A nerve zing/pain feeling in one tooth- very concerned

Hi! I haven’t been on this site in awhile, but I feel stressed about my current situation. For starters I know I suffer from anxiety and probably OCD. I’ve had health anxiety for years, so anything strange that pops up sends panic through me. This tooth thing is the most recent. I really hope there are people on this site that have experienced something similar and can tell me about their positive outcome. I can’t hear any horror stories as I’m concocting enough of them myself right now. Also I should add, I’ve been going through a lot of extra stress over the last six months.

About a month ago I got a nerve zing through my upper left premolar and it occurred a couple of times that day. It happened a couple of days later as well and kind of hurts for a while after. I went to the dentist and he said there isn’t anything wrong with the tooth and to just leave it for now. He didn’t really know what the problem was. Well of course given the way my mind works I’ve been trying to figure out what has gone wrong because the exact same thing happened today. It sends panic through me. The only thing I can think of is, I have a tooth issue on the other side, and have had it for several months and it will be dealt with in July. This has meant for the most part I’ve chewed on the side that is giving me this zing/pain problem. It’s terrifying me.

Has anyone else had anything similar happen and did it go away? I sure hope so!

 

This is a problem I had. At first they thought it was just sensitivity from slightly receding gums. Worry gone.
It kept happening, but I made my Denist aware of TMS (now he asks all his clients if they have stress or fears .
Finally, it just let up. I do get some sensations sometimes, no big deal. A few times it has been because a tooth needs attention, that’s normal, but again, no big deal. It’s normal.
If your dentist says you are ok, you probably are!

 

Cactus is right. If the dentist checked and says you are OK, you are OK.

I had awful tooth pain prior to finding out about TMS. It was bad. I couldn't narrow it down to a particular tooth. I had a sense that I was holding the muscles leading into that area very tightly but the pain felt beyond that. The dentist said, "I have good news and I have bad news for you. There is nothing wrong with your teeth." That, according to his joke was both the good news and the bad news. To me it was all good news.
The pain stayed around for another week or so and then went away.
Being TMS though it came back in the form of throat pain. (That's when I found TMS.)

 

Thank you Booble and Cactusflower. I’m so glad you both ‘healed’ from the tooth pain. It’s so stressful. My dentist said the tooth seems fine but he’s not sure what the nervy pain is. He’s not sure. That doesn’t instill confidence.

 

My dentist didn't know either. He said, "Maybe your sinuses? Try some Claritin?"
Here's why I think it's GOOD that your dentist doesn't know what it is. If it was something dangerous related to your tooth, your dentist would know. If it was something dangerous related to your gums, or your mouth, or the nerves, or anything at all in that area, your dentist would know.
What your dentist is saying is YOU ARE HEALTHY. YOU ARE SAFE.
Your TMS brain is saying, "Bah, humbug to that! I want you to believe there is something wrong!"
But your dentist knows the truth. There is nothing to worry about.
Phew! Yay!

Sometimes when you've been worrying for awhile it can take a bit for your brain and body to catch up with the knowledge that you are fine.
I remember when I had a very, very big medical scare many years ago. When after much, much time I got the all clear, my parents wanted to take me (and husband) out to dinner to celebrate. I was still in my "oh my god I'm so scared and feel sick all the time because of it" mode. After much prodding from my insistent mother I agreed. I could barely eat nor converse like a normal person. It was too soon. There wasn't a quick switch to immediately go from you might be dying to oh, you're OK after all.

In your case, there is nothing wrong with your tooth or the nerve to your tooth or anything at all. It's just your brain causing tension, tightness, or whatever it is that it does. It would be good if you could work on the emotional TMS stuff. That way you have less chance of the pain moving elsewhere!

 

Thanks again. He wasn’t thinking when he spoke to me because he doesn’t know I have severe anxiety. He said it could be nothing because that can happen, he said, it could be a ‘bruised’ area, sinuses, a crack, although he didn’t think a crack because it wasn’t reacting to hot or cold, or it could be neuralgia. Well that set me off. I can’t get that out of my head. How dare he say that when my tooth is healthy. I think I’m fearing the worst after his off-handed remark based on nothing. But he really doesn’t know. But thank you for your reply.

