Tag: Jaw

Posted in Archive, February

Late Night Antics

Posted on by dystoniaandme

Yesterday my body was seemingly well-behaved. The only time it got irritated was when I went out for an hour or so, and my foot really did not want to be put in my shoe, and my eyes went blind a few times due to the lighting. However all in all, I found this to be an extremely positive and promising day.

As I was still feeling shattered after the busy week I had had, I decided it would be best to go to bed early. Meaning that when I went to bed, I would actually go to sleep and not pick up Harry Potter (I am rereading the series for what must be the 40th time) and read for hours. My little Dystonia alien, Benedict, however had other plans for me. I was just beginning to drift off to sleep when I felt the familiar tightening sensation in my leg and foot. I decided to ignore this and carried on trying to get to sleep. Benedict, unhappy that he had not managed to grab my attention, then decided to bend my foot as far back as it could possibly go. This roused me, however I tried to stay calm, and implemented my breathing exercises from my meditation CD. My leg then started doing two rather painful movements. It seemed to be trying to rotate so it was completely back to front, whilst going slightly upwards and pulling outwards, as if trying to go in the air whilst attempting to dislocate itself. This completely woke me up, with all hope of sleep gone,  I flipped myself over, so that I was lying on my stomach, to try to counteract the spasm by forcing it into the mattress.  I then started doing distraction techniques, such as making my good leg do movements, reciting lyrics in my head etc. In the end I switched on my Ipod, and just focused on my breathing. I did this to not only to keep me calm, but also to try and lull my body into a state of relaxation.

It was 3 am by the time the spasms relaxed, it only took 5 long hours, and I was finally allowed to drift off to sleep. Whilst this was an irritating experience, as I like and need my sleep, it was also a positive one. I manage to cope with it all without panicking. I kept calm, and did all the distraction techniques I knew, and tried each one for a fair amount of time, before allowing myself to give in and just let the spasm run its course.

Today has been a fairly good day. My Dystonia had not been that bad, so I am rather happy. I did not have my usual soup for dinner today as I am trying to up my protein intake, so I had mashed up fish fingers, mashed potato and beans instead. Whilst this was nice and extremely filling, it sadly set my jaw off. Recently when my jaw spasms, it has just been my lips going – thanks to the Botox treatment. However this evening my jaw also deviated to the left when it went into spasm. Thankfully the deviation was nowhere near as extreme as it has been before. I am hoping that this deviation is a fluke, as my last lot of Botox treatment was only administered about 5 weeks ago, so I still have 7 more weeks to go before I can have any more.

I am hoping for a quiet and relaxed day tomorrow. Which will be full of positivity!

 

Posted in Archive, January

A subtle Reminder

Posted on by dystoniaandme

 Today I decided to have a nice long hot bath, as I felt like I had been run over by a truck repeatedly . After managing to bottom bump up the stairs, it was heavenly to be able to relax in the bath. I cannot describe how blissful it was to let my muscles relax in the heat. However it turned out that the relaxation was not to last. Without thinking I poured the shower gel onto my right hand. Immediately my right hand and arm went into a rather painful spasm.

This was rather disappointing, as for the last few weeks my arm and hand have actually behaved rather well (as long as I am not cold), and I had reached a stage where I was not to worried about it if I was indoors. The only reason for my arm and hand going into spasm, which I can think of, is that the coldness of the shower gel on my hand, in comparison to the heat of the bath, set of the Dystonic reaction.

This seemed to then set the tone for the rest of the day. I attempted to get on with the day and relax, however my little Dystonia alien seemed to have other ideas. My leg over the whole day has played up, so I have tried to avoid using it as much as possible. During dinner my arm and hand again went into spasm, after I attempted to pick up my spoon with my right hand. This spasm then went on to last a good 40 or so minutes before relaxing.

However I am trying to think positively as this is the first time in awhile that my right arm and hand have played up. This is a reassuring thought, so I am not panicking to much. Today has reminded me that I cannot take the days when bits of my body behave for granted! I need to value each day of peace, as there is no way of knowing what will happen one day to the next!

