The TMJ Association - changing the face of TMJ

TMJ Resources - Our Family - Patient Talk

Jan

My TMJ problem started after I had my first surgery at the age of three in order to have my tonsils removed. Afterward, I had numerous surgeries for various things and each time my jaws were stretched more and my headaches got worse and became more frequent. In 1982, I started having headaches daily and was getting Demerol injections, 100mg at a time, every day, sometimes twice a day. This entire time I went from doctor to doctor. I saw Neurologists and even a Hypnotist. They all said it was "stress" or just in my head and that I had become addicted to the pain meds.

Finally I went to see a regular dentist because my mother (who never thought it was anything but physical) had read about TMJ. This dentist put me in a splint which worked fairly well for a few months. The dentist sent me to an oral surgeon in Dallas who said nothing was wrong and sent me home. Later on, my mother heard about a dentist in Denver and we went the next day and I had my first TMJ surgery the day after. He tightened everything up and put my discs back in place.

In 1986 I still had headaches but not as frequent and wasn't taking Demerol anymore. I decided to have the Vitek implants. Afterward, I still had pain but it was tolerable so I was able to continue to go to nursing school. By 1991 I was grinding and squeaking and was back on frequent dosages the Demerol. I called my surgeon and he removed what was left of my implants (they shattered). The surgeon replaced my fossas with metal ones and my life went on.

By 1995 I was only able to open my mouth 2-3 cm and had to pop them open each morning. My headaches weren't too bad, however my hair had started falling out by the handful. I found a dentist that was closer to home and I decided to have the total Christensen implants put in. He had to grind away bone that had grown up over the metal fossas.

I finished RN school in 1989. Today I have some numb spots on my face and can't raise my eyebrows. I still have pain daily. I can usually take Vicoprofen and when it gets too bad I can use Stadol nose spray with good results. I’ve learned to live with the limited opening and sore spots. My jaws still crackle at times but I can live with it. I went through four divorces, four years college and raised two kids during all this and with the help of my family stayed fairly sane. I’m doing okay and have a fairly normal life. My kids still pickup on my voice and facial expressions when I have a headache but the bad ones are few. I really think that the dentist that did the surgery did what he had to do to save me, and he did. I think the manufactures should be liable for what the put out to the public, I know they knew the implants were faulty and did it anyway cause they knew we were desperate and we would do anything to get some relief. Well that’s it. Thanks for listening. Don't let anyone convince you that it is all in your head there is almost always a physical reason for pain; you just have to keep looking till you find it.