Facial Pain, Numbness with Chronic Neck Pain and TMJ

[CrVala]

   Hello,
I am a 24 year old female with TMJ and chronic neck pain.  I have been getting treated for the TMJ for a year and half, though I've had symptoms for it since I was 10.  I've been seeing a chiropractor for 4 months when my neck pain got worse instead of better like my TMJ doctor had told me.

For the past 5 months now, I have been having pain on the right side of my head, eye, eyebrow area, eye socket, cheek, and right side of the nose.  This is also the same side my neck pain and jaw clicking occurs.  The pain is deep, achy, and at times throbbing, except for the on the cheeks, which can sometimes feel like a stabbing at the top of my cheek bone or the bottom of my eye socket, can't tell which it would be.   I also feel twitching sensations at the tip of my nose and sometimes in my eyelid.    Occasionally my cheek will just go numb, as if it's gone asleep.  It will stay like that for about 5 minutes, and I can still move my face when it happens.  

The most prominent pain is my neck and eye.  The other pain comes and goes (though still occurring everyday or every other day), but the neck and eye pain is constant and both in very specific spots.  The eye pain is in the upper corner, right where the eye socket meets the very top of the nose, where that curve is.  And I often feel it in my eye in the inner corner, when I move my eye that direction.   It hurts more when I touch and put pressure on that spot, as I've compared to what happens when I put the same pressure on the other eye's corner and it doesn't hurt there at all.

I should also mention that my eyelid is drooping.  I'm not sure if its considered the eyelid or part of the eyebrow area, but it is the skin directly below the eyebrow and directly above the skin that actually covers the eyeball.  It started drooping  very gradually, starting almost a year ago on the outer corner of the eye and now the drooping has spread full across the entire eye area from the outer to inner corner,  making that eyeball appear like its sinking down my face.

This is all extremely hard for me to deal with as I don't have health insurance and most of the doctor's I've seen have not been able to do full testing on me because I can't pay for it.
I've seen an opthamologist who just assumed it was allergies, did no tests, and just gave me eye drops.  When I came for a follow up 3 weeks later with my symptoms of course not improved, she said the same thing and gave me more eye drops.
I've seen a neurologist who told me that the appearance of my eye must have always been this way and I never noticed, and to do lighter less aggressive form of stretching so the neck isn't always in pain.  She also recommended I come back after I get insurance so I can get an MRI.
I saw an ENT who did a CT scan but found nothing wrong with my sinuses.  

So after having spent $800 on these doctor visits alone, I just don't know where to go next.  I was trying to save money by skipping a primary doctor (that I don't have anyway) and go straight to a specialty.  But now I don't know what specialty to go to.  I also would like to know how lower income people and students are able to get an MRI without paying full price.  

I truly appreciate any responses. thanks alot.

[ModernTimes]

I just tried Echinacea on a hunch that this may be a mutated form of the herpes, chicken pox, meningitis, or shingles virus, because that virus likes to live in nerve cells.  Echinacea is an herbal home remedy for viruses.

After about 15 minutes after taking Echinacea, the numbness has subsided and life is tolerable again, although it's not totally gone.  I think I'm going to try this daily, every morning and night, until the bottle is gone, I think I'm on to something.

This makes me think an anti-viral medicine for meningitis, chicken pox, or herpes might be the miracle cure.  Now it will be a miracle if I can convince a doctor to give me some.

[hera4412]

I have been in pain now for 18 months with many of the symptoms everyone's listing (TMJ, neck pain, tingling in hands).

I just wanted to suggest that people check out myofascial pain syndrome. Trigger points in your muscles can cause anything from TMJ to drooping eyelids and blurred vision.

I have started trying ultrasound therapy with an osteopath and fingers crossed it will help a little.

Hope everyone gets some help soon.

[leanna4224]

I have had right side facial pain, deep ear pain, neck and shoulder pain, and eye drooping, numbness and tingling in hands and feet, blurred vision that has progressively worsened over the course of 3 years and been told I have TMJ and migraines from TMJ. I have taken all kinds of antiinflammatories, migraines meds, etc. I have been to several doctors, emt, dentists, oral surgeons, chiropractor, etc. Just recently I had a CT and MRI with and without contrast and my doctor finally referred me to a neurologist. My CT did not show much but was abnormal so I had the MRI. The MRI showed several lesions that were said to be possible MS plaque. When I talked to the Neurologist last week he said along with my other symptoms, that this was his major concern. I had 18 vials of blood drawn for labs and next week I go for other diagnostic nerve tests and a spinal test. You should look into MS and trigeminal neuralgia. The Neuro told me sometimes the beginning stages of MS present thimselves as Trigeminal Neuralgia.

[namaste2]

Has anyone found any solutions or diagnoses?? Any updates?

[namaste2]

Finally I found you all! I have been experiencing the same symptoms described by helpimhurtin and others. I have had TMJ for years and a wrist issue on the right side only. Then developed migraines that turned into neck pain and a "pulling" sensation in the neck that migrated to behind the shoulder blade. It's effecting my tongue which is sore and weak/pulling, and the right side of my face is droopy some days more than others. It also affects the entire right side of the body with pains and now numbness and weakness. 6 months ago it "spread" to the left side and have been slowly experiencing the same symptoms. This has been happening for about 1.5 years. This past new years eve I developed Ramsay Hunt Syndrome / Bells Palsy - the entire right side of my face went completely paralyzed. It was a rare bilateral case as I had the "shingles" on the left side as well. Now the symptoms are more progressive on the left side - that have been affecting me the right side.

I've had numerous MRI's which all come up as multiple lesions with a differential of MS or Micrioangiopathic Disease. Or my neurologist said it could account for the migraine headaches.

I've not only had neurological problems but other health issues as well. I do feel that this is caused by some nerve being pinched in the neck area or shoulder area.

I'm hoping someone will find some answers soon! I'm having an MRI of my sinuses done this Friday. I'm wondering if I should have a full CT done to check my vertebrae  - this is something I avoided because of the high level of radiation. But after reading this forum it looks like their could be a link!

I will keep updating this post if I make any progress.

[Chank]

I have very similar symptoms.  I am 29 years old and have had TMJ for years.  Lately, it has gotten so bad that I can hardly eat.  I also have been experiencing intermintent feelings of numbness on the right side of my face.  Then, about a week ago, I noticed my right eye has started to droop.  I was frantic!  I never realized that there could be a correlation between tmj and all of these other symptoms.  I am most concerned with my eye.  You would really have to stare to notice the difference, but I'm afraid that it may get worse.  Does anyone have anymore information about this?