Temporo Mandibular Joint Dysfunction

When you feel like your jaw is trying to kill you

Today I want to talk about the jaw joint. We all have one, though a large proportion of those that suffer with this specific affliction, possibly wish that we did not.

The thing is, the jaw is an essential part of our anatomy (unless we’re to have an NG tube fitted, and let’s face it, no one would logically choose that). We have to eat, and drink. To do this, we have to be able to open our mouths, and for people with TMJD, this can often be a practically impossible task.

Today, while eating a small piece of sourdough, my jaw joint ‘slipped’ and instead of chomping down on the bread, I found myself chowing down on the inside of my cheek instead, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t utter a few curse words.

This is actually a fairly regular occurrence for me. It happens at least a couple of times a week, and when my jaw is particularly bad, it can be a couple of times a day. This coupled with headaches, neck ache, and the occasional phantom tooth pain, and you can surely understand how I draw the conclusion that my jaw might be out to kill me.

In reality, there’s nothing that can be done to fix my jaw. It is a by product of my severe anxiety, which I am working on, but it’s not easy to overcome something that you’ve been living with for so long.

So, for the moment, all I can do is take painkillers, and eat very slowly, and hope that I can stress out my jaw as little as possible in the hopes that it doesn’t try to take yet another chunk out of my cheek.