Episode 8: Year 30 Part II

Hey fam!

As I mentioned in my previous episode, I'll be discussing my TMJ journey today!
Hope you all enjoy this story! If you'd like info on my doctor and experience, here's the info!

AZ Sleep and TMJ Solutions
10465 E Pinnacle Peak Pkwy, Ste 103
Scottsdale, AZ 85255

Dr. Sara Vizcarra
(480)515-6209

Xoxo,
Janny

IG: @janeration.pod
FB: Facebook.com/janny.nguyen
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Transcript

Episode 8: Year 30 Part II (S2E3)

Hi everyone! 

Welcome back to Janeration, with your host, Janny Nguyen!

Let’s begin with a positive affirmation for the day:

I welcome the chance to make a fresh start.

(let’s repeat)

I welcome the chance to make a fresh start

(one more time!)

I welcome the chance to make a fresh start

Let’s go fam! Make that fresh start, no matter who, what, where, why, or how! 

Just believe in yourself and do it! 

Alright, today’s episode will be about my journey to heal my annoying jaw, TMJ/TMD 

So let’s pick up where we left off!

*rainstick*

Let’s begin with HOW my jaw got so messed up in the first place.

As a kid, I was always at the dentist.

I had a crazy sweet tooth and went through various amounts of dental work.

Cavity filling, root canals, crowns, you name it.

When I was a senior in high school, I had a tonsillectomy because my tonsils were getting SO BIG 

that it was difficult to actually swallow my food.

I remember that the surgery took place senior year in high school because my friends were going to the “snowball” dance and I couldn’t go.. I was so sad!

But luckily, my friends knew about my surgery and a handful of them came to my house right after the dance to visit me! It was the sweetest thing ever! 

I wasn’t supposed to talk for a few days, but I didn’t listen and had to pay for it LOL

Also, idk how people ate ice cream or popsicles. I had such a hard time with those!

Jello and yogurt were definitely my go-to’s for like a week.

I even remember my first solid meal after living off jello and yogurt too! 

My mama’s famous chicken and rice hehes!

She even made the chicken piece extra small as if I was a toddler! 

LOL but hey,  it was for the safety of my throat! Haha, idc, that meal was delicious. 

Then when I turned 21, I had conventional braces for a total of 19 months.

I had a really bad underbite and one canine tooth was hanging from the corner of my mouth like a dang vampire with fangs, or in my case, 1 ugly ass fang!

It was not cute, whatsoever. 

And I’m sure we all know something or have seen teeth like how I just described mine; 

They look crowded and very unflattering.

What sucked was that I had to get braces a month before I turned 21.

I was in college, broke as hell, and looked more like a child than ever before!

And yall know how I feel about that; per my last episode! LOL

But as we all know, beauty is pain; physically and mentally.

So I had to deal with the annoyance of looking more like a lil teenager especially when I would go out on the weekends with my friends to the bar or clubs in downtown Santa Barbara.

Yall already know how this would go..

Also, since I got them in college, I didn’t have dental insurance and had to pay $125 out of pocket every time I came in.. which was very hard as a broke college student living off financial aid. 

But one of the cool things to come out of this was that I shared having braces WITH my little sister, Christina, while we were both in college.

Every month we’d meet each other there, have some sister time over food or boba, then head back to school and repeat until it was time for both of us to remove them. 

Anyhow, like those of you who’s had experience with braces, 

I couldn’t wait to take all that metal out of my mouth! 

I was smiling for days when the day finally came and felt so proud of my teeth!

It was definitely a confidence booster and it was worth all those monthly trips; 

all the torture and pain with the tightening of the bands and colors

Flash forward 10 years later, (jesus!) and here we are!

Idk if there was a particular event in my life that triggered my jaw to click more often or 

caused it to be more aggravated, 

but I began noticing how often and loud the clicking of my jaw was occuring last year..

I knew I was going through tons of stress figuring out my career path, with covid/pandemic,

but I didn’t think my jaw could be the culprit behind it all.

And the more stressed out I was, the more my jaw clicks were becoming louder and actually, painful.

Every time I opened and closed my mouth, I heard a click.

I’m pretty sure stress played a factor in the intensity of the jaw clicks, 

but I needed to do something because I feared having a locked jaw and couldn’t stand the headaches, neck pain, and irritability that came with it.

*rainstick*

So I finally decided to do some research and actually found a TMJ specialist!

The office is called AZ TMJ and Sleep Solutions!

When I came in for my consultation, the TMJ specialist, Dr Sara Vizcarra, 

Did an amazing job explaining and educating me on typical jaw behavior and how we have to be aware of HOW the jaw rests and what activates a person to clench and/or grind their teeth while asleep.

