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There are all sorts of invisible conditions: things that affect our health and our capabilities but don't have an easy outward identifier. Conditions that, subsequently, many people can't understand: can't understand that they affect us sometimes, but not always, or can't understand that they always affect us because we just don't look that sick.
Many people I know live with fibromyalgia: they have to learn how to measure out their days in available energy. I've known people who suffer from seizures and that certainly switches your life around! My mom is violently allergic to latex, which ended her brilliant nursing career six months before she could have drawn retirement. The steps she must take to control her environment now are sobering. Several members of my family (including me) suffer from horrific migraines: our triggers vary from perfume to flowering trees to a lack of caffeine. This set of examples of invisible conditions is ridiculously short, but I'm only going to introduce one more. The one I'd like to talk about today.
I suffer from temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJD).
I'm not in the habit of quoting Wikipedia, but they have a nice enough brief description that I'm going to do so here:
"Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJD, TMJ or TMD), or TMJ syndrome, is an umbrella term covering acute or chronic inflammation of the temporomandibular joint, which connects the mandible to the skull. The disorder and resultant dysfunction can result in significant pain and impairment. Because the disorder transcends the boundaries between several health-care disciplines — in particular, dentistry, neurology, physical therapy, and psychology — there are a variety of treatment approaches."
It took more than half my life to realize I had problems with my TMJ, although I can look back now and note a number of symptoms that were manifestations of a problem. I experienced well-spaced but regular incidents of severe jaw-popping. I would have strange ear pain that wasn't related to any discernible infection or illness. I've also had regular and frequent experiences of tinnitus for as long as I can remember.
However, this condition didn't become one which perceptibly affected my entire life until my early 20's. Now, it's become one that I can't go a single day without thinking about and feeling. It's contributed to me losing a job, thanks to being unable to function and so fulfill my required schedule. It's caused me to miss classes because I couldn't drive and to miss out on social plans because I couldn't move without falling over or bursting into tears.
Let me stop here and note that I am writing this post in the hopes of helping other people understand one of many insivible conditions; I'm not looking for any sort of pity. I'm still trying to figure out living with TMJD and sorting out treatment possibilities, and I have faith that I'll manage that.
Let me share with you the symptoms I experience on a regular basis:
Jaw clenching. I mainly clench, sometimes grind, my teeth every night in my sleep. I have to wear a night guard to mitigate the pressure I'm putting on my teeth, my jaw, and subsequently the areas surrounding my jaw.
Muscle tension. Because of the jaw clenching, the muscles around my jaw, down my neck, and throughout my shoulders are usually incredibly tense. This constant tension translates into pain. Mostly, it just feels like there's a low-burning acid in those muscles. Sometimes, they're locked so tightly that I can barely turn my head. When I've been that bad and a friend has massaged my shoulders in an effort to help, I've actually become terribly nauseated and ill from the treatment.
Dizziness. Because of the muscle tension and inflammation, there's often the opportunity for my inner ear to become distorted. Most of the time, I just experience short, sweat-inducing swings: a moment when the world swings around me and I'm disoriented. Short dizziness, you understand. However, on several occasions, I've graduated to outright vertigo: constant spinning of the room (which I can feel even with my eyes closed), a severe list to one side when trying to move, and a tendency to fall in that direction when unassisted.
Headaches. As you can imagine from all this clenching and muscle tension, I end up with headaches more often than I'm headache-free. Unfortunately, the more severe the related pain, the more likely a migraine is going to be triggered. Let me tell you: TMJD at the height of symptom-severity and a migraine together represent some of the worst experiences I've suffered in my life.
Tooth pain. Doesn't even really need to be said, does it? But, yes, I experience tooth pain from all the clenching as well. Luckily, it's not really an active ache most of the time. Instead, it manifests as a semi-regular soreness when I chew food.
Less often, I experience:
Facial swelling. Yes, sometimes I look in the mirror to see a most definitely swollen face. This is generally accompanied by the sweat-inducing swings and muscle tension tending toward the further extreme.
Jaw popping/clicking. I mentioned earlier that I very occasionally experience severe moments of jaw popping: I can measure the distance between these in years. They're sudden and they hurt. Unfortunately, jaw clicking is becoming more common: it doesn't hurt, but it's really annoying. In fact, I've been experiencing that a lot today thanks to clenching my teeth so severely last night that I woke up with my front teeth hurting. (My husband also noted that he's been able to hear me clenching and/or grinding.)
Also, TMJD has already cost me one tooth. Thankfully, the tooth was already dead. It had a root canal in 2004, then was replaced with a palladium/gold alloy in 2005.
Let me say that in another way: the severity of my jaw-clenching actually caused a chunk of palladium/gold alloy to break and fall out of my mouth.
Yeah. TMJD is completely invisible and completely real.
