Tinnitus, TMJ, Headaches, Neck Pain, Facial Pain, etc. — Possible Treatment

[applewine]

@Mr. Cartman Something interesting happened last night. I didn't sleep well because I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep until after sun rise.

However, when I woke up I noticed that the muscles inside the under part of my jaw (likely the anterior digastric muscles) hurt really bad. And, it seemed to be hurting on both sides, not just the right side, though I think more on the right side. There was also a dry-ness in my nasal cavity and/or mouth, so I may have been sleeping with my mouth opened or some kind of altered breathing.

I'm a little bit more aware of my nasal cavity because I can put my tongue in there so I know what sensation is a dry nasal cavity because I can confirm it with my tongue. I tore my epiglotis many years ago so I can put my tongue down my throat, into my nasal cavity, or just clean out my tonsils of food particles because I can move it backwards.

I'm not totally sure what position I was in while sleeping because I didn't immediately think to check when I woke up and upon waking there is some disorientation in the first moment, so I might move without being aware what position I was in immediately before waking. However, I believe I was laying on my right side with my neck down toward my chest. This is a bad position.

I believe the digastric muscles are used to depress the mandible. Well, I think if you just lower you head downward then the mandible must be in a lowered position too, so they might have been engaged constantly. The muscles around the top my my eye sockets also hurt.

It is interesting because some of the TMJ places also say they are sleep/TMJ places and deal with opening the breathing passage, though I'm very cautious to consider those guys because they don't seem to know what they are doing or be right about things at least very often not.

I've occasionally thought I was sleeping with my head too far upward, above level too. The whole thing is I don't think I'm sleeping like this every night and I don't see how this could be going on for so many years.

I had thought in the past of getting a camcorder with night vision so I could record myself while I sleep. That is probably the only way I'd know what positions I'm sleeping in. It wouldn't be good enough to see the exact position of my jaw though or everything. I've considered sometimes that maybe a cylindrical sleeping pillow might offer better transition to sleeping on the back and side during sleep.

I know I was using two of my thin pillows and I was sort of on my back, but facing to one side. I must have gone to sleep with two pillows because I was laying on my side because when I sleep on my back I only use one of the very thing pillows. I know people normally sleep with pillows that are too thick, especially for sleeping on one's back. I might ditch the second pillow for a while. I've done that in the past though and it isn't like it fixed anything.

 

[Codaz]

Yesterday I went to the jaw surgeon again. He's very respected in his field and gets a high patient satisfaction. Unfortunately, he is out of knowledge on the field of my facial pain. It's a complex problem. I described that with 2,5 years of ongoing TMJ therapy there is still no full relief in sight. Yes, the headaches are quite a lot reduced but not gone, the inhibiting pain that makes you cry is gone, but the T and the facial pain still remain at a max of 3 weeks. Every 3 weeks I need therapy, 4 is still not reached. I thank everyone for this progress. As I have floaters right now (never imagined that would happen) I'm more distracted by them than my T which fluctuates between 10-40%, not super irritating.

Since I want it fully gone, I'll keep on fighting. Searching for an answer towards why is the right side of my face in such pain. This maybe only muscles, but there has to be a drug / therapy / solution in order to suppress it. There has to be. The only thing that keeps me going is the progression I make. My study is almost destroyed, I'm scared to walk by construction sites and avoid parties with friends. But there has to be a thing that kills my facial pain forever. If it does not directly kill my T, okay that is the next step. But never pain again that would be fantastic.

The dental surgeon suggest a neurologist and if that does not work, the pain team of the hospital. In the pain team there are anesthesiologsist which probably hand out some drug to reduce / kill the pain.

Today I was at his assistent to make a new bite splint. They do not say how often it should be replaced. I'm replacing mine now after 2,5 years. The thing became yellow, stinky and worn of some of the grinding I used to do.

The jaw surgeon says that there is still a lot that they do not know, everything they learn new brings new questions.

He discussed with me the option of botox. In 6/10 patients it works, but he recommended me to visit a neurologist.

I'm very very hesistant to do an MRI. Only big bore or super low noise. And only if they can convince me, since there are also a lot of situations that do not show anything on the MRI.

Since I already visited a neurologist (that guy was unfriendly and unknown of T and jaw problems) it's essential to look for a neuro that knows what is facial pain.

In the large presentation of the University of Groningen there is some info on facial nerves.

