Jaw Pain

[m&m]

So I noticed that my jaws have been really painfully for the past month or so. Before the "adverse reactions" I had NO problem with jaw pain.

Ran across this article.

http://blogs.webmd.com/anxiety-and-s...-jaw-pain.html

This is what I found on-line to help. (I don't really agree with #12 in my particular situation, but I pasted all the info I found on the site nonetheless)



Try over-the-counter pain relievers like acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Follow the package directions. These are intended for temporary relief only and are not appropriate for long-term treatment.


2
Look for gels or mouth swabs containing Benzocaine or similar active ingredients. These can be found at most drug stores and provide topical pain relief to teeth and jaws.


3
Bite on a cotton ball soaked in oil of cloves. It contains antiseptic and warming properties that help ease jaw pain. Oil of cloves can be found at many drug stores.


4
Place a hot, damp cloth against the jaw and hold it there until it is no longer hot to the touch. Heat helps increase blood flow and reduce pain in the jaw.


5
Apply gentle massage to the tender area. Rub the muscles along the jaw line, applying gentle pressure to increase blood flow and help relax the muscles.


6
Use cold packs for temporary pain relief. Cold can help numb the pain and reduce any swelling associated with jaw pain.


7
Exercise the jaw muscles by gently opening and closing the mouth repeatedly without allowing the top and bottom jaws to contact. This can increase your range of motion and increase blood flow to the area.


8
Avoid chewing gum and eating hard or chewy foods like beef jerky, raw vegetables, nuts or candy.


9
Manage your stress level. Counseling, meditation and exercise are just a few options for helping you reduce stress that may cause you to clench your jaw, damaging joints and muscles.


10
Look into the option of having a custom-fit acrylic appliance made if your jaw pain is related to Temporomandibular joint disorder. This fits over the teeth and prevents grinding or clenching. These appliances are most commonly prescribed for use at night but they can be used during the day if necessary.


11
Correct any bite misalignment with orthodontics. Sometimes jaw pain relief can only be achieved by adjusting alignment, bridges or crowns.


12
Get a surgical consultation if all other treatments have failed. If your case is severe enough, joint restructuring or replacement may be a last resort. Ligament tightening is another surgical option.

http://www.wikihow.com/Reduce-Jaw-Pain

[Luc]

Jaw pain is very common in WD, M&M. It will be get better, too. There are many causes of it - temporary WD-fibromyalgia or neuropathy, bruxism (teeth-grinding, clenching your jaw), stress, or all combined.

Agreed - number 12 is the worst piece of advice there ever is - and it's good only for surgeons - always happy to cut everything around. In the case of WD, the best I'd say are 4 or 6 (depending which your body reacts to better), also 5, in some cases very gentle 7 may help, 9 (general exercises being very mild) and the one absent from the list, but crucial in WD - TIME.

[Iggy131313]

m&m I have been thinking of you, do you have a date for your surgery? do you think the jaw pain is caused by clenching your teeth? I do that alot (never did before) you could consider getting a gum sheild to wear at night if this is the case?

[m&m]

Jaw pain is very common in WD, M&M. It will be get better, too. There are many causes of it - temporary WD-fibromyalgia or neuropathy, bruxism (teeth-grinding, clenching your jaw), stress, or all combined.

Agreed - number 12 is the worst piece of advice there ever is - and it's good only for surgeons - always happy to cut everything around. In the case of WD, the best I'd say are 4 or 6 (depending which your body reacts to better), also 5, in some cases very gentle 7 may help, 9 (general exercises being very mild) and the one absent from the list, but crucial in WD - TIME.

Luc - I'm going to try the cold pack tonight. I'll post results later :-)

[m&m]

m&m I have been thinking of you, do you have a date for your surgery? do you think the jaw pain is caused by clenching your teeth? I do that alot (never did before) you could consider getting a gum sheild to wear at night if this is the case?

Looks like my other response disappeared? I will try and find the mouth guard :)

I sent you and e-mail :D

[stan]

during tapering i was clenching teeth, a kind of trembling

[m&m]

I just realized that I posted this TWO months ago and still have the jaw pain. Uggg. Have to go for another chemo treatment this Friday. Dont know what would be worse, dying like this or living like this for years.

So tired.

[Sheila]

Aww, m&m....what have you been doing for the jaw pain? This has been a w/d symptom of mine, getting better recently. It helped a bit to gently stretch my mouth -- important not to do it forcefully -- hold it open for 30 seconds, relax, repeat, a few times. And it can help to massage the area.

What crap to have to look forward to another chemo treatment! You're not going to die and you're not going to live like this for years. The cancer treatment will come to an end. And the adverse reaction will get better and then come to an end. You will be in the next phase of your life, which will be like night and day compared to this phase. Keep talking to us.

[m&m]

Still feeling like I am in a bizzarre place and I believe the chemo treatments are making things worse (bad headaches, body pain, cloudy thoughts, etc). I have been watching juicing videos today and noticed that when this all happened (back last March) I started looking at all people as unhappy or really sad ... kinda hard to explain... anyway, I noticed that I was doing it again today ... looking at people and wondering if they were "ok". This is such a strange place for me to be mentally and physically still after a year. It really tires me out trying to make sense of everything. And I find that I loose more confidence in myself. This just seems so unreal. Another one of my symptoms that may be coming back is the fear of "going crazy". There for a while I had gotten a hold of it, now I can see it has come back.

Sorry to hear about your jaw pain. Is there no end? Both Iggy and my sister mentioned a bite guard. Have you tried a guard with any positive results?

[Sheila]

I used a mouth guard in early w/d because when I was falling asleep or asleep my jaw would snap shut and bite my tongue, and it happened so often, I had a wound on my tongue that would not heal. But, this slowly got better, and I *felt* like I was choking on the guard so I stopped using it. I *wasn't* choking. It just felt like it. But, I think it's definitely a good thing to try.

I also experienced that thing of worrying about people on TV and seeing everyone as more miserable than they probably were. It's a bias we have in this neuro-recovery. For awhile, we overemphasize anything painful and can't see anything happy.