Here in the UK the Poldark hero is about to grace our screens once more and warm the cockles of our hearts!
For me Poldark has a darker significance than just his gorgeous curly locks...
While watching the penultimate episode about 19 months ago if memory serves me correctly, I was eating at the time, and managed to bite down on my fork rather awkwardly and chipped a front too!
Shortly after within only a few days I started to experience piercing pain across the whole of my upper and lower jaw from the middle of my front teeth and lower teeth!!! Only the one side of my head- the left.
In the end even a mere drink of water, neither hot nor cold, but simply the effect of the water running over my teeth as I held it on my mouth ready to swallow, caused the most eye-watering spasm of nerve pain, which would last for anything up to half an hour at times. The pain was indescribable. It was as though my nerves going through every tooth on the left side of my head were on fire, with a constant electric current running through them.
Upon consulting the dentist I underwent numerous tests and xrays as by the time I saw the dental surgeon some months later the pain had escalated to focus even more in one tooth amongst all the others. There were no signs of decay or infection, so everybody was baffled. This has gone on, and on in varying degrees of intensity for the last 19 months.
The last visit to my very perplexed dental surgeon led to nothing further, merely that the only explanation he could offer was that I had a crack in the root of this one tooth that was not showing up on x-ray. I begged to differ.
The pattern of pain had evolved into something different.
I would get an even greater magnified pain spasm upto 20 - 30 minutes AFTER having eaten??? But by now, the pain had become SO intense I have even fallen to the floor writhing in near delirium.
The next thing I noticed was when getting up in the morning my big tooth on the RIGHT would not meet properly with my lower tooth beneath it- it would catch, as though my jaw was at an angle??!! As if a wedge on the LEFT was giving a bad contact on the RIGHT from the midway point? This is me again thinking in images.. thinking of doors and badly hung hinges!
With no help from the doctor, other than nerve-deadening pain killers- no thanks... And the dental surgeon saying I probably needed 'the tooth' out.. I started to think and research around the subject.
The idea of my jaw being wedged out of place on one side made me think 'inflammation'...so I researched 'inflammation in conjunction with thyroid and adrenal fatigue'...and found a fabulous post by the brilliant Chris KRESSER.
There is a connection!!!
Due to adrenal fatigue and in some cases complete exhaustion, our bodies are no longer are able to produce our own natural anti-inflammatory response...hence why all our joints ache and so much more hurts with us! This made perfect sense. Recent devastating events in my family have increased my stress levels....and my already high levels of adrenal support seemed to have become less effective... so it all added up.
Adrenal fatigue is connected to TMJ issues as Chris Kresser so perfectly explains.
The only intervention as such has been again a request on my part from my dentist for a rubber, moulded gum shield that I wear at night. I felt the benefits within a mere 24 hours of using it. It has taken the pressure off my jaw joint and is helping to protect me from the terribly teeth grinding in my sleep.
I also take curcumeric for its anti-inflammatory properties to help and I increased my adrenal support slightly.
As a result my tooth/nerve pain has decreased dramatically. I can EAT without pain after 19 months of near despair. I will not have my precious tooth ripped out! My general joint pain has decreased too, so I wanted to pass it on to other possible TMJ sufferers!
Happy eating!
Popsy ;o)
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Adrenal fatigue and low cortisol
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Adrenal fatigue and underactive thyroid