If only I can rule out my facial nerve to be the culprit (and it being only muscle pain) then I'm already a step further.

First image describes Tinnitus as reason for Jannetta knife surgery.

 

[applewine]

@Codaz I remember your name from this thread going back a while, but I had no idea you were in so much pain or this was still as much of an issue for you. I'm relatively stable and certainly not in a lot of pain. I was in a lot of pain years before I joined the forum, but the major pain subsided fairly early on.

I have some suggestions.
-How long has you been using this splint? It could be making the pain worse or keeping the pain. I used an NTI and also an anterior repositioning device years ago. When I started using these devices it caused pain to increase/return.
-Avoid any surgery, even if they say they see what it is on a radiology scan. Search for people who had similar diagnosis and it turned out to be nothing there and surgery did nothing. This happens all the time. I found a guy on youtube who had two surgeries. One related to that long bone thing for eagle syndrome and also a second one for a nerve in his neck and in both cases surgery did nothing and after they opened him up for the nerve surgery they said nothing was there.
-Towards the end of the year there is going to be technology to test for Bartonella infections. It is one potential emerging infection that may cause nerve/muscle pain. Antigen testing is needed to take things to the next level for this stealth infection which is similar in some ways to Borrelia. The test will be offered by Ceres Nanoscience which is a compnay which was started by researchers from George Mason University to bring the test to market. I plan to get the test, but it could be a long shot. The test release date may also slip as this has happened in the past. The infection supposedly causes small vessel disease.
-Have you exhausted your research on trigger point treatment? It hasn't done a lot for me, but one should be aware of it. I would just do pressure with fingers or tools by yourself.
-Botox kills the nerves temporality until they regenerate. I'm against Botox use for muscle pain or even skin really. I've heard the nerves need to be kept as healthy as possible for the future if a real solution can be found. You don't want to be damaging those muscle nerves.
-I don't think anything will show on an MRI, though there are things like that bone for eagle syndrome, but as I said there are many cases of that being false positive and doing nothing and you would still need a good surgeon who does it a lot.
-Remember there are other people going through what you are going through or have gone through it. It may seem strange what you are going through because nobody you know has it, but you don't need to feel isolated by your experience. What you are going through is real and others can affirm what you are going through.
-I may have other resources for consultation on trigger points I could refer you to, but I haven't had much success with them myself. I know of two professionals which sell online consultaion conversations or material.
-I suggest you look into the device you are wearing and consider if it is making things worse or perpetuating an elevated problem.

 

[Codaz]

@Codaz I remember your name from this thread going back a while, but I had no idea you were in so much pain or this was still as much of an issue for you. I'm relatively stable and certainly not in a lot of pain. I was in a lot of pain years before I joined the forum, but the major pain subsided fairly early on.

I have some suggestions.
-How long has you been using this splint? It could be making the pain worse or keeping the pain. I used an NTI and also an anterior repositioning device years ago. When I started using these devices it caused pain to increase/return.
-Avoid any surgery, even if they say they see what it is on a radiology scan. Search for people who had similar diagnosis and it turned out to be nothing there and surgery did nothing. This happens all the time. I found a guy on youtube who had two surgeries. One related to that long bone thing for eagle syndrome and also a second one for a nerve in his neck and in both cases surgery did nothing and after they opened him up for the nerve surgery they said nothing was there.
-Towards the end of the year there is going to be technology to test for Bartonella infections. It is one potential emerging infection that may cause nerve/muscle pain. Antigen testing is needed to take things to the next level for this stealth infection which is similar in some ways to Borrelia. The test will be offered by Ceres Nanoscience which is a compnay which was started by researchers from George Mason University to bring the test to market. I plan to get the test, but it could be a long shot. The test release date may also slip as this has happened in the past. The infection supposedly causes small vessel disease.
-Have you exhausted your research on trigger point treatment? It hasn't done a lot for me, but one should be aware of it. I would just do pressure with fingers or tools by yourself.
-Botox kills the nerves temporality until they regenerate. I'm against Botox use for muscle pain or even skin really. I've heard the nerves need to be kept as healthy as possible for the future if a real solution can be found. You don't want to be damaging those muscle nerves.
-I don't think anything will show on an MRI, though there are things like that bone for eagle syndrome, but as I said there are many cases of that being false positive and doing nothing and you would still need a good surgeon who does it a lot.
-Remember there are other people going through what you are going through or have gone through it. It may seem strange what you are going through because nobody you know has it, but you don't need to feel isolated by your experience. What you are going through is real and others can affirm what you are going through.
-I may have other resources for consultation on trigger points I could refer you to, but I haven't had much success with them myself. I know of two professionals which sell online consultaion conversations or material.
-I suggest you look into the device you are wearing and consider if it is making things worse or perpetuating an elevated problem.