 

Posted in Archive, January

Crash Landing

Posted on by dystoniaandme

It would seem that ever since the first of January all I seem to do is either fall over due to a leg spasm, or collapse due to a seizure. Yesterday at my support/research group, I had a Non Epileptic Seizure, triggered by pain from my jaw, whilst sitting in my wheelchair. Now I had always thought that if I had a Seizure whilst in my wheelchair I would be fairly safe, as I was in a ‘contained’ environment. Turns out I was wrong. I regained consciousness to find myself on the floor. My seizure had shaken me out of my wheelchair onto the floor. Luckily the people around me acted as quickly as they could to make sure I didn’t do myself any harm, whilst the others fetched my mother to find out what to do. Thankfully  other than really bruising my coccyx, and generally being a bit achy, I was fine.

My Basal Ganglia, however, seems determined to inflicted pain on me. I have lost count of how many times I have fallen over because of my leg Dystonia today. My foot flips over and my leg spasms backwards, or sometimes up in the air, and I end up on the ground. This means that who ever is helping me walk also ends up on the ground too. I think my leg has been so bad today in reaction to lasts night collapse. Due to yesterdays collapse and today’s many falls, my body is really rather sore. I feel like I am covered in bruises from head to toe. Tomorrow I plan on resting my body, to give it time to calm down, and to meditate.

Today, when I wasn’t falling over, I wrote a list of a questions for my meeting with my consultant on Tuesday. I want to go as prepared as I can be, so that the situation I have been in with him for the last two months, does not ever happen again.

Posted in Archive, January

Consultant News and Meditation.

Posted on by dystoniaandme

Yesterday evening I finally received an email from my consultant saying he would see me next Tuesday at 1pm! I am so happy, it will be such a relief to have the Botox done, so that my Ormandibular Dystonia will not cause me any pain for a few months. Another bonus is that when the jaw pain eases off, so do my Non Epileptic Seizures! I am going to have a word with him while I am there, about what I do when the Botox wears off next time, as I find it unacceptable to have to battle for so long to get seen!

Over the past couple of months I have read a lot of articles to do with meditation helping with Dystonia. In most cases stress aggravates Dystonia, so doctors often advise their patients to try to live a ‘calm and stress free life’. This is rather ironic, considering that Dystonia causes stress itself due to the pain it inflicts and its life changing nature. This is where meditation comes in, particularly Mindful Meditation. It is all about sitting or lying down comfortably (I know this is often the hard bit to do for Dystonia Sufferers) and trying to focus on the present moment, feeling calm and relaxed.

When I first heard about Mindful Meditation, I was not sold by it, I was very dubious as it seemed a bit ‘fluffy’. However after reading more into it and reading claims that it really did help keep  stress levels down which in turn calmed  Dystonia down a bit, I found myself thinking why not. I am at the point where I shall try anything, if it means that I can have some sort of slight relief from my Dystonia.

I ended up scouring Amazon for books on meditation, Mindful meditation in particular, until I found three, that not only looked like what I wanted, but had a lot of positive reviews as well. I brought Living well with Pain and illness by Vidyamala Burch, Relaxation for Dummies (also comes with a fab CD to guide you through your meditation) and Heal Yourself by Anne Jones (I am just about to start reading this one).

After spending a few days reading through Living well with Pain and Illness, and Relaxation for Dummies, I decided to try meditating for the first time last night. I put on the CD provided to help guide me through it. As it was my first time meditating, I chose to do the shortest one first. I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised. I had started the meditation in a lot of pain due to my jaw spasm, and was feeling rather stressed over it. However by the end of it I was feeling fairly relaxed. I was still in a lot pain, but I was not stressing  as much over it.

Research shows that after a few weeks of doing mindful meditation, that the brain actually shows a physical difference when scanned  The majority of scans show the stress section of the brain has actually shrunk, and the positivity section was lit up/grown. I am going to attempt to meditate twice a day for two months. At the beginning and end of the meditation, I am going to document how I feel and how my dystonia is. Then at the end of these two months I will compare how I am at the end of the ‘experiment’ to the beginning of it. It shall be an interesting and hopefully positive experience.

