Thank you for visiting my fundraising page!

Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts.

Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!

My personal story:  As some of you may know, I have been battling with TMJ for over 5 years now. Only in the last year has it progressed to the point where it is interfering in the quality of my life.

Besides the pain, this has been an extremely frustrating journey that some people do not understand and others who doubt my condition completely. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of research or treatment for TMJ. During the time I have tried to seek treatment, I have been bounced back and forth to different doctors, all of whom say they cannot help me.

I first started by speaking with my dentist who suggested I get a night guard, but that he did not know if that would correct the problem. I went and saw my mom's dentist who suggested that I see a maxillofacial surgeon. He took x-rays and said that the night guard would not help in my case. I called the doctors he referred me to and my husband's surgeon who he used in the past. All the doctors said the same thing; they would not even see me in consultation much less treat me until I failed the conservative management first. They referred me to a doctor who treats TMJ patients who wanted $350 for the initial consultation/x-rays (they would not accept x-rays by another physician that I already had done) and an estimated $3500 for the brace. Also, they did not accept insurance. It was up to you to pay in full and then try and collect from your insurance company. Seeing as that was something I could not afford at the time with a young family just starting out, I kind of just stopped doing anything. The pain came and went, and my PCP prescribed me Soma. The Soma only took the edge off, but I was able to manage.

Fast forward to the year 2006 and things went downhill. My pain was constant. I did some more research on the internet and found a TMJ support group. After reading stories from people who have been through the above treatments, it was obvious I did not want surgery and the brace was not as good as it sounded at first. The answer I found was a pain management doctor. I made an appointment with one and he almost told me that there was nothing he could do. He said that he has only one option that he can offer me and that was Botox injections. He said that if I responded to the test injections, there was a great chance this would work for me. My muscles had very bad spasms at the time which is what I think may have caused the pain I am having in my joints now. I responded to the test injections and came back for the Botox. My jaw felt noticeably more relaxed, but the pain was still there. This time I was able to pinpoint it exactly. Instead of all through both sides of my jaw area, the pain is definitely coming from a specific area that the pain management doctor said is my joints.

I thought that when I went in for my followup that he could maybe just put more Botox in, maybe that he had not used enough or maybe that he needed to put it in a different area. I was not expecting him to tell me that the muscles are relaxed and there is nothing more he could do for me. I put all my hope into this procedure. I envisioned myself walking out the day of the procedure feeling like a normal person again. With those words, he shattered all hope I had. I just broke down and started crying. I don't think he knew exactly what to do with me and I could tell he felt terrible. He called an associate of his who is a professor at UT and who is a maxillofacial surgeon, the same kind of doctor who refused to even see me. He said this doctor would take me as a patient. I have an appointment in April to see him. He is far from where I live and I can only have appointments during one afternoon of the week with him, so this is going to be very inconvenient. I will go though and hope that he can offer some type of solution for me.

When you break your leg, a doctor fixes it. When you have a heart attack, the doctor can go in and place stents to correct your blockages. Everyone says, surely there is something they can do!? That has been what I have been asking/telling myself for some time now. The problem is that I have not had one doctor who can offer me relief so that I can feel normal again and live a normal life where this is not interfering with the quality of my life. This affects everything in my life negatively. When you add the pain with the frustration of getting no help and with others in your life not understanding or accepting this problem as a REAL problem, it can be overwhelming.

Every other disease we put money into research to help find a cure and to better understand that disease. Unfortunately, TMJ has had the back burner for quite some time. Because doctors do not better understand it and TMJ has not been a priority, I have to suffer. I feel that through my process, it is my obligation to do what I can, even if it only makes a small dent, to ensure that our future generations have access to better treatment than what we do. That is why this is now my cause.

The TMJ Association needs any and all help to try and make a difference, and your help would be greatly appreciated, whether making a donation or visiting http://www.tmj.org and getting more information on how you can help. Thanks for taking the time to read!

~Tanya