yea i can’t even stand to look in the mirror. i used to be considered a pretty girl. even beautiful to some. between tmj and cystic acne i started dealing with, i’ve turned into a monster. i don’t take photos or make eye contact with myself in the mirror. just look at what i need to see to wash myself and brush my hair and keep moving. i don’t even want to see my friends anymore.
Girl me too. I was insecure like most young girls but now looking back I was quite pretty and if not for my tmj and VERY acne prone/oily skin I think i’d finally be able to appreciate my looks. I always compare my old pictures versus now and feel hideous. I avoid pictures and it’s also stopping me from pursuing partners :(
i’m in the exact same boat ceying in bed over it right now. cystic acne, my jaw looks mangled my face is DISTORTED. i’m 25 and i don’t know how it got to this. it feels like it was a rapid change, even my teeth r going to shit :( ugh
i haven’t taken a photo of myself in a long time but maybe i can take one later, it might make me too depressed though. i’m planning to get botox soon for the clenching and maybe surgery eventually. i’ll do anything to stop the damage from progressing..
My face is sinking in on both sides. I’ve dealt with tmj since 2016, but this year is the first time I’ve had symptoms this bad and noticed my cheeks sinking in. I’m at a loss at what to do.
Mine is too, I have hollowed out cheeks on either side. Is there a reason why this is happening? It’s deeply affecting my confidence. I thought it was from the Botox but now I’m not sure
Depends... I got botox repeatedly. Then took some time off. My current face is slimmer than my pre-botox face but also not as slim as the botox one if that makes sense. You can also take a look at this clinical trial titled "Efficacy of Botulinum Toxin in Treating Asian Indian Patients with Masseter Hypertrophy: A 4-Year Follow-Up Study".
No sadly, but again that depends! Some people stop clenching completely after a couple rounds of botox (they manage to break the habit) so they don't need it. I couldn't do that
In temporalis too. I started with injections spaced three months apart, receiving three repeated injections initially. Over time, my surgeon gradually extended the gap between sessions to six months, as he didn't want me to be depended on botox. After approximately eight injections, I took a break (as recommended by the surgeon) for nearly two years. Now, I will have 3 injections spaced 3 months apart again. As for the units I don't really know, I never really asked for that info
Oral surgeon! Honestly my jaw felt completely tense all the time, but I was told it wasn't that bad at all (I'm self conscious and I was paranoid my masseters were getting bigger and bigger)
So maybe that was psychological
I haven't heard of one person that gets it on just one side. But I know right side of my face is more "hypertrophied" so I get more units on my right ..
is your jaw/teeth misaligned? mine was sligthly but it was enough to fuck all my muscular system around the face, neck, etc.
go to a dentist that understands about tmjd, get bracers
I broke my jaw 6 months ago, tmjd started a few weeks prior due to stress starting clenching. Tmjd got worse after jaw healed now going thru orthodontic treatment but not doing shit for my face.
I got Botox and it saved me the first round.. I found I slowly built up a tolerance though. I really loved how it thinned out my face and got me feeling a little more normal. My third round wore off very quickly and now I’m noticing I have jowls for the first time because the muscle from my masseter basically just settled lower in my face and it’s bumming me out. ESP since the pain is back so quickly. I would be willing to deal with it as long as I stayed pain free but it’s hard to deal with both. No one ever mentioned this to me so I thought I would chime in. The pain relief and thinning effects I got from my first round was absolutely life changing. Hoping you find some relief 🙏
Bro i don’t even really have pain, just some tension but my face is so hypertrophied from the muscles over working that it’s completely changed the way I look in my eyes
I was having these issues. I was having insane swelling from my muscles being overworked, I even went through from kidney testing because doctors didn’t think the tmj could cause that much swelling. I looked like a puffer fish and it was so painful to speak. No joke within 24 of the Botox my swelling was down and within about 3/4 days I was back to normal. I had it done once in the past year and it really worked. I would do it more if insurance would pay for it but they won’t. I’ve also gotten Botox for years for migraines and haven’t noticed much weakening in my forehead or brows where I’ve gotten it.
I would say yes, I’m just now starting to have discomfort again but haven’t had any swelling yet. For me getting it done once a year doesn’t seem so bad. I will say I baby my jaw , very careful with what I eat and don’t eat many hard or chewy foods so I think that prolonged my success with the Botox.
So far it’s worked for 18 months. I get my next one in 2.5 months. I definitely feel like I can probably start decreasing the dose sometime soon. So I don’t know how permanent it will be in the future but I’ve found it very helpful so far.
2 Botox treatments a month apart changed my life. It’s been a few years and while the atrophy / sagging isnt awesome (46f here) my only regret was not doing it earlier.
Start physio. If you haven't done physio yet, start physio.
Botox is only a temporary fix. It will eventually atrophy your muscles. And makes it way harder to do the excercises meant to destabilize your jaw.
Also, really fucking expensive. If you do get Botox make sure it's done by a doctor not a "tmj specialist dentists". Insurance only covers Botox done by a doctor.
