I am starting to wonder if a variety of my health problems are due to metal hypersensitivity to my dental implants or the TMJ prosthetic joint which include:
- Alopecia - hair loss on arms, legs, eyelashes and eyebrows. Luckily, I have not noticed any hair loss on my head yet (thank goodness).
- Rash on the inside of my elbows. It occurs on both arms at the same time. It comes and goes. I googled it and believe it is dermatitis herpetiformis, where your immune system attacks your skin as a result of gluten ingestion.
- Memory problems. I have problems remembering words. I remember the first letter but can't remember the word. I also have a hard time remember things in general. I also take a long time to tell a story. I have problems remembering what I wanted to say or what words to use. I
- Fatigue. There are days where all I want to do is sleep. My body, muscles and joints don't hurt but they sort of ache where I feel like I don't want to move. It feels like I am exhausted physically. I saw a psychiatrist because I thought it was depression - the lack of motivation to do anything - but he said it wasn't.
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and occasional bouts of unexplained diarrhea lasting several days.
A couple months after my TMJ Replacement surgery, I had a rash on my right mandible. I did a patch test to see if I was allergic to the metals but it came back negative. He did take pictures to document what was happening. I am now wondering if this rash on my face around the implant area was due to metal allergy.
I found a lab close to my house that does the Melisa testing and will bring the form to my surgeon on September 13th to approve the test. In Canada, Melisa testing starts at $450.
Here are some articles and links on this subject:
Metal Hypersensitivity to Implant Materials - TMJ Association, Ltd. - click to download PDF
http://www.cobalt-chromium-toxicity.com/metal-implants-and-hypersensitivity/
http://www.aaos.org/cc_files/aaosorg/research/committee/biomed/bme_se_2013.pdf
http://abcmt.org/bones-metals.pdf
http://chealth.canoe.com/Condition/GetCondition/Metal-Hypersensitivity
Considerations for Metal Implants allergy
Articles on Melisa Website