I found Dr. Farrell after 5 years of trying to figure out why I was having so much pain in my mouth and jaw. I would go to bed nightly with a massive headache, and had several migraine days a month. Believing the pain was from a tooth that I had chipped and filled in high school, I went to my dentist to see if there was something wrong with that tooth. I had many dental treatments done (filling, root canal, and eventually an extraction that was totally unnecessary), and even had a CT scan done by an ENT specialist. Without any pain relief, my dentist suggested I see a TMJ specialist. After consulting with my primary care doctor as well, I started looking for the best TMJ specialist in the Phoenix area. I saw 2 other specialists, and Dr. Farrell's expertise is second to none.
After a year and 4 months of treatment, I have seen some improvement but I am still in a great deal of pain. Dr Farrell told me at my first appointment that I have arthritis, a great deal of inflammation, and a torn temporalis tendon (the tendon is the biggest cause of my pain). This isn't Dr. Farrell's fault at all - he has done everything he can think of to help me. I had a splint made, have had several injections, and am taking quite a few medications on top of eating a soft food/liquid diet. The first round of injections I did actually helped my headaches go away completely (thank you Dr. Farrell!), but I was still having a lot of pain from my tendon. Dr. Farrell explained to me that tendons are the hardest thing to heal, especially in the jaw, because the best way to get them to heal is to not use them...nearly impossible when you have to eat and talk! He told me to be patient, and give it 4 months. 4 months later, the pain was worse, so I went back to him and told him what was wrong. I did another series of 3 injections onto the tendon, which helped for a few days at a time before the pain would return. Very frustrated and feeling hopeless, I again went to Dr. Farrell for a follow-up, and he suggested the next step to treat my torn tendon would be a stem cell injection. PRP was an alternative to the stem cells, but he said it is more painful and often you need more than one injection done. Since I can barely handle a blood test, I opted for the stem cells.
In early January, I was scheduled for my stem cell injection. Betty, the nurse who is always present for injections, explained the procedure to me and helped me calm down before we got started. I initially thought the stem cells would be going onto my temporalis tendon only, but Dr. Farrell did an injection into my jaw joint first (this is INCREDIBLY painful, even when the area is numb), then he did a smaller injection along the tendon. Betty showed me on the ultrasound the before/after images, and even I could see a big difference. Feeling hopeful, I scheduled my follow-up for 6 weeks later and headed home.
It is now a month after my stem cell injection, and I am still in a lot of pain. One of the medications I was prescribed (Tramadol) was causing me to have a great deal of depression and actually suicidal thoughts, so I called into the office to see if they could prescribe me another mild painkiller without the bad side effects. Tracy (the PA) was VERY concerned about me, and wanted me to come in right away instead of waiting for my 6-week follow up. Michelle, the receptionist, got on the line and asked if I could come in right away. I drove in to the office and Betty took me back to the exam room.
After explaining to Betty the pain I was still having, combined with the depression, I was feeling so hopeless and like I would never know life without pain again. Dr. Farrell came in, and I explained the same thing to him...and broke down crying right in front of him! How embarrassing! Dr. Farrell listened to what I had to say (as he ALWAYS does), and started thinking of ways he could help me with the pain. He recalled a representative from a company that creates similar stem cell injections to what he already provides, and said they had offered him a free treatment to use on a patient, but they didn't know who would be a good candidate. I volunteered for the treatment, because I am willing to do just about anything at this point!
Dr. Farrell and Betty told me they would arrange the treatment with the new stem cells, and gave me a prescription for a better painkilling option than the Tramadol, then told me to increase the amount of Zoloft I am taking to combat the depression and help with the pain as well.
This morning I got a call from Michelle, telling me they had been in contact with the stem cell vendor and were ready to get me scheduled for my next treatment, with only having to pay my co-pay instead of for the entire treatment! I am really hoping to see results from this treatment, and I am incredibly grateful for Dr. Farrell's hard work to try to get me healed.
Dr. Farrell is an excellent doctor and I highly recommend him!