jaw surgery pain 8 yrs ago

Hi Bluesqueen,

Sorry to hear you are suffering badly. Not sure if anyone has had any jaw surgery, but we do have people who suffer badly from TMJ. I do too, but nowhere near as bad as some. Having any pain in your neck up, especially in your face/jaw is so bad that it can lay you out for days. I really feel for you.
Not sure how much anyone can help you or what help can be given.

Have you been told that you have been booked into a pain clinic?
If not, go to your GP and ask to be referred to a 'Multi-disciplinary' Pain Clinic, because these people can help you learn to self-manage your pain condition. You must however ensure that you approach any pain clinic with an open mind and the will to listen, learn and then put into action the things or tools they give you.

Not all pain clinics are the same or as good as one another. But the Multi-disciplinary ones seem to mostly do the same things, which means they are using latest up to date information to help people.

Please let us know how you get on with this, because your experiences will be of great value to others.

Peter

they only send me a letter they can't find me an appointment and my oral and maxillofacial surgeon send them a e-mail urgentcy at the pa hospital pain management neuosurgery but no i havn't been booked yet still on waiting list on the qld health public system

Welcome to the forum bluesqueen.

I have TMJ (jaw) dysfunction and can relate to your facial pain blues very much. MRI has confirmed that my disc dislocates out of position bilaterally and also is now staying in the stuck position.

Does your dysfunction limit you talking? Talking triggers my jaw and facial pain making the ever constant pain even worse. I am an extravert by nature and now I live very isolated and don't even call friends on the phone or go to social events hardly ever because talking causes pain.

Like Peter said, facial pain is one hell of a B*T#H to bear...my oral specialist said that there's more nerves in your face than anywhere else in your body and I find the pain refers inside my mouth, gums and teeth as well. Feels constantly like I've been punched in the face with an iron fist. Also cheek swells up during extra bad flare ups.

I have just been rejected by workcover for treatment by a TMJ specialist physiotherapist and TMJ pain management. Do you find that most medical professionals say that orofacial pain is outside of their area of expertise...that's been my experience and they try to fix all the symptoms that it causes such as headache, migraine, neck and shoulder pain and miss out the TMJ part of it completely.

I live in Melbourne and noticed you're from Qld. I found this American site that has lots of info about orofacial surgery and medical articles so you may find it helpful.

http://www.tmj.org

How did yours come about? I fell and hit the side of my face with enough force that I broke my elbow at the same time when I landed on it.

That's quite a few years ago. Was undiagnosed for first 4 years, then ever since, it's still been hard getting treatment as it's such a small, specialized, complex area.

Like to hear more from you and your symptoms and what type of treatment you're having.

Best wishes and hope the info on the website helps especially in regards to your surgery question.

Fee

i've been having chronic jaw pain for 15 months not good i'm only 25 yrs old oral and maxillofacial surgeon can't help me they just noth but waste of time to me i get nightmare's trouble sleeping he said there's a nerve that runs along from the jaw to the brain dang that trigeminal nerve but no i don't have tmj disorder

nice to meet you but i am sorry you are having so much pain! All of us here know only too well how underfunded the pain managment programs are and this leads to the waiting lists- its the same old story for most Chronic health problems!

Peter gave you good advice about seeking a multidisciplinary clinic- they look of the problem from the point of view of a team of different doctors councillors and therapists. But as he said you do need to go with an open mind as some of what you will hear may seem not to make sense at first

One of the others on this board gave me the phone number for the Pain Link Helpline 1300 340 357. If you giv them a ring they may be able to give you some other ideas of clinics in your area- its worth a call anyway. The only other thing i can say is that i have learnt that waiting patiently for your turn to come may be the polite thing to do but it sometimes seems that the old say "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" is very apt. so don't just wait passivley , keep on ringing to check if you are moving up the list

pain link helpline very helpfull

bluesqueen, it was this lovely lady who gave me the pain help line number- thank you mrs shingles- mrs shingles has also said something very important- i have been dealing with chronic pain issues since 1983- i am being treated by a pain unit and generally the treatment i have received has been very good but there are still frustrations at times. in my situation i am reliant on specialist equipment to manage at home and have not had access to an appropriate bed for a couple of yrs and my electric recliner broke down just before Christmas- i am still trying to get replacements and in the meantime my pain levels have skyrocketed to say the least- i have no family now and live alone so when times are rough it can be hard to cope but having contact with a variety of other people dealing with chronic pain helps tremendously- i would never wish CP on anyone but have contact with a fellow CP'er makes it far easier to deal with the rough times- its a mixture of moral support and practical support such as suggestions of where to look for help. Dealing with severe chronic pain can make one feel really isolated and alone even if in a room full of friends- with a place like this that isolation is gone to a very large degree

gee that must suck kebsa and mrs shingles i hope the pain clinic can help you with your problem but thank you but when the pain get throbbing i can't moove it sucks 🙁

