Pain, pain, go away...

No, that is not a picture of me, but it is a picture of the "wonderful" new therabite device I started using today. And it only cost me $300 (note the sarcasm)! This fun little tool is used 5 times a day to try and increase my jaw opening. Currently my opening ranges from between 15-27mm; normal is 35-40mm. So, as you can see, I have a long way to go. My doctor typically only starts patients on this after surgery, but he wants me to start using it prior to get used to it, increase opening as much as possible, and to hopefully decrease pain.

Speaking of pain, mine is getting much worse. It is actually why I drove to Baltimore to see my surgeon today. I have some new nerve pain that goes into my gums and acts like the worst tooth ache imagineable. My muscle spasms are also changing; I can feel thumping in my jaw when it happens. The photophobia and sensitivity to sound is incredible. I actually wore sunglasses to a meeting earlier this week. Embarrassing yes, but totally worth it.

My doctor changed my muscle relaxant today to something that will make me more drowsy but should be better for the pain. I'm still on narcotics and will continue my motrin therapy. Thankfully i'm not taking many of the narcotics and he is not worried about my becoming addicted at this point. I'm so paranoid about it I hold off as long as I can on taking them.

I did find out today that my surgery will be at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center. We will not be doing it at Johns Hopkins for two reasons; there is another surgeon at GBMC that my doctor does TMJ surgeries with, who will be assisting with my surgery. Also, my doctor feels Hopkins rushes patients out too fast after surgery. I feel quite comfortable with his decision and this looks like a great hospital with a good reputation. It is one of the only community hospitals to be ranked by US News as one of the top hospitals in the nation.

I also found out I will be staying in the hospital at least one night. My surgery takes an average of 3.5 hours which isn't too bad but is still the longest surgery I have had. My doctor still believes the surgery should happen at the beginning of May. This weekend he is writing the letter to my insurance company, but we cannot request it until April 4th which is the two month mark with my splint. He said there is no way my insurance would approve it otherwise.

It is looking hopeful that my Aunt and possibly closest friend will be able to fly out to help after surgery. My Aunt would be here the first few days, then my friend would fly out for about another five days. I'm praying this works out as I could really use the help.

I've been in conversation via the internet with a surgeon from the UK. He is considered one of the top TMJ surgeons in the world. I asked him about how many patients on average need a total joint replacement following my surgery. Unfortunately, he said in the UK they don't even do my surgery anymore because of the lack of long-term success. Instead, they immediately go on to a partial or total joint replacement. He would rather not risk damage from multiple surgeries when my procedure has such little long term success.

While I found this news a bit disturbing, I know my insurance would never approve a total joint replacement without me first undergoing the arthrotomy. It is standard practice in the US to go as conservative as possible first, even if it ends up meaning more surgeries in the future. Plus, being only 29, I would rather not have a joint replacement just yet. The good news is this doctor in the UK says he is seeing more and more patients with the same joint replacement 20 years later. I'm grateful to hear this as I feared it was like knee replacements which often need replacing after only 8-10 years.

So, that is my update for now. I'm struggling with pain but am hopeful for this new medication to help. It was very good to talk with my doctor today and I feel a little more encouraged about the wait ahead of me. While it feels like the surgery is so far away, I know it will be here soon. I just need to take it one day at a time and do whatever I can to stay healthy, strong, and on top of my work. Thank you for your prayers and encouraging words; they mean so much to me.