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A Turn for the Worse

The past two days have seen a return of my TMJ problems, as severe as I had in 2007 after a car wreck. I've been trying all sorts of things to help, but the only thing so far that puts a dent in the pain is ibuprofin. The odd thing is, the site of the dental implant is tender, but feels fine. The teeth that were tender from being in braces feel fine. The agonizing pain wanders around my jaw joint, lower jaw, ear and sinus passages on my right side. It feels like a needle without anesthetic, except when the pain isn't there. I'm wondering if it could be someting a neurosurgeon described to me many years ago: tension leads to pain, which leads to spasms, which leads to tension, and so on. If that's the case, the best thing would be to take the ibuprofin at the first sign of a twinge of pain.

I also feel like I'm getting a cold. Per the SWAMP protocol, I took 50,000 IU of vitamin D a few hours ago and already feel better.

I took a chance having surgery so close to a big deadline at work (October 15). I had to work today, and can't call in sick tomorrow.

Comments

tess said…
best of luck to you! it's no fun to work when you feel rotten....
Lori Miller said…
Thanks, Tess. I feel a little bit better this morning.

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