Unfortunately I can totally relate to you bluesqueen.

Severe facial pain is absolutely debilitating and it is difficult to get through from one minute to the next because there's nothing to relieve it. It is not something you can just go out and forget that you've got when the pain levels are that high.

Unfortunately also, moving your face and jaw in the action of talking is extremely painful, too, so having interaction with others is not the pleasant diversion it should be; instead it causes excruciating pain.

Ha! They must have been thinking of jaw and facial pain when they coined the phrase "in your face"...because I agree with you; it's right there full on at you making it difficult to do more than just "exist" through it.

Please let me know what advice the helpline gave you in regards to help with your jaw pain? Did they specifically help you with info about orofacial treatment or just pain clinics in general? I found that the general pain clinics didn't know what to do with me because they didn't know how to pace talking plus their program activities were geared towards "increased socialization" to help "get back into life". In the end they told me they couldn't help me because these activities kept flaring up my pain.

I am trying to get into a pain management / physiotherapy centre at the moment that specializes in facial/jaw pain. I have had wc approval rejected, but am going to appeal the decision. At least the pain management will be geared towards the unusual challenges that I have not found a regular pain management program able to deal with. However, all pain programs are different, although they mostly seem to base it on the "Manage Your Pain" book which tries to increase mobility through very gradual increase of activity. With facial/jaw problems, this principle doesn't work; it only inflames the area makes the pain worse.

Not wanting to be negative; just wanting to save you the angst and waste of time I've been through until I realised all this and to suggest that you make sure that the pain program you are thinking of attending is fully conversant in the unique challenges that facial/jaw pain presents. I'd even go so far as to ask them what their approach to facial/jaw pain is and to provide you with examples of how they've met that challenge.

The pain clinic I'm trying to get into actually specializes in the face and jaw area. My dentist recommended it and it is run by a physiotherapist who specializes in jaw/facial physiotherapy.

All the best,
Fee

yer it sucks i'm trying ring my pain management but they are slack ansewering there phone 🙁

Hi Bluequeen
i am a bit slow on the topics as I have been away at a pain clinic, which was was amazing. I too suffer from unexplained jaw pain. I am still waiting for a specialist to look at it I have a referral so now it's just waiting for a date. Gosh! I hate the waiting. I find the usual pain relief methods I use on my other problem areas (I have a few as I seem to collect accidents with horses, lol) dont seem to help much with the jaw and it's the sort of pain that just makes you feel sick. I hope that they find some answers for you soon, until then I hope that you find the support and friendship here will help you through your journey.

Hope you find a smile moment in your day! 🙂
Wendles

Hi,

I had extensive dental work done many years back and have terrible jaw teeth & gum pain, I am on my second splint now, does not stop the pain but protects my teeth. My nerve endings feel really raw, suffer bad migraines & have CRPS. Feel that my medication for the CRPS is triggering migraines. On a merry go round. At times I feel like all of my pain is ganging up on me. They are winning at present, that why I am still up !

Hi Glenda,

There used to be and probably still are, dentists who specialise in treating this kind of pain. Have you tried ringing your state dental association? They may be able to provide you with a name. Of course, you may already be seeing one 🙂

Sorry that you have had such a bad night.

Mary

Hi Glenda,
If the pain is on one side only have they ruled out neuralgia, not long after my wife had her wisdom teeth cut out on one side she developed neuralgia on that side of her jaw, she was referred to dental specialists in the beginning, given mouthguards and all sorts to try and solve the pain issue, at one point they wanted to remove more teeth, she went for a second opinion, and was diagnosed with neuralgia, was put on gabapentin and this over time not only reduced the pain, but she weaned off the medication and only ever gets slight pain once in a blue moon since.

Don