Teeth clenching problem
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Teeth clenching problem
| Mon, 03-19-2007 - 2:05pm |
I know its a symptom of anxiety, but does anyone have any tricks to stop the teeth clenching?? I never did it before with my anxiety and at first I thought it might be the meds but I had taken this same med before for 3yrs and never clenched. My jaw feels tired all the time now and the tension headaches are coming back again I think. I won't even feel tense but then I will think of it and realize I am clenching and I have to force myself to relax my jaw. I have an appt with my *T* on thurs (she was out of town last week so we skipped) and a massage appt also so I am hoping that one or the other or both could help me. Oh, and I just increased my Paxil from the 12.5 time release, to the generic 20mg so I am hoping the slight increase might help me too. Any tips would be highly appreciated! Thanks!! Erin

Sorry to hear this, Erin): I know from first hand experience, that this can be painful & damaging to your teeth over time. If you do an advanced search, this subject has come up before. Some ppl have used mouth guards if the problem is worse @ night.
For me, as the stress was reduced & my coping with anxiety became better, the jaw clenching disappeared. Being more aware of it does help. Each time I felt myself doing it, I would take a couple of deep breaths & practice relaxing the jaw. Here's a link from the *coping tips & tricks* below. http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-bhpanic&msg=21870.1&ctx=16384
I had the clenching thing too when I was starting my meds. I wonder if it's a side effect from increasing your meds? If so it should go away in a few days.
I don't really have too much other advice. I know I chewed a lot of gum and that helped a little.
I had the teeth clenching, too, when I started the Lexapro.
Sheri Ann