I have hope again 😢

I’ve suffered from horrible debilitating TMJ and masseter muscle pain, stiffness, and soreness for SIX YEARS. The grinding, clicking, popping, uneven face, constant swelling and puffiness.. it makes me cry just thinking about it. It’s been so unbearably bad, ruined my quality of life, made me not want to be alive. Many times I couldn’t focus on anything because the pain was so bad and my ears would ring. The smallest amount of stress would exacerbate it terribly, and I’m an elementary teacher, not the best job for someone with issues exacerbated by stress...

I’ve done muscle relaxers, painkillers, dentist-made mouth guards, icing, heat compresses, chiro, massages…none of it did anything for me except icing which is basically just momentarily numbing it. Oh it’s been so miserable 😖 I finally made an appt with a maxillofacial dr who gave me botox on the spot, saying it should help. Not sure why but I have hope for the first time in years that my life won’t just be dominated by the pain. I hope to be able to post here in a couple weeks that it helped me 🤞🏽

I would still love to know- what are some things that have helped you guys manage the pain/soreness/discomfort?