
(but sometimes so alike). What may work
for me, might not work for you.
I can tell you here and now the basic
instructions that most new tmj patients
are usually told to help themselves -
1. Use lots of moist heat and/or ice
2. Eat only soft or liquid foods for
some weeks. Stop all gum chewing.
3. Do not open your mouth wide for any
reason (yawning). Be gentle to your
muscles, etc.
4. See if the dentist or your doctor
will prescribe either valium or xanax to
take at night for a few weeks. Good
sleep is essential.
5. Ibuprofen tends to be the most
effective pain killer (600 to 800 mg)
6. Evaluate your posture. How you are
sitting at a computer or a desk can play a
very large role on the stress put on the
tmjoint. Go to nismat.Org (physical
therapy, tmj) for some pictures of posture
problems and some good exercises to do,
etc.
7. Reduce your stress anyway possible
(yoga, exercise, massage).
8. If above doesn't work - ask your
doctor to refer you to physical therapy
with a tmj-trained therapist.
9. Bite splints (but I must make this
comment that bite splints are only as good
as the bite splint maker. A good bite
splint maker is worth his/her weight in
gold).
10. No surgery. No surgery ever.
Never.
I hope the information here can help you.
I will pray that you find the right tmj
specialist and he/she can help you.
