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Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself
Chronic Pain | Last Active: 15 hours ago | Replies (7276)Comment receiving replies
I developed earaches in September 2016. My primary care found no ear or sinus infection and sent me to an ENT, who diagnosed TMJ pain. I went to my dentist for help. He gave me weekly anesthesia shots into trigger points (OUCH!) and exercises to do, including massaging the trigger points and opening my mouth as wide as I could numerous times in the shower while my face was warm and wet. (I have been wearing a night guard made by my dentist for over 20 years; he replaces them as they wear out.) The pain continued and only got worse; it was at the top of my head, in my ears, in my jaw, above my palate (as though I'd eaten hot food). My dentist sent me to an oral surgeon, who did 360-degree x-rays and found no joint damage. He told me I was therefore not a candidate for surgery (YAY!) and prescribed Flexeril, a muscle relaxer. The pain only got worse, and I continued to wake up in the night with horrific pain. Ibuprofen didn't even touch it.
My dentist then sent me to a physical therapist, who didn't listen to a word I said. I came in on a "good" pain day: my pain level was about a 5 out of 10 (10 being the worst). After his examination and showing me how to do various exercises, he triumphantly told me that my pain level was now reduced. I said "No. My pain level is now about 7.5." He said he didn't believe me. He attempted to push me to go to his outside clinic to get "magnet therapy," and he tried to push me to see a friend of his who is a naturopath. Two days after this session, I was still in excruciating pain and doubt I'd ever return to this physical therapist, although he had me schedule 4 more 1-hour sessions with him.
I called my dentist again, and he called in a prescription for Tylenol plus codeine, which I can take every 4 to 6 hours. My dentist seems to have no further solutions for me.
My primary care is currently out of town, but I will see her when she gets back (in August); she may be referring me to a pain management specialist, which my dentist recommended--however, my dentist refuses to give me a referral to such a specialist, even though the specialist will take referrals from dentists or doctors.
I have been treated for many years for clinical depression and panic/anxiety disorder by my psychiatrist, and the meds have helped me immensely. On Monday I see my psychiatrist for my usual 6-month med check, and I'm going to ask him for help with the terrible TMJ pain. I have also had fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome for a long time. The fibro pain has greatly lessened over time and hardly bothers me, but the CFS continues.
The TMJ pain makes it difficult to concentrate. I'm self-employed, and I enjoy my work. But pain gets in the way, as it does in every single situation: work or pastimes. My dentist mentioned massage therapy, but I'm in too much pain right now to try it. Another friend mentioned using a TENS unit. I feel as though I'm not living; to be in constant pain is hardly living, at least to me.
Any other suggestions? Would a TENS unit help? I'm more than willing to purchase one. I'll try just about anything to be pain free. Sometimes I am pain free. But I spend about 2 weeks out of every month in serious pain. I am feeling very discouraged.
Replies to "I developed earaches in September 2016. My primary care found no ear or sinus infection and..."
contentandwell:Thanks for your input. It makes sense to me what you said, I just needed confirmation. maried65
I'm also a native up-stater, born in Brockport, lived in Canandaigua from K-10th grade, Jamestown for most of high school, then left NY to go to college. While I was in college in Missouri, my parents moved to California. I'm 67, and hadn't been back to NY until 10/2015. I hardly recognized my early homes. I like living in central Oregon, where we don't get a lot of snow or rain. It's a high desert, lots of sagebrush and junipers, and in the summer, usually smoke from wildfires, which is bad right now. It's hard on the allergies and mood. I feel like I lost my inertia, which I guess isn't actually possible, is it.
Jim
@contentedandwell - I love dilaudid.
Jim
I went to college in upstate NY: Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, first class of women (class of 1974)!!!!! Haven't been back upstate in quite some time. Tallahassee, FL, where I live, is so far from everything, including the rest of Florida!
I went to a relatively small private college and have a BA in music (piano) and Bible. I've made good use of both sides of the degree.
Jim
Jim, How can you say you love DiLaudid ? It is like saying you like pain. Can you please describe in what way do LOVE DiLaudid? Marield65
@hazelblumberg and @jimhd, it's a small world!
@jimhd... I grew up around Geneseo and now live in Rochester (Chili)' I'm not far from Brockport at all. And... I went to college in Fredonia, which is super-close to Jamestown.
@hazelblumberg... the pharmacist I work with the most here in Rochester for my drug polymorphisms is actually from the Utica area. (He and I are co-authoring a book for patients about drug metabolism and polymorphisms.)
It's funny because I go to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Almost every doctor I have there has told me that their luggage has been accidentally routed to Rochester, NY instead of Rochester, MN while flying through O'Hare. Unfortunately, our airport here is accustomed to re-routing Mayo Clinic patients who end up here in ROC accidentally due to airline booking errors.
@contentandwell, just be conscientious while using omeprazole and if you start feeling wonky, talk to your doctor. All PPIs are not created equally, and omeprazole is the worse inhibitor of the CYP2C19 enzyme for some reason.
I've read that long-term use of PPIs contributes to bone density issues also. My mom has pre-dementia symptoms, and her neurologist told her to avoid NSAIDS because it also negatively affects dementia.
@marield65, yes, the second set I did via OneOme was a larger number of tests and also much less expensive. Mayo/OneOme have been diligently working on lowering the prices of these tests and making them more widely-available. I assume that the reason that doctors out there are generally unaware of these polymorphisms is because historically, no one gets these tests done due to lack of availability and cost. Hopefully, having institutions like this working to make the tests cheaper and more easily available will then assist with industry knowledge.
Ahhhh... Dilaudid. I hate that drug, and here's why... the enzyme that metabolizes dilaudid in me has a polymorphism that slows-down metabolism. We assume this is why for years, every time I had a surgery and I was given Dilaudid beforehand, it takes me at least six hours longer than normal to wake up, and I'm extremely groggy for a long time after I finally do wake up. (This reaction also happens to my brother, so I assume that he has this enzyme polymorphism, too.)
For my past two surgeries, I asked the hospitals to NOT give it to me telling them why, and they both agreed (a hospital here at home and last October at Mayo). So, I've actually gotten to see the behind-the-scenes stuff like being rolled into the operating room, moving myself onto the very narrow table, the cold temp of the room, watching them put my arms into place, watching them place the mask over my face, etc. This is all stuff that patients do but never recall if given Dilaudid pre-surgery while in pre-op.
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@marield65 Marie, if your reaction continued for days then it does make sense that it was the dilaudid. I was on that once but I had a bad reaction to it, I don't remember what. I think maybe extreme nausea.
My problems with being a bit delirious after surgery disappeared in a day, it was only on the day of surgery that I actually got sort of irrational. I have heard that is a frequent reaction that many people have after surgery.
JK