Hi Leanne,
I'm sorry to hear about your stroke and the jaw pain that you're experiencing.
Is the pain/stiffness on one side of your jaw only? A lacuna stroke can result in muscle weakness, however it's very unlikely to cause jaw weakness.
You've identified that you're under a lot of stress at the moment. When stressed, it's not uncommon for people to hold tension in their jaw. When these muscles are constantly tensed, you may experience your jaw 'getting stuck', or 'locking', and associated pain around the jaw itself, or the ears, cheeks or temple. Do you know what's causing your stress? Do you have any strategies to manage your stress? After a stroke, people can find that they are easily stressed or that they react differently to stress. A stroke itself, can be a particularly stressful medical event. Talking to a friend or family member, accessing counselling services or taking some time out for yourself are all important parts of your recovery. Meditation, relaxation or mindfulness techniques can also help manage stress. Our health professionals on StrokeLine (1800 787 653) would be more than happy to talk to you and support you through this challenging time.
Aside from stress, there are other causes of jaw pain and tension. Confirming the cause of your pain and tension is an important part of finding the right treatment.
Given that your stroke only happened recently, you may have a neurology follow up appointment scheduled? If you do, I'd recommend telling the neurologist about your symptoms. They may want to book you in for another brain scan or refer you to an Ear Nose and Throat specialist (ENT). You may also need to see a speech pathologist. A speech pathologist can provide you with strategies and exercises to better manage your jaw pain, particularly when eating. If you aren't booked to see a neurologist, speak to your GP about getting an ENT referral.
If we can be of any further help, please don't hesitate to contact StrokeLine 1800 787 653 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm AEST). We have a speech pathologist on the phone Thursday's and Friday's.
Best wishes,
Alana (Speech Pathologist for StrokeLine)
