Miserable

So I've been suffering with jaw pain for two weeks or so now. I don't know when it happened, nor what could have caused it. After several painful and sleepless nights, I went to see my Primary Care Manager, as I mentioned in my previous post. Today I went to the dentist.

Dr. Lunday pressed against my TMJ and said to open my mouth. The pain was excruciating and brought me to tears. The verdict? The pain is too severe for him to treat and he doesn't believe a night guard will bring me any relief. He referred me to an oral surgeon and gave me Tylenol 3 to help with the pain.

I called the doctor he suggested and I can't get in for two weeks. Then I find out that they don't treat TMJ problems any more. They gave me another name. Meanwhile I called Tricare to find out the rules for referrals, as I want this to be covered. They tell me as long as the referral is approved before my appointment I'll be ok. So I call Dr. Lunday's office to tell them that the doctor he referred no longer treats that problem. They recommend someone else. Then when I ask them about filing the referral with my insurance, they say they don't do that. Who does? They don't know. So I call the second doctor they recommend and they don't accept Tricare.

I go online to Tricare to see who in the area is covered. No one. No one near Eglin, either. I think there must be some kind of mistake, so I call Tricare again. Turns out my PCM has to make the referral, not the dentist, and there is an oral surgeon at the hospital. So I call to request a message be sent to my PCM asking for a referral to an oral surgeon. The person who takes the message says she'll send it to the Internal Medicine Clinic nurse. The rules give them 72 hours to respond. Great.

A few hours later the Internal Med nurse calls me and says that Dr. Griffen has put in the referral! My next step is to wait for Tricare to approve the referral, which takes 7 to 10 days. Then they will mail me a letter informing me of the approval and who I am to see. Then I can set up an appointment. Great. That could take WEEKS. I am in agony now, although I think the Tylenol 3 is helping. Too bad I was given only a dozen pills.

Unfortunately I have no other choice. I did get an account with Tricare online, so I can check the referral process and act on it immediately, rather than wait the few days for the letter to come in the mail. Dr. Lunday told me to stay with soft foods, so I stopped by the 3 Fries and got a milkshake. My first milkshake in years. It was good, but I had to let it melt a little before it would go up the straw.

I tried some penne tonight for dinner. I was able to eat some, and I'm pretty happy about that. I also had some cottage cheese and a few strawberries. I took a pill before dinner and I do think it is easing the pain a little. I may call my PCM tomorrow to see if he can order me some more, so that I can get through the next few weeks.

Dr. Lunday told me that the oral surgeon may have to do an MRI to really see what's happening there, as an x-ray may not show it. He also warned me that I may need surgery to repair any damage. This all seems so surreal to me. One day I'm fine and the next day I'm in pain and may need surgery? What happened? I don't think I grind my teeth, and the dentist didn't see any signs of that kind of wear. I don't clench my teeth much. The stress I'm under now is no different from the stress I've been under for months, even years, so shouldn't I have seen signs of this coming before it got that bad? I have no other explanation. I don't chew gum or I don't rest my chin in my hands. I just don't get it.

I feel so absolutely frustrated. I want to cry, but then that hurts my jaw. I really want to crawl in a hole somewhere and hide. And sleep. I'd really like to sleep. Maybe I should try sleeping sitting up. With a travel pillow under my chin to keep my jaw from dropping. I wonder if that would help.