I’ve been dealing with jaw area pain for over a year. At first, my jaw muscles were occasionally tense, which my shrink attributed to stress at work, prescribing a variety of meds. Then it became a daily issue, especially flaring up at night and in the morning.
I’ve seen multiple dentists who said nothing was visible on the X-ray, and my GP ordered an MRI for tinnitus that started around the same time. The diagnosis was moderate sleep apnea, so I bought a CPAP and also got a mouthpiece.
In the end, the GP at the hospital said, “I have no idea,” and prescribed me months’ worth of painkillers, then wished me good luck.
I asked about being referred to another hospital for a second opinion, but he said I’d need to pay out of pocket for that and suggested going to a local clinic for a referral. The local clinic then told me to go back to the same hospital since I’d already started treatment there.
I’m already paying close to 60,000 JPY a month for health insurance, and I’d prefer to have this covered instead of continuing to pay out of pocket, having already spent over 500,000 JPY so far.
Any recommendations for specialists who could help, and avoid paying out of pocket?
by japertas