Morning everyone hope you are all as well as you can be. I am starting to feel better in myself, still weak legged but the pain isn’t as bad as it was. My tremor has eased as well. However over the last week or so I have been having a problem with my jaw. It keeps crunching and every so often I get the most awful stabbing pain between my jaw and my ear. There is a dull but tolerable pain most of the time but the stabbing pain is really getting to me. Was wondering if it could be TN or if I’m so gobby I have just worn it out!
Hi,
TN doesn’t usually cause a crunching sound/sensation but temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) is a common cause of pain in the same area that is characterised by a grating or crunching sound combined with pain. In TMD the trigeminal nerve can be involved as well so getting it properly diagnosed is important. But if the trigeminal nerve is inflamed secondary to the joint disorder this is not related to MS.
Getting a check up with a dentist and asking specifically about temporomandibular joint disorder after describing the symptoms you have could well help diagnose it as often it is caused by the alignment of the back teeth and sometimes by teeth grinding at night. Your GP or neuro will also be able to help diagnose it correctly. Correct diagnosis is important because the treatment for TMD and TN is quite different and also because if you do have actual TN it would be another fact for your neuro to add to your MS file. But as I said, the crunching noise/sensation isn’t consistent with TN.
Best of luck with getting it diagnosed so you can get it treated>
Belinda
Thanks belinda. The crunching noise has stopped now but I’m still getting the pain. It could be because I’m not moving my jaw as much because it hurts. I called my dentist and was given an emergency appointment on 29th August!!! Thanks again Xx