I have had TMJ since high school–I remember I was eating a bagel and my jaw locked, would not open for about 20 minutes. Over the years it has gotten progressively worse, until this year, which has been off the charts. And, no, I don’t think it has anything to do with me playing catcher on our softball team without a mask. 
Well, after that incident with the softball in October, I have been in tears kind of pain. I saw our family doctor, Dr. Yoneyama, and he referred me to Vanderbilt Oral Surgery Clinic. I have seen everyone…from doctors to dentists to orthodontist to chiropractors…all with zero success. I called Vanderbilt and scheduled an appointment–IN APRIL (remember: this was October 2005). Finally, around Christmas, I called and started crying on the phone to the receptionist. That got me bumped up to February–amazing how quickly they can find cancellations when there are tears involved. The Feb visit started the mushy diet…aka the antithesis of Atkins.
Half way through my treatment, I was scheduled for my follow up visit and an MRI. A few things I learned from my MRI…
1) Technicians who work MRIs have never lived in NYC, so they don’t know what “loud” is and they certainly have never heard a jackhammer because my MRI experience was not at all what they led me to believe
2) I am not claustrophobic (good to know for future reference, in case I am caught in a “Lost” episode)
3) I can stuff 27 popsicle sticks in my mouth and hold them there for 30 minutes (Calm down, Jay)
4) I do actually have a brain–in a very un-Descartes kind of way, it is always good to have proof–See below
All you medical folks out there…if those white spots are tumors, let me know!
In all honesty, the MRI was not fun and was rather painful, because I did have to lie there with sticks in my mouth for an eternity and, in a twisted mockery on my career choice, the computer died in the middle of my scan and had to be rebooted.
When my doctor reviewed my MRI, it was determined that I needed surgery, probably on both sides. They will slice, from the inside of my mouth, both sides of the jaw bone, drop the pieces down, shave them to even the jawline, then sew me back up. After that, it is 3 weeks of having my jaw wired shut. No talking, no eating, no nothing. Jenny Craig eat your heart out!
We are still in the insurance approval process. We will let you know how things go!
