PAIN IN JAW......LATEST RESULTS

[Jeanabelle60]

I was on here recently asking for information about RD suffers advise on jaw complaints. last week my jaw completely locked......this is what has happened since.

because my jaw had completely locked my dentist and GP got me jumped up the waiting list, which goes back to May last year!!! i attended my appointment yesterday. i had an x-ray done first and the i saw the Dental Surgeon. he looked at my x-ray while i was there. i'm no expert but even i could see the damage that has been done in the last 4 years.

he was also able to tell me that i have RD in my 'good' side that really surprised me as i have no pain there. he showed me the 'ball and socket' on the 'good' side which i could see clearly and then moved to the 'bad' side on the left of the screen and it was just a very large blur! i couldn't even see the ball or the socket, it looked like a cloud and not anything definable.

he simply said that there was nothing he could do for me unless it got worse and then i would have to go to somewhere in Britian ( I live in Ireland) for a jaw replacement. in the meantime i will just have to be doing with this and rely only pain relief to make it easier to live with. i got a steroid injection from my rheumy nurse on monday and it has helped but still not great. the DS did say it may not go back to what it was before it locked and i may just have to learn to live with it. so my only hope is that it gets worse and then something can be done....WONDERFUL!!!!

for those new to this the pain, for me and from most of the others i've talked to on here, is on one side and my sometime feel like an ear infection or a tooth ache. it is actually RD in your jaw and is not uncommon. ask your GP to refer you to a DS, if you have one.

all the best.

[Barrister]

Hi Jeanabelle, sorry to hear that there seems nothing can be done for you until it gets worse!!! I haven't had this problem but this morning woke up with pain in the right side of my jaw. It's been there all day and although I don't have RD (I have PsA) I guess it's the PsA. Deep joy. Clemmie x

[Jeanabelle60]

thanks clemmie. surely you would be getting the same sympthoms as sufferes of RD! when the pain first with me i thought it was in my ear or a tooth.....then gradually i found that i was biting my tongue a lot and being unable to speak properly. now this didn't happen every day but it would happen a few times a week. also sometimes the pain would go up the side of my head, again not everyday but often enough for me to recognise it. all the best, jean X........loved the 'deep joy', thanks so much, made me smile.

[AngelaBradfield]

Hello jeanabelle I have just been diagnosed with RA and did not realise you could get it in the jaw, I have had jaw pain for a little while ( my husband says it does not stop me talking lol) and will tell my rheumatologist next time I am at the clinic. Xx

[Jeanabelle60]

hello angla, yes it is not uncommon in Rheuamatoid Disease. when i was first diagnoised about 4 years ago i thought it was an ear infection or something wrong with one of those big back teeth we have. it was one time when i was in seeing my consultant that i mentioned it and he told me that that is what it was.

but, here comes the bad part.........it seems there is nothing that can be done about it. i have been on Bio's for almost two years now and they have not retarded the spread of the disease in my jaw. the jaw doc said i had it in my right jaw too and i don't even have any pain there!

a week ago toady i got a steroid for it as my jaw had completely locked......to be honest it has made almost no difference to it at all. i has helped the rest of my body but the jaw is still the same.

so, as he said, the only thing that they can do is replace my jaw if it gets worse. wasn't worth my while going to see him!

tell that husband of your to come up with something a bit more original.........one of my male neighbours asked he how i got it and could i give some to him misses.....aren't they very funny!

it is very sore angela, brushing my teeth is agony and i've found i have to eat differently now too. i live on my own so it won't bother me too much but i will be a bit self conscious when i'm out. everything has to be cut very small as i can no longer open my mouth wide anymore.

sorry i couldn't give you some better news. maybe you won't get it as bad as me. i haven't heard of anyone else having it so bad that they were considered for a jaw replacement.......i'm tryng to be encouraging here!!!!

all the best to you anyhow and if you want to get really depressed again just contact me!!!!!!

take care, jean. XX