Happy 3rd birthday to my Bilateral Temporomandibular Joints (TMJ) Total Joint Replacement (TJR)!
Pics from
surgery:
My memory of
the actual surgery is hazy, yet I can look back at the blog and see how painful
it was. Luckily, I had a fabulous
support network of family, friends, coworkers, church, and TMJ support groups
to get me through it. I was prepared
ahead of time for how long and miserable recovery would be. I was cognizant
that this was an extremely risky procedure and that the risk for complications was great. I also understood that there
was no such thing as a completely being healed, as most patients post bilateral
TMJ TJR are NEVER completely healed…at best our quality of life has
improved.
Here is my
blog post about why I had surgery and the actual surgery:
Here is my
blog about Post Operation appointments & Expectations vs Reality:
Symptom/changes
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3 years post op
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Function-Opening
|
Pre surgery, I opened anywhere from a 5mm to 15 (on a good day). Now I can easily open to a 35-38. Besides my new joints and surgeon, I give a
lot of credit to my physical therapist who played a pivotal role in my
recovery.
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Food/diet
|
Technically, I can eat “whatever is comfortable for my jaw.” The truth is not much is “comfortable,” so
I am on a soft food diet. At times, I
move myself to a liquid diet but only when I am in severe pain. Of course, there are times I cheat on my
soft diet (and usually regret it).
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Migraines
|
My migraines are consistent and EVERY day. Some days are better than others. For instance , if I do something where I am
laughing or smiling more than usual, I usually end up in major pain the next
day. It sucks because I often end up
in bed (or wishing I were in bed) the day after I have fun…sometimes the same
day.
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Tinnitus
|
I still have pulsating tinnitus in my left ear. The definition of this is the
sensation of hearing a rhythmic noise, such as a heartbeat, swooshing or
whooshing, from no external source, is, at best, a little unsettling; for
many, the near constant sound exceeds annoyance and becomes completely
debilitating. At times it is so loud I
can almost feel my ear pulsating. I
also have a lot of pressure in that left ear.
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Muscle spasm/twitches
|
My left eye droops and often twitches. This is extremely annoying and
affects my eyesight, but Botox often freezes the muscle. My cheeks can also twitch, though I don’t
feel them twitch, other people notice it.
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Sleep apnea
|
I have this off and on because of the position of my jaw. If it gets worse, I will seek a
doctor.
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Dry mouth
|
This still occurs, but not as frequently. When it does occur, I use a dry mouth rinse.
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Sleeping
|
Besides the tinnitus, sleeping can be difficult because I can sleep
the wrong way. Or I can sleep on one
side too long and it feels like that side of my face is on fire when I wake
up.
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Weather
|
I’m still a human barometer. I
can accurately tell when it’s going to rain approximately 30 minutes before
it does. I can also feel when there is
a drop-in air pressure. These changes
increase my migraines.
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Flying
|
Before surgery, I thought I was going to have to give up air travel
all together. Landing was often
extremely painful. It felt like my
eardrums where going to burst. I tried
everything to get this symptom to go away, but nothing worked. Now, I can fly. On occasion, it’s painful. Now I am back to traveling and trying to
see as much of the world as I possibly can!
It’s a passion of mine.
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Allergy
|
Right as the COVID-19 craziness really began in Florida, I developed
a scaly spot right where my left jaw joint is. I’m not going to lie, it scared the crap
out of me as I understood that worst case scenario was that I was having an
allergic reaction to my joints (and we all know what that means). Luckily, I was able to get into a
dermatologist before everything shut down and she said it was cells that were
just growing out of control and it was NOT an allergic reaction. I was put on a steroid cream, and it’s
gone. Thank goodness.
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Dentist
|
I will have to take antibiotics two hours prior to any dentist visit
for the rest of my life.
|
Exercise
|
I walk (almost) every day. I
have also started practicing yoga again.
When it comes to exercising, I just monitor and modify what I am doing
to make sure I do not aggravate my jaw.
I do not participate in any sports or exercises that are high
impact.
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Covid-19
|
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Changes
Old Job
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New Job
|
I was an English teacher for over 19 years. For a little over 6 years, I taught at a local high School. Because
of my surgery, and not being able to give direct instruction for hours on end
without being in severe pain, I became certified in Exceptional Student
Education. When I requested
to change my position at the end of last year, my principal was extremely
unsympathetic. I tried to explain my disability, but to no avail. Because of many
circumstances that were a direct result of my request to change positions, in the middle of October 2019 I left the district and my job
as an English teacher.
|
I currently work at McArthur High School as an Exceptional Student
Education Support Facilitator. I
monitor and help students who have learning disabilities. I enjoy my new job and appreciate the fact that
I do not have to talk as much, which helps me immensely. This opportunity also means that I did not
have to apply for disability, so I am incredibly grateful that the school
took a chance and hired someone (midyear) who had never held this position
before.
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Like so many
of us with fake joints, whenever I do something, I always have to think about
how it’s going to affect them. Will this hurt me? Am I going to do any long term damage to the joint?
I never
regret my decision to have my old joints removed and replaced with new,
titanium ones. I understood that the
surgery was lengthy and was going to be the most painful experience of my life
(thus far, and hopefully ever). I also
knew the recovery was going to be long and arduous. Even though I am still not 100%, I am happy
with the progress I have made.
