New Symptoms

I have some new and interesting symptoms. Basically pain and sensitivity in the jaw. I wear a dental appliance at night to stop me from snoring. I've worn it for years and I love that little thing. It changed my life and it is wonderful.

Suddenly about a month ago I started to wake up with horrible pain in the joint on the right side of my jaw. I've had nerve problems with the right side of my head/face years ago which seemed to resolve when I got a new chiropractor. However, the tingling in the right side of my face is back. It makes my lips and nose itchy and I'm constantly scratching them. Sometime the joint pain in the morning is so bad I can't chew. I physically can't close my jaw. Since I got ill in May the ringing in my right ear has been way worse than it was prior to my bout with the mysterious virus. Is this all related? Is this another manifestation of the virus that has taken over my body? If I have mono, no it isn't. However, if I have CFS it is very likely it is part and parcel of the new me.

At first I figured it would go away. I didn't wear the dental appliance for a few nights and the pain seemed to ease up. I started wearing it again and I was fine. Then I went to see the dentist for a routine cleaning. This was the first one since I became ill in May. They had a horrible time cleaning my teath. It turns out that my teeth are all super sensitive and the gums on my right side couldn't be poked at all with the dental appliances. I felt like he was sticking needles into me. He pressed on the left side and nothing. Just a little pressure. He didn't find anything wrong with my teeth, toungue or jaw. He took a full set of xrays and they were fine. I kept using the dental appliance because it helps me sleep so much better. The jaw pain comes and goes randomly. I can't figure out a reason for it.

I saw my lung/sleep doctor today and he wants me on CPAP so I'll give that a try. Hopefully this will reduce the jaw pain since it will replace my beloved dental appliance.

My acupuncturist tells me that CFS in eastern medicine is considered to be a result of cold settling in the neck. This makes sense to me. I have most of my pain in my neck, shoulder joints and now the right side of my face. He seems to have quelled the headaches that originated from the ocipital ridge but the nerve weirdness is persisting. I have only been on the new treatment regiment for a week. It will be several more treatments before I will know if it is working or not.