From: debs@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Deborah Summa)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: TMJ/WisdomTeeth/Headaches/Etc(LONG)
Date: 8 Apr 92 04:21:53 GMT
Reply-To: debs@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Deborah Summa)
Originator: debs@flubber.cc.utexas.edu

Can somebody with experience in this area please offer an informed opinion?
Sorry to dump this on the net, but i am about at my wit's end and i have seen
some good advice pass thru here before.  Here goes...

I've been experiencing some dreadful headaches for several years.  I'd
chalk it up to stress/tension, except the pain is extremely well localized
behind the right ear.  Unlike the typical tension or migrane headache, this
is a real stabbing kind of thing.  It used to last for days on end, with a
new episode occuring every week.  Now the problem is continuous..i kid you
not, this has been going on since at least early January non-stop.  The
character seems to have changed somewhat though..it's more of a continous dull
ache with occasional searing, stabbing pangs like lightening or something
zipping thru.  It's also accompanied by a near-continous ringing in one ear,
along with an odd sensation of an earache deep inside, and some bizarre
tingling of the scalp, a random facial twitch, and a general feeling that
someone has decked me across the right side of the head, face and occassionally 
the high neck.  On occassion the arms get this weird tingling feeling too,
running from the biceps along the outside to the last 2 fingers.  Oh, things
smell and taste funny too.  I've managed to rule out food related reactions
(although i discovered cayenne pepper is a sure way to induce a headache of
another sort), and ear infections which i had been quite susceptable to
right about the time this all started.  Interestingly enough, scuba diving
past about 30' makes the headache subside, although it invariably returns
upon surfacing.  Unfortunately,  nobody cares to dive with a buddy who 
suffers unexplained headaches (i certainly would be leery of it), so i'm 
stuck on dry land until this gets resolved.  

After shuttling between a family practioner, optomitrist, ent guy, and a
neurologist, all of whom ruled out all sorts of nasty things but couldn't
isolate the problem, i ended up seeing a dentist.  All of the other (MD)
types said something to the effect of 'well, it could be a tmj problem, but
that seems like a very remote possibility' (since i really don't experience
any pain in my jaw). One or two of the above people thought that maybe maybe
my (impacted) wisdom teeth were impinging on something in a funny way.  The
dentist says it seems to have many signs of a tmj disorder, but he couldn't 
possibly believe the wisdom teeth, which heretofore have been completely
innocent (although i wouldn't know if they were giving me trouble or not), 
could possibly be implicated in this situation.  In fact, he was quite
forceful in stating that he'd leave them in.  He's suggesting splint
therapy for a couple months as a conservative approach (i should mention
that i have a near-perfect bite, and really don't have any jaw pain or
lockjaw to speak of; neither do i think i grind my teeth, although i
did used to do that many many years ago).  

Does this sound plausible?  It seems to me that wisdom teeth would certainly
be a more constant source of irritation whereas a possibly tmj thing from
grinding or clenching is of a more transient nature.
I am about ready to go off the deep end, and i'm
no so sure i want to wait another 2 months to find out it's not working.
(I also don't know for sure that i'll have any kind of insurance two months
down the road).  Neither do i relish the thought of staying out of the
water any longer than i have to, but that's another story.  One MD is
suggesting some pretty potent drugs to keep things at bay, but i would
prefer not to go that route if it's at all possible to avoid.  Any
thoughts/suggestions?

Thanks,

	-deb