i'm 73. when i was about 19, in college, i began experiencing debilitating one sided facial pain. i had undiagnosed migraines (we never went to the doctor), but this was different. my mom was a registered nurse who pretty much took care of all our health care needs at home and was generally dismissive of things like pain. however, it became clear that i was unwell and was missing school (where i excelled) and work (where i excelled). we began a journey thru the healthcare system, seeing a variety of different specialists, all of whom told my mother that this was all in my head. fortunately, my mother at least trusted me. finally my father suggested i return to my orthodontist. i did. he had a young associate, fresh out of training. my former orthodontist had no words of wisdom, but his new associate rather timidly spoke up and asked me a couple questions. then he put a bite wing in my mouth and had me bite down hard. no pain!! he diagnosed me with temporal mandibular joint disease. at age 19, i was far outside the age parameters for the condition, but his guy had seen it in training in the navy. at that time, it was typically diagnosed in people with poorly fitting dentures. what's noteworthy here: i was dismissed by 9 (NINE) medical specialist (some friends of my mother's) most likely because i was a young, otherwise healthy female - probably depressed, right? no! also, pertinent to the case of ross douthit, medicine must catch up with what's going on in the world - with what's being presented to the science of medicine. i'm absolutely sure i'm not the first young person who had TMJ. i was the youngest person a whole host of dentists and orthodontists in st. louis, MO and washington university in st. louis had ever seen or heard of. they had to catch up. i suffered for about two years. i was extremely fortunate that along with my diagnosis came, for me, a fairly quick cure - another 1.5 years wearing braces. much harsher health challenges like lyme disease, infertility, MS, and psoriasis are painful and frustrating on both a physical and emotional level. i have had several friends whose young children have died from brain tumors and leukemia. there can be no greater pain with fewer answers.
i'm 73. when i was about 19, in college, i began experiencing debilitating one sided facial pain. i had undiagnosed migraines (we never went to the doctor), but this was different. my mom was a registered nurse who pretty much took care of all our health care needs at home and was generally dismissive of things like pain. however, it became clear that i was unwell and was missing school (where i excelled) and work (where i excelled). we began a journey thru the healthcare system, seeing a variety of different specialists, all of whom told my mother that this was all in my head. fortunately, my mother at least trusted me. finally my father suggested i return to my orthodontist. i did. he had a young associate, fresh out of training. my former orthodontist had no words of wisdom, but his new associate rather timidly spoke up and asked me a couple questions. then he put a bite wing in my mouth and had me bite down hard. no pain!! he diagnosed me with temporal mandibular joint disease. at age 19, i was far outside the age parameters for the condition, but his guy had seen it in training in the navy. at that time, it was typically diagnosed in people with poorly fitting dentures. what's noteworthy here: i was dismissed by 9 (NINE) medical specialist (some friends of my mother's) most likely because i was a young, otherwise healthy female - probably depressed, right? no! also, pertinent to the case of ross douthit, medicine must catch up with what's going on in the world - with what's being presented to the science of medicine. i'm absolutely sure i'm not the first young person who had TMJ. i was the youngest person a whole host of dentists and orthodontists in st. louis, MO and washington university in st. louis had ever seen or heard of. they had to catch up. i suffered for about two years. i was extremely fortunate that along with my diagnosis came, for me, a fairly quick cure - another 1.5 years wearing braces. much harsher health challenges like lyme disease, infertility, MS, and psoriasis are painful and frustrating on both a physical and emotional level. i have had several friends whose young children have died from brain tumors and leukemia. there can be no greater pain with fewer answers.