I was aware that I was a heavy clencher, and I knew it was a result of stress, but I didn’t realize it was my jaw that was affecting my quality of sleep and how it was contributing to my neck and back pain. 

Every morning I wake up with neck pain. 

I kept switching my pillows to find the right level of comfort, but it doesn’t help much.

It took going to the TMJ specialist to discuss my work history and lifestyle to figure out that my neck and back pain was a result of my jaw not being as aligned or stable as it should be. 

I also used to work at my sister’s nail salon, and the positions my body and neck would be in aren’t exactly the best for your posture.

It involved a ton of leaning over, looking down, very focused, meticulous work. 

Imagine drawing or polishing on a tiny canvas with limited time. It’s not easy, or comfortable.

So thank your nail people! And be extra grateful, and nice. Especially if you get complicated nails designs, bc that extra time, extra leaning over, and extra neck and hand aches for your technician. 

Anyhow, being in a forward flexion position for a long period of time will definitely play a role in chronic neck and back pain. 

As a result, the combination of surgery, braces, and my previous job all contributed to my jaw not being aligned or stable, and now I’m dealing with the pain that comes with it.

Thankfully, Dr. Vizcarra’s approach and practice is very holistic; and knowing that was like music to my ears since we know that’s what I’m ALL about!

Dr. Vizcarra explained that I needed to wear an acrylic day-time “tray”; similar to those clear, “invisalign”teeth trays everyday for a total of 3 months.

I had to eat with them in--which was really weird in the beginning bc it just felt a little gross having little bits and pieces of food in my mouth, between the teeth tray. 

It was part of my rehabilitation to eat with the tray in, but it definitely took some getting used to.

I was also taking a lot of natural supplements in conjunction to wearing the day-time tray; such as 

lemon balm, magnesium citrate, K2 Potassium, B Complex + Folic Acid, CBD, turkey tail mushroom

I also had to maintain a special diet, but it was pretty similar to my diet limitations due to my bladder problem, so it wasn’t too big of a deal.

Like no caffeine, dairy, gluten, acidic foods, overly fried or salted. You know.. My usual.

*rainstick*

Now, I know I had to be on this program for a few months, but it wasn’t a walk in the park. 

For instance, my day-time piece wasn’t the easiest or most comfortable thing to have constantly in my mouth for 12+ hours of the day. 

I was annoyed with always taking it out to rinse out the bits of food stuck in it

(sorry for the grossness); especially when eating at restaurants with friends or family. 

The tray also didn’t fit properly for the first week. 

I was waiting for the tray to get used to being in my mouth, 

but I experienced a lot of canker sores and distress from the new instruments I had to use.

In addition, I had a night guard--a different two piece set used only for sleeping.

It had a top and a bottom piece.

I thought the day-tray was hard to get used to until I experienced the trials and tribulations of the night guard set. 

I forgot to mention that your jaw has A LOT to do with your quality of sleep.

Hence, the special two piece night guard intended to help guide and improve my quality of sleep.

Sometimes I would wake up with really bad headaches; where my eyes felt swollen and my temples were super achy. 

To give an easy analogy, the more you clench and/or grind your teeth, the more weight and pressure is applied to your jaw; which will result in all the fuss I’ve been talking about.

Dr. Vizcarra explained that I might drool when I’m sleeping because your brain will think that whatever is in your mouth is “food”, so it makes your mouth behave that way. 

My first night was a success. I slept so well, I teared up in the morning and felt so grateful!

But unfortunately, it only lasted one night. 

After two weeks of attempting to sleep with it in, my mouth was not happy and my sleep was terrible due to the stress of my brain and mouth not being able to sync together. 

At this point, it probably doesn’t sound like what I’m doing is helping me. 

But like anything new you introduce your mind or body to, it takes time to get used to and sometimes you gotta make adjustments; which is what we had to do for my jaw.

To explain, my day-time tray AND my night guard had to be adjusted to fit properly and for comfort.

At this point, I felt like I was one of those patients that needed extra observation and time to complete the program to better align my jaw and to help alleviate the clicking and pain associated with my TMJ.

Which, I did. I got drunk one night and misplaced the top piece of my night guard.

The next morning I found it in my dog crate, all chewed up and no longer usable.

I also broke my day-time piece, while being a lil tipsy [again] and I had to get that fixed too.

I was embarrassed about it.. I was a damsel in distress! 

I know what you’re already thinking--control yourself Janny! Haha, but hey, I’m human. 

We all make mistakes around here..

And I’m usually a very good patient. 

I listen, take directions, and I’m very aware of what I need to do to help my body heal..

