Temporo Mandibular Joint

It’s been a month since my upper right jaw joint started aching. It hurts when I yawn and chew. Sometimes it hurts so bad that my tears fall and my whole body just starts to shake.

I ignored it at first not knowing what it is and what’s causing it. Then it was getting worse, my jaws are clicking and one time, my jaws locked just before I was going to bed and I just couldn’t move my mouth. The day before my Kuya Ben passed away, his jaws locked. I thought, Dyos ko, katapusan ko na.

I went to Dra. Elizabeth Carrasco, our family dentist, and she immediately said TMJ, temporo mandibular joint syndrome characterized by pain in the jaw joint. She showed me my panoramic x-ray taken last year, pointing at the two lower wisdom teeth. Beth said I’ve got to have those two removed via a hospital surgery by an oral surgeon. What!!!! I just couldn’t accept that I have to go through a major operation, be injected with anesthesia that aggravates migraine, and of course all possible risks concomitant with going under the knife.

I went to the clinic of Dr. Perfecto Palafox at the Cardinal Santos and he referred me to an ENT specialist.

It was past 3:30 pm and there was no more patient waiting at the doctor’s clinic except for drug reps who are obviously at ease and friends with the secretary. I could hear their conversation because the room is so tiny. While I was reading the newspaper, they kept on saying “Wala na akong JOWA, yung Jowa ko…. ” Puro jowa. I thought that word is irritating to my ears. So I interrupted their conversation

Me——-“Excuse me, anong ibig sabihin ng jowa?”
The doctor’s secretary answered that it’s the bakla’s term for boyfriend or girlfriend.
Me—— “Eh bakit hindi nyo na lang sabihin girlfriend or boyfriend?”
Mas maganda raw yung jowa, at uso kasi sa mga bakla.
Me—— “Malakas ang influence nila sa atin”.
A pretty drug rep joined in… “Dati SYOTA ang tawag, mas gusto ko naman JOWA”.
I say naught.

The ENT specialist asked me to sit on a chair fronting a TV, he poked my ears with an instrument with a light at the tip and showed me on tv how clean my ears are. He said “hindi pa grabe, yung iba naka protrude na sa tenga yung joint”. (Oh my God)
I was distracted with the fact that I am looking at the inside of my ears, who would ever thought that the day will come that I would be able to have that moment?
And then he poked my nose, and my throat with the same instrument but changed the tip. Again, I was overwhelmed with the fact that my vocal chords are staring at me

Doc—– Say iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii , O malinis ang voice box mo, pwede ka pang kumanta.
How come I couldn’t carry a tune? I want to see Charice’s and Jessica Sanchez’s throats and voice boxes to compare mine with theirs, maybe I would get a clear answer. To those who haven’t seen theirs, please visit an ENT, you should do this at least once in your lifetime. For women, I’ll give you a bit of information, our voice box is an exact replica of our …. alam mo na. Ngiii, it’s crazy, I know.

To my big relief, the doctor said there are no tumor growths and he also never mentioned anything about undergoing immediate operation to remove my two wisdom teeth. Salamat naman, I need wisdom, at my age, I still lack them.

He prescribed pain reliever, anti-inflammatory, antibiotics and to wear dental splint or thick mouth guards while I sleep and to place hot compress. Hopefully in two weeks this syndrome would go away.

Not only did I feel a little better, I left the doc’s clinic with a wealth of information.
1. That the owner of several car dealerships has five families (5 wives) all living in the same compound in peaceful harmony.
2. That Mister and Mrs. A have two children. Mr. & Ms. B have two children. Mrs. A is the sister of Mr. B.
Mr. A and Mrs. B were former sweethearts. Mr. B and Mrs. A did not know that their respective spouses used to be sweethearts. They always had foursomes, eating in restaurants, traveling. Then after sometime, only Mr. A and Mrs. B are going out. Then one day, Mr. A went to Canada bringing along his 2 children and all their money. Mrs. B also left for Canada with her two children and joined Mr. A. She took off with her husband’s money. The rest is history.
3. Mr. X lives in Corinthian Gardens with his wife and children. He bought a house in Valle Verde II for his mistress and their children for convenience and proximity. His mistress and children demand that whatever his first family has, they should have too.
4. etc.
And why does the doctor know all these private stories? Siguro meron nagkwento na pasyente nya or some of the characters are his patients.

The first thing that I did after I left his clinic was to light candles and pray at the hospital’s nice and air-conditioned chapel.

When I am worried about my health or just about anything and everything, my first refuge is the House of God.
Even for a few minutes, I am able to share my worries and I leave the place feeling a little bit better, with the hope that everything would be alright.