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Sat Jul 29, 2006 12:25 am  |
I have read a few pages on another thread about Hyaluronic Acid helping with plumping up lips as well as wrinkles but my question does anyone here have 'TMJ' and if so has HA helped at all with this? I've read that HA can help with joints and pains and such and there are websites that mention TMJ as well but I wanted some real life experience from someone who this might have helped. Of course lip plumping would be an added plus. 
I have TMJ. It is a very painful jaw disorder that breakdowns the joint tissue between the jaw so that when I open my mouth it pops and when I sleep I grind my teeth. I wake up so often with pain so badly in my jaw, head and neck that I have to take pain pills daily to help. This is no way to live. I have bought an ergonomic pillow but it hasn't help much at all. I do cardio exercise and Pilates which can help with stress reduction and therefore less jaw tension. It has helped my body shape but it hasn't help my jaw. My dentist suggested surgery but the success rate is not very good. I am currently waiting for a 'splint' for my mouth to sleep with. This is to help with the grinding but it will take 4 months before I can get it and it is costing me 4000SEK which is over 500USD. This is really just a small fix to a big problem. I was hoping that maybe this splint combined with HA would make my jaw feel better.
Does anyone have experience with this? Sorry for the long post. |
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Sat Jul 29, 2006 12:41 am |
| Hi Anna: I have TMJ but I'm not taking HA. I've been thinking of taking it to help my joints pain for about 3 months. It sounds like yours is much worse than mine. About 15 years ago, I suffered very bad headache and pain in my jaw daily for about 3 months. One of my sis-in-law asked me to see a jaw specialist. I did and found out I have TMJ, and got a retainer. After 6 months, OMG, it's night and day difference. I still can not chew gums or something chewy. Have you seen a specialist? I have a friend who had very bad TMJ and his specialist did lots of things on him but not surgery (Sorry, do not remember what) and he's feeling much better. He told me sometimes it's your spine that causing the TMJ. |
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53, DermaQuest, NCN Products, PMD, Dermarolling |
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Sat Jul 29, 2006 1:03 am |
| My TMJ is quite bad and it is probably related to my back. I have two vertebrae that are fused together. This is something that cannot be changed. I used to wear a brace at night as a child but that was to really prevent a curving of the spine. Pilates has helped my back and it hurts less but my jaw is still very painful. At this point anything short of surgery would be a relief. I hate taking pain pills in the morning just to be able to relieve headaches and jaw tension that comes with TMJ. |
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Sat Jul 29, 2006 3:16 am |
I sympathize with you Anna, my TMJ is bad aswell. I'm actually in the process of having jaw surgery, but it's a long process! No guarentee at the end either, my surgeon told me that it's possible that the pain could be worse after 
I've been taking Hyaluronic Acid, but only for a short period of time, a few months at most. I haven't personally found that it has helped ease the joint pain, but I'll definately report back if I find a change. |
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Sat Jul 29, 2006 8:51 am |
| Anna in Sweden, I'm sorry to say that I too have tmj, I also had 3 neck vertebrae fussed about 4 yrs. ago and my tmj pain was better for about 3 yrs., over the past few months my stress level as gone up and so has my tmj and neck pain. I've been taking HA supplements for the past 2mo. w/o much improve. if at all in tmj or neck pain (my lips look fuller though,lol). I'm about to add msm, glucosamine and chondroitin to the mix, I'm hoping it helps. To add fuel to the fire, I've recently been diagnosed with arthritis(I'm 52). I don't exercise as much as I need too, so that's something I'm working on improving. Good luck in your pain relief search! |
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Sat Jul 29, 2006 11:09 am |
| My son, who is in college, is a horrible grinder and will not use a splint, he just can't sleep with it at all. I am taking him on Tuesday to a neurologist who specializes in bruxism. He treats it with botox to relax the neck and jaw muscles to stop the grinding and clenching at night. I'll keep you posted on what he says and how it goes. I have researched bruxism for several years now, and tracked down a specialist at the Univ. of Houston in Texas who is a leading researcher in the field of restless leg syndrome, bruxism and this is how they are now treating severe cases. The splint is great for to prevent further damage to the teeth, but you do have to treat the underlying cause, jaw misalignment, etc. Since that is not the reason in my son's case, we had to go one step further. We tried supplements and they did not work, unfortunately. |
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Joined the 50 club several years back, blonde w/ fair/sensitive skin, Texas humidity and prone to rosacea, light breakouts and sunburns, combo skin type, starting to see sundamage and fine lines |
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Sun Jul 30, 2006 9:10 am |
Nomoreneckpain-I sent you the link to Dr. Joseph Yankovik's studies at the Baylor college of Medicine in Houston (hopefully it works, I'm not very good at getting the PM's to go back the way they are supposed to).
