Question:
I have been reading asap for a few weeks now; it's so good to find people
who really understand at last! I was wondering if anyone else has
problems with teeth-grinding while sleeping. I have been doing so for
most of my life. I got a night guard to wear, but I hate the thing; it's
so unnatural to sleep with it! Nevertheless, it's better than waking up
with a broken tooth. I started on meds (Prozac and Buspar) about two
months ago. My overall level of anxiety has decreased, but this
teeth-grinding thing is the same or worse. Has anyone experienced an
improvement in this once on meds? Even as I sit here, my jaw aches, my
head hurts, and my teeth hurt even when I drink a glass of tepid water.
And I wore my guard last night! Any suggestions for dealing with this?
Answer:
I have the same problem and no one things helps completely, but with
my children, my mother said:Doesn't anyone know about worms anymore?.
So I treated us all for worms, and lo and behold, the kids stopped
grinding altogether. I still have a problem, with my jaw, my spine,
my alergies and my Candida. Separate solutions for each problem all
help the grinding.
I'm not sure if I do, but my doctor seems to think so.
I have been getting these little "blood blister" things on the
sides of my cheeks lately, and they have almost all (like 90%)
been after I woke up in the morning.
And, my ex-girlfriend said that I would sometimes "chew" while
I was asleep. So, I think I can relate.
I also have TMJ (don't we all?), and that is bothersome at times
too...
This sounds really awful. I don't have this problem, but do they have
doctors that specialize in this? Maybe another med that helps for this?
I am sorry you hurt like that so much. Is this a symptom of stress?
I also have TMJ syndrome and when I in my late 20's my jaw would
crunch and pop even when I ate soft foods. Finally one of my back
teeth was so painful I thought it was root cannel time .
That was when I was diagnosed and a splint or "guard" was made up for
me. It has been a lifesaver. My teeth are fine otherwise. I had
to wear my splint or guard for 24 hours a day for the first 6 weeks,
including when I was eating. Ever tried eating alfalfa sprouts with
one of those things in your mouth??? Well, it has improved
tremendously as I have progressed with treatment of my PD and PTSD.
I no longer (after 8 years mind you) have to wear it every night and
only use my splint when I start having pain again. I think that
wearing it for 24 hours a day the first 6 weeks put some traction on
my jaw and got me used to not clamping my jaw shut. Sometimes I do a
relaxation exercise where I just let my jaw hang. I really make an
effort to not clamp my teeth together now so I don't have a relapse of
that awful pain.
Have you talked with the dr who prescribed your meds? You may need to
take something like Ativan or Klonapin or hmmm Diazepam. I have had a
terrible problem with grinding my teeth (on Effexor) and I have tried all
these other drugs in combo with it, and the Ativan has helped me level
off the 'manic' type behavior from the Effexor, like grinding my teeth.
I was taking an SSRI (Paxil) for Anxiety (of which PRozac is also an
SSRI) and one of the main side effects was my teeth/jaw grinding.
