TMJ=not cool, but rainforests=super cool

Spring break has now ended, and I've spent today and yesterday getting back into the swing of things. I am taking a seminar-style course about paleoclimates (the climate throughout history and prehistory), which is really fun. Each class meeting, we all sit and discuss a scientific journal article or two, which are assigned in advance by the professor. Two weeks ago, I signed up to be the leader of the discussion for today's class. I figured that it would be a good time to present, since I would have all of spring break to read the assigned article and create a powerpoint presentation about it. Unfortunately, the professor had trouble finding a good article about the time period we were set to discuss, so I didn't get the assigned reading until Sunday night. Needless to say, yesterday was a full day of powerpoint action. In the end, I think it worked out well, and it was definitely a good way to push myself back into coursework and research after a full week off.

The article I presented was actually super cool... it was about a possible rainforest that existed 64.1 million years ago in Castle Rock, CO. Castle Rock is located about 40km south of Denver, so this is really close to Boulder, and I think it is really neat. If anyone wants to read about it, the scientists who study the rainforest have a website at http://www.paleocurrents.com/castle_rock/ . There are lots of neat pictures and explanations of how they found and excavated the fossilized leaves. According to my super smart and very informed geology grad student classmates (I'm the only atmospheric and oceanic sciences student in the small class), the research seems pretty solid, though as with all science, there is a measure of uncertainty. This doesn't mean it's wrong though! That's just how science works!

In the meantime, as many of you know, I have been dealing with TMJ disorder. This basically means that my jaw muscles aren't moving around correctly, which results in sore jaw muscles, a locked jaw, and me grinding and chomping my teeth at night. My TMJ disorder is so bad that I've also ended up with cervical vertigo, tinnitus, bad neck and shoulder pain that radiates up to my head, and bad headaches. Now that I have the diagnosis of TMJ disorder, I've been able to get treatment for it. My dentist and physician both recommended a bite splint, so a lot of money later, last Monday I went in to pick up my custom made splint. It is supposed to make it so my jaw joints sit properly, so that my jaw muscles will then relax and relearn the correct way for them to open and close and move around. I'm sad, though, because the splint is SUPER dorky. However, if it will help to fix my TMJ, I am happy to use it. I'm willing to do anything to make the symptoms go away. Hopefully, this will do the trick. I have to wear it full time for the next couple of weeks, and then I can taper off to just nighttime. I can already feel the difference and my jaw does seem much happier.

If this doesn't take care of all of my symptoms, I will need to try physical therapy, and potentially other alternative medicine techniques. I also have muscle relaxants prescribed to me by an ENT (ear-nose-throat doctor) for nights when my neck and shoulders are really bad. Anyways, below is a photo of me with my appliance on... it kind of looks like putty spread over my bottom teeth, doesn't it?! It is really hard, tooth-colored acrylic that's molded so it snaps onto my bottom teeth. It's blurry because I had to take the photo without a flash.

See how long my hair is?! Tomorrow, I'm getting a haircut, though not too much off. I'm excited though, because I haven't cut it since just before last Thanksgiving, so my ends are getting scraggly.