How I did it: For a couple months, I was suffering from headaches and eventually, I
noticed that my jaw was tense and achy. I stopped drinking coffee,
thinking that the caffeine was dehydrating and adding to the tension
but symptoms didn't change. Eventually, after about a month, my jaw
started clicking and popping and the headaches were getting perpetually worse. I had a massage therapist help it a bit but symptoms continued. Finally, my jaw hurt so bad, I had shooting pain in my ear, tingling on the side and top of my head, intense headaches and an inability to stay focused because the pain was so bad. I ended up popping 8 Advil for a
couple of days until I found out that I had TMJ. My husband has an
acupuncture degree (though rarely practices because we own coffee
houses now) and i know that acupuncture is notoriously helpful in
curing TMJ,  so I asked him to give me acupuncture at home one evening
when the pain was unbearable. Instantly, there was relief in the top of my head and at the hinge of my jaw; the next morning, i was still achy but over the course of 5 days -- all of my symptoms subsided. Two week went by and I started to experience shooting ear pain again and had my
husband treat me once again. The next morning, there was no more pain and I haven't had any symptoms of TMJ in a month. I know i occasionally grind my teeth at night still which may mean that i get a mouth guard
eventually.

Lessons & tips: I would suggest finding an acupuncturist to help in relieving TMJ
symptoms. Additionally, my husband found that "ear acupuncture" was
particularly helpful. This is where they put several needles in and
around your ear (not inside). slightly painful in some spots but i was
willing to deal with it if it meant that i wouldn't have anymore TMJ   
  

Resources: Acupuncture!

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Dec 29, 2008, 11:12AM PST | 6 comments | 3 cheers