Date:   6/29/2007 5:30:05 PM ( 17 y ago)
Hits:   5,725
URL:   https://www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=909330

Hi. I'm writing from the UK where TMJ arthroscopies do not seem to be widely publicised. I thought I'd post here to ask for your guidance based on your TMJ experiences. After a mouth operation at the age of 11, brutal orthodontic work over several years as a teenager, and having my tonsils removed at the age of 22 (when the surgeon admitted he'd had problems getting at my tonsils because my mouth was small), I became aware of my jaw clicking and being unable to open straight down. As the years went by I became more conscious of it but it was several years before I associated the jaw noise and discomfort with the horrendous headaches that would hit from time to time. After spotting smthg odd in an x-ray, my dentist mentioned that my jaw didn't look right and recommended I see a maxillofacial surgeon. So, I went. The consultant gave me the impression that he just wanted to go home - I really felt like he hadn't given me his full attention. Anyway, he handed me a photocopy of things to do / not do (you'll all be familar with what was on there) and said that, if I followed those rules, I'd be better again in 3 months.

Needless to say, I meticulously did everything he'd suggested for several months without any improvment whatsoever. In fact, things continued to get worse. Since he had not told me that a lack of improvement indicated a much more serious problem, I did not go back. Ten years later, I have just been to see another maxillofacial consultant. On my first consultation he checked what I'd done previously, took x-rays, etc. Unfortunately, the additional 10 years of overuse have done extreme damage to the bone and he recommended having an arthroscopy so he could try to reposition the disc. I should have gone to see him years ago, apparently!

The good news from the arthroscopy is that the disc seems to be in pretty good shape so it was simply a matter of pulling it back and hoping that it stays there... I was told that, given the awful state of my joint after ten years of "abuse", things were actually looking quite good and they could do it all over again in a few years if required!

A week after the op, I went back for the follow-up appt and was given the all-clear - no need to go back (I couldn't believe this...). Provided I stuck to a liquid/soft diet for 6 weeks, the scar tissue would form to hold the disc in place and I wouldn't need to go back. I'd had a lot of noises in my ears and was told that was normal after the op and things would clear.

The following day, I started suffering from intense ear ache with pain all up my jaw in front of the ear (up to the corner of my eye and down as far as my lower teeth). I assumed that this was still just post-op effects. A week later I went to see my GP who confirmed that the ear looks healthy enough and said it's quite common to have earache after the op. Another week later I went back to see the surgeon because he said I shouldn't still be in pain. He didn't take x-rays or blood tests (to check for infection) - just pressed on the jaw (at which point I said it hurt) and he said "I think it's related to the jaw rather than the ear, continue with soft diet, heat, aniti-inflammatories, massage and exercise". So, I asked for guidance on the exercises I should be doing. The only one he told me does not really seem to use the muscles - I have to curl my tongue up to the roof of my mouth and then open and close my mouth slightly... He's sending me to my dentist for a soft splint for my lower teeth but, until the 6 weeks of not opening my mouth are up, I'm reluctant to get this.

Anyway, that's the background. I have some questions for you all now - I'm really interested in hearing what you think:
- is it normal to still have intense ear ache & jaw pain 5 weeks after the arthroscopy? It's not a constant pain but comes and goes, lasting any time from 20 minutes to all day.
- American websites/forums all seem to talk about physiotherapy and hospitals even insist on this from a day or two after the arthroscopy? There has been no mention of that to me. Should I be investigating this?
- when trying to brush the "insides" of my teeth, I am in great pain (possibly muscular but hard to tell) when squeezing the toothbrush through the gap between top and bottom row. Is this normal? I'm in my sixth week now so suspect that I ought to be starting to talk/eat more normally again. Without having actually tried (for fear of damaging the scar tissue at this stage), I'm concerned that I might not actually be able to open my mouth. Is this normal?
- I'm self-medicating with drugs that can be bought over the counter - paracetamol, codeine & ibuprofen but I'm not convinced these are really making any difference. Can you recommend anything else?

I wasn't given any guidelines on post-operative care or longer term guidelines on how to live with this other than those listed above so am keen to find out what you all think of my progress and whether these experiences are normal. My surgeon told me I'd be fine after 2 days!

Sorry for the long post but I thought I'd provide some of the background. Thanks very much.
 

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