Chronic pain-TMJ Awareness Month

November is jaw joints awareness month. You may be asking yourself, is Ms. Peebody just adding random posts to her blog? What does TMJ have to do with IC? TMJ is pain in the jaw and interstitial cystitis is pain in the bladder, how are the two related? Directly, the two are not related. Indirectly, they are. TMJ is one of eight overlapping medical conditions that often occur with these medical conditions:  chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic headache or migraine, endometriosis, fibromyalgia, interstitial cystitis, irritable bowel syndrome and vulvodynia. Although research is ongoing, we still do not have an answer as to why any combination of these eight conditions often effect a person.Personally, I suffer from IC, IBS, migraines and TMJ.

I had adult braces because I never liked my jack-o-lantern smile. I’ve had them off for less than a year and love my smile. I chose to get adult braces simply from a vanity standpoint but I have noticed that I have fewer “temple headaches” now. “Temple headaches” is what I call my headaches when the pain feels like my temple will explode. It’s my unprofessional phrase but you can borrow it 🙂 . The decrease in headaches after I had braces was just a bonus. I knew going into it that it would not cure TMJ. In fact, the good people at  TMJ.org, do not recommend surgical treatment as there isn’t enough research to support the effectiveness of those procedures.

For those of you just passing through who are fortunate enough not to suffer from TMJ or perhaps do not know the signs of it, here they are:

• pain in the jaw muscles
• pain in the neck and shoulders
• chronic headaches
• jaw muscle stiffness
• limited movement or locking of the jaw
• ear pain, pressure
• painful clicking, popping or grating in the jaw joint when opening or closing the mouth
• a bite that feels “off”

I’ve had TMJ flare ups that were so bad I could barely open my mouth. Although those closest to me thought this was a wonderful side effect, I had to go to urgent care to get anti inflammatory medication. For years, my mother has had the painful clicking, popping or grating that is described above. It can be entertaining to sit at the dinner table with her when there are new people around because as she’s chewing, they’re looking around trying to figure out where that awful noise is coming from. The noise is loud. 

There are many possible causes for TMJ including arthritis, injury to the jaw, infections and autoimmune disease. The one possible cause that interests me the most is autoimmune disease because that’s the only thing that links TMJ with IC. I wonder if one day scientist will discover that the eight overlapping autoimmune diseases are actually one larger disease. I already have four of the eight autoimmune diseases and I’m only 38. The chances of developing any or all of the other four diseases in this overlapping condition group is likely, according to the research I’ve done. I hope and pray researchers are using their funds well and that we will see a better diagnosis or perhaps even a cure for these autoimmune diseases in our lifetime.

Lack of Funding for Overlapping Medical Conditions

Two weeks ago, I was worried about a few things that were coming up. One of the big things was the hydrodistintion that I had done a week ago Friday. The usual and unhealthy way I handle stress is to keep it locked up inside of me. The irritating way my body lets me know it’s had enough is to rebel. This was the case two weeks ago when out of nowhere my IBS acted up. When I first diagnosed with IBS four years ago, it was irritating and inconvenient. Having suffered for the past several years with what I now know is Interstitial Cystitis, the IBS symptoms I experienced seemed like nothing compared to the pain of IC. I’m taking medication to help control IBS and honestly, all thoughts of IBS took a backseat to dealing with IC. While dealing with the symptoms of IBS two weeks ago while dealing with the pain of IC, I became curious to know how common it is to have more than one of these types of diseases. It turns out, it’s a lot more common than I thought. There are millions of Americans suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome, endometriosis, fibromyalgia, interstitial cystitis, irritable bowel syndrome, temporomandibular disorders, and vulvodynia and TMJ. Those of us with more than one of these diseases are known to have what is called overlapping or cormorbid conditions. There are coalitions formed to help gain funding for these diseases and to find out why they so commonly overlap. Here are a few organizations that you can look at if you wish http://www.endwomenspain.org/ and  http://www.overlappingconditions.org/ and http://nwhn.org/overlapping-pain-conditions-women-pain-need-more

According to the research I’ve done on the Internet, doctors are educated to treat the symptoms, not the patient. If the doctor cannot determine what the problem is, there’s a good chance you will be dismissed without a diagnosis but sometimes with the belief of the doctor saying ‘it’s all in your head’-this is a personal favorite saying of mine as I’ve heard it from a few doctors over the past few years. The problem with doctors who only treat the symptoms instead of looking at the patient as a human being is similar to the person who is book smart but not street smart. A good doctor should, in my opinion, be able to look at the symptoms and the patient as a whole person.

Another issue with these eight commonly overlapping diseases is knowledge and awareness of the diseases themselves. There is so little known about each of these diseases and my personal opinion for this is because the eight diseases mainly effect women. The National Women’s Health Network reported in April of 2011 that the average funds allocated for researching these conditions through the National Institute of Health is…$1.33 per affected woman, per year. Yes, that’s right $1.33. Funds allocated for these predominantly female conditions are equivalent to just a penny over the price of 3 postage stamps, 24 cents over the price for a movie rental at Red Box, and over a dollar less than most restaurants charge for soda pop. The National Woman’s Health Network estimates that over $80 billion is spent in health care costs regarding these conditions. Combined, chronic pain is as prevalent as cancer, heart disease and diabetes. The National Institute of Health spends 96% less on chronic pain research. This is appalling to me. There is something we can do to change this. We can call or write our Congressman/woman (www.Congress.org ) to find specifics for your congressman/woman) and ask them to act on the policy recommendations listed under the Take Action section on the Overlapping Conditions Organizations website. They even have a template to send a letter if you’d prefer. The policy recommendations include: cost effective investment in research, education of health care professionals and expanding public awareness. As both women and victims of these conditions we need to stand up and be heard. We know our worth and we are worth so much more than a lousy $1.33 a year.

Please take a few minutes to watch this video called “Through the Maze: Women & Pain”

http://www.youtube.com/CECPW