So let me  just “blame the alcohol” for my irresponsible behavior this time around.. HAHA

But nevertheless, after over 6 months of proper use and treatment, my jaw improved tremendously! 

In my initial consultation, there were a bunch of measurements taken to see where my jaw was at.

At my final appointment, my numbers increased and my results showed that the treatment drastically improved the stability and alignment of my jaw! 

Measurements were taken again and the results showed that my jaw was less tense, less painful,  and had more range of motion!

My tension headaches also went away. The jaw click was still present, but not as intense as before. 

Since the treatment was working, I had to get my mouth to slowly wean off of wearing it daily. 

Which; I kind of had mixed feelings about.

A part of me was ready to not have to wear the day-tray anymore, but another part of me felt a little nervous about how my jaw would react to not having that protected guard on the regular.

Long story short, my jaw didn’t like it. 

And I basically had to continue wearing my day-tray for another few months and got trigger point injections for my neck and shoulders from all the tension built up from the stress of it all again.

Taking all of the supplements and coming back every few weeks weren’t cutting it for me anymore, and I was getting really annoyed with the jaw clicking, so I finally caved and wanted to discuss other options, which included botox.

I’ve never had botox before, but I have tried fillers on my lips and my nose.

I was really nervous about it because Dr. Vizcarra explained that she would be injecting them in the major muscles and review her concerns about the muscles potentially being compromised or fixated? Idk if I’m using the right terminology for this, but you know, she was just being a good doctor; explaining the risks and potential side effects that could play a factor for the future. 

But, I felt like I had to try it because everything else I was doing [holistically, homeopathically] 

wasn’t enough to decrease the jaw clicking and pain from my TMJ.

And, like I’ve explained before, I will do the best I can with healing my body without intervening with harsh chemicals or drugs, but IT WAS TIME.

And let me tell you, after a week of the botox settling into its place, I finally can say I felt the relief I was longing for.

My mouth wasn’t opening as wide when I yawned, so less clicking.

My cheeks felt like it had some kind of support, I can’t describe it entirely, but I could feel it alleviating the tension within my jaws.

I noticed when my jaws would tend to tense up, but it wasn’t as painful prior to the injection. 

So at the end of the day, even though I was fighting it and didn’t want to HAVE to go down this route, 

I had to. 

And I’m not dismissing the use of western medicine or unfamiliar chemicals as harmful in any shape or form; I just prefer to not to. 

I know there are tons of different forms of western medicine that have propelled our healthcare system to help take care of crazy medical conditions like cancer, or any chronic medical diseases. 

So I hope I’m not hurting anyone’s feelings or beliefs when it comes to that at all.

And if I am, I sincerely apologize. 

But we all have our preferences and when it comes to health care and living in a body we take care of.

So I'd like to thank ALL of the doctors, nurses, staff in health administration and hospitals and clinics for ALL the hard work they do in cultivating a healthier life for their patients. 

Especially in this time and generation, with this pandemic. 

Thank you for your pledge and oath to do everything in your power, with honesty and integrity;

to build and improve our current health crisis. 

We are counting on you!

Okkkaaay, I hope this lengthy TMJ story was as interesting to you as it was for me to go through it!

It was such a journey, and I am so grateful I was able to experience this and share it with my listeners.

Jaw pain is no joke, because it could bother and affect the rest of your body in various ways.

So take care of your body, listen to it, and do the things you need to create a strong, healthy body.

If there’s anyone out there who has specific questions pertaining to my experience or need any advice, ya girl is here for it! Hit me up, send me a message on IG or FB, or comment on the post for this episode! HOLLLA!!!

*rainstick*

Let’s get ready for our oracle card reading! You guys should know the drill by now!

I’ll be using the same Chakra Insight Oracle Guidebook by Caryn Sangster

Let’s clear our mind, relax our body. Take a deep breath *take a deep breath*

As I shuffle the cards, set an intention. 

If you can, write it down to remind yourself of your intention.

Okay, here we go!

*reading*

Alrighty! If you liked what you’ve heard so far, please make sure to visit my website at https://janeration.buzzsprout.com where you can follow and subscribe to my podcast!

Don’t forget to also follow me on IG under @janeration.pod 

OR on FB at www.facebook.com/janny.nguyen

AND

If you’re feeling tipsy, please visit my support link at pod.fan/janeration & show some love!

Thank you again so much for listening in!

Stay tuned for my next episode! 

Talk to you all soon! 

Xoxo,

Janny 

BTW: Our last episode singing bowl sound was created with the root chakra, so

For today’s episode, I will be following the order and use the sacral chakra singing bowl. 

Please remember to lower your volume or end this podcast to omit the singing bowl sound if it's not for you.

*whisper* 

Here we go!