https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCmvn85TeJzdfpv5mZ9MyTqg
I would like to thank Odette for letting me share her video blog with you. Odette recently had bilateral TMJ Replacement surgery. Her video blog allows you to see what she looked like before and after surgery, as she shares her experience with you. Have a look:
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCmvn85TeJzdfpv5mZ9MyTqg
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It was that time of year again for the annual picture with Santa. This year, Santa was too busy at his workshop to make it south to Canada for the picture, so I had one with just my fur baby. Here's myself and Snoopy, otherwise known as Java, in a Peanuts theme. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! Wishing everyone health, wealth and happiness in 2016!
Diane. aka Smiley This week, I was standing in the bathroom brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed. I noticed that if I try to smile and hold it at a certain point, my face starts to twitch. And then if I try to smile on the right side too (while still holding the left), my right eye area and right side starts to twitch. It was so amusing I couldn't stop doing it! I was mesmerized and completely entertained by my twitching face! I then got the idea to do a selfie in the bathroom mirror of my smile and share it with you so that you could see what it looks like. I knew that my smile is different than it was prior to surgery and the main reason I hate getting my picture taken now. I always liked to smile in pictures and when I see a picture of myself now (post surgery), I don't like it because my smile is not a beautiful as it was prior to surgery. The left side is not bad. It gets half way up there into a "semi-smile". But then I tried only my right side and that was a complete failure. What's the expression.... FAIL!!!! It actually goes into a negative smile, if that makes sense. Here.... you can see for yourself..... ( I knew my smile was bad, but I never realized how bad my right side is. When I started to crop the pictures, I was shocked at the pictures. I couldn't believe that it was that bad. It made be realize that my right side is practically paralyzed. I knew I had some paralysis and have mentioned it in my blog in the past many times, but I can't stress enough how shocked I was. When I smile, it feels normal. I feel like I'm smiling big and wide. To me, I feel that I am smiling the same post surgery as I was prior to surgery. It feels completely normal. Here is a picture of my smile which was taken PRIOR to surgery. I found a picture and cropped just my smile. When this picture was taken, I was smiling casually. In other words, I was trying not to smile too hard and look like a clown, but have more of a natural easy going smile. When I look at it now, I am surprised. I thought my smile back then was much bigger. I didn't realize that my left and right sides were not even. I decided to take a picture of my smile today (Nov.24) which is POST surgery. In this picture, I was smiling as hard as I could. In my mind, I was smiling so hard I thought I would look like a clown. When I look at the two pictures, I am surprised to find that they are pretty much very similar. Other than the wrinkles (LOL!), the corners of my mouth now (Post surgery) are different. I don't know how to describe it in words, but "more puffier" with more pronounced lines.
The TMJA Association (http://tmj.org/) is a wonderful site and resource for information on TMJD. They recently published a survey they conducted and here is a summary of the findings. Based on my experience with TMJD, it sounds about right and I wasn't surprised that gastrointestinal complaints were mentioned as a complaint:
TMJA Survey Results
The Trigeminal nerve is the fifth cranial nerve located within the brain, and is primarily responsible for transmitting sensations from the face to the brain. It is composed of three branches: the ophthalmic, maxillary, and mandibular. Each branch connects nerves from the brain to different parts of the face. The trigeminal nerve is responsible for transmitting sensations to the mouth, teeth, face, and nasal cavity. It is also the nerve that controls the muscles used for chewing. Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is considered to be one of the most painful afflictions known to medical practice. TN is a disorder of the fifth cranial (trigeminal) nerve that causes episodes of intense, stabbing, electric shock-like pain in the areas of the face where the branches of the nerve are distributed - lips, eyes, nose, scalp, forehead, upper jaw, and lower jaw. "Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia" which is generally characterized by a less intense, constant, dull burning or aching pain, often with occasional electric shock-like stabs. The initial treatment for neuropathic facial pain conditions is usually with anti-convulsive and/or anti-depressant drugs. Should these medications be ineffective or produce undesirable side effects, neurosurgical procedures are available (at least for TN) to relieve pressure on the nerve or to reduce nerve sensitivity. However, in many patients (particularly those in which the pain is chronic), no current treatment is effective, either permanently or in the long term. TN is an example of neuropathic pain which is defined as pain caused by injury to or disordered functioning of the nervous system. In my case, I have Atypical TN. My pain is constant and aching. Occasionally, I get the electric shock-like stabs, but not too often. I attribute my pain to the injury that occurred to my 5th cranial nerve during my 5 years of dental and maxillofacial reconstruction. As per my previous posts, I find that the medication Gabapentin/Neurontin works for me to reduce my pain I have tried other drugs such as Tegretol which made me extremely naucious and dizzy, and various anti-depressants. But in the end, Gabapentin/Neurontin has worked the best for me. What meds work for you and what meds have you tried that haven't worked to relieve your pain? I decided to try an experiment. I wanted to know if the 300mg Gabapentin, otherwise known as Neurontin that I was taking 3x/day was working. After all, I didn't want to be taking this drug if it didn't have any positive effect on me. I decided to try this experiment now during the summer months which is generally the time of year when I have the least pain.
