I think I am going to fall apart…but I recently learned that all of my problems may be related. Huh. Who knew? And this post is going to be one long complaint.
About 2 years ago, I began getting severe pains in my left jaw. Dentist appointments determined that I did not have any cavities. It was decided by 3 dental students and 2 actual dentists that I had TMJ. I need a mouthpiece the sleep at night. Do I actually wear one? No. Do I even own one? No. Bad, bad, bad. At the time that I was diagnosed, I didn’t have dental insurance…hence why I was seeing a friend in dental school instead of an actual dentist. I simply didn’t have the money to have molds made of my mouth so that I could be fitted for a bite guard. Why don’t I have one now? Simple: I’m lazy.
My jaw pops a million times a day…and LOUD. Sometimes it hurts and other times I welcome the popping as it relieves the pressure. I tried chewing gum for awhile to exercise the muscles, but that makes it worse. If I eat extremely chewy food, it hurts for days after. If I sleep wrong, it hurts. It just hurts.
Since I’ve been pregnant, I’ve been having some sciatica. Last week it was so bad that I had to sit upright on the couch for approximately 14 hours before the pain subsided. If I step on the side of either foot instead of directly level with the floor, pains go shooting up my legs to my lower back. I wake up at night and spend 10 minutes just rolling over because the pain (which is directly above my butt) is so bad. No sleeping position helps. No exercise helps. No medicine that I can take helps. I just deal with it.
About a year ago, I began waking up about once a week with horrible, horrible pain in the ear that I was sleeping on. Not inside my ear, my actual external ear. It is so bad that it brings tears to my eyes. And just moving makes the pain worse. Now this is happening about 4-5 times a week. I’ve changed pillows, changed sleep positions, etc. Nothing helps. I sort of thought all along that this pain was related to my TMJ, but that’s never been confirmed…until today. WebMD tells me that all three of these things are related. Sciatica/coccyx pain can cause external ear pain. TMJ can cause external ear pain. Again, who knew?
So, right after this baby is born, I need to get my TMJ under control!! The sciatica will most likely go away after having the baby, but the TMJ is something I need to deal with instead of ignore. I hate having stuff wrong with me.
