Fluoxetine and bruxism

[AcornAutumn]

Does anyone else have this problem?

I have it periodically but the last two phases were really severe, excruciating pain.

I am a bit confused if I have made it worse...this might be a total red herring, but I have been trying to reduce my dosage and ended up forgetting to take it for about five days.

That sounds bonkers, but ironically it was because I had the AZ vaccine and was quite ill for a few days, plus had too much work on.

So Day 6, took the fluoxetine.... that night I was lucky I didn't break my teeth. Then I had to do full on codeine to get rid of the pain.

So, I'm now unsure if it was withdrawal, or the sudden top up that caused it. My knowledge suggests it was the sudden top up.

I do have a mouth guard but find it makes my insomnia worse.

Any ideas? Perhaps 10mg once a day is better but my doctor already said they are very hard to get hold of. At the moment, my doctor is very hard to get hold of and my experience is these things are mostly trial and error anyway.

Thank you.

Bump

I’ve been on and off SSRIs for 25 years, and 10 - 15 years ago I started noticing that I was clenching my jaw a lot, and that my temporomandibular joint was clicking a lot on one side. It got gradually worse, and eventually I realised that it was an issue with my vision. Basically, every time I noticed I was clenching, I’d consciously relax my jaw, and then I’d notice that my vision was sort of shimmering - very slight, but enough to make me subconsciously press my teeth together to stop the movement if I was trying to focus my eyes on something. I asked the GP if anything could be done, and was referred to an eye clinic at the hospital. They diagnosed weakness of the ocular muscles, and the ophthalmologist said they saw it quite often as a side effect of SSRIs. My theory is that it’s to do with serotonin, because it’s like a very mild version of what happens when people takes ecstasy - your vision goes all sparkly and shimmery, and by the end of the night you’ve got a well clenchy jaw.

Anyway, the clenching didn’t go away, even with doing exercises to strengthen the ocular muscles, and I ended up with very restricted opening of my jaw due to one TMJ being painful and stuck. I came off SSRIs for a while and it really improved, but my mental health declined again. GP wanted me to go on the SNRI but I was very reluctant as I knew the TMJ problems would start again. I tried Duloxetine and it helped the depression but back came the jaw problems. I did some research into bruxism and what drugs might help, went back to the GP and asked for Buspirone, which helped a little bit with the clenching and quite a bit with the anxiety. Then she suggested a low dose of Mirtazipine, which I was reluctant to try because I know its reputationfor appetite increase and weight gain. I was pretty desperate with the pain and inconvenience of the TMJ problems, though, so tried it, and it virtually eliminated the problem. The happy side benefit was it also virtually eliminating my insomnia. Shame about the appetite and weight gain, 🙄 but that has settled down over time and now I’m losing weight. I don’t even take the full dose every night (but I do notice the clenching increase after a few days on half dose).

You there with NoAuthorityAtAll 😂

Thank you for your reply.

Do you mind if I ask

Did you use a mouthguard at night?

I am trying to lose weight so there's no way I would switch meds.

I was hoping to come off the meds completely, hence the reduction. What I am thinking is that it would be good to establish if it's the few days I forgot them that caused the problem or the sudden top up.

Tbh you comments about the effect on eyes makes me even more worried about taking them.

@AcornAutumn my username probably doesn’t inspire confidence, does it.

No, I’ve never used a mouth guard; my dentist recommended one but it about £350 and I couldn’t afford it. I also didn’t think I’d sleep well with one in, as I’ve always been pretty crap at sleeping (until the miraculous effects of the mirtazipine).

If you’ve been on an SSRI for a while, I’d advise you to taper the dose as gradually as possible. It may have been the 5 day gap and then taking a full dose that did it - it’s a side effect I get with taking them, rather than not taking them, iyswim. The withdrawal effects are more the ‘brain shivers’ and my vision jolting, rather than the shimmering.

I used to taper the dose over weeks-to-months when I came off them, as I got horrible withdrawal symptoms, but some people seem to come off without too much trouble. I’d definitely go for the lowest dose capsule you can, and then once you’ve adjusted to that, start taking them every other day. I used to then reduce the dose if the capsule by taking them apart and removing some of the contents, but you might not need to do that. If you give your pharmacy plenty of notice, they should be able to order in the lowest dose regularly.

I guessed the usernane is a Jackie Weaver reference, i actually didnt see what happened as i couldn't find a short enough clip.

I looked back over my diary and think I might have forgotten to take them for three weeks. It would explain a lot. I got terrible restless legs and couldn't sleep and feel ill generally.

I can't believe I have done this to myself.

Researched more about the eye muscle thing but generally I have not done well coming off meds in the past. I am now thoroughly confused what to do. Go back to 40mg? I think lockdown hit my brain very hard, hence forgetting to take them.

My brain isn't working - the other thing I nearly did was transfer an ISA on a good rate that hasn't even run out yet, that's not like me at all.

It's like I accidentally came off my meds, I feel a complete fool.

Sorry, I should add, the restless legs were after starting on 20mg again.seems to have gone now.

PPS

If it helps, my mouthguard is a self mouldable one from Amazon - about £15 and the kit makes enough for two.