 

As a fellow sufferer, health anxiety sucks. So much wasted time and worry.

 

Beyond the current tooth issue, are you continuing to work to squash your TMS symptoms? OCD is definitely a symptom of TMS that can be overcome by using the TMS strategies Dr. Sarno (and others) have outlined. Instead of “I can’t get it out of my mind” why not reframe this current space you are in as an opportunity to continue to your next level of doing TMS work.
Here is an OCD success story!

 

Thank you, I’ll watch this video. I have probably been reacting to my symptoms and not really dealing with my health OCD.

 

This entire website is about dealing with TMS which goes beyond health OCD, because the focus on health is only a symptom of overall general anxiety mixed with personality traits. I suggest tackling the Structured Educational Program even if you’ve done it before. Doing it slowly with your current insight to what is going on for you may help. If things continue, you might seek some therapeutic support for the OCD or try reading Dr. Hanscom’s blog (he says he has an upcoming book too) on what he calls intrusive repetitive thoughts (which is a form of OCD).

 

Thank you Cactusflower. Have you had success yourself on this site?

 

yes! Not with all symptoms, but with many. All of my multiple neurological symptoms are gone.. those that pop up literally last only seconds now, and are occasional. My anxiety, although still there is way better (EMDR really helped in combination with skills learned here), the intrusive thoughts are wild though - but not as much health related in general - you might begin to realize the intrusive thoughts are generalized.. I just tell my brain they are not real and laugh at so many of them! I know I may have symptoms but am strong and can handle life, I have many stressors but realize I can choose to be stressed or to just deal with situations with confidence, compassion for self (vs perfection) and over time. I know I’m not there yet but with fantastic role models here like @JanAtheCPA , @TG957 , @Baseball65 , @BloodMoon and many others, I will be.

I think you can get there. Remember that thoughts aren’t real and that health anxiety is just where you are now, but it in no way needs to define or be a part of you in the future.

 

Thanks again, and well put. You’re right about the list of people you mentioned, they are incredibly helpful! There are many helpful people on this site. I’m glad you’ve made progress. xo. Also, thank you for mentioning your tooth issue as it has me very scared right now.,

 

I discovered something today and thought I’d post it here. Gigalos (one of our members) posted some information about massaging certain muscles to deal with various tooth pain. Well my fingers are crossed that something he posted will work for me. It seems that my temporal muscle on the left side is tight and actually has knots in it. If I push it with my thumb it hurts. Apparently this area corresponds to the exact tooth that has been giving me problems. The other side of my head feels fine. I’m the biggest skeptic in the world, but it seems like I may have hit on something. If so, thank you Gigalos.

 

Well, massaging your face isn't going to solve your TMS issues. Are you actually dealing with that, doing the work, or do you still look for "fixes" and short cuts so you don't have to face the things that generate the TMS?
This is a really hard reality to face, and sometimes taking this path means we get some better, and decide we are OK 'enough' - begin to live life and our TMS brains just keep on doing their things "protecting" us from (whatever it is it thinks we need protection from) then the symptoms begin again, and we realize there's just more to do.

 

Good point Cactusflower. I guess this time around the symptoms were so painful that I became totally panic stricken. But along with massaging the knots out, you are right, I have to change the way I deal with stress and anxiety. It all seems to funnel down to being horrified by health issues. The thought of being debilitated or in pain is very scary for me. This is the area I have to work on. Thank you!

 

I hate to belabour this, but I think one of my concerns is when my tooth flared, which it’s done three times in two weeks it does so without stimulus. It’s not really sensitive to hot or cold. It just happens. It’s scaring the hell out of me to be honest. Has anyone had this?

 

Please do the work and stop asking the same question over and over. That’s just your tms brain.
The work you need to do is not just about health anxiety, there is more to it, which is why you need to re-read a book by Dr. Sarno and let it sink in, then look at the Structural Education Program. Why wait, and just sit around ruminating and catastrophizing. What is holding you back?