FaceCaddy Review

     In the next month or so, you can expect to see a lot about looking good and feeling great on my blog.  I have decided that this is a now or never thing.  I'm either going to choose to take care of myself now or it's just never going to happen.  So after my recent bout of jaw pain after a dental visit, I knew I needed to get proactive instead of just taking whatever was handed to me (the pain!) like I always do.

     So when the pain didn't go away, I saw the dentist.

     When the dentist couldn't pull the tooth, I saw the doctor.

     And when the doctor said the pain might last two to three weeks because it was actually TMJ and NOT the tooth, I saw the pharmacist.

     Somewhere in the middle of all that, I researched ways to make the excruciating pain in my head go away.  Sometimes the medicine that I was on just wouldn't take all the pain away.  I found out later that it was due to my singing.  I can't help it, singing to me is like breathing or eating.  I do it mindlessly and I can't live without it.  But it wasn't helping the Temporomandibular joint that was causing me so much discomfort.

     But back to my research.  I found mouth pieces to stop jaw clenching and teeth grinding at night.  There was lots of success attributed to them, but it wasn't for me.  I don't grit my teeth unless I am stressed out over something in the moment and I don't think it is even possible for me to grind my teeth because they fit so perfectly inside each other with no wiggle room.  I also came across pillows which looked comfy and pain gel which just looked like a scam.

      Then I came across a site for TMJ sufferers, called TMJ Hope, and saw something that looked promising.  It's called the FaceCaddy by CaddyWraps.  It's a device that you wrap around your head and it holds gel packs that can be frozen or heated to relieve discomfort. The man who developed CaddyWraps was gracious enough to let me try one out.

     At  first, I wasn't sure that I would find much use in it.  I had a hard time making the gel pads warm enough without disobeying the instructions to not go over fifty seconds in the microwave.  I also thought that the wrap almost hurt my jaw because it held me too tightly.  But like anything, practice was all it took.  I loosened the wrap so it would not hold my jaw too tightly and I nuked the gel packs individually for fifty seconds with no pauses (I think my microwave is a smaller wattage than most) and it worked well.

     Luckily for me, my doctor was a smart woman and put me on Prednisone to help boost the healing process and I have been nearly pain free for the last two days.  But before that, I would wake with pain in my jaw that just hurt terribly.  So while waiting for my pain meds to kick in, I would apply the FaceCaddy and it would help sooth away the discomfort.  The gel packs stayed warm just long enough.  If the pain meds wouldn't have worked as quickly, I may have had to re-nuke the gel packs, but just as the meds kicked in, the gel packs lost their heat.  I would guess that the real heat of it lasted about a half hour which was just right.

     I decided not to try the freeze option because my teeth are very sensitive to the cold, but the gel seems to be the same gel that is in most ice packs and stays pliable when frozen.  For anyone without sensitive teeth, I imagine it would work wonders.

     The FaceCaddy looks almost like a pair of fabric sunglasses with Velcro on the ends.  On the inside of each "lens" part of the eyeglass shape is a pocket that the gel packs go into.  You fold the pack, then insert and unfold.  Sounds a touch complicated, but the packs go in so easy and unfold easy too.  To use it, you place the middle part under your chin and wrap it up over your head so that the rounded parts fall over your jaw and ears, not toward your face.  Then you attach the Velcro straps together.

     I like that you don't have to hold a rice bag or a bag of peas to your face.  It is completely hands-free.  As a busy mom who is always having to break up fights or find missing toys and clean up spills, it is a blessing to have something that allows me to do that.

     The gel packs are the perfect size.  They are just the size of my hands, which are smaller than average, and fit on the side of my face just as comfortably as my hand would.  CaddyWraps also has an EyesCaddy and a BackCaddy.  I can't wait to see if they come up with KneeCaddies or AnkleCaddies!  To keep up with CaddyWraps, you can catch them on Facebook or Twitter.

     Interested?  The FaceCaddy sells for $24.99 and come in black, pink, zebra and paisley (above).  The gel packs also sell individually for $9.99 so that you can always have a pair in the freezer or ready to nuke when you start to feel the need to rewarm or cool back down.  If you want one of your own, you can also stay tuned for a giveaway in the next couple days.  I'm so happy that CaddyWraps has agreed to give one of my readers their very own.  They sure do aim to please!

     So tell me, do you suffer from TMJ Disorder or other debilitating jaw pain?  How do you usually deal with it?

Except for the product(s) given to me for the purpose of reviewing, I received no compensation for this post.  All opinions are 100% my own.