Teeth and Migraines
I have had migraines since I was 15 years old and have been diagnosed with chronic migraines with aura. I have been in a couple of accidents since which did not help as they affected my neck. But up until about 15 years ago, I did not have them 20 days out of the month and since then I have. I spoke to my GP. He referred me to a neurologist. No one seemed to be listening to me.
My worst migraines
The worst migraines seem to happen when I am sleeping and I wake up with one because I can't take something early to lessen the pain. These are the 3-4 day migraines that have completely changed my life and my ability to live with migraines.
One thing I have noticed is that when I wake with a migraine my jaws are killing me. I have broken/crushed/lost teeth due to the pressure that I put on my jaws while in the throws of a migraine. When I am awake and feel a migraine coming on I know I am doing it and stop - but it is impossible to do when sleeping.
Could a dentist take away the pain?
The neurologist has not changed my medicine (Imitrex 100MG) and the GP is clueless and acts like I make it all up. I went to a dentist to have X-rays and diagnose the damage. I had not only crushed/broke/lost teeth but I had caused damage to the bone itself.
I made a decision that was difficult but when desperate for help, she was the only one who was understanding. I had all my teeth pulled and dentures made that I can take out of my mouth at night. While I do not necessarily believe this is for everyone, nor do I even know if it would help anyone else, I thought I would share my experience.
I had the procedure completed on Thursday, September 8th, 2022 at 11:30 AM. I was finished by 1:00 PM and returned that day to see how the dentures fit. The next day I returned to pick up the dentures. While there will be a few fittings in the coming months, I am very happy with the beautiful teeth I can now have.
A minor issue...
Eating is an issue due to the damage I had caused and the time needed to heal, but soup and oatmeal, and ice cream are good for you, right? Other than this little bump, which is improving every day, I have only had 2 migraines since then and they were during Hurricane Ian (stress, barometric pressure, allergies - all at once). I took my Imitrex and they went away.
...but it worked!
I have not woken up with any migraines at all! Was it worth it? To me, most definitely. I was desperate. Turned 60 last month and was so tired of all of it. I don't know if my experience with doctors is typical but I have not had any help other than the script in all this time. The most understanding physicians I have seen have been through drug studies for migraines. Maybe it is the quality of doctors I can see due to my insurance, but for a long time I did not have insurance and the quality of care is the same now.
Thanks for reading. I am curious if anyone else has this waking with a migraine and jaw pain issue...
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