Anyone out there suffering from TMJ?!

Anyone out there suffering from TMJ?

I have been suffering from TMJ for a long time now. I had braces put on my teeth and scheduling for jaw surgery in September. I was wondering if any of you have had a terrible time with the health insurance companies paying for it. Any feedback would be great!

Absolutely! I have TMJ pretty severely, and it's complicated by the fact that I have an extremely hyper gag reflex. I can't wear a splint or a night guard because I gag it out in the night. I need a condylotomy, the surgery where they seperate the part of the jaw bone with the joint from the part of the jaw bone with the teeth, to completely relieve the pain and popping in my jaw. Sometimes my jaw also locks open temporarily and then pops hugely and closes, which is unbearably painful. The condylotomy would fix this as well. BUT, I've never had an insurance company that was willing to pay for it. The only insurance I've ever had that would even pay for ANY type of TMJ treatment didn't cover the condylotomy even though my oral surgeon wrote several letters verfying medical necessity. Instead, I've had 6 arthrocentesis procedures, which work for a while. Now, I'm in pain management for a different issue so it's not really necessary anymore since I can control the pain. If your insurance is being a pain about the surgery, ask your doc about the arthrocentesis. It's a procedure where they put a needle in the joint, draw off the fluid built up in the joint, and put in steroids and novacaine. (You can choose to be put under for the procedure, which I recommend... I had it awake once and it hurt like a bastard!) It works quite well for a temporary fix, maybe it would keep your pain under control until the insurance eases up on the purse strings.