In 2011, I went to an Oral Maxillofacial
surgeon and he suggested cleaning out my joints. He didn’t order an MRI; he only did panoramic
x-rays. Eager to be healed, I went in
for the simple surgery. Healing was
quick, yet nothing changed. The next
year, he said he was going to reposition my disc and I would probably have to
spend the night in the hospital. I went
in for surgery, and woke up later that same day to find he had only cleaned my
joints again. I was disappointed because
I didn’t want that done, and knew it wouldn’t work. As a result of the surgery, the muscle on the
left side of my face was tight and I eventually received Botox to fix it.
Here’s what I have learned from
that experience:
1) Double
and triple check who your doctor is and what he/she is capable of doing. Some doctors specialize in certain things and
can’t handle serious jaw issues.
2) Get
a second opinion.
3) If you think your doctor should be doing something and is not, ask him/her.
4) Just
because a friend had the same procedure and it worked for them, doesn’t mean it
will work for you. Everyone’s body is
different and everyone heals differently.
5) Ask
questions! I now write down questions to
bring to the OMS surgeon. I ask anything
and everything that comes to mind, even if it appears to be a stupid question.
Eventually I heard about one of
the top OMS surgeons in the country and went to him. Besides the panoramic x-rays, he immediately
sent me for an MRI. The MRI showed that
my disc was dislocated. I was also
tested for Rheumatoid Arthritis, and my hormone levels where checked. After all the tests, I had disc-repositioning
surgery. This was painful and caused a
lot of muscular problems on my left side.
Luckily, I have good friends who weren’t embarrassed to go out with me
and would make me laugh. I was extremely
self-conscious about the muscular changes, even though I realized they were
only temporary. My one friend would
casually walk by my and tell me to quit smiling because I looked slow. This may sound mean, but it made me laugh and
she said it in a very silly way.
Approximately six months later and
I felt the discs slip out of place. When
this happened, it caused my left eye to begin twitching. I was living and teaching in Japan, so I went
to the hospital in Kochi City. The
specialist immediately sent me for panoramic x-rays and an MRI. I then went to his office for the results-the
discs in my jaw bilaterally dislocated.
There was no specialist at that hospital that could deal with this
problem, so I then made an appointment and drove to Kobe to see a
specialist. My doctor in Miami plays
golf with this specialist when they are at conferences together, and he speaks
very good English. He reviewed
everything and explained that since my jaw is a complicated case, he could not
do anything to help. He is only
qualified to clean joints and basic oral surgery.
Overall, his honesty was
refreshing. Though I was in pain and
frustrated, I learned a great deal about socialized healthcare. It was absolutely amazing to get all the
tests I needed and have the doctor review the results in one day. I believe I paid about $100 for the MRI,
doctor’s visit, panoramic x-rays, muscle relaxers, Naproxen, anti-nausea
medicine, and some sort of topical cream I never used.
In Kyoto I dressed like a geisha for some fun pics!
Overall, this is really the first time I have had to navigate healthcare, whether it was in America or in Japan. This experience, through trial and error, has taught me a great deal about doctors, asking questions, and advocating for myself.
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