Opinions, Advice, Anyone? Tmj And My Anxiety. Posted: 12-13-06 12:48pm
Hi all,
sorry if this has been covered before, but
I thought I would post my issue and see if
I am crazy or not.
About 4 years ago I woke up one day and my
jaw was locked. It had been clicking and
popping for a long time, but now it hit
this point where I couldn't open my mouth
fully. I freaked out and went to the oral
surgeon that day. He told me I likely had
tmj - he suggested warm compresses,
ibuprofen, etc. After a day or two it
unlocked but I still had the popping and I
was afraid it would lock again. The Dr.
Suggested I get a splint, which I did. I
was annoyed because it was so expensive
and insurance didn't cover it! But oh
well...
Not long after this I began seeing a
psychiatrist for my life long anxiety that
was really beginning to get in the way of
normal life and function for me. After a
few sessions I began a course of ssris and
things were great. Aside from the lifting
of my anxiety/worry, I no longer
experienced pain in my jaw. I stopped
wearing the splint and it sat in my
cabinet for a long time.
I went off the medicine in a year or so
because I felt better. But about a year
and a half later I needed to go back on -
my symptoms were coming back and I was
worrying about irrational things a lot
more. I also experienced physical pain in
my neck/shoulder muscles, and...I began
clenching my jaw so much that my jaw
muscles were sore before I even got to
work in the mornings. It started off
slowly but within the last month or so, I
found myself going through this almost
every day. And I am not emotionally
anxious - I have no reasons to be worried,
at least on the outside. I assumed it was
just some physical manifestation of my
anxiety coming out. The Dr. Seemed to
have no answer for this other than to
increase my dosage of zoloft. That was
last month. It seems to have helped a bit
but i'm still doing the "jaw thing" about
50% of the time.
It dawned on me last night to try wearing
my splint again. And lo and behold, this
morning, and today, I am not doing the
clenching nearly as much and I feel pretty
okay in the jaw region.
So, my question (after all that!) is, are
tmj and anxiety sometimes related? I
naturally assumed it was my anxiety that
was causing the clenching, but I had no
way of "fixing" it. Maybe the splint
(that I thought didn't even really work)
is helping me out after all. Am I nuts?
I can't figure out why I am doing the
clenching, nor can I control it. I tell
myself not to do it, which often times
makes it worse! I'm just confused and
wonder if anyone is in this same
situation. Its' not a terribly painful
thing, but it certainly is annoying and it
brings out my anxiety more when I realize
how bad I am clenching.
Thanks for any input and I am sorry for
the long winded story! :d
|
catswolds
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 May 2006 Posts: 62 Location: Michigan
Posted: 12-15-06 11:53am
You are not even close to being crazy.
Tmj and anxiety (stress) are very much
related. I would almost go as far and
say that if there was no stress or anxiety
in this world, tmj would not have its
nasty hold on so many people (long-winded
sentence there myself).
You are exactly on the right track with
bite splints and ssris. An important tip
about the ssris, though (prozac works much
better for me than zoloft), there are
reports out now that ssris can cause
night-time bruxism. What a paradox.
They increase seratonin in your body,
which helps to relax you but at the same
time, can cause clenching.
I was on a low dosage of prozac for
several years before the clenching came
back. These same reports state that if a
very small dose of buspar (and something
else I can't remember) will counteract
this problem and allow the ssri to work,
as it should. (buspar is an old
anti-anxiety drug and both buspar (low
dose) and ssris can be taken together.)
so, I now also take 7.5 mg. Of buspar
with the prozac and it has helped
tremendously. My tmj (of 26 years) is
managed most of the time.
There is no real simple answer to the big
question - “why do we clench or grind
our teeth when under stress or anxiety?”
many believe it has to do with an
imbalance in our bites. I agree but
there’s more to it, i’m sure. Bite
splints probably help because they
“balance” the bite and maybe just
having something in the mouth says
something to our sleeping brains. But
they do help especially when you get a
well-made bite splint and have it adjusted
every once in a while.
I know many people do not like taking
anti-d’s. But if they work, take the
medication. I am an example of someone
who did not take any medication for at
least 18 years after waking up one morning
with a locked jaw and excruciating pain.
Now that I am supposedly mature and wiser,
I can say I was stupid. My quality of
life during those years was downright
miserable, all because of tmj. I missed
out on so much. Fighting to stay upbeat
was almost more tiring than just showing
my misery. I believe that only because
of my faith did I get through those years
alive. I also rebelled against the
opinion that tmj and depression are
related. Well, it’s not depression as
much as it is stress and anxiety living in
this too fast country. Yes, I have a
huge anatomical problem with my small
lower jaw and bad bite, and played a wind
musical instrument semi-professionally for
years, which all contributed to my tmj,
but keeping my stress level as low as
possible makes the biggest difference. I
also want to say that posture (especially
in front of the computer) also is a big
issue with tmj.
You thought you were long-winded, and I
tried to keep it short. Honestly.
Please know that you are quite normal.
What you are doing is good. Now you have
to work at lowering your stress and
anxiety levels (which everyone has to
different degrees). You should probably
also have your bite splint looked at to
see if it needs any adjusting. Take
care.
