Chocobo Racing, GeneralNews, and I Needed Another Health Problem Like I Need Another Six Inch Weiner

[seventhe]

1.
The October Prompt-a-Thon is underway for Chocobo Racing at ff_exchange / ff_exchange! The mighty TEAM CACTUAR is ahead for September, so let's not let evil Team Tonberry catch up ...!

2. I'm going to another career fair tomorrow. Whee...? Although this time I actually get to recruit a co-op, fuck yeah! Downside: Dealing with Mr Douchebag. Upside: free lunch.

3. I officially got a FLU SHOT yesterday. This is my first flu shot, so, here's hoping it works. I realize it won't ward off my usual strep throat and chronic bronchitis (yearly visitors, yay?) but maybe it can keep away some of the other shit flu weeks I deal with every stupid winter. All fingers crossed.

4. And because I really did need another medical ailment like I need a hole in my face, I have TMJ problems. Temporomandibular joint disorder, to be exact, is inflammation of the guy that connects your jaw to your facebone. My mother has suffered from TMJD before, and I've had it once in the past, so I was pretty sure that was what was going on, although it took me a while to put the clues together.

My symptoms were jaw pain and snapping; sharp/severe occasionally when chewing; jaw sensitivity; weird noises in my ear; the feeling of water being stuck in my ear when there ain't; tinnitis; and loss of hearing.

Went to the doctor yesterday, got the TMJ-D diagnosis confirmed, and now I'm on a steroid nasal spray (to tamp down inflammation from the inside) and a handful of other over-the-counter stuff (to attack it elsewhere).

TMJ problems are often brought on by stress. A few weeks ago I was eating nachos with Becky when my jaw did the initial (severely painful) pop-snap. A few weeks ago I was under a ton of stress: shit at work, my move, Becky's move, Ira's everything, Dad's job, Gramma's surgery, ~relationship~ stuff, the marathon, PLUS two handfuls of "lesser" things eating at me. No fucking wonder. Jaw grinding and tension in the neck. I know I need anxiety pills.

Although this from Wikipedia made me froth in rage:

Regular exercise such as running for 20 minutes 3 times a week, is extremely efficient in alleviating TMD brought about through stress-induced bruxism. Exercise essentially burns away the chemicals like cortisol and norepinephrine that cause stress so the unconscious mind no longer feels the need to relieve its stress through jaw-clenching.

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY FOR EVERY PERSON. When this happened I was running 4x/week, a total of like probably 5 HOURS OF RUNNING/week, and I was STILL so stressed out I popped a ligament IN MY FUCKING MOUTH. God in heaven, nothing can set me off quite like preachy people who think "exercise cures all! Fix your anxiety easily! What are you waiting for?" NOPE. SORRY. I THINK I KNOW MY BODY BETTER THAN YOU DO, AND IT DOES FUCKNUTS NOTHING. Running has never done a single fucking thing for my stress levels or my anxiety attacks. I should know; I've tried to give it every last chance I possibly could hoping that it would do so. Extremely efficient my gigantic ugly ass.

Sorry.

5. I am up for a new phone and am really pretty severely ogling the new Blackberry - it's a combo touch-screen and keyboard model, it ran really sleek in the store, and it is getting fabulous reviews. However, I can't help but feel like Blackberry as a whole is on its way out, and I can't pull the trigger on a new phone for 2 years just yet when I feel like the company isn't going anywhere. The thing is, I... I don't really want an Android or an iPhone. They both just feel way too freaking zazzy and fancy and flashy and complicated to me. What I like about my Blackberry is its business-like simplicity (I am a boring person okay). I went through the Verizon store and played with all the phones and they just didn't feel like what I wanted.

6. I require more coffee.

Comments

[novel_machinist]

[hugs] soon we will have all the beers, my friend. ALL OF THE BEERS

[selryel.livejournal.com]

/tmj-five

[first-seventhe.livejournal.com]

Wow, apparently this is more common than I knew!

[sissyhiyah.livejournal.com]

I had two surgeries to correct my tmj issues, one of which meant that my jaws were wired shut for a few weeks. Yay for extreme and borderline-dangerous weight loss! Ugh. I looked like the flippin' crypt keeper my senior year of high school, except I still had killer boobs.

Try holding a pencil between your teeth as you fall asleep, but using only your lips. You'll look stupid, and it will eventually fall out, but it helps keep you from locking your jaws as you sleep. Not really sure how it works, but it does, and in a big way for something that seems so silly. My jaw problems were pretty bad, to the point that the condyle on my left side had been abraded to nearly nothing, and this helped a lot. It's like holding that pencil tricks your brain or something so that you don't grind your teeth.

Yeesh. Feel better, ja?

[first-seventhe.livejournal.com]

OMFG :(((((((((((

I will definitely try the pencil trick - thanks. I know that I grind my teeth - I have been told so at my last two dentist appts, although I'm not yet at the danger point of needing a guard - so hopefully that will help.

[sissyhiyah.livejournal.com]

If you don't mind looking like a moron at work, keep toothpicks with you too. Just hold them between your teeth so that you're aware of when you start to clench your jaws. Tiny things like that make a huge difference, especially when you get super-stressed and you don't notice that your body is saying "Hey! This whole situation blows! Let's get outta here and go get waffles instead!"

[salarta.livejournal.com]

~relationship~ stuff!

I have nothing else to add, except that I hope the TMJ-D settles down and you feel better soon.

[first-seventhe.livejournal.com]

YOU KNOW, THE STUFF WITH THE THING

[salarta.livejournal.com]

Oh, THAT thing? ;)

HOLY CARP I DIDN'T USE CAPSLOCK FOR THAT WHOLE SENTENCE. FIXING IT WITH MORE CAPSLOCK.

[ifotismeni]

agh! that sounds awful, the TMJ :(