I have, among many other things, non stop throbbing pain in my teeth and gums. It has been going on for months, and no doctor or dentist can tell me what it is.
I've tried all sorts on anti-seizure meds (neurontin, lyrica, tegretol, lamictal, etc.) and none have any effect on the pain. Nor do strong narcotic meds (fentanyl, hydromorphone, oxymorphone) that my pain mgmt doc has tried.
I already have so much pain and so many things wrong with me. I'm so scared that I have yet another disease.
One neurolgist suggested trigeminal neuralgia, but I don't have shocks, and it sounds like such a devastating disorder...too much to handle on top of Lyme and the incapacitating status migrainosus I have developed since being infected.
I know "dental pain" is a sx of Lyme and Co., but is it constant?
I feel like I'm going insane with all this pain. It's been 4 years of fighting this and taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back.
I can't handle another year of this non- stop, unmanageable pain. Will this ease with LD tx, or should I keep searching for another answer besides Lyme?
Posted by Abxnomore (Member # 18936) on :
It could be. If your nerves are inflamed it can cause dental pain. I know someone who had all of her teeth removed due to bad pain and then was given a fibromyalgia dx., which in almost all cases is untreated or undertreated lyme disease.
Have you looked at a symptom list to see if you have any other lyme disease symptoms?
It wouldn't hurt to get tested and see an experienced doctor, especially if you have been suffering this long without any answers.
Posted by SashaC (Member # 18968) on :
Oh, yes, I am sorry not to have included that.
I am not only positive for Lyme and co-infections by both ELISA and Western Blot, but I am one of 77 confirmed cases (by CDC standards) of LD in TX for 2007.
My daughter and I both have LD.
The State of TX called me before my MD even received my test results.
There is no question of whether or not I have LD and co-infections. I have every sx besides the testicular pain.
I've been seeing an LLMD since I was diagnosed.
I just have so many OTHER sx besides my laundry list of LD sx. I am just hoping this unrelenting dental and tooth pain will get better as I continue treatment.
So sorry that I didn't make that clear in my first post. Thank you so much for taking the time to reply!!
-Sasha
Posted by Abxnomore (Member # 18936) on :
Have you tried IV ABX yet? With that kind of gum pain it may help you a lot.
Posted by paulieinct (Member # 17514) on :
I am putting together the pieces of the puzzle of my illness and realize I have had it all my life.
I remember very vividly when I was about 15, I awoke with the kind of pain you describe. My teeth and gums were throbbing and painful. Now the night before, I had drunk some alcohol, one of my first teenage experiments with drinking.
One of the symptoms of Lyme is intolerance to alcohol.
I am convinced the gum and tooth pain/throbbing is a Lyme symptom. In my case the trigger was booze. I believe the pain went away after a few days. I don't recall ever having that happen again, just a gazillion other things!!
You can pretty much count on every symptom you have being due to Lyme and coinfections.
Posted by paulieinct (Member # 17514) on :
BTW, why not try frequent rinsing with warm salt solution. Perhaps the spirochetes are on the run, and they are "stuck" in that location. Similar thing happened to me with my eyes. Antibiotics drove the keets to the surface of my eyeball where they were able to successfully evade antibiotics and immune system. Had to take antibiotic eyedrops.
Posted by SashaC (Member # 18968) on :
Abx, My LLMD suggested IV primaxin. As silly as this sounds, I've been too sick to try to coordinate having a PICC put in and getting the wheels turning. Even talking on the phone is exhausting for me, and I don't have anyone to help me.
Paulie, I do remember that my one of the first signs that something was wrong, besides feeling flu-like, was that I drank two glasses of wine after work one evening, and felt like I had spent all night drinking.
In fact, that severe hangover feeling has not left me yet.
I worry daily that this disease is going to permanently disable me, and I am so desperately frightened that I will lose the ability to care for my little angel.
Needless to say, I do not drink alcohol.
Posted by Abxnomore (Member # 18936) on :
It's not silly. The illness saps everything from you. When you can try to get it together, try the IV. I think you might get some relief and a good improvement.
Posted by nefferdun (Member # 20157) on :
I had similar pain and went to the emergency where they thought I was having a heart attack. After being released the next day I researched the pain I had online to find out it was caused by irritation of the Vagus nerve.
Look this up online. It runs from your TMJ joints in the jaw, radiating into your teeth and then down into your chest. It is responsible for releasing acid into your stomach and regulating the heart rhythm.
Do you ever get acid reflux or indigestion? Does your heart sometimes race?
Posted by xoxoxox (Member # 18778) on :
SashaC - This is something I have too.
After all of the Lyme symptoms began, I noticed my face seemed to have changed but was unable to put my finger on exactly what it was. Turns out it's a little bi-lateral Bell's Palsy. My close friends say they can't really tell but I have had people ask me, "Why the frown?" so it's more noticeable than they let on. My smile is nothing more than a straight line.
The muscles that hold up the back of the jaw have gone somewhat slack and caused it to drop. So normally your back teeth would be the point of contact with any jaw movement. But now, it's my front teeth that hit together first.
In addition to gum & tooth pain, it's actually sharpening my tooth which cuts up my tongue & lip.
There are times when it's less intense and is correlated to how severe the Palsy is that day. It's still unclear if it's related to pressure in the atmosphere (barometric) or if it's caused by the trigeminal nerve and related to my central nervous system since I have symptoms impacted by both.
Some other "head" symptoms of mine include tinnitus, ice-pick migraines, brain fog, facial neuropathy, tightness in my throat, sinus cavity pressure, vision changes, the sensation of gravity pulling my face down... Does any of this sound similar to what you are experiencing?
