Fluoxetine causing bruxism/clenching?

[panicwomble]

Has anyone personally experienced an increase in bruxism/teeth grinding or jaw clenching during sleep after taking fluoxetine/Prozac???

I'm desperate for some relief for my anxiety and want to ask my doctor to prescribe fluoxetine or some other SSRI. However I have TMJ problems - which are causing the anxiety in the first place - and I have read that Prozac and some other SSRIs can cause bruxism to develop.

I don't know just how common this is, or whether it is the usual internet scaremongering????

Please help!

Panic

[MyNameIsTerry]

Have you thought of looking at the side effects tab against the SSRI's name on Drugs.com? It lists all recorded side effects which will be shown on the Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) in the box with them and lower down there are section that talk about specific systems of the body with breakdowns into %'s of how common the side effect is.

For instance, with Fluoxetine I couldn't find clenching/grinding in the PIL side effects section but lower down in the individual bodily system I could find Bruxism and it said it was Uncommon (0.1% to 1%). So, it's unlikely you could experience it as the Common section (1-10%) are the more likely ones.

You could look at that on each SSRI you are considering on Drugs.com. Here is the page for Fluoxetine as an example:

http://www.drugs.com/sfx/fluoxetine-side-effects.html

As far as Duloxetine goes (if you ever consider SNRI's) I can say it is one on that list as I had 6 months of it when I started that med. Night grinding in my case. I still occasionally get it now and it was never one of my anxiety symptoms but Duloxetine brought me more symptoms than I had before starting it anyway.

[panicwomble]

Thanks a lot, Terry. That is reassuring, I did not look on drugs.com as Googling "Prozac bruxism" threw up so many links it made me rather worried!

However, if you look up Duloxetine on Drugs.com, it also lists Bruxism as Uncommon (0.1-1%) and yet you say you experienced it. Which makes me wonder how accurate these side effects lists are?

[MrsCav]

I have TMJ. I've always had it. I also have anxiety and I am taking Fluoxetine. My anxiety all stems around my teeth and with TMJ it always feels like I have or I am going to get toothache. But it's my jaw that aches, not my teeth ... as you will understand.

As for the fluoxetine causing it, I have found the opposite, that the fluoxetine helps me relax more therefore the TMJ isn't as noticeable. It was when I came off Fluox in the Autumn last year and my anxiety started to creep in (again, around my teeth and I was backwards and forwards to the dentist, I've have xrays that confirm TMJ) that I realised I needed to go back on the fluoxetine.

So my advice is - and I need to be careful as I fear I am sounding like I am promoting fluoxetine or work for the company which I don't! - in my case it helps to stop the bruxism. My right jaw, at the hinge is quite tender today, so I know in the night I have been clenching. I am 4weeks plus 2 days on fluoxetine.

Hope that helps.

[panicwomble]

Thanks for the response. I am suffering terrible anxiety because of my current TMJ issues. I only have tightness/slight soreness in the joints, the ear symptoms are worse though, and am currently undergoing treatment by a specialist. Getting appointments sorted out is a hassle in itself and another source of anxiety.

I am so stressed out and anxious that I think I need some medication before I crack up completely.

Thanks for replying with a positive word about fluoxetine. I will talk to my GP about it later today, if I can get an appointment....

Jumpy

[MrsCav]

I know exactly what you mean. Unfortunately I can find it difficult to pin point where the actual pain is, I know my jaw joint and my inner ear hurt. I didn't know you could get treatment from a specialist about it though, so well done on that!

It's not as bad as it has been, so I do know it going, but for some reason last night I have been clenching again.

Good luck getting an appointment, I hope you get seen today.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Thanks a lot, Terry. That is reassuring, I did not look on drugs.com as Googling "Prozac bruxism" threw up so many links it made me rather worried!

However, if you look up Duloxetine on Drugs.com, it also lists Bruxism as Uncommon (0.1-1%) and yet you say you experienced it. Which makes me wonder how accurate these side effects lists are?

I had a few uncommon side effects with Duloxetine BUT my previous med, Citalopram, I had just the common stuff. Duloxetine just hasn't suited me and the side effects continued long past the side effect window. This sometimes happens and a switch is needed.

The Bruxism only started for me when I went in the dose that interacts with norepinephrine, prior to this the side effects were the standard ones I associate with SSRI's. Basically, Duloxetine ramped up my adrenaline a lot and this caused all sorts of muscle stiffness, not just Bruxism.

Those side effects lists will be from pre & post marketing studies I would imagine.

Since I've been a member here I think I've seen 3 others having problems like me with Duloxetine. Compare that to all the other threads of people who haven't had my experience or similar. It's the same for them all. I know members on here who have said one med has been a life saver and others who have said it was the worst experience. Someone in between are the rest of us.

---------- Post added at 10:17 ---------- Previous post was at 10:13 ----------

So my advice is - and I need to be careful as I fear I am sounding like I am promoting fluoxetine or work for the company which I don't! - in my case it helps to stop the bruxism.

Kerching, MrsCav

[panicwomble]

I can't see my GP today... :(

I have a friend who is a child psychiatrist working in the NHS. he's the one who has been recommending fluoxetine to me highly, saying that the side effects are all very overstated, and he's not seen any long-term adverse effect in his patients. He says that the usual side effect is minor nausea that lasts for several days but that is all. Ugh....

I still don't know what my GP is going to end up prescribing to me.

MrsCav, yes I found the TMJ specialist and have to pay to see her privately because I just cannot afford to wait on the NHS - sadly, a lot of $$$ but it'll be worth every penny if she can "fix" me and return me to some semblance of normality. Right now, I feel like I am deep in a pit of depression. :(

Jumpy

[MrsCav]

I have a friend who heads up the CBT team for where I live and when I told her I was on fluoxetine she said 'at least you're on one of the better ones' ... I didn't dare ask which where the bad ones

It does pay to go private if you can. I have paid for initial consultations in the past just so it got me quicker in the queue with NHS. You do what you have to do.

I have to phone first thing or just after lunch at my GP's if I want a doctors appointment. Try again tomorrow and good luck. I gather most GP's tend to prescribe Citalopram first as that's the quickest one into our system but I you can always ask for Fluoxetine, it's the same, an SSRI .... if you don't ask, you don't get.

---------- Post added at 12:05 ---------- Previous post was at 12:04 ----------

I had a few uncommon side effects with Duloxetine BUT my previous med, Citalopram, I had just the common stuff. Duloxetine just hasn't suited me and the side effects continued long past the side effect window. This sometimes happens and a switch is needed.

The Bruxism only started for me when I went in the dose that interacts with norepinephrine, prior to this the side effects were the standard ones I associate with SSRI's. Basically, Duloxetine ramped up my adrenaline a lot and this caused all sorts of muscle stiffness, not just Bruxism.

Those side effects lists will be from pre & post marketing studies I would imagine.

Since I've been a member here I think I've seen 3 others having problems like me with Duloxetine. Compare that to all the other threads of people who haven't had my experience or similar. It's the same for them all. I know members on here who have said one med has been a life saver and others who have said it was the worst experience. Someone in between are the rest of us.

---------- Post added at 10:17 ---------- Previous post was at 10:13 ----------



Kerching, MrsCav

I know, I should work for them, I would be quids in now!! Whereas if I worked for the Citalopram company I would have brought those bad boys down!