To be very very short (I can tell you a half hour about this): the pain started weeks after the T. So either I started grinding / clenching after I got T (from outer ear infection after swimming) OR I clenched already some months which gave me tension headaches and eventually T and the outer ear infection was coincidental and did not induce the T. Doctors don't know and we cannot turn back time so you tell me. A few days after swimming I got ear pain and T. But also facial pain some weeks later so what is what and what is the true reason that started it?

What I do know: my T can be very much influenced by neck movement AND facial pain. Is that only TMJ pain or also nerve pain? I don't know yet. The only thing I know is that tons and tons of TMJ therapy and the bite splint work. Not 100% as I then was long gone from this forum. It helps 40-85%.

I use the splint now since my T started (1,5 months after T started the splint was ready) so 2,5 years now. Since then I also started TMJ therapy.

You say avoid any surgery: why? If they DO have a reason to do surgery at my facial nerve, if it actually shows some abnormalities there I will consult a 2nd doc to confirm.

Trigger point treatment research: no not yet. I still need time to read additional material. Since the book I already got on trigger points is quite large I didn't find the energy yet to read it. Better to enjoy beers in the sun with friends (as positive vibes really help me to get T lower, it really does do that sometimes only 2 db sometimes more) it is on my somewhere in the future to do list. But as I'm not a therapist I let them do the work on my body and just follow their instructions. Nobody said this is a short ride on the bus. Nobody said any improvement is guarenteed. They have a big document already on my improvement. From what I think (and hope) I need a full year to reduce my symptoms further. I have some plans already for fall 2016 to further inspect my T, one of them is the neurologist.

The reason I'm not doing Botox is that I don't want any poison to enter my body. There is no super good research on that it works. Not only for facial pain, but also for T. If there was 70+% of patients with benefits then I would doubt it. But since jaw surgeons are not neurologists, I refrain.

The route I'm taking is the least invasive. It's physical much needed therapy. Tinnitus pulls a lot on your physical condition, either being headaches, neck pain, facial pain which for some reason translates into your whole body being not as fit as it could be.

If an MRI does not actually work I won't do it. I can now (barely) live with the T and pain I have now. I know how it can be influenced (partially) I know that there is a way up. I won't destroy that path that took me years by going into a thing that doesn't have 100% sure of finding the cause. I was warned already by some people for the MRI, since that gave them T.

I do think that there are more people that experience this, but I have not found many of them. Only once when I was at the ACTA in Amsterdam. Really strange. It's like being a mouse in a lab. You all have the same shit but they do not have a clear solution since the severity is different for the patients I saw. And none of them had T, only pain.

I hope the new splint I ordered today will again do some improvement

 

[just1morething]

Hot water on the back of my neck from a shower plus 2 Robaxin seemed to lower my noise quite a bit this morning. I definitely have some neck issues. I ordered one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QV4CC4Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Codaz]

So I got my new splint from my dental surgeon and this is a tip for everyone. Get a new one as soon as you think it becomes stinky or yellow. I should have done that way earlier than 2,5 years with the old one.

Bad thing is: after one day already grinding marks on it. So I still grind my teeth at night which is tensioning the muscles which we don't want.

 

[DDD]

@Codaz So is this new splint helping more with the pain them the old one? I have tmj haven't received any treatment yet because I'm waiting for a appointment so im just trying to figure out if the splint works for some x

 

[Codaz]

@Codaz So is this new splint helping more with the pain them the old one? I have tmj haven't received any treatment yet because I'm waiting for a appointment so im just trying to figure out if the splint works for some x

It absolutely works. Scientifically proven as well. The key question is. how much does it help. 20%, 40%, 100% aka cured? There is no guarentee for that. And the splint tech is quite old school. There is no such thing as more 21st century tech. There was, the grind blocking computer attached to the splint but the company went bust.

 

[applewine]

@Mr. Cartman I found this today: https://www.stoptheclot.org/pain-neck-almost-killed-dan-jensens-blood-clot-story.htm

That pain in my neck on the right side in many ways seems to be coming from the jugular vein, or from behind it. I can't tell. I should mention this to a primary care physician at a major hospital directly and just ask them why it is hurting without maybe getting into all the other pain and tinnitus around it. Maybe they can figure out what is at the location of that pain.

