Articles written by Dr. Farrand Robson

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Welcome!

Thank you for coming to check out my health testimony.  It is a long journey meddled with bits and pieces of this health issue and that health issue.  Symptoms and issues have accumulated over the years and I have finally found out what was ailing me - and the solution is drug-free.  I look forward to trying to do justice to the story of my testimony and how God brought me to a place of healing and vitality.

MY STORY

I am writing this to share with you how my health issues have made a turn for the better.  All of the doctors and tests referred to below have happened in 2010.  Some of the symptoms I have been living with since 2002 and earlier.

I was depressed and anxious, so I went to a doctor to get anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication.  I also began seeing a counselor once a week.  Something is not right with me.

I was unable to sleep at all for weeks, so I went to the doctor and started taking prescription medication (Ambien) for sleeping at night.  For napping during the day, I took a Xanex so that I could relax enough to sleep.

I lost my appetite and was losing weight.  My stomach was upset and I had diarrhea most of the time, and I was tired and had achy joints, so I went to a naturopath to see if a dietary change or the addition of vitamins and supplements might help.  I also saw an acupuncturist for migraines and muscle pain.

I was extra-sensitive to light, sound, and smell.  I could only eat vegetables, rice, and protein shakes.   I didn’t want sugars, processed foods, dairy, wheat, beef, or pork.

My eyes burned and ached all of the time, so I went to the eye doctor for an annual checkup.  My prescription changed a little bit, so I got new glasses.  The new glasses didn’t improve any of my symptoms.

My teeth didn’t seem to sit together the same – it was like my bite was off, so I went to my regular dentist.  He drilled on my teeth in a few places so my bite would feel better to me.  It seemed like that was kind of a permanent treatment for muscle issues that I hope would be resolved at one point, but I didn’t say anything to him, I figured he would know or he wouldn’t have done it.

I was having bad headaches all the time, so I went to my doctor and was treated with two separate shots of Demerol, then narcotics and muscle relaxants to ‘break the cycle’ of the headache I had.  That didn’t work.  The headaches were still as bad as ever.  He ordered an x-ray of my sinuses that came back normal.  The doctor tried a couple of migraine medicines on me, and said that since that didn’t work, I should go to the emergency room since there was nothing else his office could do for me.

I went to the Emergency Room with these symptoms.  They did a C.T. scan to rule out sinus infection and did blood tests.  They gave me intravenous pain medication and Benadryl.  All tests came back negative.  Symptoms remain the same.  They released me saying I should see a neurologist. 

The muscles in my face, head, neck, and shoulders were tight and painful, so I went to see a massage therapist.  After several months of treatment, the headaches and muscle tightness were the same as before.  The massage therapist said that she had never treated someone whose symptoms hadn’t improved before and she didn’t know what else to do.  She could help me manage the pain but that was it.

A couple of people and the doctor in the E.R. suggested that I see a neurologist.  She gave me a few strong medications to ‘break the cycle’ of the headache I was having.  That didn’t work, so when I went back, she put me on another migraine medicine and said it could take up to 4 weeks or so for it to work.  She also prescribed 6 weeks of physical therapy since my head and neck were so limited in movement.  And, to ease my mind, she ordered an MRI of my head and neck to rule out tumors and other things that can’t be seen on an x-ray or CAT scan.  Six weeks later I went back to report all symptoms are the same with no changes.  She wrote a prescription for the same medicine that people with Parkinson’s disease take – saying it would help with the muscle spasms or make them worse.  I decided not to start this medication until after I had my first visit with the TMJ doctor the following week.

After 6 weeks of physical therapy, the therapist said that I wasn’t making any improvements and that her treatment wasn’t what I needed to get better.  I was actually having an increase in my pain and symptoms at this time.

During this process, I have had several blood tests to make sure all internal systems are working properly.  I had an x-ray of my sinuses and a C.T. scan.  I had the MRI of my head and neck.  All tests came back negative.  

I have been told that I am under stress and that I just need to relax.  I took a week off of work to rest, that didn’t make a difference.  I also took a week off of work to work hard around the house, which seemed to help - while I was busy it seemed that I didn’t think as about the pain as much. 

My husband had repeatedly noted that I look paler than ever, white as a ghost.  I agreed, and nodded it off to Caucasian skin and getting older without time in the sun.

I started searching for a doctor who could see me from a TMJ angle.  I was diagnosed with TMJ in 2003 and was given a custom-made night guard to protect my teeth from all the clenching I was doing at night and prescription muscle relaxants.  I had nothing to lose and that was the only thing I could think of that I hadn’t done yet.  I called an oral surgeon who referred me to Dr. Ferrand Robson at TMJ Diagnostics.  I explained my symptoms to the office manager who assured me that the doctor has successfully treated people with my kinds of symptoms for years and that I should come in right away.  I cried on the phone.  I couldn’t believe that someone actually knew what was going on with me.

The TMJ Diagnostics team first did an extensive intake session, going over every symptom and medical procedure I have had for these symptoms.  They tested my blood oxygen saturation levels, EKG, and carbon-dioxide exhaling levels while laying, sitting, standing, and talking.  They took pictures of me from front and side, noting where my major joints are.  This took over 3 hours.

At my next appointment, Dr. Robson talked with me about my health issues, what he does, and what he doesn’t do.  He custom-made a lower jaw appliance over the next 6 hours.  My headache immediately seemed to go away when I put it in.  

I was hooked up to an EKG, blood oxygen saturation monitor, and a carbon-dioxide tube in my nose to measure exhale.  He showed me how my body responded to having the appliance in, and how it directly affected the way my heart beats and how I breathed.  My oxygen saturation went up with the appliance.

I didn’t realize how belabored my breathing was.  When I saw how much easier it was to breathe with the appliance in, when the doctor took it out to adjust it, I missed it and wanted it back in as soon as possible.  I felt like the fish out of water on the asthma commercials.

The doctor said that my tongue sat low and back in my throat causing my airway to not be as open as it should be and that the appliance would help reestablish the balance between my airway and the rest of my body by holding my tongue up and forward in my mouth/throat area.  He said that the anxiety I was experiencing was the adrenaline in my body being produced from the constant lack of oxygen that my body was in which also was the reason why I was unable to sleep, and why I was so pale.  My teeth were clenching and my muscles were spasming to help my airway be open enough to get oxygen, since my throat was more compromised when I was sleeping (lying down and relaxing); Thus, the constant muscle pain in my face, head, neck, and back all of the time.  

It has been just over 2 months since my first visit to TMJ Diagnostics.  My symptoms have dramatically improved on average at least 80-90%.  I am able to sleep at night and nap during the day without medication.  I am able to eat (without forcing myself) and have stopped losing weight.  My posture has improved.  The stabbing constant pain under my cheek bones and face pain has been gone since my first visit.  I can breathe easier, have energy during the day, and my skin color isn’t as pale anymore.  I have my ‘color’ back.  I stopped taking the anti-anxiety medication and haven’t needed it in almost 3 weeks.  I am taking less anti-depressant medication than I was, and hope to one day be off of it all together.

I have to relearn what it is to live with vitality.  All I did was try to get through the work day and that was all I’ve done for years.  I didn’t have energy for anything else.  I have more hours in a day than I ever thought I would to do more than just ‘get by’, and the energy to live and do things instead of tolerating and managing pain.

I hope that in sharing my story with you that it will help someone else.