Let’s talk food

If you are on a diet because of you TMJ/TMD, I feel your pain. 

I am 5’5’ and struggling to stay a healthy weight.  According to the Internet, someone my height should weigh 113-138 pounds.  According to my general doctor, I should weigh 120-125 (& she has asked about my eating habits and dropped hints about an eating disorder).  Currently I am at 112 and am loosing weight every week.  I am too skinny, and know that I look healthiest at 120-125. 

Now I realize that the majority of people I know cannot relate to my problem. Lol.  Many of my friends, colleagues, family, and neighbors say that they wish they had my problem.  I understand that dieting is the norm; however, I am doing the opposite. 

At the moment, I am eating 3 meals a day and a snack.  For breakfast, I always eat yogurt.  It’s just a habit.  It’s quick, easy, and I enjoy it.  For lunch I eat a sandwich.  For dinner I eat a normal, healthy meal.  I am attempting to eat unhealthy.  Though that sounds odd, I am one of the few people out there who truly loves healthy food.  If I was able, I would eat salads and vegetables all the time…but I can’t.  Today I even bought ice cream in an effort to gain some pounds.

My goal, before surgery, is to gain weight.  I want to be at 125 when I have my total joint replacement.  I recognize that I will probably loose 10 pounds.  I am aware that I will be on a liquid diet for an extended amount of time, and it will frustrate me.  However, I also grasp that when I am completely healed in a year or so I might be able to eat like the average person.  I just don’t want to go into surgery at 110 pounds and lose another 10 pounds.  That is ridiculous. 

 I am a picky eater, but there are foods I can eat. 

First, people who have jaw problems are on different diets.  If you are having issues here are some foods to avoid:

Gum (always a big NO)

Bagels

Apple

Baguettes

Raw carrots

Celery

Corn chips

Corn on the cob

Hard breads

Hard candy (if you chew on it)

Jawbreakers

Jellybeans

Licorice

Now and Laters

Nuts

Peanut Brittle

Pizza (or just the crust)

Popcorn

Pretzels

Raw Veggies

Salads

Snickers

Skittles

Starburst

Sugar Babies

Taffy

Tootsie rolls

Chips

Steak

Pork

Hot dogs

Crackers

Hard cookies

Cheese (might be too chewy)

The list goes on & on & on

I try to remember if it is gummy, crunchy, or requires a lot of chewing, I can’t eat it.  Also, if I have to open my mouth real wide, I can’t eat it.

Is the restrictive diet annoying? Yes.  Do I ever crave food that I can’t eat? Absolutely.  Do I ever cheat?  Well….every once in awhile (especially now that I know I am having surgery, but up until I had decided I didn’t cheat).  Honestly, when I do cheat I MUST take a muscle relaxer and I sometimes have to ice my face.  After surgery, I will not cheat.  I will not even think about cheating.  I will not even complain about foods I cannot eat (okay, that might be a bit of a stretch after awhile).

There are times you might go out to eat with friends or colleagues, and you might be unsure if you can eat something at the table.  When this occurs, I either ask someone who is eating the same thing to tell me if it is soft or I reach over and nonchalantly touch it.  Even French fries can be too hard for me to eat.  I test all my food because I have made the mistake of biting into something I assumed was soft (a hash brown) and it was very well done.  If I get a large burger or am at an office party where a sub is served, I will either cut it into pieces or pull it apart and eat what I can separately.

 I use to be embarrassed about my eating habits, but it no longer bothers me.  Most people around me know that I am on a special diet and understand that I am not being rude by touching my food, or pulling it apart, or whatever odd things I have to do to make certain I can eat it.

What foods can someone with TMJ/TMD eat?

Chicken

Hamburger meat

Fish

Creamy peanut butter

Super soft cookies

Eggs

Chocolate (if it’s too hard, I pop it in the microwave for a few seconds)

Instant breakfast

Soup

Yogurt

Ice cream

Pancakes

Muffins

Cake

Beans

Rice

Soft, cooked veggies

Cold cuts

Turkey

Some fruits (I would cut everything up and leave off the skin) (I can’t eat apples)

Potatoes

Macaroni/pasta salad (you might have to avoid some ingredients)

Cheese (can be a bit chewy for me)

Cereal (must let it got soggy before you eat it)

Hot cereal-grits, oatmeal, cream of wheat

Quinoa

Pasta-lasagna, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, etc.

Risotto

Canned tuna/chicken

Cottage cheese

Tofu

Nut butter

Creamed spinach

Avocados

Pudding

Jell-O

There are still plenty of foods a person with jaw problems can eat.  Of course, what I might be able to tolerate someone else might not be able to.  Each person is in his/her own unique situation and knows what is best for them.

For my last birthday, my mom asked me if I wanted one of those high-powered blenders.  I told her no.  I was against paying a high price for something I probably wouldn’t use that much.  She explained that Kohl’s was having a sale and she also had a coupon.  I suggested that she save her money and just buy me the lipstick that I wanted.  Well, I went to her house one day after work and she and my dad bought me the Bullet blender.  I brought it home and read the instructions. 

If you do not have a high-powered blender, I suggest you go and get one.  They are amazing and there are millions of recipes on the web.  I am a fan of making yogurt smoothies, but you can make soup, meals, nut butters, etc.  I love it!

The Sad Truth About Chronic Pain

As I surf the Internet researching TMJ, and talk to others who suffer with TMJ, I recognized that many of us have suffered bouts of depression and/or anxiety.

