TMJ Troubles

That's been what I've had since May 10th when the next-to-last bite of my steak and shrimp dinner at Applebees (compliments of my boss, as he was taking the department staff out to eat for an appreciation luncheon) did a number on my left jaw joint, which hasn't been fully operational since then. After several visits to my dentist, diligently wearing a bite-splint every night (by order of the dentist), the realization that I can never again chew gum (which, by the way, makes my mother-in-law happy), moist heat, lots of soft foods - yeah for pasta...sidenote..I've realized that there is a limit to the amount of pasta I can handle - will wonders never cease?, a referral to a doctor not covered by insurance and subsequent appointment cancellation, spending a lot of time on the phone with a very nice lady from my insurance company to find a doctor that is covered by insurance and deals with TMJ, Matt and I take a day-long trip to Houston to a dentist/oral surgeon that specializes in TMJ disorders. (Thank you Maw-Maw and Pa Pa for watching Kellen). I've discovered the following:

*the bite splint did no good - I must never wear it again
*gum is gone - for good
*soft foods are still in my foreseeable future
*so is a round of steroids

The doctor seems to think that we should see improvement after this round of steroids and wants to see me back in a week. He indicated that we would start off with oral steroids and, if necessary, move to steroid injections if the oral medication didn't work. He didn't even broach the subject of surgery...so we'll see where this goes. He seems very optimistic that we can get my jaw back to the pre-May 10th incident in a fairly short amount of time. YEAH!

Now if I can only get rid of these frequent migraines.....

Kellen had a lot of fun with his Pa Pa and Maw Maw today. He got to watch the newest Hermie and Friends DVD...Buzby: The Misbehaving Bee. Maw Maw says that it's really cute and introduces a frog character, which of course Kellen loved! I'm sure that in short time I'll have it memorized as I do the first two DVD's in this series. #3, Webster: The Scaredy Spider is quickly being committed to memory as well. They are such cute stories with good themes and messages...