Posted in Archive, January

Today’s Support/Research Group and Dystonia Update

Posted on by dystoniaandme

This evening I went to a group that my GP signed me up for. It is designed for people with chronic pain symptoms, to help give them coping mechanisms that they can learn to use in daily life. The group is also for research so we were asked to answer questions, and give them our life and medical history, so that they can compare the results the group gets at the end of the 12 sessions to the answers provided at the beginning.

At the start, I must admit I was a bit dubious about the group, the leader seemed a bit mad, and everyone there was a fair bit older than me. I was also concerned with how much I would be able to take part in, as I am in wheelchair. However by the end of tonight’s session my concerns were long gone. I had managed to take part in everything, when they did walking activities, I copied their upper body movements, and swayed about in the chair. The other people their were lovely and I have a good giggle with them all. We also focused on our posture and did breathing exercises which I found to be very relaxing. The two hours flew by, and I cannot wait for the next session!

Today has been a rather positive day. After six hours of calling, I finally managed to get hold of my Consultants Secretary, who has promised to chase him, and have him contact me ASAP, I am hopeful that he will, but I shall just have to wait and see. I have had no Non Epileptic Seizures at all today which is fantastic and my head and body are feeling much better.

My local Riding for the Disabled stable phoned me today, and as long as my Non Epileptic Seizures stay calm, then I shall hopefully have my first RDA lesson next week! I am rather excited!

Posted in Archive, December

Lasts Nights Fight With My Jaw

Posted on by dystoniaandme

At this very moment in time, I feel like my body spent the whole of last night trying to get back at me for writing a positive post yesterday. I had spent the whole of yesterday feeling rather odd, like half my brain was missing and the other half was covered in fog. By the evening my jaw was really playing up, with my dystonia pulling each side of my face in opposite directions, which was agony, this of course then led on to hours of Non Epileptic Seizures. Consequently I have woken up this morning feeling like my body has been run over by a bulldozer and my head been repeatedly hit by a hammer. However on the bright side of things, today my jaw Dystonia is a lot better than yesterday.

I have decided that today I shall completely avoid solid food and only consume softer food such as soup or yoghurt, in an attempt to try and prevent my Jaw from playing up so much, as I really want to be able to enjoy tonight’s New Years Party.

Tomorrow I plan on writing a letter to my consultant, to ask for a date for him to administer my injections and to ask for a plan to be put in place for future injections to be administered. I am hopeful that I shall not have to wait to much longer for these injections, considering he was meant to do them several weeks ago, but failed to give us a date.

I am hoping that the New Year shall be filled with positivity and improvement.

 

Posted in Archive, December

Dystonia Update, Consultant Musings, + More!

Posted on by dystoniaandme

With the exception of the last few days, the last few weeks my body (apart from my jaw) has not been too bad. Which has been a very nice break for me, but has also lulled me into a false sense of security. When my foot went into spasm the other evening I was rather shocked. That day my whole leg had felt odd, like someone was trying to pull it out of its socket. I found myself to be rather upset by the spasm. Part of me had hoped that I would have a miracle recovery and I would return to uni in September without a worry. Now I know this whole miracle recovery idea was a bit silly, after all Dystonia is not known for being predictable, it does what it wants, when it wants, how it wants, for as long as it wants. However there is still hope for Uni, I have ten months to somehow get better/get my dystonia under control in, so I am remaining hopeful. I have thrown myself into studying/revision, as I think that it is the only thing keeping me sane at the moment.

Last Sunday, my consultant finally replied to our email stating that he would administer Botox injections into my jaw for me, and that he would do that next week. This created some confusion about when he would do it. However a whole week has passed since we heard from him, so that rules out that week. So it shall be interesting to see whether he contacts us to do the injections this week or if we shall have to chase him some more.