In case you are wondering, Gabapentin s used with other medications to prevent and control seizures. It is also used to relieve nerve pain such as trigeminal neuralgia, diabetic neuropathy, peripheral neuropathy, and restless legs syndrome. Gabapentin is known as an anticonvulsant or antiepileptic drug. In May when the weather started getting very warm, I stopped taking the Gabapentin. In June, I started to feel more pain. My over-all level of pain increased and changes in the weather, most specifically the air pressure, started to drastically increase my pain. Therefore, my experiment worked. Gabapentin, or Neurontin, does play a significant role in reducing my pain. I started taking it again mid-August and as of September 18th, it still hadn't taken full effect. In other words, the pain reducing effect is not immediate and does take some time to have full effect. I apologize for not updating my blog in a while. The pain has left me tired and unable to focus. Hopefully that will change soon when the meds kick back in! As a result of my experiment to stop taking my Gabapentin, I started to have increased pain. Along with the pain, I started feeling fatigued, tired and drowsy. I would sleep 11 to 12 hours a day and still require 2 naps a day for 1-2 hours each time. If I could, I would sleep all day!
I did go to see my Family Doctor (GP) about my fatigue. I was concerned that it was a result of a low thyroid. I had blood tests done for my thyroid and they came back normal. My GP told me that drowsiness is a normal side effect of the medication that I was taking. Even though I had been taking it for several years, it was not uncommon to continue to experience drowsiness. In addition, severe pain also causes fatigue because it is stressful on the body. The body heals itself during period of rest and sleep. As a result, my GP felt that my complaint about fatigue and feeling tired was warranted and "normal" given my situation. The best advice I can give you is to give in to your feelings of fatigue if you do take nerve related medication, narcotics or pain relievers, or experience severe pain. Don't try to fight it, it will win! I often have to reassure myself that it is okay to sleep. That I will have days where all I do is sleep. It's okay! Luckily I am not working so I am able to sleep more if needed. What is your experience with fatigue? Share in the comments below. I have found that those with facial pain suffer from different sources of pain. It could be skeletal pain like osteoarthritis and degeneration of the joint itself. It could be muscular pain from tense and aching muscles as a result of clenching your jaw, grinding your teeth at night or imbalance from the position of the upper or lower jaw. It could also be neuropathic pain as a result of nerve damage during surgery etc. (I hope I haven't forgotten any!)
Dr. Ken Casey is Chief of Neurosurgery at Oakwood Southshore Medical Center and Associate professor at Michigan State University. He is an expert on surgery of the cranial nerves and speaks internationally on a variety of facial pain topics. This video called "The Tides of Neuropathic Pain" is of a presentation by Dr. Ken Casey from five years ago. Since some of us (like myself) suffer from neuropathic facial pain, I thought I would share it because it gives a bit of insight into the subject. Although Dr. Casey does focus on Trigeminal Neuralgia, there is some interesting information and worth the watch if you suffer from this type of pain. You can find the video at: https://vimeo.com/search?q=Ken+Casey UPDATEDOops - Sorry! I forgot to publish the entire post!
An article in Neuroscience News explains that researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have determined that the brain is directly connected to the immune system by vessels previously thought not to exist. I am finding that many of us who have serious TMJ problems also have other issues the IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) and Gluten sensitivity to name a few. Perhaps there is a correlation or link between TMJ, the brain and our immune system. Read the article at: http://neurosciencenews.com/lymphatic-system-brain-neurobiology-2080/ Prior to my TMJ Replacement surgery, I was able to whistle. But after my surgery, I could not purse my lips into the position required to whistle. It was more like a spitting "Phhht" sound. However, I was walking with a friend and she whistled for our dogs. I then tried and succeeded. I was able to make a whistling sound. Grant it, it was a very weak sound, and it took a lot of effort, but I did it. This proves that even though I am 3 years post TJR surgery, I am still healing. My muscles and nerves are still repairing themselves.
It's funny how the smallest things can make the biggest impact on our lives! |
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August 2016
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