Tmj

[Katie-ryn]

Does anyone have TMJ (temporomandibular joint syndrome/disorder)? I think it may be my problem. I've had chronic headaches for at least the past decade (yes, I said decade). I pretty much constantly have at least a dull headache, and about 2-3 times a week it's so unbearable I need to take some sort of painkiller. The pain is always at the base of my skull, my neck, shoulders, top of my head, temples, ears and jaw like they're in a vice. Sometimes my forehead and cheeks are sore, too, like someone's poking/pushing my face really hard.

My doctor has diagnosed it as tension headaches (not migraines), and we're trying to figure out what's causing them. She told me to keep a headache journal, and I've had the same headache since I saw her at the end of last month. It stopped for a couple hours after I took like 1200mg of ibuprofen (4 x 300mg), but came back the next morning when I woke up.

I've been to the optometrists recently and there's nothing wrong with my eyes, and nothing that could be causing my headaches.

I'm thinking it's TMJ because I was looking it up, and it said the causes can be misaligned jaw (I have an overbite) or teeth grinding (which I do). The symptoms are headache/neckpain, sore ears/jaw, pressure in cheeks, clicking jaw, dizziness, and I have all of those. The pain is also there when I wake up in the morning, and gets worse after eating (from chewing I assume).

I have a doctor's appointment next Tuesday, and I'll mention it to her to see what she thinks. I need to make a dentist appointment, but my work is changing over our health benefits to a different company at the beginning of August (?) so I don't want to go right as everything is being changed over, yet at the same time I really would like to get rid of this headache I've had forever.

I bought a new pillow (my old one was as hard as a rock), and started working out/stretching more, to stretch my neck, but that's only slightly helped.

So if you have TMJ, does my problems sound like yours?

[f77g4]

I have an overbite, lots of headaches and the snapping of the jaw. I occassionally grind my teeth in my sleep - mainly if I am stressed.

I don't have a constant headache like you said but I can have a headache a few times a week and I suffer my migraines.

The doctors have mentioned that is likely the cause of my headaches when I discussed my headaches with her as I had a migraine for 12 days straight. They've never done anything to treat it so I don't think I'm much help for ya.

The things I do are avoid chewing gum for long periods of time or chewing big pieces of bubblegum. I sometimes do jaw exercises if I feel it stiffening up.

[WebLady]

My sister used to get headaches a lot and grind her teeth and such; she finally figured out she had a sideways overbite that may have been the cause. She had braces as a teen, but ended up taking them off too early. She has them again now.

I get headaches a lot, but mostly when I am stressed or upset and it is not all the time. I have been told it is likely a combo of migraines and tension headaches. When they get bad I have to take something and lie down. The worst ones will last for days and I will just barely make it through the day without wanting to be in bed.

I notice my jaw pops sometimes; is that the clicking you guys are referring to? But chewing doesn't seem to bother me and I don't think I grind my teeth.

Most of the time mine are minor enough to take OTC drugs and/or just lie down. Since I work at home and don't have to see people it works out well. However it can get pretty bad; I even got a Dr to excuse me from jury duty because of it. I got migraines for a week just thinking and worrying about having to do that! I can't imagine what it would have been like if I had to actually do it.

I have had one off and on for a few days recently dealing with some family drama.

Anyway; hope you find some answers and a way to deal with your constant pains.

[Katie-ryn]

I was at the doctors today, and she thinks I'm getting migraines which is causing the dizziness (since I get visual disturbances/dimmed vision), but that I may also have TMJ on top of that. I have a dentists appointment tomorrow, and a referral to a neurologist.

I also got a prescription for Amitriptyline, which is a drug usually prescribed for depression, but is also used to help prevent headaches from happening. I'm starting it Friday night, since she doesn't want me working the next day since it can make you very groggy. Let's hope it works and I don't get effected by any serious side effects. *fingers crossed*

[f77g4]

Glad to see you're getting some help!

Hope you feel better!

[FutureMrsWilson]

Hi! I was wondering how the dentist appointment went and if your first weekend on the medication showed any progress?:goodluck:

Hope you're feeling well

[Katie-ryn]

Thanks for asking!

I started the new prescription on Friday since it can make you groggy and my doctor didn't want me working the next day. So far it's made me very dizzy. My head was feeling better today, until I ate supper, now my head is sore again.

It's really bad that the meds seem to make me dizzy, cause the reason I brought up my headaches to my doctor is that sometimes I get dizzy when I stand. I need to wait a week or two at least to really see the effect of the meds. So we'll see how I'm feeling after a week or two. Hopefully the dizziness has stopped.

The dentist said I needed a night guard, so I'm getting that next time I'm at the dentist (later this month). Good news from my dentist is that I only have wisdom teeth on the top, not on the bottom. And the top ones don't look they they have to come out!

[evilcookie]

I had almost the exact same problem as you. I've gotten migraines for years, but not long after I got a molar pulled (which changed the alignment of my teeth), I started getting constant dull to mid-grade headaches, and when I woke up in the morning, my jaws, teeth, neck and shoulders hurt. I've always had a really bad problem grinding my teeth when I sleep (I've woken FH up with it before), and I tend to clench my jaw/teeth without realizing it. I went to the neurologist about the headaches, and he prescribed me Gabapentin (generic for Neurontin), which is typically given for seizures, but is known to help with headaches. It's taken care of the constant dull headache, and then I went to the dentist. He filed down the teeth that were causing me to grind so much, and my jaw hasn't hurt like that since. Between the offending teeth beinig filed down, and the Gabapentin, I've felt fine again. The only side effect that I noticed from the medication (and truthfully, I'm not sure that's what causes it :gurn:) is that I tend to be forgetful...half the time I can't get from room to room and remember what I went there for!