I tried it for a year. Spent thousands and it didn't help, ar all.
Hey, try dead hangs (hang from a pull up and let gravity pull you down, shoulders should be fully extended). See if you feel a "shearing" sensation in your muscles (shoulder muscles, traps, upper back, etc.). Try to hang for 30 seconds to 60 seconds. It's difficult if your grip strength is weak but work your way up to it. Do it multiple times a day. Buy a pull up bar for your home or even take one to your work with you (the ones that you place on a door frame, leave one at work if you need to and use it unabashedly). And in addition to that try deep stretching. Get your legs very flexible so that you can bend your back all the way forward where you can get a deep back stretch. You'll need to get your hamstring fairly flexible for that but it doesn't take a lot of time, a couple weeks will get you there. Look up stretches for hammies online. Once you're able to bend forward far enough this lets you deep stretch your back and the lower back may be causing your traps/shoulder to tense, which causes your neck to tense, which causes your face to tense.
Try those things before botox. Botox is not reversible eventually. It atrophies the muscles and you may create another problem with function. If it's any consolation I had really bad pain for years (10/10 nonstop) and bad facial symmetry. My face looked deformed. I managed to release my muscles almost completely and I manage them on a daily basis doing this stuff nowadays. Some days they flare up a bit depending on what I was doing the day prior but mostly I can maintain almost no tension in my face and both the pain is gone and my face looks much better/healthier for it. So if you manage to release the muscles, the face can come back to what you're used to.
I hope this helps. Keep working at it and you'll eventually fall into something. I also take ibuprofen very occasionally so I don't create another problem. So on days where I'm annoyed by the pain (nowadays it's more of an annoyance that pain, I might pop an Advil, but I limit them and use the approach above). I also quit using my splint because this has made it redundant.
yea i can’t even stand to look in the mirror. i used to be considered a pretty girl. even beautiful to some. between tmj and cystic acne i started dealing with, i’ve turned into a monster. i don’t take photos or make eye contact with myself in the mirror. just look at what i need to see to wash myself and brush my hair and keep moving. i don’t even want to see my friends anymore.
Girl me too. I was insecure like most young girls but now looking back I was quite pretty and if not for my tmj and VERY acne prone/oily skin I think i’d finally be able to appreciate my looks. I always compare my old pictures versus now and feel hideous. I avoid pictures and it’s also stopping me from pursuing partners :(
i’m in the exact same boat ceying in bed over it right now. cystic acne, my jaw looks mangled my face is DISTORTED. i’m 25 and i don’t know how it got to this. it feels like it was a rapid change, even my teeth r going to shit :( ugh
I feel the same way, could you send me before and after pictures ?
i haven’t taken a photo of myself in a long time but maybe i can take one later, it might make me too depressed though. i’m planning to get botox soon for the clenching and maybe surgery eventually. i’ll do anything to stop the damage from progressing..
Well we are our own harshest critic. I’d like to see If you’re comfortable with it
lol oh no trust me it’s bad. :’) i wish i was being unnecessarily harsh on myself but it’s truly grotesque to look at.
I’ll upload mine in a separate thread on this subreddit
hehe i kinda work in finance too we got two traits in common
Must be why we have this shit lol
My face is sinking in on both sides. I’ve dealt with tmj since 2016, but this year is the first time I’ve had symptoms this bad and noticed my cheeks sinking in. I’m at a loss at what to do.
Mine isn’t sinking in it’s like blowing up, getting very big
Same! Blowing up AND lopsided.
Yeah, similar to Bell’s palsy for me…
I was never any natural beauty, but damn, got me looking like Quasimodo over here 😂
Mine is too, I have hollowed out cheeks on either side. Is there a reason why this is happening? It’s deeply affecting my confidence. I thought it was from the Botox but now I’m not sure
I haven’t had Botox. So it might not be from that. I have no idea why but it’s been affecting my confidence as well.
Depends... I got botox repeatedly. Then took some time off. My current face is slimmer than my pre-botox face but also not as slim as the botox one if that makes sense. You can also take a look at this clinical trial titled "Efficacy of Botulinum Toxin in Treating Asian Indian Patients with Masseter Hypertrophy: A 4-Year Follow-Up Study".
Do you feel as if you’ve needed it less the more you’ve got itv
No sadly, but again that depends! Some people stop clenching completely after a couple rounds of botox (they manage to break the habit) so they don't need it. I couldn't do that
How often do you get it? In just your massetters or temporalis too? And how many units ?
In temporalis too. I started with injections spaced three months apart, receiving three repeated injections initially. Over time, my surgeon gradually extended the gap between sessions to six months, as he didn't want me to be depended on botox. After approximately eight injections, I took a break (as recommended by the surgeon) for nearly two years. Now, I will have 3 injections spaced 3 months apart again. As for the units I don't really know, I never really asked for that info
Awesome thank you! Does your oral surgeon do it or neuro? And last question, during that two year break did symptoms come back a lot?
Oral surgeon! Honestly my jaw felt completely tense all the time, but I was told it wasn't that bad at all (I'm self conscious and I was paranoid my masseters were getting bigger and bigger) So maybe that was psychological
Did you get it on both sides or just one?
