Pain in left temple with burning and jaw popping

[Adria4869]

I have been experiencing pain in my left temple area and in my eyebrow area as well. It is a burning, tingling sensation accompanied by numbness in part of my cheek. My jaw pops every time I open and close it. That has been happening for as long as I can remember. The pain gets so intense my eye waters, stays red, and actually feels as though someone has punched me in the eye. My family has a history of TMJ, and didn't know if maybe this was the problem. Any suggestions? I cannot afford to see the doctor..I am a caretaker who stays home to take care of my mother who has terminal cancer. I am unemployed with no health insurance, but my Mother is kind enough to help me get my meds for my severe asthma and carpel tunnel. I take albuterol and neurtontin, plus an occasional pain pill from her when my pain is severe. Any help or recommendations you give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much.

~Adria

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Yes, your symptoms could be due to TMJ. If the symptom is due to TMJ, then massaging the muscles of the face will help relieve the symptoms. You have to press on muscles to look for sore points. Then massage these points with short strokes. To massage the masseter muscles on each side of your jaw, place your thumb inside your mouth and squeeze the thick muscle in your cheek with your fingers. To massage the jaw muscles inside your mouth, use your index finger to probe and massage these spots.
Massaging the muscles does not help every one. Also if the procedure is nor correct, then it can further aggravate the problem. Moist heat or cold packs on the face, vitamin supplements, or biofeedback are useful for some people.
If this does not help then other causes of temple pain will have to be looked into. Temple pain can be due to high blood pressure. Headaches and pain in temple area can be due to loud music. Another possibility is migraine triggered by loud noise. Tension headaches due to stress too affect the temple area.
Temporal arteritis, internal ear infection, and tooth decay can all cause a temple pain.
Infection in the eye, glaucoma, near and far sightedness and sinusitis are the other causes.
Do discuss this with your doctor and get yourself examined then. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[Adria4869]

Well I'm already taking Gabapentin, that is the generic of Neurontin..I've never heard of the other medication though, or the condition. Thank you so much for your response..and I comment you for being a student, I'm sure one day you will make an excellent physician. It sounds like all my symptoms..but all I know is it's very painful.. and I'm getting ready to try just about anything! Thank you again!!

[divy8]

ment includes intake of gabapentin or beclofen.you may require surgical treatment if some mass is causing compresion on the nerve.you may also require to do an mri.so i request you to go to a neurologist.i know you going to a doctor is a great burden for you.get help from someone you know who can probably understand your problem.sorry i cat help you as i m a student who doesnt earn too much money.have faith in god n ry your best.

[divy8]

most probably you are suffering from trigeminal neuralgia,a condition in which stabbing pain occurs in the lower part of the face n rarely involves the area around the eye n nostril.there may be feeling of abnormal sensation.there l be weakness in the muscles involved in mastication n deviation of jaw towards the site of lesion.it is aggravated by movement of the jaw or yawning,yawning or stimulation of skin around the mouth or interruption of blood supply to the trigeminal neuron.it may be caused by compression of the nerve by some lesion around the nerve.symptomatic treat