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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by LynnPerley on April 8, 2002, at 23:24:57
Has anyone else experienced jaw clenching (TMJ) on Effexor XR? I quit generic prozac after three weeks due to this. My PCP switched me to Effexor XR in hopes it would be just as beneficial but not cause this symptom. I started Effexor XR almost a month ago on the sample pack (37.5 for a week, 75 for a week) and have been on 150 for almost two weeks now. The jaw clenching is not quite as bad as before, but it is still occurring. I'm wondering if it will ever go away. Today I had minor pain on the right side TMJ when eating and I don't want to stick this out so long it causes me a TMJ problem. I have never had TMJ pain before.
Posted by JohnX2 on April 9, 2002, at 1:09:16
In reply to Jaw clenching on Effexor XR?, posted by LynnPerley on April 8, 2002, at 23:24:57
> Has anyone else experienced jaw clenching (TMJ) on Effexor XR? I quit generic prozac after three weeks due to this. My PCP switched me to Effexor XR in hopes it would be just as beneficial but not cause this symptom. I started Effexor XR almost a month ago on the sample pack (37.5 for a week, 75 for a week) and have been on 150 for almost two weeks now. The jaw clenching is not quite as bad as before, but it is still occurring. I'm wondering if it will ever go away. Today I had minor pain on the right side TMJ when eating and I don't want to stick this out so long it causes me a TMJ problem. I have never had TMJ pain before.
Medications that increase serotonin reuptake can definately cause jaw tension / bruxism (teeth grinding). I got this from Zoloft. It may be associated with excess serotonin interactions.
Hopefully it will diminish over time.
But if not here are the anti-dotes I know of:
- mouth guard
- Topamax
- Serzone
- Buspar
- KlonopinTopamax,Serzone,Klonopin work pretty fast.
Buspar has a 50/50 shot (with low side effects), but takes a few weeks.Regards,
John
Posted by JohnX2 on April 9, 2002, at 3:12:01
In reply to Re: Jaw clenching on Effexor XR? » LynnPerley, posted by JohnX2 on April 9, 2002, at 1:09:16
> > Has anyone else experienced jaw clenching (TMJ) on Effexor XR? I quit generic prozac after three weeks due to this. My PCP switched me to Effexor XR in hopes it would be just as beneficial but not cause this symptom. I started Effexor XR almost a month ago on the sample pack (37.5 for a week, 75 for a week) and have been on 150 for almost two weeks now. The jaw clenching is not quite as bad as before, but it is still occurring. I'm wondering if it will ever go away. Today I had minor pain on the right side TMJ when eating and I don't want to stick this out so long it causes me a TMJ problem. I have never had TMJ pain before.
>
> Medications that increase serotonin reuptake can definately cause jaw tension / bruxism (teeth grinding). I got this from Zoloft. It may be associated with excess serotonin interactions.
>Sorry, that is medications that *inhibit* serotonin reuptake (SSRIs, Effexor, etc). a little pooped..
Posted by mikel on April 10, 2002, at 14:16:33
In reply to Jaw clenching on Effexor XR?, posted by LynnPerley on April 8, 2002, at 23:24:57
I developed jaw pain from Prozac, Celexa, and EffexorSR. Effexor was the worst and I was only on it for a few days. Started back on Prozac which is what worked the best, and even at a low dose (10mg) got jaw pain. The theory is that Prozac indirectly lowers dopamine levels as it raises serotonin. Low dopamine can lead to a Parkinson like effect, of which the nucleus that controls the jaw muscles is particularly sensitive. I bet a lot of people get bruxism on SSRIs but if it never develops into teeth problems or TMJ it may go unnoticed.
Anyway, try SAMe. SAMe increases dopamine. I started on 400mg a few weeks back and my jaw pain completely dissappeared. I eventually went up to 800mg SAMe with the 10mg prozac and it is the best cocktail for depression I've been on (neither alone seems to work as well, and I've been up to 30mg prozac and 1200mg SAMe alone).
