Thursday, October 25, 2007

Diary of a TMJ Sufferer Part 4

I made an appointment with my doctor to discuss the fun events of my Mexico trip. He was suitably concerned with the whole business & made an appointment for me to see an oral surgeon. I mistakenly thought his name was Dr. Bone, which was very apropos I thought. But, it wasn’t his name.

My visits with him were very informative. He was the most involved doctor I’ve ever been to. I had a thorough exam ~ what my breasts have to do with my TMJ I’m not really sure, but he’s the doctor! ~ & he scheduled me for x-rays & an MRI.

The MRI is a story in itself. Suffice it to say that, as a claustrophobe, it was not the most pleasant experience I’ve ever been through. In fact, I would rate it slightly lower than 2nd degree burns on my boob, but slightly higher than the time I cut my thumb with a tin can. Did I mention that I’m klutzy?

After all the tests, he decided that there wasn’t enough going on to warrant surgery. He advised me to keep a record of any further dislocations, how severe the pain & knocking was, & we would just wait & see. The tests would be a benchmark, a starting point to compare any other movement to.

He phoned me several times, at home, in the evening, to check on my progress & to see if the symptoms were changing. Have you ever met a doctor who would do that? Ever? Puffy thought he was stalking me a little. Maybe he was. But, come on, if you’re going to have a stalker, isn’t a doctor the way to go?

His last call came 2 years after I had last seen him. Things had plateaued so he said to call him if anything changed for the worse.

I think I've lost his number. Too bad.

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