Hi Guys,

I was hoping I could pick your brain about a concern I have. As a result of my surgery and radiation, I have very limited tongue movement, and cannot stick my tongue out past the inside of my teeth. Consequently, I compensate for this limitation by moving my bottom jaw a lot to talk and eat. I like to joke that I eat like a cow, moving my bottom jaw in a circular motion. However, I am concerned what the long term effects of this will be to my jaw. Currently, my jaw often makes very large popping noises often when eating, especially when eating chewy foods (I am guessing this is TMJ). I know this can't be good, but I don't know how else I can eat/talk. Does anyone else have long term issues with their jaw? My jaw currently doesn't ever hurt, but I am worried that this is just going to get worse. If anyone has any similar issues, is there anything I need to prepare for, or anything I can do to prevent it from getting worse? I have scheduled an appointment to get an evaluation by my speech therapist, as well as undergo a swallow study (just to make sure everything is still working fine), but I figured I would ask y'all as well.

Thanks!
Emily