Experiences having an arthroscopy and arthroplasty with disc plication treating TMD
Hello! I haven't seen posts about the operations I've had so far and wanted to just put out on the internet a personal experience for anyone else considering these!
I first developed a TMD disorder around 18yo when my jaw locked up one week. After that I spent the next five years ignoring the pain, using cyclobenzaprine 5mg as needed and CBD/THC since over-the-counter pain killers never helped. I spent a few years hitting dead ends with different doctors, physical therapy, custom mouthgaurds, until I found my current care team at Penn Medicine's Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery department. I received botox every three months for several years with no improvement in pain levels, and then had an MRI where I was diagnosed with mild osteoarthritis on my right side (up to this point, most pain was on the left side.) I experienced lots of clicking and popping and pain levels around a 4-5 most days but could eat an unrestricted diet and talk all day with full mobility in my jaw.
In February of 2025 I had an arthroscopy on both sides of my jaw. The recovery matched very closely to what they described and since it was a minor procedure, I was fully healed after three months. However, I noticed the pain was definitely worse. Most days were now around a 5-6 and I began heavily relying on CBD (taking 1200mg+ daily) to manage pain. More botox, no improvement, so my doctor next proposed trying an arthroplasty with disc plication on just the left side, since it was still noticeably worse than the right.
I had the arthroplasty on January 6, 2026, and everything has completely changed. Pain is now directly correlated to speaking, making facial expressions, laughing, any mobility of my jaw on top of eating. Pain levels are 7-10 every day. After February, they stopped opioids so I am managing with carisoprodol 350mg 4x per day, cyclobenzaprine 5mg as needed (not with the carisoprodol!) and a lot of CBD (1000+mg) and THC products (30+mg.) I am four months post-op and can talk for roughly an hour or two per day before being in pain that I cannot manage by taking my medications as prescribed and need to multiply doses. The effects on my body have been predictable. I am 27 and otherwise healthy, and I am experiencing extreme fatigue, lightheadedness/dizziness and struggle balancing, slow hand-eye coordination, and brain fog/difficulty communicating my thoughts.
Holding out hope that after a while I'll be in a much better place!! I have so much compassion for everyone dealing with this pain, it is so unmanageable and difficult to obtain care for.
(Just want to add I am also diligent about my PT exercises, warm compresses, massages, and topical pain medications.)