TMJ Problems Can Be Treated Without Surgery

Jim, thank you so much for this piece about TMJ dysfunction. I'm the first to admit that I was unaware of the symptoms of TMJ Dysfunction; the  went off for me the day you and local PT co-presented at a CME training at our regional hospital.

I had just been to a specialist, at the suggestion of the PA at one of my MDs offices, who was seeing my pattern of being in the office every fall and every spring at about the same time with a cold that had gone into bronchitis.  He wisely said "I think this might have an allergy component to it", and since I had such a busy caseload of patients and didn't have the ability to take time off, as I was the only OTR in an office that had developed referrals from surgeons up at Stedman Hawkins in Vail, it made it very difficult for me to go back over to the Front Range for medical specialists.  So I'd gone to someone local, 'complaining of' all kinds of things that were inexplicable when IgE allergy testing was done and was told 'I don't know what's wrong with you, you've just had a lot of bad luck with your health, that's for sure.'

Those symptoms had to do with ongoing balance/equilibrium issues -- the PT at the clinic with Dan who specialized in neuro and balance was getting a lot of GOOD teaching to the staff and interns going the Epley on me -- I even famously got so nauseous one time when it was a very rare and particularly bad irregularity in the semicircular canals that I urped the contents of my stomach, fortunately or not, I'd only had coffee so far that day as I went STRAIGHT in when I got out of the shower and set thing off throwing my head over to put my hair in a towel.  I literally immediately felt like I was Jeannie in her little bottle being shaken up! Fortunately I have a small bathroom and there were walls and doors and the tub to grab onto.  

The first symptom of my health issues getting worse, right after I had an immunization in 1981 for German Measles in order to get married in the state of Colorado, was a 'reverberation' of any sharp noises.  This symptom re-appeared in a slightly different form in December of 2006, when I had a surgery/hysterectomy.  The intubation gadget had apparently set things off, and I've written about my horrendous days (yes DAYS) in the hospital due to a nursing medication error.  Long story short, being on my back like a turtle for two days interacting with only my overbed table and so often having to articulate my neck forward to reach for things on the overbed table lead to my having a really flareup of neck muscles.  Despite my surgeon being fairly knowledgeable about fibromyalgia and being very aware that I had it, no special treatments were worked into my treatment plan for before, during, or after hospitalization.  Fortunately I worked at the PT clinic and they took pity upon me when I dragged in the next week.  Oddly, this reverberation came on several days after the surgery, I was actually doing quite well on day #3 post op; I'd gone home on day #2. 

So the  had gone off about my having TMJ but I didn't seek a consult with you at that time, which makes me, on one hand, want to  but at that time I was doing a lot with chiropractic, nutrition and the supplementation thereof, and hormone supplementation and I've thought about this a LOT, as it bugs me that it took me so long to get to you.  For one thing, a person has 24 hours a in day and 7 days in a week, and when you're doing a lot of medical 'stuff' you tend to think 'I'll wait and see what happens with this and go from there'.  

The other thing was that I was seeing a lot of medical professionals who were progressive types and I was not hearing anything suggesting you as a provider to seek out.  And they knew about you. When I was an OT in the PT clinic, my office was across the lobby from Dr. April Schulte-Barclay, DAOM (who also writes on Lumigrate from time to time, we're ALWAYS happy to hear from our busy providers.) I can think back to patients we were seeing for upper extremity rehabilitation/therapy who likely would have benefitted from seeing her additionally, and I don't recall that was very THOUGHT-FULL about it.  I'm sure if someone asked me 'do you think acupuncture would help', I'd have said 'yes, and there's a really GRATE one right across the lobby'.  

That's why I really work with Lumigrate's marketing to keep us remembering each other, whether that be in posts on facebook for people locally or nationally and beyond to see, or for those living locally doing a FUN gathering to get people together, or letting everyone know of pieces that are NEW on Lumigrate. I hope that all providers are also working to have live networking events in our community as well.  Even if people aren't able or don't want to attend, it keeps everyone more in mind.  Granted, with oriental medicine, insurances were a factor, as I was in an insurance-based clinic and most of our patients were expecting insurance to pay for any and all medical care.  

So I hope that I get this piece in front of eyeballs that are connected to brains that will have the ! 

Eventually I heard you speak AGAIN at a CME (on pediatric sleep apnea - I've written about it in the sleep/apnea forum) and this time you showed a photograph of a young girl's neck/positioning and the  went off again! This time  -- it just resonated this THIS is my next step. I've had a head forward posture that I thought stemmed from the say it hurts me to sit 'up straight' due to pressure on my 'sitz bonz' (ischeal tuberosities for those who know anatomy and want the proper term).  I've known since 1995 that I have some significant cervical disk issues, but many with fibromyalgia have the head forward positioning and don't have cervical issues nor specific pain they're avoiding by 'sacral sitting'.  I've always had a pronounced windpipe and the girl in the photo had that as well; I'd just never thought about the head and mouth position related to getting more air in people who have sinus problems and sleep apnea issues.  Then THAT made sense related to fibromyalgia! 

And as you know better than I (since I only can take the words you tell me and make something of it in my mind, I don't have the WHOLE aresenal of information in your brain at my disposal, there were quite a few things awry in the way my head/cranium overall had developed.  The oral appliance has been really helpful to me related to protecting my teeth at night if I clench, something I was aware I was doing but UNaware was potentially harmful to my teeth as I didn't know they could fracture.  

I find your charges to be very reasonable and your policies fair, there's nothing painful about it, and it's enjoyable talking with you, as you are FUN and VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE about various aspects of holistic health care.   

I'm pleased to say that, with facilitation of additional treatment I'm fortunate to also receive from Dr. Ilene Spector (DO who also practices techniques that are discussed at The Cranial Academy's website), I'm sleeping better today than I have in my entire life.  Not yet 'perfectly normal' in terms of the way I tend to have two very deep/long sessions of sleep per night with  little 'intermission', but I feel like this whole fall I've been making up for lost SLEEP time.  I'm presuming it's doing it's part to bring my health back increasingly towards WELLNESS.  

I encourage people to check out your website, even if they don't live locally, as well as The Cranial Academy's.

Thank you for going the different route with your career, and I'm very grateful you moved to Grand Junction, as I did not too long after.  I'm glad that eventually I found out about you, and eventually 'got the message' - "just go have a consult and see if I have issues he can address".  

As I say, "Live and Learn! Learn and Live Better!!" ~~ Mardy