 

[Mr. Cartman]

Hi @applewine !

I hope you are well

Yeah, blood clots can be bad.. Have you ever had your back, neck and head scanned?

When you talk about the jugular vein, I have to say that it sounds too familiar, but Ive been scanned like 15 times now, and if there was a blood clot, it should have been catched up by now i think.

Nice to see you around btw

 

[ryand]

@Mr. Cartman we should Skype and compare notes, my symptoms are almost identical in addition to the 6k dip in hearing loss. The T volume is reducing, Sound reactions, Ear pain and jaw pain are almost going away thanks to this hard regiment below. I estimate 4 more months to a really good base line, but I'm already living a way better life .

• 3 times a daily neck and jaw exercises (and trying to correct minor forward head posture)
• myofacial release, gently slowly pushing the skin in and up with both of clench fists from the side of the neck all the past (stretching the myofacial tissue away from the muscles so it moves independently, it takes weeks to see lasting results. go slow, you should feel it in your neck when your up on you scalp past your temples (temporals muscles, huge muscles connected all around your ears)
• Pull your ears out light for 30-60 seconds (it can drain you Lymphatic fluid in that area) (Google inner ear fluid)
• I wear a mouth splint 24/7 , even while eating, 1 month in. Expensive as shit.
• Reduce Inflammation at all costs, No added sugar, No gluten, and exercise everyday ( I walk) (No bread, Pasta, Pizza, IPAs) 2 weeks in, great results.
• Make shakes, Tumeric, Garlic, B12, Chia Seeds, with Plant based Protein powder (No bananas, or other sugary ass fruit) blueberries and raspberries.
• standing up at my desk, don't bend neck all day.
• ice both jaws my face twice a day with a head wrap 10 min.
• I notch my music (does not include my 6900 Tinnitus Square Phase Tone) I produce video.
• sorry, I do drink some red wine (an ingredient in it resveratrol is an anti inflammatory) it reduces the T.
• 1 cup of coffee in the morning, no caffeine the rest of day. No cokes, no fake shit.
• Stay distracted and get into a fun hobby.

Next up, clenching, I can not solve my night time clenching, I wish I had an answer for that.

One more thing, notice that I don't refer to Tinnitus as "my" and use "the" T, it is not mine, it's an unwanted symptom that will go away, I'm somewhat cool with it (have to be), I realize I probably caused it, like my sun spots, but it's guest, not part of me, not mine. Like your mother in-law staying over for the weekend, telling you to keep the house clean every 10 minutes. (ps I like my mother-in-law)

love and peace everyone. -ryan

Skype call @Mr. Cartman?

 

[DirM]

Ryand,

I do many of the same things but found I had to go to zero caffeine (which causes almost an immediate spike) but I do occasional IPA and light carbs. And I do refer to "my T" as it is something personal that I work to get rid of like my extra 5 lbs of weight.

I also went from 100% day guards to braces to reset my bite. I can already see inprivement and hope the permanent reset to my bite will lead to long term silence.

Using my methods has brought my T from a 7 to a 2 in five months. I even have half days of a 1, and in the bar I'm in now, after two IPAs and somewhat loud background music I don't hear it at all.

 

[applewine]

@ryand I would suggest a few things:
-Stop the caffeine since it causes the muscle tention to increase. When I drank it it would start to cause pain/more pain
-In general garlic is a poison I've learned a really shouldn't be eaten, onions are too. Other sulfur vegetables aren't a poison, but they are antibiotic and can hurt your bacteria in your gut.
-The mouth guard stuff is a waste of time and maybe even harmful

 

[applewine]

@Mr. Cartman I've been using the "bodybackbuddy" tool I bought within the last year a lot in the recent days. I'm practicing every day. I highly suggest you get this tool. It is better than the old one I got years ago which is the back knobber 1 or 2. I use the larger side with the tip pointing inward instead of the ball end for this muscle in the back.

I've been working on spots around my shoulder blade. I've actually found a spot where I press and I feel a referral to around where my SCM is on the front of my neck and around my collar bone. This is not really a reported referral as it normally goes to the back of the neck, but the SCM does connect to that point, so maybe that is why.

