helpful treatment for TMJ dysfunction and migraine?

I was perusing the comment section under Jeff Tweedy's insightful blog on The New York Times site when I saw that one of the inventors of the Face Caddy had posted. I rarely follow people's self-published links to websites that profess to know the answer to my pain, but this was different. First off, the writer didn't annoy me with any obnoxious claims that the product would definitely cure a migraine or TMJ pain. Second, the website (http://facecaddy.blogspot.com) for the product doesn't reek of shameless self-advertisement. The guys who invented this product initially made it for those recovering from a common operation we like to call "the mini-facelift." I have a family member who suffered for weeks after her operation, and something like the Face Caddy would've come in handy.

But let's not go off on a tangent just yet. The folks at the site then went on to say that they didn't have the response they'd expected from plastic surgeons. Surely the doctors they spoke with would be happy to recommend a lush, stay-in-place recovery tool instead of the usual "hold a bag of frozen peas to your face" remedy. Right? Wrong. The plastic surgeons they spoke with didn't care one way or the other for this implement and the inventors hadn't gotten any further with their creation. That is, at least, until they happened to speak with a chiropractor, who said he wanted to order several of them for his patients who suffer from TMJ dysfunction and migraines.

I took the bait and ordered one on the spot. You see, another reason I was so ready to buy a product I'd ordinarily dismiss as another false promise was this: the pain in my jaw and near my right ear hasn't let up for well over a month now. I used to be an occasional sufferer of TMJ dysfunction, experiencing pain only for brief stretches of (usually stressful) time. Not the case now. Weeks straight of not being able to open my mouth as widely as I should. Jaws cracking and popping at the smallest yawn or bit of food. I started wearing my mouth guard again and even have some muscle relaxers I pop now and again before bed to decrease the chances of my grinding my teeth.

But to have something I could wrap around my head and fill with either heat or cold, cold relief? Whenever I was feeling especially bad? Even if this product wouldn't rid me of TMJ pain entirely, at least it would soothe it in doses. Right? I hope so.

I just got back in town from vacation and my Face Caddy was on my porch. To the delight of my boyfriend, I wore it the entire time we watched a movie last night, alternating between the heat packs and the cold packs (you have to order an extra set of packs to be able to switch 'em out quickly like that). It felt gooooood. And when the boyf woke up in the middle of the night with extreme shoulder and neck pain, we wrapped the Face Caddy around his shoulder so it became a shoulder caddy. It's so much softer than a traditional rubber water bottle.

I think this means I like it. And it brings me much pleasure to say "face caddy" as many times as possible in a brief period of time. Face Caddy, Face Caddy! Ha. A cheesy but entirely apt name for what seems to be a soothing product. I'll let you know if there are any significant updates either way.