Has anyone experienced pain in your jaw and teeth?

Posted by susang222 @susang222, Nov 2, 2023

I have PMR since March 2022 and now take 3 ml of prednisone.
Also, I have had a cold for a month, and not sure if it is an infection or the PMR that is making my jaw hurt and getting hard to open.

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@susang222, I would contact my doctor or rheumatologist as soon as possible to make sure it's not associated with Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA).

"Giant cell arteritis causes headaches, scalp tenderness, jaw pain, and in some cases, eye problems."
--- Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis Basics: https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/polymyalgia-rheumatica-giant-cell-arteritis/basics/symptoms-causes

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I started with jaw ,teeth and ear pain in the fall of 2021 . The start of PMR. Then I had bilateral bicep pain . Finally getting an appt with a rheumatologist I was dx with PMR by February of 2022.
Still dealing with the ups and downs of PMR. Been on prednisone (which really helped the pain immediately) . Dr wanted me off prednisone due to side effects. Have been on methotrexate - which I am now off of due to chronic cough. Now on plaquenil only which is just not helping the pain . After a few weeks of relief from the coughing it is back again . Can it be from the plaquenil.
Anyone else gotten a chronic cough from any of these meds ?

Back to the drawing board!!!

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I experienced jaw pain for months. I kept thinking that my TMJ was acting up. Went to different dentists and doctors and not one of them ever thought it was anything else than TMJ. Then, my head started to hurt unlike any headache I ever experienced Finally, after suffering for so long, I demanded a complete blood panel. Lo and behold, that is when all my ailments were pieced together and GCA came up.
Please do not wait. Time is of an essence when it comes to GCA. My best to you.

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My teeth hurting? YES. Even in the ones replaced by a bridge. Some days the pain will start on the left and gradually skip toward the right side. You would think that my mouth was full of cavities, which it isn't. PMR is the illness that keeps on giving. Ugh.

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@johnbishop

@susang222, I would contact my doctor or rheumatologist as soon as possible to make sure it's not associated with Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA).

"Giant cell arteritis causes headaches, scalp tenderness, jaw pain, and in some cases, eye problems."
--- Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis Basics: https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/polymyalgia-rheumatica-giant-cell-arteritis/basics/symptoms-causes

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I agree with @susan222. The consequences can result in blindness.

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No jaw pain, but teeth seem more sensitive to cold lately. I'm wondering if it is the PMR or the long-term prednisone.

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@tillysam

I experienced jaw pain for months. I kept thinking that my TMJ was acting up. Went to different dentists and doctors and not one of them ever thought it was anything else than TMJ. Then, my head started to hurt unlike any headache I ever experienced Finally, after suffering for so long, I demanded a complete blood panel. Lo and behold, that is when all my ailments were pieced together and GCA came up.
Please do not wait. Time is of an essence when it comes to GCA. My best to you.

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How did they treat you? Prednisone?

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@joybannister

How did they treat you? Prednisone?

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I was given 80 mg of Prednisone to start out.

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I haven't had pain in teeth or jaw since being on prednisolone. A few years back, I used to sometimes get what felt like toothache followed by jaw pain and sometimes tightening in the neck and throat. It would last a few hours only, so I ignored it. It turned out to be warning signs for the heart attack I had about a year after the intermittent teeth/jaw pain started. The teeth/jaw symptom for heart problems is more common in women and is often not recognised by doctors as being related to the heart. Of course, you may already be monitoring your heart health and it may not be that at all.

For anyone else who may not know, prednisone can increase the risk for heart disease, even on low doses that are taken long term -
"A low daily dose of prednisolone (5 mg or less) was previously believed to be safe long-term. This study suggests that prednisolone increases the risk of a range of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular diseases. It concludes that this risk increases with the dose and duration of steroid treatment."
https://evidence.nihr.ac.uk/alert/low-doses-steroids-increase-cardiovascular-risks-in-inflammatory-diseases/

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@johnbishop

@susang222, I would contact my doctor or rheumatologist as soon as possible to make sure it's not associated with Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA).

"Giant cell arteritis causes headaches, scalp tenderness, jaw pain, and in some cases, eye problems."
--- Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis Basics: https://www.niams.nih.gov/health-topics/polymyalgia-rheumatica-giant-cell-arteritis/basics/symptoms-causes

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Agree with that comment…GCA started that way with me

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