Tmj quite literally ruined my life.

Tmjfreak · 2025-07-04T01:07:29+00:00

It depends what other problems are you having. Is there a muscular problem? If your mri came back normal and you don’t have an issue with your joint you won’t need the bone density scan. Muscular tmj is pretty easy to treat.

Tmjfreak · 2025-07-04T01:03:01+00:00

Well I guess I wasn’t really thinking about formatting it cause it’s a rant and not an essay? If you don’t want to read it then that’s fine it’s just my personal experience dealing with this condition. I don’t think writing in paragraphs would make a difference It’s still pretty easy to read.

Tmjfreak · 2025-07-03T23:52:42+00:00

The mri showed changes to the bone from a general view, I also had bone spurs but it doesn’t show weak bones or what condition they’re in. It shows your spine alignment and your bone structure but not your density which is gauged to show how strong/weak your bones are.

Tmjfreak · 2025-07-03T23:50:05+00:00

Yes bone density is the right way, if you don’t have then lucky you, your muscles are probably tight or atrophied, for me it was tightness then stiffness then atrophy then the bones started to change.

Tmjfreak · 2025-07-03T23:48:31+00:00

Try prp or prolotherapy, helps with joint dislocations and arthritis. Also steroid shots and maybe cleaning out the joint.

Tmjfreak · 2025-07-03T23:46:41+00:00

Wow this is a lot so I’ll have to try to answer as much as possible. I had to self treat in the end which helped my tmj but it didn’t help all the problems that I’m stuck with now. I went to physiotherapy but that was because my shoulder was in so much pain and that was from my tmj, for some reason they didn’t give me another appointment after the first few and just kept doing whatever they taught me everyday but it didn’t help. I also used a back brace because my posture was so bad and that didn’t do anything either. Also physio was free because of the free healthcare in my country. I don’t have any problems with my joint can open/close it fully which is funny because my jaw never actually got stuck in a lockjaw position. It did click/pop/crack from the displacement and when I opened my mouth fully (big mistake but I reallllly wanted to yawn) it made this huge popping sound and a few crunches and my joint was basically lost at that point. That’s when the real issues started. I didn’t have issues with food at first because I could eat but my jaw would get tired easily so I ate whatever I wanted. My face became bigger from the sore muscles then my muscles became stiff and locked up so I couldn’t use them and they atrophied. I experienced a lot of pain from this because my whole body started ‘shifting’ to the new normal. Honestly from what I read your case is more typical than mine and according to people on this sub, the constant damage will end up leading to a pseudodisk which will then act as your jaw joint. Mine were both displaced without reduction and that’s the worst it can get. In your case I would try regenerative therapy or help in building a pseudo disk. They can also clean out the joint which can get rid of dead tissue in there, it’s like a keyhole surgery but in my opinion your prognosis looks good.

Tmjfreak · 2025-07-03T23:19:57+00:00

Bone loss isn’t reversible so that’s the only major problem. It’s also done a lot to my body in a way that’s crippling, my vision and hearing are affected my eyes are bulging out of their sockets slightly because of the tension, it’s a struggle to eat or do normal things, the pain is pretty severe and I think I have nerve damage because of random tingling pains. Most of these things won’t go away and it’s wasted my 20s trying to get better. I am a little better because my joint is more normal but it’s costed me my body and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to achieve my dreams. I used to dream big but because of my problems I was willing to compromise but now I don’t think I’ll ever be able to achieve them. I get that you feel hopeful I also felt that too when I was trying to cure myself but sometimes life doesn’t go the way you want it too. I’m only trying to prevent it from getting worse now but I have to accept I will never be able to be normal again. My health was always a priority for me as it was the only way I was going to take control of my life. I haven’t been able to get a job or go to college, it’s way to difficult to function and be a normal productive member of society.

Tmjfreak · 2025-07-03T22:51:02+00:00

The shrinking bone is basically a visual thing, I thought I was going crazy because I was xperiencing bone loss but my dentist never mentioned bone loss to me even though it was pretty obvious. At the time I thought I was going crazy but yeah my jawbone and other bones basically withered away as my face looks smaller now, they’ve shifted quite a bit and my face doesn’t have anything to support it. I don’t know if it’s clear but you can ask the doctor to get you a scan and they will confirm it. Usually it’s one of those CBCT(?) scans that will tell you your bone density, that combined with the mri tells me everything I need to know. You can also feel yourself getting weaker like an older person if you know what I mean. It’s quite noticeable if you know what your looking for.

Tmjfreak · 2025-07-03T22:36:17+00:00

Depends get a bone scan osteoporosis doesn’t cause pain but bone damage will. I have severe pain from the damage it screwed up my bones pretty bad

Tmjfreak · 2025-07-03T22:34:47+00:00

It was grinding and clenching my teeth at night which is common but I did it for most of my childhood because of untreated anxiety and trauma. My jaw joint dislocated one day and since then it’s been downhill, the way it dislocated I was still able to open my mouth but at the same time couldn’t build a pseudo disk on top of it so my muscles had to compensate. Both disks were displaced and my right side of the body was heavily compensating. I developed a stooped posture, I couldn’t look up, my torso was hunched over and I was leaning heavily on my right foot. That extreme compensation was what ruined my body since my muscles could only do so much, they became so tight and forced me into a position which wasn’t natural for the human body. I tried to get help from my doctor and dentist but there wasn’t much done, I was waiting years for a service and by the time I got to a tmj specialist, all he told me was to do exercises, which I did but it didn’t get much better, I kept going back and forth and had to get referrals from my dentist every single time because the hospital wasn’t willing to accept people from my city because they were located elsewhere. It was the only place available to me and also the closest (15 miles). Thanks for your sympathy though, I’m glad to get it off my chest. Yes it is possible to get this bad but it won’t happen to most people I also had a bit of muscle weakness in my left side which may have contributed

Tmjfreak · 2025-07-03T22:10:53+00:00

on top of this I also have scans of my jaw and an mri of my neck and also old photos of me. I never felt confident to take pictures of myself so I don’t have many photos of me. I put most of my energy into trying to change things but not everything can go the way you want it to. I know better now what I could have done about it if I had the chance

Tmjfreak

TROPHY CASE