He is not w/ Univ. of Houston, I was thinking of my Doc in New Braunfels who graduated there. It's very fascinating work, although my son thinks it's cosmetic hocus pocus for now. Hopefully when he gets relief, he'll quit making fun of me! He says I am just trying to keep him from aging and wrinkles so I will feel younger! |
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Joined the 50 club several years back, blonde w/ fair/sensitive skin, Texas humidity and prone to rosacea, light breakouts and sunburns, combo skin type, starting to see sundamage and fine lines |
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Mon Jul 31, 2006 7:42 am |
| AnneR, I did get your PM thanks alot. I'll give their office a call soon. Thanks again, Janet. |
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Mon Jul 31, 2006 9:06 am |
I too have TMJ and have tried a variety of things to ease the pain. While I don't really grind my teeth, I do clench my jaw when I sleep. It's so bad, that at 47 I have one molar left in my mouth that is not crowned. I've managed to crack most of my other molars & had to have them crowned (not an inexpensive proposition!) And my dentists have said that I don't have soft teeth!
I have a splint that I sleep with now - this is the third kind I've had. I had a soft one that I chewed on like it was gum & then bit thru it, then I had a really hard one that I had a hard time keeping in (I'd take it out of my mouth & fling it across the room in my sleep  ). I now have a "semi" hard one that fits on my lower teeth & I've had the best luck with this one. None of them cost me more than $350 or so - the most expensive part was getting the mold of my mouth done. And I just don't understand why insurance doesn't cover TMJ - neither medical nor dental (unless you're getting surgery, I guess).
I also see a chiropractor on a regular basis which helps tremendously with the whole jaw/neck tie-in. I have a calcifying tendon in my jaw (probably caused by the TMJ) that causes additional pain sometimes, but I've found that massaging that area helps a lot.
Good luck to everyone. It's insidious because most of the damage comes while you're asleep. |
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Mon Jul 31, 2006 11:02 am |
| catmcall, Sorry to hear that you also have probs. with this condition. Since this much more common in women, it's shouldn't be too surprising that we are talking about this on a skincare forum. I think it's outrageous that insurance co. what treat this either dental or medical. What kind of dentist made your latest brace? Also how did you locate a Chiropractor skilled in this area? I've been to some that are clueless! |
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Mon Jul 31, 2006 7:58 pm |
i have this too and my dentsit wants me to get a splint. the cost is outrageous tho! i think a lot of my headache probs could be associted with it tho and chewing is often painful and my jaw locks up.
i def find myself clenching even thru the day...esp bad at night.
this ahs motivated me to do soemthing about it.
am so sorry you have such awful time with it.  it isn't fair is it? |
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Mon Jul 31, 2006 8:22 pm |
I also suffer from TMJD. When I was in highschool, it was so bad I would wake up and sometimes my jaw would be so locked that I couldn't open or close my mouth! The pain was so excruciating. I would suffer from migraine headaches and pain shooting all down my left side, making my neck feel sore too. It was so awful! I really sympathasize with everyone here who has had to deal with this painful problem.
