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Thursday, December 31, 2009

The Fog

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Have any of you ever seen the movie, The Fog? I'll admit, I haven't had the pleasure as of yet, but the title and the movie poster have left an imprint on my mind for quite some time. Maybe it is because I am a semi-closet fan of horror movies...

Anyway, as any of you TMJD sufferers can probably attest to, with this wonderful disorder comes what I call, The Fog. Anyone that knows me well has probably seen me in it quite often. It is when my pain level gets too bad and I am out of it; my eyes have that great spacy look, my usually bubbly self quiets, my shoulders slump, and if I do walk it is as if I am a zombie. Yes, I am in The Great Fog.

This is how I spend most of my days now. Over this year particularly, I have more and more days spent in this spacey state. I am lucky if I get a day that I feel normal anymore. This is probably why most of my friends and family say that I don't call. When the pain gets so great, The Fogs hold becomes even stronger.

What surprises me about The Fog is that when it's power overtakes, it makes one want to lay around. The problem with this is it can often cause a TMJD sufferer to clench and/or grind more, leading to more pain. The laying position is also quite bad for myofascial pain, particularly in regard to the neck. It is amazing how the things one wants to do when they hurt can often make the pain worse.

To find relief anymore all I can really do is take a hot bath, a flexeril, and sleep (always the result of the muscle relaxant). I remember well that back before things got really bad a heating pad would help or other days some ice. Often I just needed to dim the lights and close my eyes for a while to quiet myself. I know often stress can be a trigger for the TMJ and has usually made my problems worse. It is hard to see that these things don't work anymore.

So, my question for the rest of you TMJD sufferers (if you are out there reading this). Do you fall into The Fog? If so, how does it affect you? What do you do to find relief?

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