Last year, I taught the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to my 11^th graders.  The narrator, Chief Bromden, suffers from schizophrenia. The other patients at the mental hospital suffer from a plethora of mental illnesses.  Because of this, I began researching different Youtube clips that explained not only schizophrenia, but also OCD, bipolar disorder, and depression.

What I learned that stuck with me the most is that people often use the words depressed and sad interchangeably.  In reality, there is a huge difference.  Sadness is a temporary feeling.  One might be sad if they get into a fight with their best friend or if they fail a test.  Depression often lasts for weeks, if not months at a time. 

What I didn’t understand, until I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, is that it is all encompassing.  For example, at the height of this dark period in my life I felt as though nothing was going right.  I no longer enjoyed going out with my friends.  I felt like a complete failure at work.  I was only sleeping 3 hours a night because I would wake up in a cold sweat and couldn’t fall back to sleep.  I wasn’t hungry, which was fine with me because it hurts me to chew anyways.

I would read self-help articles that made such suggestions as exercise, meditate, try to think positive, do things that make you happy.  I was attempting to do those things daily.  I just couldn’t get out of the funk.  I probably would have cried, except it literally hurts my face (a lot) to do so.  

Finally, I gave up and got help.  I went to a psychiatrist and listed all my symptoms.  She spoke to me about why I could be experiencing depression/anxiety.  I knew exactly why: I had just moved back into the country, my AC had broken, my new job was challenging, and I had gotten bad news about my jaw.  In fact, that is what put my over the edge.  We all agreed that my anxiety/depression is pain related.

She prescribed a depression/anxiety medication that would increase my appetite and help me gain weight, since I am typically underweight.  This medicine would also help me sleep, which would make me more productive, alert, and (hopefully) happy.  Because I had a decrease in stress/anxiety, she also hoped that it would help me control the tension in my face and; therefor, feel a bit better.  I began taking the medication last December and I quit taking it in June.  The medication was a blessing, and it is the reason I was able to get better.

Though I have several months worth of the medication in my medicine cabinet, I am not going to take it unless I need it.  As my surgery approaches, I will monitor my emotions and decided whether or not it is best for me to begin taking the medicine again.

I know most people do not want to discuss how the pain can mentally affect them.  Some people feel ashamed, and don’t want to discuss depression.  I have spoken to several woman who suffer from severe jaw problems and have admitted struggling with depression/anxiety.  They have also taken prescription medication to help.  It takes a strong person to admit they need help. 

I am writing this to make people who suffer with jaw problems aware that they are not alone.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking professional help if you need it.

I have recently read comments from a person (on another website) who believe that pain is “psychological and all in one’s head.”  That is absolutely, positively not true.  I cannot just ignore it and it will go away.  It is with me all day, every day.  Some days are better than others, but no day is pain free.  I have MRI’s and CT scans that show major trauma to my jaw, which clearly explains the pain in my face/head. Comments such as this are highly insensitive.  Some people need to learn a little bit of empathy.

Surgery Update

Yesterday, after work, I drove to Miami for my appointment with the oral maxillofacial surgeon (OMS).  We are attempting to set up my total joint replacement (TJR) / orthognathic surgery for December 1^st!   It will take 8-12 weeks to build my custom joints, and I have a lot do, so I am hoping and praying all goes smoothly.

Before surgery, I have a ton of stuff to do:

     1)  I have to have blood work to test for metals allergies.  Yes, I had the patch testing, but the OMS wants to make 100% sure I am not allergic to the metal that will become my new and improved jaw joints.  Insurance does not cover it, so I will be paying over $500 out of pocket. 

     2)    I have to get to CTAs.  This is a CT scan with iodine.  One scan will be of my brain and the other will be of my face/neck.  Now, I made the appointment today and they can both be done in one day but several hours apart-I’m not sure why.

    3)  I must set up a consultation with the interventional nueroradiologist.  This doctor will look at my CTA scans because he/she will have to go through my groin area (on the left and right side) and snake a coil like device through my body and into my jaw to cut off the blood supply to the major arteries on both sides of my face.  Interestingly enough, the coil device just stays in my face and is never removed.  I guess I just don’t need blood flow in those arteries.

This is what this process will look like.

    4)  Medical clearance via my doctor. 

    5)  Pre operative appointment with my OMS.  Hopefully I’ll get to see the replica of my skull with the implants attached to it.

This is exactly what the replica of my jaw my look like once the costume joints are added.  The doctor has promised me many pics, so I can share them with everyone :)  It's kinda cool and scary at the same time.

     6)  I am not sure if I have an appointment that will deal with the embolization of my teeth.  This is a metal device that covers my upper and lower teeth, so that I do not over do it after surgery.  It’s a guide.  Though my jaw will not be completely wired shut, it will be swollen shut and I will have to do physical therapy exercises to get it open.  With these guides, I will not be able to open too much.  They will be removed approximately 2 weeks later.

                   

    7)  I know there are a few other appointments that I will need to make, but those are the most important!

It may not appear to be a lot, but I am working full time at a local high school.    I know many people wonder why I didn’t have the surgery over summer, and the reason is because insurance approval took forever.  In fact, I am paying that it goes smoother this time. 

I am going to attempt not to get too stressed about the surgery, or anything else.  This could potentially change the quality of my life for the better and I am very optimistic about the outcome.