My Jaw Is Destroying My Life
For one woman, something she would normally use every day – her jaw – is tearing her life apart! She has come to The Doctors seeking relief from her constant pain and subsequent dependency on pain pills.
Sacheen suffers from the rare jaw disorder Hemimandibular Hyperplasia. She first noticed her jaw was crooked in high school, but various doctors over the years have told her she suffer from temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ). She had been able to manage the issue until 3 years ago, when she jaw locked and she began experiencing intense and constant pain. Doctors discovered that the left side of her jaw has never stopped growing, which has caused “an unbearable amount of pain.”
Her jaw disorder has disrupted her entire life. It limits her to a liquid diet, keeps her from leaving the house and having a job. To make matters even more frustrating, her insurance company has deemed the surgery necessary to fix her jaw disorder as “cosmetic.” To treat the pain, she’s now taking oxycodone and morphine, which her husband thinks she’s now addicted to.
“I’m terrified to have to live on pain medication for the rest of my life,” she says. “I’m not a mother to my kids anymore. I’m not a spouse to my partner anymore. I’m just a prisoner in my home… I’m in bed every day with migraines.
Watch: My Jaw Won’t Let Me Eat
Can The Doctors help Sacheen? We enlisted the help of oral and maxillofacial surgeon Dr. Steven Kupferman and psychiatrist Dr. Tim Hutton to find out what can be done to help Sacheen get her life back. See more of her story, including some amazing possibly life-changing surprises, in the video below.
