TMJ issues and what to do

[BlueShark7]

Hey everyone,

I've had clicky tmjs since I was a teenager, without pain. But in the last year I've had almost constant pain in only my right TMJ. I had an MRI about 4 months ago which showed everything was essentially normal, even disc position. The only thing that was off was that my "retrodiscal tissues are prominent" and there was a little bit of fluid around them on the right side. Bony contours all normal, no erosion and joint space good. But ever since then, it's gotten so much worse, I can hear fluid on the right tmj, and I avoid talking as much as possible which is hard at work because the sound of whatever is going on in the joint drives me crazy. My bite hasn't changed and I can still open my mouth just fine. I'm just really worried about why the joint has swelled up with fluid and if it will degenerate as a result. I don't have rheumatoid arthritis or anything systemic to account for the inflammation. Also my ears have been checked and they're not the problem.

Has anyone else experienced similar/ have any words of wisdom/ advice?

I'd be super grateful. Thank you :-)

[MrFox]

I had it for about four months and then it went.
I could hear grinding and clicking at the joint when my jaw moved and this TMJ specialist heard it too.
My jaw even made huge cracking sounds if I yawned or opened my mouth too wide when trying to eat.

Got a splint from a dentist which I found to be useless.
For me i just concentrated on relaxing the muscles in my jaw and trying to be as stress free as possible and it eventually stopped!

I don't think I had excess fluid around the joint like you, have they not given any options to drain the fluid somehow?

[BlueShark7]

I had it for about four months and then it went.
I could hear grinding and clicking at the joint when my jaw moved and this TMJ specialist heard it too.
My jaw even made huge cracking sounds if I yawned or opened my mouth too wide when trying to eat.

Got a splint from a dentist which I found to be useless.
For me i just concentrated on relaxing the muscles in my jaw and trying to be as stress free as possible and it eventually stopped!

I don't think I had excess fluid around the joint like you, have they not given any options to drain the fluid somehow?

Thanks Mr Fox.

I hope it will go away like yours did, but it's hard to know when to just wait it out and when to see specialist about it again. The fluid wasn't there (or not to this degree) when I had my scan done 4 months ago, so nothing to drain at the time. I wondering if I should just wait and see how bad it gets before seeing my surgeon because I don't want it to be like the tmj that cried wolf you know? Because my cone beam ct showed normal joints back in May and MRI in july was (mostly) normal.

There's no cracking or grinding sounds now, just like this squelching liquidy sound if if press near the front of my ear on that side and whenever I talk/ chew etc + on and off nervy kind of pain. I have assymetry, in that the left side grew longer than the right and surgeon said I may have a "hot condyle" on that side, and I wonder if the overgrowth (? maybe) of the left side has cause pressure on the right tmj structures. I wish I knew 

[MrFox]

Thanks Mr Fox.

I hope it will go away like yours did, but it's hard to know when to just wait it out and when to see specialist about it again. The fluid wasn't there (or not to this degree) when I had my scan done 4 months ago, so nothing to drain at the time. I wondering if I should just wait and see how bad it gets before seeing my surgeon because I don't want it to be like the tmj that cried wolf you know? Because my cone beam ct showed normal joints back in May and MRI in july was (mostly) normal.

There's no cracking or grinding sounds now, just like this squelching liquidy sound if if press near the front of my ear on that side and whenever I talk/ chew etc + on and off nervy kind of pain. I have assymetry, in that the left side grew longer than the right and surgeon said I may have a "hot condyle" on that side, and I wonder if the overgrowth (? maybe) of the left side has cause pressure on the right tmj structures. I wish I knew 

Actually, I remember that I definitely had the squelching like some liquid was moving but at the time didn't register that it could be fluid.

I think mine was caused by stress so that's why it was so easy to change for me, you may have a harder time but I hope not.

Yes I would wait a few months to see how it goes before seeing anyone again, you don't want them to think that it's all in your head 
To be honest I think it would be rare for the joints to show visible wear especially at this stage, maybe the disc.
The guy I saw, who does surgery for it, said even people who have it for years, it's very rare for them to get condylar resorption from it.

Maybe you're right and your jaw assymetry is the cause, did you mention that to whoever you saw?
Is there anything that can be done about that?

[BlueShark7]

Actually, I remember that I definitely had the squelching like some liquid was moving but at the time didn't register that it could be fluid.

I think mine was caused by stress so that's why it was so easy to change for me, you may have a harder time but I hope not.

Yes I would wait a few months to see how it goes before seeing anyone again, you don't want them to think that it's all in your head 
To be honest I think it would be rare for the joints to show visible wear especially at this stage, maybe the disc.
The guy I saw, who does surgery for it, said even people who have it for years, it's very rare for them to get condylar resorption from it.

Maybe you're right and your jaw assymetry is the cause, did you mention that to whoever you saw?
Is there anything that can be done about that?

Thanks heaps Mr. Fox. That does make me feel better, especially re: the condylar resorption being a rare consequence because that's my fear. I don't have a lot of the risk factors for condylar resorption like high mandibular plane angle, never had surgery and I'm almost 26 which is older than the usual onset. But the presence of this joint effusion on the one side seemingly out of nowhere is making me nervous and frustrated. Yeah I want to keep a good relationship with my specialist and for him not to think I'm crazy if there's nothing wrong. So hopefully it will resolve on its own, I'm just worried about lasting damage to the joint from whatever is going on with it 

[MrFox]

Thanks heaps Mr. Fox. That does make me feel better, especially re: the condylar resorption being a rare consequence because that's my fear.

No problem
Yes seriously he couldn't stress enough how rare condylar resorption is from TMJ disorder, and by years I mean people who have it for most of their life!
So I'm sure you'll be fine in that regard.

Good luck

[Ginger]

There's no cracking or grinding sounds now, just like this squelching liquidy sound if if press near the front of my ear on that side and whenever I talk/ chew etc + on and off nervy kind of pain. I have assymetry, in that the left side grew longer than the right and surgeon said I may have a "hot condyle" on that side, and I wonder if the overgrowth (? maybe) of the left side has cause pressure on the right tmj structures. I wish I knew 

I think you may be onto something concerning the asymmetry. I have asymmetry too, left is longer than right, and all my TMJ pain is on the right side. Definitely more pressure on my right side. I get popping and grinding, but not sure if I've had any liquid sounds.

When my TMJ pain flared up pretty bad recently, my doctor gave me some mild muscle relaxers. They help. Maybe something like that would help calm down the pain you're having now?

[BlueShark7]

I think you may be onto something concerning the asymmetry. I have asymmetry too, left is longer than right, and all my TMJ pain is on the right side. Definitely more pressure on my right side. I get popping and grinding, but not sure if I've had any liquid sounds.

When my TMJ pain flared up pretty bad recently, my doctor gave me some mild muscle relaxers. They help. Maybe something like that would help calm down the pain you're having now?

Thanks Ginger, the asymmetry isn't an easy fix, if I could be certain it was the cause of the tmj I'd sign up to correct it straight away but there's always the risk of tmj getting worse as a result of surgery. In the meantime, things like muscle relaxants could be the ticket.