Also, when I press on some of these spots on my back around my shoulder blade around armpit height or lower and hold for 60 seconds then the muscle starts going absolutely crazy and starts twitching constantly non-stop. This is the twitch reflex from trigger points and is supposed to be a significant sign during dry needling or any treatment.

I've tried pinching my SCM with my thumb and pointer finger and holding it, but my hand can't hold long enough and the muscle part that hurts slips out of the fingers after about 30-60 seconds making a long pinch hard. I believe that the muscle in the back may actually be causing the SCM problem so I'm going to continue to use the tool on my back. Also, the fact that it goes totally crazy twitching super fast non-stop on the back leads me to believe that this is an important spot.

You have to practice and search with this tool and clear your mind or find an activity to listen or watch while you do it. I think you need to play with this tool every day. I'll see if I play every day if it works. Think of it like an instrument or something.

 

[just1morething]

Skype call @Mr. Cartman?

Does anyone speak "goat" on Skype?

 

[just1morething]

I had atrocious noise this morning upon awakening.....wanted to die. Sorta bells, hissing, static hissing, etc. I took 2 Robaxin 750mg and showered and now my noise is minimal in left ear. Brain caused, neck muscles, TMJD, ETD, idk? Just glad I got temporary relief for now.

 

[applewine]

@Mr. Cartman I think I figured out a good technique for the SCM as well. The trick is to find that spot toward the top and turn your head to the opposite side. Now the bone should be underneath the SCM part you need to access. Now you can press on it. Pinching with the thumb will not work because you will get too tired. You need to press and use a tool like the long peg sticking out of the body back buddy tool I have. I'm just starting to try this tonight. I thought after pressing on a part that was referring a lot of pain around the eye and hurting a lot that a few times I starting to get crazy twitches in the SCM muscle. That is the super good sign you look for. Also, be careful because off to the side of the bone you will have the pulse from that jugular vein. As long as you are person the bone from the top you should be fine, but you should practice feeling the pulse with your finger. I think you will still feel the pulse in your neck if you press on it with the tool, but if you use your finger to test first you can definitely feel it on your finger too. I think this might be the tool/technique I've been looking for.

I've been trying some more on my back and hitting the same spots, I'm not getting a lot of twitching today. A few of the muscles seem to be very narrow and it is hard to keep the press on it. Perhaps a tenis ball cut open on the end of one of the hooks would make a wider surface to press with and then I could press against the wall with that. A lot of it is sort of behind the shoulder blade almost. The narrow thing is more below I think so I could probably try a wider surface with that.

My right hip has also been bother me a lot, gluteus medium I think. My right side in general is all bad from head to hip. I also learned that the spoass muscle is important in my case I think. You need to press a few inches to the side of the belly button right off the edge of the main abs. That is actually a deep abdominal muscle, but maybe the spouse further to the side too. But, the psoass also attaches to the hip and if you find that and can press on the top inside of the leg where that attaches that is the other place you have to treat. When my lower back hurts on the right side I've pressed where I think the psoass attaches to the leg and the back pain seems to go away because of that.

I'd like to also try to get into daily stretching a few times a day even though that isn't directly related to treating the trigger points, but flexibility and strength are other things I would like.

 

[applewine]

@Steve @Mr. Cartman The muscular problem and the myofascial pain syndrome in the shoulders, back, neck abdoman may be cause by a muscle imbalance.

I've been studying strength training and I was planning to start doing barbell training like the Starting Strength by Mark Riptoe program. It is low bar back squats, deadlifts, press etc.

Recently I've had a hypothesis that maybe muscle imbalance is caused by doing strength training without using this method of a barbell and these big compound movements. Perhaps training using machines which restrict motion could cause muscle imbalances. I believe training with full body compound movements with a barbell would build the muscles up correctly in proportion. There is a chance that this training could fix my myofascial pain syndrome to a large degree.

I have to wait a few months to heal my shoulders which hurt because I was doing weighted pushups wrong for months and suddenly my shoulders started to hurt. I thought I knew how to do them by keeping my arms at 45 degrees and not flared out, but I didn't know I need to keep my forearm vertical (90 degrees perpendicular to the ground) the whole time. I was probably bending my forearm backwards which allowed me to use far more weight than I should have which overloaded my rotator cuff / shoulder muscles. You need to lean forward too with your shoulders past your arms a bit more.

