Anyone have jaw arthritis and experience headaches?
Hi all, my rheumatologist said I had jaw arthritis last time I saw him and I was wondering if it might be the cause of my headaches? Anyone else experience this?
Headaches and Psoriatic Arthritis
Sometimes the headaches last for days, just going up or down in intensity. I went to the opticians to check my eyes because, at first, the intense ones seemed to blur my eyes, but they are fine.
I'm going to check with my dentist next to rule that out... Soon as I get the damned energy to do so. Sometimes it's face-pain like all over my forehead, and sometimes it's like a tight band wrapping across the muscles in my scalp from the bits where my neck joins to the temples. It can feel like my head is being squeezed in a vice. Sometimes I can't even bear wearing my glasses because they hurt my face.
Headaches and sex
The worst pain of all is when having sex... For some reason that makes it feel like my head is being crushed and my brain is going to do that scene from alien and just burst out. It's a pounding feeling as if I can feel my heartbeat throbbing in my head. I can't take any painkillers and my asthma is very allergic to nsaids. The one painkiller (that I'm not allergic to pain-wise) makes me so anemic that I need iron infusions, so my rheumy gave me notrtiptyline except I don't like taking that either. My fatigue levels already make me feel like a zombie without taking something with a sedative effect! So I am basically managing the headaches by doing nothing and suffering...just another of life's pains. I would really like to be able to enjoy sex again, especially because I have been hiding that part from him.
What do you think?
Any ideas or suggestions on what it might be or what could help?
Hi m4r14j, have you considered the possibility that you might be getting migraines? It might be worth asking for a referral to a neurologist to explore that avenue. You can read more about migraine on our sister site: https://migraine.com/. I hope you can get some answers soon!
-Martha
Psoriatic-Arthritis.com Team
Arthritis in the jaw can be an absolute pain. In my experience, flares in my jaw have brought on awful tension headaches. A hot shower can help everything relax. I also have had good results with a heating pad on my neck, massaging my scalp, and doing gentle jaw stretches.
Make sure you talk to your dentist/rheumatologist and get their advice!!
I found a video on YouTube from a "Carolyn Jordan" and she has awesome tutorials on using tennis balls for tension. I love the video on headaches and jaw pain. She teaches you how to use it on your temple, neck and jaw. Check it out!