My Dr. recommended me to a specialist who specialized in TMJD and I got fitted for a splint/brace. It was So expensive (around $2500 for the treatment and splint...NOT covered by my parents insurance, at the time) and So painful to wear! It was basically this really hard retainer type thing that was made to fit over my top teeth and then had this big hunk of hard plastic on it to keep me from clenching/grinding at night. The specialist told me that sometimes when people get older and stop growing that combined with a splint, many people do not have to face the jaw surgery. I really didn't want to have the surgery so I wore the awful thing until I had my wisdom teeth taken out and it would no longer fit properly.
I stopped getting the locking but I would often still get stiffness in my neck and soreness in my jaw/face, all the way up to my temple, and often accompanied by migraines, especially around my period, for some reason. Anyway my specialist had warned me that if I still had symptoms in the future, I would have to be refitted for Another splint and have to start treatment all over again, and that I probably would have to get the surgery  .
I had so much pain from the stupid splint I did Not want to go through that again! Especially if I was going to have to get the surgery anyway.
My boss's daughter was a few yrs younger than me and in braces, and she mentioned that she had mild TMJD but since braces, she no longer had any symptoms. I had a slight overbite and a few crooked teeth, and my insurance covered the majority of the cost (Vs NO coverage for TMJD), so I decided to go for it.
I was only in braces for 6 months and now I wear a retainer every other night and now I don't have ANY symptoms from TMJD. I do take Hyaluronic Acid but I have not noticed any additional benefit concerning my jaw, although the problem did seem to work itself out from the braces/retainer route. I'm sure this wouldn't work for everyone, but I am very happy with the results. Hyaluronic acid does help with the rest of my joint pain and it has plenty of other great benefits, so it may be worth a try! Good luck! |
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Mon Jul 31, 2006 10:51 pm |
| what a great story! i don't think we can get HA tabs here in Australia, can anyone rec a good online seller? |
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Mon Jul 31, 2006 11:28 pm |
| bella77 wrote: |
| what a great story! i don't think we can get HA tabs here in Australia, can anyone rec a good online seller? |
The cheapest I have found them is from vitacost.com, although I am not sure whether they do international shipping. The brand I use is called Hydraplenish. The benefits from the HA I get are increased night vision/reduced dry eye, help with my joints (especially my knees, which are bad), and the lip plumping  . I've also heard it helps with wrinkles and dry skin, although I don't have either of those...challenges...yet. |
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Wed Aug 02, 2006 1:39 pm |
| After meeting the doc yesterday it looks like my son is a great candidate for the botox treatment. The condition is officially called oromandibular dystonia. He will need about 300 units for all 6 injections (which my insurance may or may not cover), which will last 3-6 mos. the first time and may decrease as he retrains or learns to relax the muscle. I'll keep you updated once we get the shots done in a few weeks. |
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Joined the 50 club several years back, blonde w/ fair/sensitive skin, Texas humidity and prone to rosacea, light breakouts and sunburns, combo skin type, starting to see sundamage and fine lines |
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Wed Aug 02, 2006 2:16 pm |
| nomoreneckpain wrote: |
| What kind of dentist made your latest brace? Also how did you locate a Chiropractor skilled in this area? I've been to some that are clueless! |
My regular dentist had the latest bite plate made for me. I can call & ask what the material is if you'd like me to...
As for the chiropractor, I'd look for one who is experienced in extremeties in general or TMJ in particular. But you have to be careful - I knew someone years ago who had to have his jaw wired because a chiropractor who didn't know what he was doing tried to "adjust" his jaw and really hurt him. My chiropractor adjusts my hands, shoulders, feet - whatever needs it - not just my back & neck. I too have been to some that are clueless, or almost "mystical," or, the best one, blamed me because I was too tight for him to adjust easily Like I try to be strung like a piano wire on purpose...
