TMJ/ TMD Journal
Friday, January 27, 2006
Am I detecting a trend?
Day Three of feeling pretty darned good. No dizziness. Just sore shoulders and a sore right tmj...let's hope this excellent trend continues!!!
My chiropractor wants me to go without the splint for little bits of time but I had stopped doing it...if the trend of good continues for let's say one solid week then I may try to remove it for short periods of time.
Cheers!!
jan
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Back to normal?Had a normal day yesterday *high five*...going into the second day of normal...cross your fingers that it lasts!
jan, whistling Dixie
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
No differences...Well, I've been going to the new chiro guy and haven't noticed any differences. Dizziness is still with me. Echoes in the left ear. Blah blah blah...same old same old so I won't bore you.
Even if the dizziness doesn't get cleared up at least my spine won't be crooked anymore. LOL.
The first four-five trips have left me with headaches but nothing compared to the first two trips to the chiro guy. He's doing alot of tmj work - the first two times I was so scared because things didn't "feel" right in my jaws - now they feel okay - a little sore in the joints where he's pushing-but he says there is a lot of movement. I just hope he doesn't crack my jaw or cripple me or something. Ooops can let that negative stuff flow in...*grin*
According to statistics the biggest changes will take place between the 4th to 10th visit. I'm at my fifth or six...lost count...but this morning I've woken up with a lousy shoulder ache that radiates from the neck...wonder if yesterday's massage (yes I snuck in a massage before going to the chiro and she said that side of the neck is very stiff)...or if the ouchie came from his "manhandling" me. LOL.
Anyways other than the above nothing new to report aside from the dizziness is still affecting me when I overdue it at the computer or do bending or lifting...kind of puts a cramp in things when you are packing to move, doesn't it???? Grrr.
Well I must get back to work!!!
Have a great day and I'll continue to report my findings...
later,
jan
Saturday, January 14, 2006
One nightmare for another??? Long post-Lots of info!!!Wednesday January 11, 2006
Woke up with a wierd pain behind my eyes and a sore back of the neck. Never had that before but now I understand what a real bout of whiplash must feel like cause they say one of the symptoms of whiplash is sore eyes..
I had another appt early this morning as he is going out of town and wanted me back in right away. So I drove the one hour. He asked how I felt and I told him lousy. He said it was to be expected and that the vertabrae must be moving already.
He said that he'd wanted to call me last night because he always calls his patients their first time but he said he fell asleep by the phone. And he admitted yesterday was a long day for him as he worked all day and then had the Orientation and had to see other new patients such as me to discuss their X-ray results...Hmmm.
Anyways I told him I don't want to have my dizziness to come back and he said it won't...so the assistant put these massage suction cups on the back of my shoulders and left me there for 10 or so minutes. Then she put me on this delicious massage table that goes back and forth up and down your spine...loved that. Then she had me move to the room with the horrid hydraulic table that the chiro uses and she did my back and legs with a massage machine for a bit...which was nice too.
Then he did his chiro manipulations - cracked my neck both sides, had me lay on one side and did something to the side of my neck, and my jaw (didn't like the idea of him frigging around with my jaw at all), then he did my back, something with my legs and then onto my other side etc...
I felt as if I was a turkey being turned over and over for seasoning...LOL. Anyways when I left I didn't feel so hot...the thought of eating made my queesy and my eyes were still very sore.
Later that night I tried to do some of the exercises he gave me but all that did was make me dizzy...hence the dizziness is BACK!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!
Tuesday January 10, 2006
I returned for my second visit to the chiro today - he showed me the results of my x-rays and the tests he took (see below).
I also went to an Orientation held for new patients - there was about 20 who turned out. The chiropractor discussed about how a fetus grows...how the brain is formed first and then the spine. From the spine all the nerves and muscles and arteries form to produce all our organs...if I understood right each vertabrae is responsible for certain organs...
After Orientation he did a whole snap cracking of the neck and spine...left feeling as if my right ear was stuffed up...hmmmm.
Monday January 9, 2006
I went to the new chiropractor today. He took Xrays and did something called a MyoVision WinScan 98 Static Report.
