u/Feeling-broccoli612

just had a massive mental breakdown because of tmj.

can’t ever imagine having kids with this pain, holding down a proper job, or maintaining my current friendships.

i’m 20F. shit is so rough. when i cry it makes it worse but.

in 10 days i have my consultation to arrange my splint and botox.

i’m hanging on until then, but honestly suicide has never crossed my mind so much.
i just feel trapped in my own face. you guys get it
i used to be so talkative, so bubbly, the life of the party, so sociable

i’m now an introvert. completely. i drink all the time to give me pain relief as it is the only thing that makes the pain manageable enough to talk.

guys you are not alone 💗

I’ve been told after mri and assessment that i have basically a huge muscle spasm that is preventing my jaw opening more than 2 fingers and also stopping my jaw move forwards, backwards and side to side

the woman assessing me told me who was the first tmj specialist i have seen, told me she is going to make me a splint to wear at night to stop my bruxism and clenching, give me a small amount of botox, and refer me to physio therapy.

there are moments like these that im so greatful for the nhs in the uk because i don’t have to pay for any of it, because idk what i would do if not because im in debt and a student.

i cried with relief after she explained she had the same thing during medical school.

she really understood me. i finally felt heard.

if anyone is in manchester or near, it was manchester dental hospital and it was Dr Aliza Khan

i’ll update you on my journey to getting treatment, lets see if it works 🥲

i vape all the time and i love it but i hairline fractured the top bone in my big toe, and now i think like should i stop so it heals properly? i dont know if this only applies to very bad breaks, the doctor didn’t say anything about not having any nicotine when they strapped up my toes, do i neeed to?

finally seeing a specialist tommorow in tmj. been suffering for 2 years no help, was meant to wait another 4 months, called up yesterday asking for a cancellation, got tommorow morning - r u madddd

So i got my mri done after having lockjaw for 6 months (2 fingers) and having chronic pressure and muscle pain aswell - it has got slightly better over time i cant lie

anyway MRI came back… completely normal.

however, when they did the jaw open bit for the mri i couldn’t hold my mouth open very much. they folded a tissue up and put it between my teeth. would this have affected the mri?

idk im just confused like dam why can’t i open my mouth then ?

i’ve stopped talking to myself, singing to myself, i sit in silence when i’m alone. talking feels not natural and really tiring. lost my job. stopped seeing friends as much. lost my appetite.

tbh it’s ruined my life actually.
currently being treated for all these mental health conditions but i feel if i woke up tommorow and my jaw was fixed i wouldn’t be mentally ill at all.

i’m only 20F. why has this happened? why are the waiting lists 18 months + ? why can doctors put a man on the moon but they can’t unlock my jaw?

i just feel so let down and also like no one understands the amount of discomfort im in.

getting my mri results on saturday. can almost guess what they will be. DDWOR.

ever appointment i go to with a doctor about my jaw i have to bring someone with me because i just cry my eyes out the entire appointment.

i just want hope. i dont know anyone on here who’s jaw has been locked for this long.

also a dentist did this just by having my mouth open too long at an appointment. ever since then this has happened never had any issues before.

just a shell of the person i used to be.

my jaw is locked, and there’s no pain. it’s just stiff and tight and i get pressure sometimes. it’s deffo bearable but kind of jarring but like i see people on here with like chronic pain. i wouldn’t class mine as chronic pain because it’s not painful, just like feels a little weird and annoying

idek why it licked up. it’s been locked 5 months. still waiting to see specialist. waiting on mri results aswell
probs without reduction

sick or people making jokes about like not being able to open your mouth all the way - like bro you try having this see how you like it

also trying baclofen now, physio, acupuncture and anti depressants.
will update you all in a months time to see if i’ve improved

i’m 20F in the UK, and in January 2025 I had my mouth open for 3 hours at a dentist just to get some composite bonding on my two front teeth.

my jaw felt fine for a week, then I was chewing gum on a night out and slowly it began to close shut.

I got an MRI and it showed my right disc was displaced with reduction.

slowly over 7 months my opening turned to normal and I could eat whatever again.
I went to university and then all of a sudden over like idk 5 days in january 2026 I smoked some weed, had amitryptiline and also had some cocaine over new years (big regret now ik ik)

and i kept testing my mouth opening and eventually it closed. it is slowly re opening again. it has been 4 months now but i always talk with my hand on the side of my jaw for support and i get lots of pressure and muscle tightness. no clicking no
popping

ear fullness, teeth tightness

i’m going to physio atm and awaiting another mri and go from there, im scared it might be disc displacement without reduction this time around. i just don’t know why this happened tbh never had any jaw issues before lol

anyway incredibly suicidal over it, it consumes me every single day i’ve lost jobs because of it i can’t kiss my partner properly or have long meaningful conversations unless im drunk, in which the pain fully goes when im drunk

opening is still a little over 2 fingers and i can chew stuff, just on a soft diet doing pt excersizes and heat compress but yeah

feel like this might really be affecting my life now. i’ll come back in 6 months and update you all but yeah 👍