Only after this pain which I now consider an injury to some degree did I find a video showing correct movement. Check it out:



Also, I've been having health problems with dry, burning eyes for years and a lot more in recent months. This is the dry eye syndrome that so many people have and you hear about. People will say it happens in the winter and I seem to notice it comes around then too, but I'm not sure. I've had it in the summer some times and also it could be a coincidence this year.

However, i think it might be related to foods which I recently think after some google searching. It is possible it is caused by foods high in salicylates. I mention this because people who are sensative to salicylates can have many symptoms including tinnitus, but more related to my point it can cause muscle pain I think I read too. So, it is possible that people who are salicylates intollerant / sensitive my be getting trigger points or myofascial pain syndrome because of salicylates in their diet. Symptoms are different so not everyone gets the dry eyes.

Salicylates are in vegetables, spices and fruits, but seem to be mostly vegetables and spices. I did some research and I was eating a lot of radishes recently with my dry eyes problem happening and the charts said that salicylates are extremely high in radishes. I also seemed to be more fatigued than I think I should be. That can be a symptom as well, though I'm not sure if that was the cause.

Some safe vegetables are potatoes, cabbage, swedes / rutabaga / turnip and lettuce. There aren't many. I suggest only eating a slice of potatoe and using rice as the primary starch. I haven't even eaten potatoes as I don't normally eat them due to remembering them causing indigestion when I ate a lot of them and because they are a nightshade and I thought they may cause my eczema.

salicylates can cause rashes too if you are salicylates intollerant.

So bottom line I suggest doing the strength training program Starting Strength from Mark Riptoe to fix muscle imbalance and also stop doing all machine work and other exercises. Also go on a low salicylates diet in case that is causing any myofascial pain.

 

[Steve]

Perhaps training using machines which restrict motion could cause muscle imbalances. I believe training with full body compound movements with a barbell would build the muscles up correctly in proportion

Interesting you should say this. I have had it pointed out to me twice recently that I have muscle imbalances and I do wonder if correcting them will help improve my tinnitus. Strangely I am stronger on my left and I am right dominant - wondering if I have been compensating for years and over-compensated.

I have been doing a lot more single side exercises. I feel a benefit but not too much in tinnitus yet. Although I have been trying to strain less as the jaw connection / somatic tinnitus suffers when I do too much. I'm trying to keep to 6 rep range and above.

I'll take a look at the training program you mentioned, may be worth a shot. I have a weaker lower back, just from not having correct form I've pulled it a few times. Having the correct balance could also make posture better, I slouch far too often.

EDIT. I just had a quick look, I did Jim Stoppani's program recently, in a similar way of increasing weight each cycle. Worked really well but the last cycle I went straight into heavier squats rather than warming up better and that pulled my lower back. Lessons learned...

 

[applewine]

@Steve I recommend that program reguardless. I'm going to do that and it had nothing to do with muscle imbalance. I just believe it is the best way to grow muscle. Also, the only other modification to the program and technique might be to do only one set or partial of a set enough to stimulate muscle. That is the high frequency approach based on the idea you want to just do enough to trigger protein synthesis and that you get the most out of the first set like 80% I think. Also, you want to keep the muscle growing and it stops after maybe 36 hours and probably isn't sustaining the same level that whole 36-48 hours or after 24 hours, just a guess.

The pushups video is important though because I hurt my shoulders/arms/something not keeping the forearm vertical, so now I have to take at least probably two months off and even lifting more than 5 pounds I feel some pain like groceries bags.

I found another video today @Mr. Cartman and everyone may be interested in. I think I've posted something similar to this before and forgot about it. I remember something about an organ and referral patterns maybe that is what I'm thinking of.

Everybody watch this video. It says that many people diagnosed with fibromyalgia have an inflamed gall bladder causing nerve pain to go up the right side into the neck. My pain is almost entirely on the right side. Right outer side of leg, right lower back and abdomen, right neck, right jaw, right tinnitus etc.

 

[applewine]

@Mr. Cartman Ok, I'm really thinking the gallbladder or something similar is causing these right side symptoms now.

Also, have any of you experienced problems with dry eyes? That is a symptom of gallbladder problems.

Also, do any of you remember eating a lot of peanut butter when this pain in the neck started years ago? This guy has many videos on this gallbladder and pain and multiple of them mention nuts and peanut butter causing the problem.

I happen to remember that I was eating a ton of peanut butter every day as recommended by a fitness trainer while I was training around the time when this pain in the right neck side started many years ago. I haven't been eating peanut butter hardly ever and don't buy it, but I still have the problem.

