Intro from NC

[pumibel]

Hello fellow Vets,

I have been viewing this forum for a while as a guest, but I think it is better to be a member when one is reading so many personal accounts. Otherwise, I'm just a creeper. I am a single mom and caregiver to my own mom. I was on active duty with the USAF for 12 years, separated honorably from Bolling AFB.  DC did me in, but when I separated in 2004, I really did not think that I would ever file a claim for anything because I had no faith in doctors and no time machine to realize that my health problems would get so much worse within the decade. Anyway, I would like to say that I am not in the same boat as a lot of traumatically injured members here, but many friends and family members have encouraged me to file for compensation because they have seen my physical and mental capacities decline (I am only 42).  Everything started while I was in the military, but the docs would blow me off almost every time I went in for answers. Funny, if I wanted drugs, they were more than helpful, but to press for tests to find out what was wrong- nope. You can't tell them anything, either. 

I only filed my claim a month ago, and I am already sure I did it wrong or back asswards, so I know I have some time to wait. I look forward to discussions here, and thank you all for your service!

[Andyman73]

I had well documented jaw pain for nearly 5 of my 6 years, and I was looked at by both medical and dental pros.  It was so bad that I would massage my jaw between bites when eating. But I was not grinding my teeth, but clenching my jaw.

Hey, did I just come up with another claim?

[pumibel]

You probably do Andy! I clench as well. I have a habit of calling it grinding, but that is another thing. I clench. There are these permanent seams inside my cheeks from it, and one of my molars broke from the pressure. 

[TALON II FE]

My thanks to all of you!  Buck52-I am grateful for the help and encouragement that I have received here so far. Brocovet- I have plenty of busy work, so I am able to wait patiently. I am more concerned about having treatment for my problems right now, anyway. I need to feel better physically so I can work more. 

My only cautionary would be that mental and physical health often mirror each other, sometimes you are best served by improving both concurrently.  That is part of the reason that many services for vets (and troubled teens, etc.) that are keyed on mental health issues like PTSD and Combat Stress are treated on 'wilderness adventures'.  They feed each other, especially when depression is an ingredient, as it usually is. 

[pumibel]

I see your point, Talon, and not just for my own situation, but in my mom's as well. It is hard to distinguish what came first- the depression or the pain.  I know her pain from degenerative arthritis causes some of the depression, but she has never been a happy woman, and she is still harboring a lot of emotional pain and damage from her childhood. I know she is in pain, but I really believe that depression makes it worse. Moving around is essential for people with arthritis, yet the depression keeps her from doing things. 

I am not up for a wilderness adventure! I hate bugs, and I have night blindness, lol. I would totally feed the bears, too. Bad camper!

Edited October 25, 2015 by pumibel
grammar!

[Andyman73]

You probably do Andy! I clench as well. I have a habit of calling it grinding, but that is another thing. I clench. There are these permanent seams inside my cheeks from it, and one of my molars broke from the pressure. 

Seams???  I have what feels like a faint ridge down the insides of my cheeks, like right where my teeth meet.   I do have wear on my teeth that dentists have tried to blame on grinding, however that is one thing I've never been accused of doing.  At least, not at night in my sleep.  Not once in my 16 years of marriage has my wife ever said that I grind my teeth.  Lots of other stuff but not that.  I do rub my teeth together gently, it's something I have caught myself doing, subconciously.

On the other hand, though, I catch myself clenching all the time.  I can recall doing it in the service, too.  I remember doing it on my drive home from work, holding my breath and clenching, as if I was waiting for something painful to happen.  And just this past spring my wife said that my kids saw me clenching and unclenching, while mowing the grass.  Apparently I was doing it with every step in time with the pain in my body.

As for camping....yah, you'll feed the bears, alright!  Lol!

Semper Fi.

Andyman

[pumibel]

I'd only be a snack for the average grizzly. The ridges you describe, Andy, are exactly what I mean by "seams". They look like seams to me, lol. I spend far too much time clenching my jaw, but the worst is when driving or going out in public- crowds.