TMJ 'dysfunction' - Health implications

I was diagnosed with gout at the age of eighteen, seven years ago. With the lifestyle, I was leading before diagnosis (eating red meat, drinking alcohol etc) uric acid in my blood averaged from 600 to 800. After diagnosis, my GP prescribed Zyloric 300mg and advised me to take 1 pill a day. By time, the idea of taking pills every day started bothering me. I looked up this condition and from my research I found a lot of information about how fundamental a healthy diet is for gout patients. Having said this, there is a lot of contradiction about the right food for gout patients from one source to another, which leaves some uncertainty as to what I should be eating and avoiding.

Changed my lifestyle entirely, stopped pills (for the reason of their side effects) and got myself on a steady diet:

- Omitted any red meat altogether
- Started eating more vegetables (except spinach)
- Reduced alcohol consumption (especially beer and wine)
- Drinking more water (approx 3L daily)
- Included more cherries and berries in my diet
- Drinking extract from fenugreek seeds with hot water

Even though I was trying my best to stick to the above-mentioned diet, there were rare occasions where I treated myself to either a few drinks or inappropriate food and on each occasion it resulted to a sudden gout attack. From the last seven years, I found that the three main causes for my gout attacks are alcohol consumption, inappropriate food and stress.

Every gout attack has the same symptoms: it starts by feeling discomfort in one of my feet. This discomfort develops into severe pain constantly shooting up my leg. At this stage, the pain is unbearable to the point that I couldn't even stand the touch of a feather, let alone simply rest my foot on the floor. On average, my gout attacks last three weeks from the day of discomfort until it's completely healed.

Recently I was referred to Dr. Amir and from the first time I met him he said that more than likely my gout issue is caused by the asymmetry of my jaw. When I heard this, I was very sceptical and did not believe it until a few days ago. I had my fifth dental appointment and I happened to be under a severe gout attack. I was hobbling all over the place, unable to rest my foot even slightly on the floor.

Astonishingly, Dr. Amir proved his theory by demonstrating that I could walk instantly with less pain if my jaw was properly aligned. I could not believe the sense of relief I got from this experience and how much hope it gave me to really believe that Dr. Amir's orthodontic treatment will finally eradicate my gout.

That is amazing, everyday we hear of other conditions responding to Dr Amir's treatment. I have a relapsing remitting condition which although not painful has caused some people (mainly young and female) to commit suicide: this condition is alopecia. I am waiting with baited breath to see if this condition will respond to the treatment too.
Best wishes
Michele

This forum is essentially dedicated to MS, but I see some important parallels here and will try and dissect them.
Firstly, many people have similar lifestyles but they do not suffer with gout.
Secondly, the conventional explanations for gout are:
Excess serum accumulation of uric acid in the blood can lead to a type of arthritis known as gout. This painful condition is the result of needle-like crystals of uric acid precipitating in joints, capillaries, skin, and other tissues. Kidney stones can also form through the process of formation and deposition of sodium urate microcrystals.
Gout can occur where serum uric acid levels are as low as 6 mg/dL (~357 µmol/L), but an individual can have serum values as high as 9.6 mg/dL (~565 µmol/L) and not have gout.
Inflammation during attacks is more commonly treated with analgesics and steroids and urate levels are managed with other drugs
Very high serum uric acid levels are associated with spasticity
Excess serum accumulation is often associated with cardiovascular disease.
High serum uric acid is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
Saturation levels of uric acid in the blood may result in one form of kidney stones.



Here it is important to note that the patient has a permanently asymmetric jaw and teeth and yet suffers intermittently, and he has been able to recognise a trigger. This we will call a Relapsing Remitting disorder, just like in MS.

This explains the conventional explanation "This painful condition is the result of needle-like crystals of uric acid precipitating in joints, capillaries, skin, and other tissues"


This shows that the "needle like crystals" causing the pain needs further clarification.
Further points to note are that the condition leads to kidney stones, cardio-vascular disease, arthritis and type 2 diabetes. If the asymmetry of the jaw is responsible for the high levels of uric acid, then correcting the jaw should correct the levels of uric acid and hence the gout and perhaps all associated disease processes as well.

Please read a very extensive account about Uric Acid Analysis and the ramifications of a high Uric Acid level here:
http://www.fscanltd.com/10.html
We tried to use a commercially available home use Uric Acid Analysis device, but unfortunately, it does not appear to be very reliable.
The inquiry continues!

It is early days, but I propose doing a full blood profile on a monthly basis as treatment progresses and perhaps demonstrate that the jaw can actually be the true cause of gout, an extremely debilitating condition affecting millions around the world.