The appointment with the skin doctor is very good.
You said, “For the last couple of years I’ve have pain on that side of the face I’ve attributed to TMJ (although I’ve never been diagnosed).”
You might ask your dermatologist (skin doctor) who to see about
that. Clevelandclinic.org said to see your health care provider. To me, that would be my general practitioner. If you don’t have that, you might want to set up an appointment with one. You can ask your skin doctor who he or she would recommend. I would write a list of things you want to ask about
.
“Also concerning the pain on the side of your face, I use a heating pad. I have chest problems and when it starts feeling bad, I cut on my heating pad and put it on my chest. It expands the blood vessels and is relaxing.
I also use ice on my lower back, which reduces the inflammation and the pain. You might want to try the cold pack on your jaw and see if it reduces the inflammation. They sell the ice packs at Walgreen and other drug stores. You might also try on your jaw a heating pad, which drug stores also sell.
As for the mouth soreness, webmd.com says:
“Angular cheilitis is a condition that causes red, swollen patches in the corners of your mouth where your lips meet and make an angle. Other names for it are perleche and angular stomatitis. You can get it on one side of your mouth or on both sides at the same time.”
They mentioned that a cream is sometime suggested.
Speaking of skin doctors, I recently had a place on my forehead that was there for at least a couple of years, where my skin doctor, who went out of business, had removed something.
My chiropractor said, “What is that place on your forehead?”
I have a bad time with decisions and never got a new skin doctor. When my chio said that, I immediately became decisive because I was really worried. Got me an appointment, they sent a sample off and said I needed to get it removed. Talk about
worried for a couple of weeks. They had to go down a couple of layers but they got it. So I know what worried is.
I am now much more concerned about
going out in the sun, of always wearing a wide brimmed, effective sun hat, putting on sun screen on my nose and forehead (like my skin doctor said), wearing long sleeves, trying to stay out of bright sunlight.
On the matter of health anxiety, Nhs.uk says,
“Health anxiety is when you spend so much time worrying you're ill, or going to get ill, that it starts to take over your life. It's related to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).”
I had a brush with this when I got my old car crushed and wondered about
it. I called the guy who took it out of my yard and he basically pooh-pawed it and hung up, which was just what I needed. So, I’m closer to that than I thought.
As for self-help with health anxiety, Nhs.uk says,
"Keep a diary: Note how often you check your body, ask people for reassurance, or look at health information. Try to gradually reduce how often you do these things over a week.
(As for ask people for reassurance, that's what helped me. I couldn't do it by myself. I called the guy who removed my car from my yard, and told him the problem, and he minimized it and hung up. That really helped me. I got it out of my system.)
"Challenge your thoughts: Draw a table with 2 columns. Write your health worries in the 1st column, then more balanced thoughts in the 2nd. For example, in the 1st column you may write, "I'm worried about
these headaches" and in the 2nd, "Headaches can often be a sign of stress".
"Keep busy with other things When you get the urge to check your body, for example, distract yourself by going for a walk or calling a friend.
"Get back to normal activities: Try to gradually start doing things you've been avoiding because of your health worries, such as sports or socializing.
"Try to relax: Try breathing exercises for stress or visit the Mind website for some relaxation exercises. This Healing Well website also advocates breathing excercises and cognitive (positive) thinking.
"See a doctor."
Post Edited (Tim Tam) : 7/21/2024 1:31:24 PM (GMT-8)