Cathy |
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Wed Aug 02, 2006 5:10 pm |
| Catmcall-You gave me a great idea I had not looked into. I've decided to send my son tommorrow to a chiro in his town who also specializes in accupuncture, especially for students and anxiety. It seems it could not hurt to give one more thing a try while we wait the 2-4 weeks for the ins. to give the thumbs up or down. I really hate to spend that much out of pocket or ingest that much botox into him if the chiro can help. Although I've had botox in the glabellar or 11's area, it is very minor to the amount he would need. I'm going to hope this route at least makes some improvement. |
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Joined the 50 club several years back, blonde w/ fair/sensitive skin, Texas humidity and prone to rosacea, light breakouts and sunburns, combo skin type, starting to see sundamage and fine lines |
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Thu Aug 03, 2006 4:01 pm |
| My son is now a believer! He had his 1rst adjustment and accupuncture for anxiety (since 80%of TMJ and grinding is stress-related even if you can't pinpoint it directly). He has to go 3 more times and he should only then have to have periodic adjustments. He said he could tell already that it was helping. I also asked the doc to see what can be done with his allergies and restless leg tapping, which the Doc said all can be helped by adjustments. We decided we really did not want to inject that much botox into him, 300 units is alot! My hubby had to visit his chiro today (different city, back pains) and had a chat with him about this type of treatment and if it could help our son, and he agreed. He also said that too much botox could eventually cause the muscle to die, not just be paralyzed, which we had not been told and that scared all of us. He said only last ditch would he do the botox and after that, surgery. He also clarified that just minor botox every 6 months in facial muscles can do no major harm if not overdone and done correctly. So thanks for the reccommendation of the chiro and hope it helps someone else. |
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Joined the 50 club several years back, blonde w/ fair/sensitive skin, Texas humidity and prone to rosacea, light breakouts and sunburns, combo skin type, starting to see sundamage and fine lines |
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Sun Aug 06, 2006 8:13 am |
| AnnieR, I'm so happy for your family and that your son has found some relief through the chiropracter. I don't know if it's permanent but I hope it lasts. I haven't been brave enough to seek out a chiro for my tmj but I'm seriously considering it. |
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Sun Aug 06, 2006 8:29 am |
| Thanks- I am hoping it will help him. As all you TMJ sufferers know, this is a difficult one to fix and we were told 80% mental. Well, a college kid is a hard one to get to do any biofeedback, relaxation, meditation, yoga or sleep study. I have to find quicker fixes that I can talk him into and that he can feel is working. I loved just my one visit and am going back on Monday for another neck and shoulder adjustment, it feels looser than it has in years and such a cheap fix for $32.00! I can't get a massage that cheap and I always leave still feeling like I wish they could work more on my neck and shoulders, so this is what I have been missing. |
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Joined the 50 club several years back, blonde w/ fair/sensitive skin, Texas humidity and prone to rosacea, light breakouts and sunburns, combo skin type, starting to see sundamage and fine lines |
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pck18
New Member
 
Joined: 18 Jul 2006
Posts: 2
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Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:50 am |
I forgot to add....for you all chiropractic patients, ask your chiro if they can order one for you. I think they get special discount so it might be cheaper  |
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Sun Sep 24, 2006 9:12 pm |
This has me worried!
For all I know, I've been grinding my teeth while I sleep all my life! My dentist has fitted me with mouth guards, they don't do much for my grinding, but does help protect my teeth.
I'm terribly worried about my jaw. Getting my teeth cleaned is becoming increasingly painful. It's so hard for me to keep my mouth opened for extended periods of time.
My teeth are not perfectly aligned, and I wonder if getting braces will help??! |
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29f, oily/dehydated/acne prone skin. enlarged pores... LOVING Tazorac!!! |
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Mon Sep 25, 2006 8:32 am |
| I have TMJ. I had jaw surgery a few years ago and TMJ got worse. I've tried the bite splint and it was very painful for me. Botox helped alot and I stayed away from anything crunchy. Good luck! |
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