Jaw issues seem to have resolved

Some of you may recall from earlier posts, post-surgery, that I woke up from my surgery with some serious jaw issues. Something from the surgery set some inflammation off in my jaw and it was never the same. So for nearly a year, I was limited in what I could eat and I avoided seeing the dentist because there was nothing they could do for me if I couldn't open my mouth wide enough. I was recommended to go see a TMJ specialist, but I never received the referral call to make an appt, so I just never bothered to put in the effort to make it happen. Plus, I did all this research on what the TMJ would likely say, and what they would recommend as treatment, and all of it, was expensive, pain in the butt sounding, treatments. Like the splints... where they would make a mouth guard, of sorts, that has to be worn nearly 75% of the time and constantly re-made, (meaning continuous expenses), until eventually, the jaw is more aligned and hopefully pain free and working better. Ya, right... not happening.

What I ended up doing though was quitting coffee and other caffeine products. I did that from about August 2011 until Jan 2012, and frankly, I believe it helped a bit. The possible implications coffee/caffeine have on the jaw is that it increases our bodies tension and it can cause you to clench your jaw more often, aggravating the pain. Other than that, coffee is also known to leech nutrients from us, mainly because of its diuretic properties, and unless you're taking vitamin supplements everyday, you're likely losing lots of valuable nutrients when you drink coffee. There's also been research suggesting it leeches calcium from our bones, which is certainly not good news for us ladies that likely having beginning stage bone issues in our 20s. It's certainly not good news for ME, because I personally hate most milk products and don't acquire enough calcium.

However, after I eventually had my third vertigo spell late last year, I was recommended to get a physical for blood tests to see if there are any deficiencies that could be causing my vertigo attacks and general feeling of crap. Two rounds of blood testing confirmed I had a severe vitamin D deficiency, which is likely the explanation for my constant fatigue I've been experiencing since I was a teen, amongst other things. I don't know if this deficiency is the cause of the vertigo's, but I suppose when it dropped to all time lows and kept dropping over the past  year and a half, it off-set symptoms that were similar to being diabetic and having a massive blood sugar drop. The tests showed I'm not diabetic, so I guess it's all from the lack of vitamin D (and probably calcium, as I stated above).

So, I was recommended to take some calcium and vitamin D supplements, which I have been taking for the past month now. I must say, my jaw is the most back to normal that it has been since before the surgery. Not only that, I seem to be digesting coffee better now. Prior to the supplements, just a few sips of coffee made my body feel like it was physiologically punched. I would feel tired right away, usually end up taking naps nearly 2-3 hours of waking up from 10 hours of sleeping, and my brain would literally shut down to the point I couldn't really do anything but be a zombie. But I have not been experiencing those symptoms at all since taking the supplements. Who knew calcium and vitamin D had THOSE kinda affects on our bodies? All we hear is that they're good for our bones. So, we assume that if we don't get those nutrients, that our bones are just going to cave in earlier than they should. We don't think it's going to affect our digestion with other products though, or how we metabolize, or how it affects our minds... or that it could even have anything to do with your jaw. We just don't stop to make these connections enough, we don't get more well-rounded information from our doctors, and we don't do our own research until we're personally affected by something.

I suppose you could say this is partly why I became so interested in health. Although my interest stemmed in 10th grade during my first health/nutrition class that made me consider my diet and habits. I'm more prone to research since I began my Bachelors programmed in health education (and have since acquired my degree in Dec 2011), and want to be able to educate others on the important of nutrition. If you must take supplements, then take them. Some research may say supplements are pointless, but hey, it probably varies by the nutrient. Because I certainly notice the positive affects calcium/vitamin D supplements are having on my health, and I'm sure others would to (including all those old ladies popping those pills like candy).

With that said, I'm pretty happy my jaw is feeling better. It's nice to be able to eat things that use to aggravate it. It's nice to be able to enjoy the billion cups of coffee I drink these days because of my absurd work hours. And it's nice that I can make a dentist appointment again and finally get my teeth cleaned/checked up on.

My advice: if you feel like crap and have for years, go see your doctor for a physical and blood tests to see how you're doing. It could be as simple as finding out you need more of a certain vitamin or mineral to feel better. Certain deficiencies also seem more common based on locality. In Phoenix, for example, despite the ample amount of sun available all year round, vitamin D deficiency is really common out here. When in doubt, see your doctor and do ask if it's OK for you to take multi-vitamin supplements and so on.