Painful tmj.... does acupuncture help?

I got tmj 6 months ago. It's painful on my right side, i can't protrude or open more than 20mm. I've been to the ortho specialist and I've tried a night guard, hot packs, cold packs, massage, body posture techniques, working out, not working out, eating only soft foods, stretching, just about everything I can think of.. I've been thinkin of trying acupuncture... anyone hear anything good about it or have any other advice? Would appreciate it, Thanks!

You should absolutly try acupuncture. I was suppose to have a surgery to remove half of my brain because half of it was infected and it would have spread to the other side if they didn't. My parents didn't want to do it so they tried acupuncture and it stop the infection from spreading and stop the seizures i had been having for 4 years. It a lot of things.

I understand how you feel! My tmj has gotten progressively worse recently, if I open my mouth all the way the joint cracks loudly. I went to see my doctor about it a year ago, and he said that when I start having frequent migraines and pain I will have to go in for surgery for it. I know that trigger point therapy has helped to relieve some of the pain, but I haven't tried acupuncture yet. Maybe you could give acupressure a try first? (I'm skiddish about needles!)
Life
I also have tmj from around 10 years ago. I didn't bother to do anything about it at the time, so now it's just a click that I have to live with. The pain does decrease over time though. Instead of accupuncture, I would recommend a different school of Chinese medicine called "Die-da or Tieh Ta". Unlike accupunture which only works with the pain, Tieh Ta actually fixes the alignment, heals the bones/tendons/muscles, and decrease pain. I've had several Tieh Ta treatments for my tmj and it had made it better. My jaw is a bit looser, with less of a crunch sound when I open. Initially, I had gone in for my costochondritis and the herblist had made it go away completely...totally amazing when other people live with the agony for life. The pain substancially went down with every treatment when taking several Vicodin did not do anything. I treated the tmj too, but I didn't want to pay for the prolong treatment to make it completely go away, since it got to a point that I can live with. He said because it had been around for 9 years since I had it, it will take longer to treat. The treatments work better if you treat it when the pain first begins. Do try this out if you don't care about the smell/look of the herb pack you need to wear for a day or the Chinese language barrier.
Self
I use a combination of my mouth guard and acupuncture. It's a great combination.

When it really gets troublesome I take Maxaalt or Imitrex.

They're really migraine drugs but work amazingly well for TMJ. They actually make the pain go away for no less than 12 hours and I rarely have to take more than one tablet a day. They work great for muscle spasms also if you get those in your neck and shoulders from your TMJ.

And don't wait until nighttime to wear your mouth guard. I wear mine during the day and at night when mines bothering me. It really helps take the pressure off.

Good luck.

P.S. For the person who's skittish about needles - the acupuncture really is painless. The most you will ever feel is a little shock when they first place the needle. Then you lay on the table and rest for about an hour while the needles do their work, the doctor removes them and you go home. Very easy to do.
Yes, if you have the right (a good one) acupuncturist. It makes ALL the difference!