In January I am going to meet my local MP, to discuss with him the many pitfalls of the NHS. I have composed a long list of points, that I wish to discuss, over the last few months. I am looking forward to how he shall respond to my questions or if he shall try defend the system.

I am looking forward to celebrating Christmas and my 20th with my family. I am praying that it shall be a happy occasion with no Dystonic movements and be Seizure free.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Fantastic New Year!!

 

Posted in Archive, December

Happy Days

Posted on by dystoniaandme

The last few days have been full of positivity! Which has put a smile back on my face. The other day I paid my local riding stable a visit. Once a week for a couple of hours they run lessons for the disabled. They assessed me whilst I was there and have said that after Christmas I can join! I was of course extremely excited. I then watched one of the RDA lessons, so I could get a feel for how the lessons were run, I had a smile across my face the whole time. I love horse riding! The only issue that the instructors can see at the moment, is getting me on the horse without my leg going into spasm, however they have thought of a couple of different ways to get on me. Personally I’m hoping that my sheer determination to back on a horse will enable me to do it perfectly :p.

Yesterday my jaw spasm relaxed partially!!! It had relaxed enough for me to eat solid food and talk more clearly, only my lip remained odd. In the evening I had my usual extreme Jaw spasms and seizures, which had worried me that I would wake up today with my jaw back in spasm, but I need not have worried, today it is still relaxed. I could dance with happiness!

 

Posted in Archive, november

Today’s Thoughts

Posted on by dystoniaandme

My jaw is still in spasm, which is really rather painful. However on the positive side of things, my medication, has really helped and my spasms in my right arm and leg have not been that bad these last few days. The pain in jaw can get rather intense and this tends to cause me to have a Non Epileptic Seizure. I am getting better at identifying when I am going to have a seizure. This means that I am able to inform someone, like my mother, seconds beforehand. This is a huge step and a big positive, as it means that whoever is with me, can try to prevent me from injuring myself during in a seizure. I am hoping that I will hear from the consultant soon, so I can get treatment for my jaw, which in turn should hopefully mean that my seizures will disappear again.

The path my life has taken, at this moment in time, is not one I would have chosen for myself. You would have to be fairly crazy to want to have Dystonia. However I accept that for now Dystonia is part of me, and I cannot magically make it disappear. Dystonia is one of those conditions that on some days is fine and does not play up that much, on other days, it is a gigantic pain.

I am so thankful to my family, friends, and all the many people who contact me to support me. They are all amazing and help me stay strong on my bad days. They help me laugh my way through the spasms, and make sure I don’t hurt myself to much during my seizures. I really don’t know how I would have coped with Dystonia without all these wonderful people in my life!

Posted in Archive, november

Jaw Spasms

Posted on by dystoniaandme

Friday to yesterday afternoon went fantastically, for once the Dystonia alien decided to take a bit of  a break and let me be normal (well as normal as I could be). I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. However last night after dinner, the alien decided it wanted to make itself known. It started with my jaw/facial muscles, being pulled in every direction, which caused absolute agony in my TMJ (the jaw joint). Shortly after the spasms ended, another one started, which was more extreme than the last. Due to the pain the spasms were causing, I ended up having a Non Epileptic Seizure. This annoyed me somewhat, as I had managed eight weeks without one.

Since last night my jaw has stayed in a fixed spasm. It is being pushed to the left, whilst also being stuck slightly open. I cannot even begin to describe the pain that this is causing. Due to this I have had to resort to stronger pain killers. These pain killers are great but they do make me feel like I am away with the fairies. However I would rather feel a bit odd, than be in agony. This spasm has also created other problems, such as I am now unable to eat anything other than soup and yoghurt, due to the way the jaw has spasmed, and I am struggling to drink even through a straw. So now all I can do is wait for my GP to send off a referral for me to see someone about treatment.

There is a positive side to all of this though. I have been trying to lose some weight so I am hoping that by only being able to eat yoghurt and soup, it should help with the weight loss. 🙂 There is a silver lining to all problems.