It consists of a Static Scanning SEMG (sorry don't know what it all means)...but what he did was run something down the entire spine from neck to top of butt and the heat levels were recorded on the computer.
He gave me the printout which shows all the areas of muscle tension I have down along the spine. Apparantly I have a high level of muscle tension in the C6 area.
C6 deals with stiff neck, pain in upper arm, tonsilitis, whooping cough, croup...anyways my tension level for that vertabrae was 950% ! Extreme pressure.
Other areas include a 25% pull to the left of muscles in the C1 and C2 area - that area according to the massive amounts of other information he gave me deals with:
C1 - blood supply to the head, pituatary gland, bones of the face, scalp, brain, sympathetic system AND INNER AND MIDDLE EAR - POSSIBLY WHERE MY DIZZINESS has been originating from???????????
C2 - Eyes, optical nerves, auditory nerves (isn't that where ringing in the ears comes into play?)
sinuses, mastoid bones, tongue forehead.
Other areas of muscle tension I have are:
C4 - nose, lips mouth
T1, T3, T5, T11, L1 and L3 which deals with other body areas.
My xrays revealed:
C1 is way too close to the skull and C2.
My neck is too straight - in a perfect world it should have lovely slight curve
My spine in the back is leaning to the left, the spinouses in my lower back are pulling to the left, and my right side pelvis is too low...as well I have a pinched nerve in my lower back -this is where the pain comes from that occassionally radiates down my right leg.
And I have disc thinning in one of my lower vertabrae...ouch!
Now what does this all have to do with TMJ? Well if what I understood from the Orientation film I had to watch...if your spine is not aligned properly all kinds of things start to go wrong in the body.
If you have a sublaxation (something going wrong) in your neck and your neck is out of alignment this can lead to shoulder pain, tmj, and a whole bunch of wicked nasty stuff...
Saturday, January 07, 2006
New Chiro guy on the sceneWell I've made an appt with another Chiro Guy...I got the name from a friend...he's an hour away. Grrr.
Anyways I talked to him over the phone and explained what has been going on with the recent Chiro. I mentioned about how he fixed me up by doing something behind the ear and he says he knows exactly what he's doing...so I have an appt. Monday afternoon.
Crossing my fingers this guy can continue to help me...
jan
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Massive headache day
Headache city today...grrr
Felt it coming now for a couple of days and this morning I woke up with that same old familiar headache, neckache, temples ache, eyes ache, shoulders ache...but thankfully no dizziness. I'm thinking it has to do with feeling better over the past few days and then doing too much work on the computer...time to get back to longhand writing again. :-/
The headache went mostly away after I ate lunch...and had some chocolate...and also an anti inflammatory...not to mention I sprayed some heavy duty MUSCLE MIST on it...I got it from my chiropractor before he ran off on me...lol
Well gotta get back to work,
Later,
jan
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Devastated...
Well my wonderful Chiro Guy wasn't there today...he's taken a leave of absence...how totally depressing. He had a replacement fellow who took care of my back ouchie but I don't know...
They don't know when my Chiro Guy is returning but when someone takes a leave of abscence doesn't that mean usually for long time????? I hope he is okay and gets himself fixed up nicely...he's a very nice fellow.
Anyhows I finally find a guy who can fix me up and baam! He's gone. The story of my life...I must be a really bad luck person. Anyways I guess I'll have to start looking for another fellow to assist in the meantime.
Oh the woes of TMJ!!!!
jan heading back to work
Sunday, January 01, 2006
And so this is life...
Happy New Year!!
Life continues in a see saw motion around my TMJ. One day great, one day so so.
Heck! It beats everyday the pits, right?
Yesterday I played table tennis again for over an hour...had a blast!!!
Today the old kink in the neck is back...unsteadiness...you know the drill.
You know what? I need a good neck cracking from the chiro...never thought I'd hear myself say that. Me???? The one with the terror of The Chiro Guy...LOL
I have an appt. this Tues am...hopefully he'll set things straight again. ;-)
jan
