A woman from Helmshore has opened up about the reality of living with her ‘locked jaw’ condition, which has left her in excruciating pain.
Lauren Bolton has late stage temporomandibular joint disease, a degenerative condition of the jaw joints which affects movement of the jaw.
Known as 'locked jaw', the rare condition can cause pain and stiffness around the jaw, ear and temple, and Lauren's only option is surgery.
The 29-year-old says she is unable to eat solid food. The pain for Lauren is so debilitating that there have been occasions where she “wished someone would offer her the lethal injection”.
Lauren said she began experiencing jaw problems around 15 years ago but peaked around the age of 19.
She said: “I began experiencing symptoms, such as pain, locking, when I was around 14-years-old.
“This has deteriorated over the past 15 years and none of the treatments offered have been effective – some have made the condition worse.
“The last the last couple of years have been so bad that I have required a no chew/liquidised diet.”
The former Haslingden High School pupil said the condition is “agonising” and requires surgical intervention.
She said: “The pain is never not there. If I don't eat or talk and keep on top of pain medication it is more manageable but it is always there - from the second I open my eyes in a morning to the second I fall asleep. It is exhausting.
“I've spoken quite a lot to the media recently and my pain has skyrocketed as a result.
“I experience swelling, agonising pain and dizziness if I talk a little too much that day. It is no way to live.
“There have frequently been times where I've just wished someone would offer me the lethal injection.
“It is hard to put into words how severe the pain can get. I spend my nights getting heat packs, pain medication, or just sitting in a scorching hot shower with the water on my face to get any kind of relief.”
Lauren’s work as a psychological therapist has had to be put on hold as a result of her condition.
“I have gone from being such a driven, academic girl to a complete shell of who I once was because of this condition," she said.
“I have not been able to work for months now. That has been really tough mentally and emotionally. My job means everything to me, and I have studied so hard to be where I am.
“I should be undertaking my doctoral level training in forensic psychology right now.
“I am on so much pain medication that I am rarely able to drive.”
Lauren has been fundraising for private surgery to replace her jaw joint. The surgery is available on the NHS but very few surgeons in the country can perform it and waiting lists are around three years long. Without the surgery Lauren said she “won’t have a future”.
She said: “The condition is degenerative so it will continue to get worse. I am already at the most severe end of the spectrum.
“Without this surgery I simply won't have a future. There is no other option. All I do each day is manage pain and try and make it to the next.
“I really dread to think where I'd be without surgery in 12 or 18 months’ time. That is a really scary thought.”
Lauren says the response to her fundraiser and story has been “phenomenal”.
She said: “I cannot believe the response to my story being shared. It hasn't been easy for us as a family, to go public and ask for help, but the response has just been phenomenal.
“Being ill and in chronic pain is incredibly lonely. I can't put into words how small and dark my life has been because of this condition. But seeing the response and reading everyone's lovely messages, comments, and even handwritten letters has brought me so much hope and comfort. I can't tell you what that has meant to me.
“This is more than just my story. Temporomandibular joint disorders are not well understood nor well managed. The long-term results are horrendous.
“I have had so many messages from people either where I am now or where I was a few years back. It is heartbreaking to think so many other people are living the way I have been forced to.”
Lauren set up a fundraiser and aimed to raise £95,000 for the surgery. A local businessman, who wishes to stay anonymous, offered to make up the rest of the £95,000 needed for the surgery if they could reach half of their target, which they did.
Lauren said: “Amazingly, people have asked if they can still donate to help provide some financial support to see me through the next few months, which is just incredible.
“We were so focused on needing the fees for the surgery that we didn't even think about loss of earnings, travel and so on. It is huge and there's a long road ahead.
“If you know anyone with a chronic illness or living with chronic pain, please go and visit them. Drop by, make them a cup of tea, send a text to say you're thinking of them. I can't begin to tell you how isolating living with a condition like this can be.”
Donations can be made by searching 'Life Changing Surgery for our daughter, Lauren', on the GoFundMe website.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here