 

[Steve]

@Steve I recommend that program reguardless. I'm going to do that and it had nothing to do with muscle imbalance. I just believe it is the best way to grow muscle. Also, the only other modification to the program and technique might be to do only one set or partial of a set enough to stimulate muscle

I'll have a look at modifying it a little, I'm reasonably happy at my current weight / size so I don't want to add much on, I do want to build better core strength. The plan does look like it needs more exercises for me.

 

[applewine]

Here is another video.

This video also mentions peanut butter causing gallbladder problems. That is very interesting because all this pain started with pain in my right neck with it feeling stiff all the time over 10 years ago. I was eating peanut butter sandwiches multiple times a day at the advice of a body builder guy that was doing personal training advice. I had no idea he was a body builder and didn't totally understand what that was back then, I was very ignorant.

My heath went totally off the cliff in the years after as I developed debilitating pain in the ears, dizziness, tinnitus in the right ear and of course severe mental anguish from the suffering of the pain as well as the lack of ability to get any answers. This has been going on for over ten years without any answers from doctors. I have lost so much productivity and energy for my work and everything I do.

@Mr. Cartman, I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE NOW, BUT YOU NEED TO COME BACK NOW, BECAUSE I BELIEVE THIS IS THE ANSWER. EVERYBODY WITH THIS RIGHT SIDED PAIN.

I'm going to the hospital in a few days I'm going to get an ultrasound of my upper right abdomen. I also got a specific blood test that just checks for gallbladder inflammation. I don't care if these tests are negative, I will ask for a referral to a GI specialist for more tests and recommendations.

Also, as the other video mentions if you press in the upper right abdomen in the right place for about 20 to 60 seconds you should feel the pain go away in the neck, jaw etc. I DID SEVERAL TIMES AND I'M PRETTY SURE IT WORKED! The tinnitus did not go away though, but I'm guessing that may go away with time, especially if trigger points were treated if they remained.

I will test this more times, but I'm telling you guys. This is it. This is it. If you have been on this thread for years and you have right sided pain in the neck, jaw, temple, shoulder then this is probably it for you. I think I'm the only one though that also has had pain in the abdominal region over the years.

Best of luck to you guys. I'll give an update when I get the test results back. This may still be a journey if they can't see anything wrong there.

Interestingly this doctor guy on YouTube doesn't seem to say you need to get gallstones out or anything like that. He actually says to just press and do that. I have no idea if that could be enough to actually treat it though. He says to do it as a test as well.

ALSO, DO NOT GET THE GALLBLADDER REMOVED.

The gallbladder is actually an important organ and also in 50% of cases where it is removed it does not fix the problem, either due to wrong diagnosis or the pain/gallstone/whatever being in another duct. The gallbladder should be saved. Maybe that means using shockwaves to break up the stones or taking a drug to disolve them. Who knows. But don't just go to remove the gallbladder because of pain.

 

[applewine]

@Mr. Cartman and everyone, here is another one that talks about the pain in the areas we are experiencing. I have a sneaky suspicion my ultrasound will show nothing in the gallbladder or any other organs. That has always been my problem. I think I may also have gotten the scan years ago too, but it is worth doing again.

 

[applewine]

@Mr. Cartman , Everyone. Well, I got the results back from my ultrasound of all organs and also the blood results for gallbladder inflamation. They were all negative. They did find a very small polyp of just a few mm on the gallbladder, but said it was nothing to worry about unless I get symptoms of an attack. Which technically could be the pain pattern I'm experiencing, though it is constant, not after eating like an attack.

The better/other test to do is I'd say do the press test. Find the spot where the gallbladder is like that doctor in the video says and press. Hold it for 30-60 seconds and see if the pain goes away.

 

[Codaz]

So I'm back here. I was a bit fed up with the continuous parabolical pain cycle so I fought hard to visit a better gnatologist. He is about 60km away from my home. He is a professor at a University. His faculty specializes in dental pain and has a lot of knowledge on that topic. AFAIK one of the best you can get. My dentist said get an academic. The rest won't properly help you.

Long story short: I talked to him for over an hour. I explained the whole thing on pain, the TMJ treatments, the splint, the excersizes and the increasing and decreasing of T.

To be exact: I went to his dentist office a bit skeptical since this is the next in line of stories. He said he has quite some patients from ENT office as well.