Next time on TMJD Bites!: Treatments, Sledgehammers, and You Shouldn't Chew Gum!
Many people I know live with fibromyalgia: they have to learn how to measure out their days in available energy. I've known people who suffer from seizures and that certainly switches your life around! My mom is violently allergic to latex, which ended her brilliant nursing career six months before she could have drawn retirement. The steps she must take to control her environment now are sobering. Several members of my family (including me) suffer from horrific migraines: our triggers vary from perfume to flowering trees to a lack of caffeine. This set of examples of invisible conditions is ridiculously short, but I'm only going to introduce one more. The one I'd like to talk about today.
I suffer from temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJD).
I'm not in the habit of quoting Wikipedia, but they have a nice enough brief description that I'm going to do so here:
"Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJD, TMJ or TMD), or TMJ syndrome, is an umbrella term covering acute or chronic inflammation of the temporomandibular joint, which connects the mandible to the skull. The disorder and resultant dysfunction can result in significant pain and impairment. Because the disorder transcends the boundaries between several health-care disciplines — in particular, dentistry, neurology, physical therapy, and psychology — there are a variety of treatment approaches."
It took more than half my life to realize I had problems with my TMJ, although I can look back now and note a number of symptoms that were manifestations of a problem. I experienced well-spaced but regular incidents of severe jaw-popping. I would have strange ear pain that wasn't related to any discernible infection or illness. I've also had regular and frequent experiences of tinnitus for as long as I can remember.
However, this condition didn't become one which perceptibly affected my entire life until my early 20's. Now, it's become one that I can't go a single day without thinking about and feeling. It's contributed to me losing a job, thanks to being unable to function and so fulfill my required schedule. It's caused me to miss classes because I couldn't drive and to miss out on social plans because I couldn't move without falling over or bursting into tears.
Let me stop here and note that I am writing this post in the hopes of helping other people understand one of many insivible conditions; I'm not looking for any sort of pity. I'm still trying to figure out living with TMJD and sorting out treatment possibilities, and I have faith that I'll manage that.
Let me share with you the symptoms I experience on a regular basis:
Jaw clenching. I mainly clench, sometimes grind, my teeth every night in my sleep. I have to wear a night guard to mitigate the pressure I'm putting on my teeth, my jaw, and subsequently the areas surrounding my jaw.
Muscle tension. Because of the jaw clenching, the muscles around my jaw, down my neck, and throughout my shoulders are usually incredibly tense. This constant tension translates into pain. Mostly, it just feels like there's a low-burning acid in those muscles. Sometimes, they're locked so tightly that I can barely turn my head. When I've been that bad and a friend has massaged my shoulders in an effort to help, I've actually become terribly nauseated and ill from the treatment.
Dizziness. Because of the muscle tension and inflammation, there's often the opportunity for my inner ear to become distorted. Most of the time, I just experience short, sweat-inducing swings: a moment when the world swings around me and I'm disoriented. Short dizziness, you understand. However, on several occasions, I've graduated to outright vertigo: constant spinning of the room (which I can feel even with my eyes closed), a severe list to one side when trying to move, and a tendency to fall in that direction when unassisted.
Headaches. As you can imagine from all this clenching and muscle tension, I end up with headaches more often than I'm headache-free. Unfortunately, the more severe the related pain, the more likely a migraine is going to be triggered. Let me tell you: TMJD at the height of symptom-severity and a migraine together represent some of the worst experiences I've suffered in my life.
Tooth pain. Doesn't even really need to be said, does it? But, yes, I experience tooth pain from all the clenching as well. Luckily, it's not really an active ache most of the time. Instead, it manifests as a semi-regular soreness when I chew food.
Less often, I experience:
Facial swelling. Yes, sometimes I look in the mirror to see a most definitely swollen face. This is generally accompanied by the sweat-inducing swings and muscle tension tending toward the further extreme.
Jaw popping/clicking. I mentioned earlier that I very occasionally experience severe moments of jaw popping: I can measure the distance between these in years. They're sudden and they hurt. Unfortunately, jaw clicking is becoming more common: it doesn't hurt, but it's really annoying. In fact, I've been experiencing that a lot today thanks to clenching my teeth so severely last night that I woke up with my front teeth hurting. (My husband also noted that he's been able to hear me clenching and/or grinding.)
Also, TMJD has already cost me one tooth. Thankfully, the tooth was already dead. It had a root canal in 2004, then was replaced with a palladium/gold alloy in 2005.
Let me say that in another way: the severity of my jaw-clenching actually caused a chunk of palladium/gold alloy to break and fall out of my mouth.
Yeah. TMJD is completely invisible and completely real.
Next time on TMJD Bites!: Treatments, Sledgehammers, and You Shouldn't Chew Gum!