Posted by noa on April 10, 2002, at 15:20:00
In reply to Re: Jaw clenching on Effexor XR?, posted by mikel on April 10, 2002, at 14:16:33
I have that and I've attributed it to the Effexor XR, after reading about how the Serotonin 2 receptors affect muscle tension, and are stimulated by the increased serotonin action of SSRIs, etc.
The two doctors I've talked to about it seem to like to attribute it to the stimulant I'm taking--Adderall.
I still think it is more of an Effexor problem.
Posted by JohnX2 on April 10, 2002, at 16:10:22
In reply to Re: Jaw clenching on Effexor XR?, posted by mikel on April 10, 2002, at 14:16:33
> I developed jaw pain from Prozac, Celexa, and EffexorSR. Effexor was the worst and I was only on it for a few days. Started back on Prozac which is what worked the best, and even at a low dose (10mg) got jaw pain. The theory is that Prozac indirectly lowers dopamine levels as it raises serotonin. Low dopamine can lead to a Parkinson like effect, of which the nucleus that controls the jaw muscles is particularly sensitive. I bet a lot of people get bruxism on SSRIs but if it never develops into teeth problems or TMJ it may go unnoticed.
>
> Anyway, try SAMe. SAMe increases dopamine. I started on 400mg a few weeks back and my jaw pain completely dissappeared. I eventually went up to 800mg SAMe with the 10mg prozac and it is the best cocktail for depression I've been on (neither alone seems to work as well, and I've been up to 30mg prozac and 1200mg SAMe alone).hmm. SAM-E worked? Maybe I should give that another shot. I take Serzone and Topamax. The serzone blocks the bad Serotonin receptors, and the topamax slows the serotonin firing.
John
Posted by JohnX2 on April 10, 2002, at 16:14:04
In reply to Re: Jaw clenching on Effexor XR?, posted by noa on April 10, 2002, at 15:20:00
> I have that and I've attributed it to the Effexor XR, after reading about how the Serotonin 2 receptors affect muscle tension, and are stimulated by the increased serotonin action of SSRIs, etc.
>
> The two doctors I've talked to about it seem to like to attribute it to the stimulant I'm taking--Adderall.
>
> I still think it is more of an Effexor problem.Noa,
I've read it can be caused by either a hyperdopamanergic or hypodopamergic state. Amphetamines like Adderall actually made the jaw pain disappear for me when it was bad.
But a lot of people get jaw pain from amphetamines.
John
Posted by JohnX2 on April 10, 2002, at 16:16:25
In reply to Re: Jaw clenching on Effexor XR?, posted by mikel on April 10, 2002, at 14:16:33
> I developed jaw pain from Prozac, Celexa, and EffexorSR. Effexor was the worst and I was only on it for a few days. Started back on Prozac which is what worked the best, and even at a low dose (10mg) got jaw pain. The theory is that Prozac indirectly lowers dopamine levels as it raises serotonin. Low dopamine can lead to a Parkinson like effect, of which the nucleus that controls the jaw muscles is particularly sensitive. I bet a lot of people get bruxism on SSRIs but if it never develops into teeth problems or TMJ it may go unnoticed.
>
> Anyway, try SAMe. SAMe increases dopamine. I started on 400mg a few weeks back and my jaw pain completely dissappeared. I eventually went up to 800mg SAMe with the 10mg prozac and it is the best cocktail for depression I've been on (neither alone seems to work as well, and I've been up to 30mg prozac and 1200mg SAMe alone).How long did it take for the SAM-E to help with the jaw pain?
Regards,
John
Posted by mikel on April 10, 2002, at 17:15:11
In reply to Re: Jaw clenching on Effexor XR? » mikel, posted by JohnX2 on April 10, 2002, at 16:16:25
John,
It worked in about 2-3 weeks. The jaw pain went
away at 400mg, but I went up to 800 because I felt
like I needed more antidepressant effect.Mike.
Posted by katieb on April 14, 2002, at 9:56:59
In reply to Re: Jaw clenching on Effexor XR? » JohnX2, posted by mikel on April 10, 2002, at 17:15:11
buspar has worked really well for me. i had terrible cleching and weird jaw movements from paxil. i take 15mg in the morning along with my 30mg paxil.
hope that helps!
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