And so the story continues...
I got my first appointment with maxillo-facial in March 2017. The consultant agreed that there was a problem with the joint and referred me to get a MRI done. The day after seeing him, I was in so much pain that I collapsed in the hallway and was physically sick. My daughter called the doctor out to see me from the local surgery but there wasn't much they could do and just told me to rest. My kids were great looking after me.
I went back to the consultant after the MRI and he told me that it showed the disc was displaced and the joint itself was deteriorating due to excessive wear. He suggested an athrocentesis to wash the joint out. I had this done in September 2017 (the same day my youngest daughter had surgery to remove a unidentified lump on her wrist!). The arthrocentesis wasn't too bad and I recovered very quickly - they basically inject the joint area with fluid and drain it with another needle. Sadly, this didn't do anything to help or improve my opening.
I was given a device called a Therabite at my follow up appointment to use to help exercise and stretch the jaw. Within a few day of using it, my pain was going through the roof so I called the hospital to ask if this was normal and to see if I should just carry on. They suggested taking a break to let the pain settle and then try again but not to stretch too much. In early December I had an extended Trigeminal Neuralgia attack which had me writhing in agony for 3 hours. I had an emergency appointment at the local health centre where I was told there was nothing they could do as I was already on medication (tramadol) which would react with anything they could give me. A week later I went back to speak to a different doctor as the shooting pains were continuing although intermitantly rather than continuously. This doctor prescribed Amitriptyline as the possible interaction risks were quite low. She also prescribed capsaicin cream (chilly cream). The amitriptyline helped me sleep a lot better for the first time in 2 years but didn't do much to stop the nerve pain. After a month, the help getting to sleep wore off but I felt like I was a zombie so I didn't want to increase the dose. The doctor put me on nortriptyline instead. This has kept the nerve pain down a bit better but it hasn't stopped completely. It doesn't help me sleep although I do always feel tired.
I got my first appointment with maxillo-facial in March 2017. The consultant agreed that there was a problem with the joint and referred me to get a MRI done. The day after seeing him, I was in so much pain that I collapsed in the hallway and was physically sick. My daughter called the doctor out to see me from the local surgery but there wasn't much they could do and just told me to rest. My kids were great looking after me.
I went back to the consultant after the MRI and he told me that it showed the disc was displaced and the joint itself was deteriorating due to excessive wear. He suggested an athrocentesis to wash the joint out. I had this done in September 2017 (the same day my youngest daughter had surgery to remove a unidentified lump on her wrist!). The arthrocentesis wasn't too bad and I recovered very quickly - they basically inject the joint area with fluid and drain it with another needle. Sadly, this didn't do anything to help or improve my opening.
I was given a device called a Therabite at my follow up appointment to use to help exercise and stretch the jaw. Within a few day of using it, my pain was going through the roof so I called the hospital to ask if this was normal and to see if I should just carry on. They suggested taking a break to let the pain settle and then try again but not to stretch too much. In early December I had an extended Trigeminal Neuralgia attack which had me writhing in agony for 3 hours. I had an emergency appointment at the local health centre where I was told there was nothing they could do as I was already on medication (tramadol) which would react with anything they could give me. A week later I went back to speak to a different doctor as the shooting pains were continuing although intermitantly rather than continuously. This doctor prescribed Amitriptyline as the possible interaction risks were quite low. She also prescribed capsaicin cream (chilly cream). The amitriptyline helped me sleep a lot better for the first time in 2 years but didn't do much to stop the nerve pain. After a month, the help getting to sleep wore off but I felt like I was a zombie so I didn't want to increase the dose. The doctor put me on nortriptyline instead. This has kept the nerve pain down a bit better but it hasn't stopped completely. It doesn't help me sleep although I do always feel tired.
After further consultations at the hospital it was suggested that I try some botox injections into the masseter muscles. I did quite a bit of research about this as I had seen comments from people in a support forum saying botox caused bone loss and not to do it. I only found one study that showed this and it was only on 9 women. Further details about the study such as variables in the women's medical histories etc. were not included. Anyway, I finally decided I had nothing to lose as my quality of life was very low already and even a tiny bit of relief was better than nothing. I had the botox 2 1/2 weeks ago and haven't noticed any difference yet. And that's the story to date. I go back to the consultant in September and I'll have to see what is recommended next. A total joint replacement has been discussed as being something that inevitably will have to happen at some point but hopefully there are other options to consider first.
Onto the diary part...
Today, I have been paying the price for doing a few things yesterday. I've been feeling really drained and tired and struggling to motivate myself to do anything much. I did manage to get dressed and go get a takeaway with my daughter for our tea - she'd been out all day and was really hungry and my husband and son had already had dinner early before my husband went out to work. It was a nice treat, although eating naan bread is really difficult for me! I managed a little bit by swollowing small pieces whole after rolling them around my mouth a bit - one of my eating solutions at the moment!
Now it's almost time to face the ordeal of trying to sleep. I try to wait until I'm really tired in the hope it won't take as long - sometimes it works and sometimes I just make myself really sore because I can't stop yawning!
Take care
☺
Today, I have been paying the price for doing a few things yesterday. I've been feeling really drained and tired and struggling to motivate myself to do anything much. I did manage to get dressed and go get a takeaway with my daughter for our tea - she'd been out all day and was really hungry and my husband and son had already had dinner early before my husband went out to work. It was a nice treat, although eating naan bread is really difficult for me! I managed a little bit by swollowing small pieces whole after rolling them around my mouth a bit - one of my eating solutions at the moment!
Now it's almost time to face the ordeal of trying to sleep. I try to wait until I'm really tired in the hope it won't take as long - sometimes it works and sometimes I just make myself really sore because I can't stop yawning!
Take care
☺
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