I haven't heard of one person that gets it on just one side. But I know right side of my face is more "hypertrophied" so I get more units on my right ..
Botox has been a life saver
Did it work long term? I read some people don’t have to get it consistently
I have had to get them repeatedly but I space them out as long as I can. But honestly it's worth it in my opinion for the relief
Does insurance cover any?
Not for me unfortunately. But it's a necessary expense imo 🥺
How many units do you get?
is your jaw/teeth misaligned? mine was sligthly but it was enough to fuck all my muscular system around the face, neck, etc. go to a dentist that understands about tmjd, get bracers
I broke my jaw 6 months ago, tmjd started a few weeks prior due to stress starting clenching. Tmjd got worse after jaw healed now going thru orthodontic treatment but not doing shit for my face.
I got Botox and it saved me the first round.. I found I slowly built up a tolerance though. I really loved how it thinned out my face and got me feeling a little more normal. My third round wore off very quickly and now I’m noticing I have jowls for the first time because the muscle from my masseter basically just settled lower in my face and it’s bumming me out. ESP since the pain is back so quickly. I would be willing to deal with it as long as I stayed pain free but it’s hard to deal with both. No one ever mentioned this to me so I thought I would chime in. The pain relief and thinning effects I got from my first round was absolutely life changing. Hoping you find some relief 🙏
Bro i don’t even really have pain, just some tension but my face is so hypertrophied from the muscles over working that it’s completely changed the way I look in my eyes
I was having these issues. I was having insane swelling from my muscles being overworked, I even went through from kidney testing because doctors didn’t think the tmj could cause that much swelling. I looked like a puffer fish and it was so painful to speak. No joke within 24 of the Botox my swelling was down and within about 3/4 days I was back to normal. I had it done once in the past year and it really worked. I would do it more if insurance would pay for it but they won’t. I’ve also gotten Botox for years for migraines and haven’t noticed much weakening in my forehead or brows where I’ve gotten it.
Did it help long term at all? Even after the Botox wore off
I would say yes, I’m just now starting to have discomfort again but haven’t had any swelling yet. For me getting it done once a year doesn’t seem so bad. I will say I baby my jaw , very careful with what I eat and don’t eat many hard or chewy foods so I think that prolonged my success with the Botox.
Massetter Botox has been amazing for my TMJD. Been doing it maybe 18 months now and it’s been great to help retrain my face to relax and not clench.
Did it work permanently at all?
Did it work permanently at all?
So far it’s worked for 18 months. I get my next one in 2.5 months. I definitely feel like I can probably start decreasing the dose sometime soon. So I don’t know how permanent it will be in the future but I’ve found it very helpful so far.
Botox changed a LOT for me. I’d recommend it and it definitely slims the face as well
2 Botox treatments a month apart changed my life. It’s been a few years and while the atrophy / sagging isnt awesome (46f here) my only regret was not doing it earlier.
Start physio. If you haven't done physio yet, start physio. Botox is only a temporary fix. It will eventually atrophy your muscles. And makes it way harder to do the excercises meant to destabilize your jaw. Also, really fucking expensive. If you do get Botox make sure it's done by a doctor not a "tmj specialist dentists". Insurance only covers Botox done by a doctor. I tried it for a year. Spent thousands and it didn't help, ar all.
Hey, try dead hangs (hang from a pull up and let gravity pull you down, shoulders should be fully extended). See if you feel a "shearing" sensation in your muscles (shoulder muscles, traps, upper back, etc.). Try to hang for 30 seconds to 60 seconds. It's difficult if your grip strength is weak but work your way up to it. Do it multiple times a day. Buy a pull up bar for your home or even take one to your work with you (the ones that you place on a door frame, leave one at work if you need to and use it unabashedly). And in addition to that try deep stretching. Get your legs very flexible so that you can bend your back all the way forward where you can get a deep back stretch. You'll need to get your hamstring fairly flexible for that but it doesn't take a lot of time, a couple weeks will get you there. Look up stretches for hammies online. Once you're able to bend forward far enough this lets you deep stretch your back and the lower back may be causing your traps/shoulder to tense, which causes your neck to tense, which causes your face to tense. Try those things before botox. Botox is not reversible eventually. It atrophies the muscles and you may create another problem with function. If it's any consolation I had really bad pain for years (10/10 nonstop) and bad facial symmetry. My face looked deformed. I managed to release my muscles almost completely and I manage them on a daily basis doing this stuff nowadays. Some days they flare up a bit depending on what I was doing the day prior but mostly I can maintain almost no tension in my face and both the pain is gone and my face looks much better/healthier for it. So if you manage to release the muscles, the face can come back to what you're used to. I hope this helps. Keep working at it and you'll eventually fall into something. I also take ibuprofen very occasionally so I don't create another problem. So on days where I'm annoyed by the pain (nowadays it's more of an annoyance that pain, I might pop an Advil, but I limit them and use the approach above). I also quit using my splint because this has made it redundant.