Posted by elizzza811 (Member # 24713) on :
I have severe gum and teeth problems, too, only mine are a little different. I wouldn't classify mine as a 'pain', but rather an annoying, rhythmic, pulsing tension or 'pull' in my lower teeth and gums. Some days my teeth in this area feel wiggly, too. I clench them 24/7.
Some bug must be involved because that part of my mouth goes crazy when I use peroxide, and I've lost significant amounts of gum tissue from it. It almost feels like something is living deep inside the teeth or the nerves of the teeth.
No abx yet has helped this symptom.
Posted by MaryinVT (Member # 19466) on :
My wife had 9 teeth removed because the pain was unbearable. The remainder will come out soon, we hope. We can't afford it right now.
Posted by txgirl09 (Member # 21612) on :
I've recently had mouth problems too. I've had pain in my tongue, and not so much the gums, but in the roof of my mouth.
Posted by glm1111 (Member # 16556) on :
I had this really bad and it eased up and stopped when I treated for parasites. I used salt/c and antiparasitic herbs.
Gael
Posted by tick battler (Member # 21113) on :
I noticed that tooth pain was associated with babesia in my child. Someone else on here had the same experience. You might consider adding GSE to your protocol. It alone can kill babesia - at least it did for us. It also kills candida and some think it's a cyst buster for lyme.
No one mentions it for babesia on here but it is my practitioner's #1 treatment for it. I am just now starting to see some threads about how it kills babs. I saw that it is even used in A-babs, the now popular herbal mix for babesia.
Hope this helps.
tickbattler
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
i feel so grateful that neurontin keps mine under control
i had it 3 months once...i was trying to be good and do what the docs(non llmd) said. they screwed me up so bad with abx andmeds that gave bad sx
then it was my idea to try neurontin and it worked
i know the pain...i am so sorry for you
CAN'T ANYONE ON HERE ADVOCATE FOR HER AND HELP GET HER ON IV???
i wish i could but right now i can barely take care of myself
Posted by apljack (Member # 14233) on :
When I feel the slightest pain start in my teeth/gums, I rinse with salt water. This takes it away very quickly.
I wish I knew this years ago, after so many, many root canals.
Posted by Runner17 (Member # 30272) on :
Tooth and gum pain was my first symptom. It still is the most painful and annoying symptom I have. Like you, no dentist or doctor, except my LLMD, could tell me what it was.
Posted by Runner17 (Member # 30272) on :
Tooth and gum pain was my first symptom. It still is the most painful and annoying symptom I have. Like you, no dentist or doctor, except my LLMD, could tell me what it was.
Posted by dogmom2 (Member # 23822) on :
sashac, any improvement in your teeth and gum pain? I'm having the same problem after a dental check-up.
did you find anything that helped?
Posted by Nicole2011 (Member # 30672) on :
I have throbbing in my teeth & gums also & it didnt start until i got lyme. So im pretty sure thats what its from
Posted by lyme987 (Member # 22148) on :
My severe tooth pain was caused by babs.
You might want to check that out. Went away after treatment
Posted by Razzle (Member # 30398) on :
I have Lyme & Bart, and have had episodes of bad tooth & gum pain also. Dentists cannot find anything wrong. I also tend to have easily bleeding gums despite excellent oral hygiene...
One thing that has helped me is to put dabs of clove essential oil on my gums where the pain is. It burns a little at first, but then the pain goes away or moves to another spot in my mouth...so I chase it around with the clove oil until it disappears. If you do try the clove oil (btw, it has high antioxidant & strong antibacterial properties, and may kill Bart.), make sure you get 100% theraputic grade essential oil and not the perfume grade stuff...the perfume grade stuff likely has contaminants in it and/or may not be made properly so won't have the healing properties of the theraputic grade essential oils.
Take care,
Posted by txgirl09 (Member # 21612) on :
I have some gum pain too. Do any of you guys also have pain in the roof of your mouth?
Posted by payne (Member # 26248) on :
my knees went first then all my remaining 16 teeth went... Now, when i wear my full dentures, which work Great Look Great. I get TMJ if i wear them for more then 8 hrs, I find myself with great jaw pain which plends into ear and eye... This is a horrific disease... its always rasing helll some where.
Posted by blownelk (Member # 27078) on :
I also have tooth and gum issues. Never a cavity before Lyme, no problems at all, the dentist always loved me.
Now they don't know what to do with me. I see a gum specialist because my gums are receeding.
I had a terrible pain in one tooth and thought it might be a cavity. The dentist filled it, which only created more pain. He wasn't even sure if it was a cavity or not.
I've tried to get them to fix it even back to where it was before, but nothing works. I have another tooth with a hairline crack that is very painful also.
I'm at a loss of what to do because the dentist and gum specialist both say I should not be experiencing any pain. lol.
Do any of you have just a couple problem teeth, or is it mostly all of your teeth?
Posted by GiGi (Member # 259) on :
Read especially last page. Usually dental infections, problems with (in or out) wisdom teeth, etc., should all be ruled out. Mercury from amalgam fillings, root filled (dead) teeth aka root canals, all are causing problems with Lyme. Lyme & Co, including babesia (parasite) thrive in that polluted terrain. It is important to find a biological dentist who understands Lyme.
Best to you.
Posted by dogmom2 (Member # 23822) on :
Mine is mostly the upper teeth/jaw, but sometimes the lower teeth/jaw too. It started with a simple temp crown placed in nov, and re-flared after a check-up last week.
Gigi, thanks for the article, i'll read through it when the headache from this lyrica calms down,
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