I am 7 months out of surgery 5 months out of Radiation and 4 months out of chemo. I am having a lot of jaw pain. The numbness on the right side where they did the surgery is going away. This is also where they did the radiation on my jaw bones. I feel like someone has hit me with a 2 by 4 across my lower jaw. The doctor wants me to only take Advil or Tylenol and tells me to suck it up.He wants me off of Viodine because he says that a year from now I will be doing better than if I continued to take it for pain. I was only using 1 table spoon morning and evening. I have try the spa and also cold cloth but with no luck. Has anyone else had this situation or any helpful suggestions.

The numbness took almost a year for me to go away after surgery. Its been almost a year since radiation and I still have jaw pain. Not all the time now but my jaws just get tired during the day. I still take vicadon once in a while. Its seems to be worse during that time of month. but I would insist on pain pills once in a while. I try to take ibprofrin to help with pain but once in a while I need the pain pills. I would try to put heat on it too because it helps to relax it.
But believe me there are still those days that I just want to cry all day.

Thank for the information. We all know we are not alone. I am also swollon under my chin and the doctor says that probable will not go away. I loose this little extra weight and then end up with a turkey neck just not fair.

The "swollen under my chin" may be what we call The Turkey Chin and nothing seems to help it go away. I am almost 2 years post Tx and I still have mine and I'm not overweight, never was, and I exercise like an idiot.

Do you see an oral specialist? My husband had a piece of "loose" bone in his jaw which was causing infection. Long story short--when it came out on its own, after 18 mo. of pain, serious pain meds (addicted at one point), and many rounds of antibiotics, he was fine! Note: The doctors never saw the fragment but treated him for the pain and infection.

i have had the jaw pain for months now my dr gave me naproxen and pain meds seems to help a little I also have turkey neck but very hard lump under the left chin which is bothersome. I keep sayin i have some type of infection i am glad i read this will talk to dr about the bone as i had all my bottom teeth removed.

Tammy:

You are not alone. Radiation sure does quite a number on your jaw muscles. My jaw hurts everyday. MY ENT gives me liquid hydrocodone for it. Next week Im going to my oral surgeon to see if there is anything that can be done for it.

It is very common for loose bone pieces called "spicules" to work their way out through the gums anytime after extractions. I have even had a patient have one come out as long as 20 years after an extraction is done.

Jerry

Wow Jerry! Thanks for letting me know that was common. I've had it happen once or twice especially after my last round of dental work and it made me nervous. Now that you've explained it's not an abnormal occurence I will rest easier.

Christine, I am curious to hear what you are told. I also have jaw pain everyday though it isn't so much a constant hurt as sudden very painful cramps that make me need to pull against the cramp to keep from practically grinding my teeth against each other (which would be especially bad since my upper and lower teeth are all out out alignment with each other right now). They don't last long usually about a minute or two at the very most but they are very painful and disruptive if I am in the middle of trying to speak to someone or trying to eat.

I also have very bad trismus which I read somewhere here that you said you had as well.

I am a long way out from treatment (3 years) and have used the therabite intermittently but my ENT-surgeon thinks there is too much fibrosis in the muscle at this point for the therabite to be extremely effective. He is recommending a surgery (someone here mentioned the name of it but now I'm forgetting it) where they actually cut the tendon of the muscle that he believes is scarred and causing the trismus and that helps release your jaw. For a while I was thinking this would also help relieve the jaw cramps but my MO at a recent appt. I had said he's not sure at all that that's true because the muscle cramping may not be the same muscle. Since then I have tried to notice which muscle is cramping and, if I'm undertsanding the musculature around the jaw at all correctly I think it is NOT the same muscle. Furthermore I think I use the muscle he wants to cut is the one I use to pull against the cramps--if so, it seems like the surgery could be a bad idea.

Anyway, I am actually looking around for a second opinion on this. Your doctors are not all *that* far away from me I think-certianly no further than going to Boston which I have done for my strictures--unfortunately that hospital does not currently have asurgeon who could do this surgery. If your doctor discusses a similar surgery with you, even as a possibility, maybe you could give me his or her name because that might eb a good person to get a second opinion from.

Nelie

I am glad to see this post, I am a survivor since may of 2005 and starting to have some jaw pain and was wondering if this is common. Used to take tylenol for it but now its too the point of not helping much. Once in awhile I get some very bad neck cramps and muscles are sore after wards from the cramps and was getting scarred it was coming back again.

The jaw pain is at the bottom of the jaw towards the back. The muscle spasm I am having is on the same side but radiates from my shoulder to the base of the skull behind the right ear. This is the same side that I had 2 lymphnodes removed. Seem to be having a hard time relating the annoyance of this to the doc but would just like to have something for the discomfort. I hate complaining because I have it great compared to alot of ppl who had the same thing.

I can associate with your pain. I just quit taking all of my pain meds just to see what I can put up with. I have percs and another 1 or 2 that are just sitting in their bottles. I hope you get what you need from your Dr. I am just old and still trying to be tough. LOL Good luck.

Hi Bob, you and I have about the same time since we finished our treatment (my rad/chemo ended early June 2005). I have bad jaw cramps just about very day although they don't last long (maye a minute or two at the longest). I don't know if this is similar to what you say is "jaw pain". It's more like a muscle cramp in the jaw than chronic pain.

The pain doesn't sound quite like yours but similar. It usually starts on one side of my jaw and the muscle that cramps is kind of in the lower corner--the cramp is so intense that if I didn't pull against it it would have me grinding my teeth together. Even when I do pull against it (by trying to force my jaw open) I can barely open it.

These cramps have definitely gotten worse in the last year or so. Fibrosis from radiation can keep happening for years after radiaiton from what I have read so it's frustrating but maybe not as unusual as it seems like it would be.

I also get cramps in my shoulder. It is on the opposite side of my neck from where I had a neck dissectionand a very good physical therapist I went to a few years ago told me that is to be expected because they did remove some muscle in the neck dissection. I only get these cramps when I do not stretch my neck enough. I have a set of exercises from the physical therapist I should do every day but when I get busy I don't. I have one of those neck wraps wih rice insode that you put in the micorwave to warm and I find it helps GREATLY when my neck gets stiff or crampy.

I hope this helps.

Nelie

Thanks for all the replys. It is almost a month now and I am tolerating the pain a little better. Believe it or not my husbands Chiroprator said he could help so a little fearful to have anyone touch my jaw I agreed. He put pressure with his thumb on the outside of my jaw muscle and then on the inside of my mouth on the jaw muscle and yes it was painful to a point but I think it was also a little fear. But I felt my jaw release and I was able to open my mouth at least another 1/2 inch or more. I was shocked. He said that I was tensing up my jaw so much that the muscle was not able to release. That was a few weeks ago and I still feel better. So that helped with some of the jaw pain issues. So now I just keep exercising my jaw by opening and closing my mouth to help keep that muscle moving. What a crazy journey. Hopes this might help someone else.