He said to me this cannot be trigemenus neuralgia. He is absolutely sure about that as the symptoms are not the same. Trigemenus neuralgia is mentioned over and over again in Tinnitus literature.

I started treatment and he prescribed an NTI-TSS splint. This new type of splint has a lot of controversy about it. @carlover already mentioned it two years ago in this topic.

It's in the scientific papers since 2005. In the papers on Pubmed and Google Scholar you can see that some docs said that it isn't better than a conventional bite splint. The reason this gnatologist thinks it will work is because I cannot press my furtest back molars on eachother. You can bite 70% less and grinding is also out of the question he said.

The fabrication of the NTI-TSS splint is done in about 15 minutes. It's a standard shape and the innards are made of fluid plastic which forms around your teeth and becomes hard. It slides on and sits quite firm so you are supposed not able to choke yourself if it might come loose. Placing it onto your teeth is quite easy, removing it to eat or talk is harder.

At least this guy is trying someting. On a later moment he might prescribe a neuropathic pain relieve on a low dosis. When that is due I will update here. As my T fluctuates with pain having the pain circle around is definately the key to lower T. He said you are still in that circle, even after 80+ treatments of TMJ therapy it's just symptom relieve but not a permanent fix.

I still absolutely need the TMJ treatments. Yesterday she worked on my left side and I was onto the roof of pain.

Breaking the circle of muscle contraption is key in fighting T. I'm no doc but seeing the more quiet days after TMJ therapy has to be something. It has to be.

He also shortly said that there will not be seen anything on a normal MRI. So I'm glad that I didn't do that. Also I mentioned Carbamazepine (a drug from 1969!) and he said that it most likely would not work.

Next appointment is in about 4 weeks so if any of you have any questions post them here. It's just another shot from my side. Most likely the very best in what you can achieve in limited knowledge T land.

Absolute key in NTI-TSS treatment is frequent followup. Most research papers mention lower effectivity rated because of low follow up rates. Frequent checks by the doc prevent your bite altering.

 

[Charbeld]

Hello i am new here, I am 33 years old well and i want to tell you something, my tinnitus started when i developed a neck spasm on my upper left side of my neck upper trapezius muscle, i have a forward head posture thats why i have difficulties to get rid of that stubborn spasm in my neck , guys check ur necks for tinnitus and ur jaws the tinnitus not always from ears the T is a signal in the brain and trying to fix the cause the brain get tired thats why we feel tired always with mood swings , i thins if i fix my neck i think my tinnitus will probably diminish. the spam is pressing on the nerves thats why i feel dizzy and light head , and the spam is near my left ear i think he is pressing something a canal or nerves going to the ear , sorry for my bad english and god bless u all and hope u will heal from this hell . anyone with neck spasm have tinnitus also ?

i paid a lot of money on physiotherapy and they didnt help me and also osteopath . now i am trying new therapy called neuroskeletal therapy its a new way to realign the spine

 

[brummygirl]

Hi @Charbeld ! I am here on behalf of my son, who has had t for a year following a weight training incident, which damaged jaw and neck.
We too have tried lots of therapy...physios, chiropractors etc but no luck yet. Just started with a new splint and specialised TMJ therapy, so keeping fingers crossed.
Will be interested in hearing how you get on with your new therapy. What country do you live in? Have you looked at your cervical spine and TMJ? And do you wear any type of splint?

 

[Charbeld]

hello @brummygirl yes me too from squats injury and my forward head posture no i wear sometimes the air collar for neck , the new therapy is called neuroskeletal therapy try ti make research about it i am from Lebanon Middle east but this therapy is available in UK australia and USA . they reprogram the nerves by touching some trigger points , does ur son have forward head posture ? or a spasm pressing on his neck ? like trapezius muscles or the
Suboccipital Muscle Spasms ? believe the neck can make a lot of funny stuff specialy if the spasm is pressing on the nerves

 

[brummygirl]

Hi @Charbeld ! Yes, my son has a forward head posture and he has spasms in his neck too. Not sure of the exact muscles where it's happening. He says they sometimes feel like they are choking him.
He has had trigger point therapy, but only massaging by hand, no dry needling or any other method. I understand some do find this helps, but not us yet.
I will research into your treatment.
Have you seen the Tinnitus Research Initiative diagnosis and treatment flowchart? It has a separate branch for our brand of t. http://www.tinnitusresearch.org/index.php/for-clinicians/diagnostic-flowchart