I'm sick of this jaw pain damnit!

[[Ye...]]

So after trying my best to hang on .5mg clonazepam, I upped dosed to my original starting dose of 1mg. It got intense, I was having I guess what everyone calls brain zaps. They would be followed by extreme tightening of my face, JAW, neck and shoulder muscles.

 

I'm still having tension headaches and daily jaw pain! It's driving me crazy. It's been a month since I've been at my original dose. What the heck! Shouldn't this crap go away or am I screwed because I kindled my brain or am now at tolerance withdrawal? Ive never had issues with jaw tension in my life before and my pyschiratrist thinks it's not benzo related. Man have I lost faith in that person...

[[Gr...]]

You updosed and THEN had the jaw pain?  I've been having jaw pain and tooth grinding problems for years but during withdrawal it's way worse.  I'm pretty much convinced that all my jaw clenching is cause by benzos.

[Guest [ba...]]

I had similar jaw tension (and neck/shoulder/back tension).  There are some exercises and meditations that can help you learn to relax your jaw (and your neck and your shoulders).  Do a little googling, and I'm sure you'll find some.  fwiw - It felt like an impossible mission to relax those muscle groups when I first tried - the withdrawal-induced tension just seemed overwhelming.  But with practice, I could begin to relax a little.  Then more and more over time.

 

We all have to learn to relax on our own (without resorting to pills) - whether the tension is chemically induced (from the benzo withdrawal) or from our own 'natural' anxiety.  The exercises and meditation will probably seem useless for a while (it did to me).  But since I wasn't sleeping much anyway, I listened to the meditations each night, and in time they helped.

[[Ye...]]

You updosed and THEN had the jaw pain?  I've been having jaw pain and tooth grinding problems for years but during withdrawal it's way worse.  I'm pretty much convinced that all my jaw clenching is cause by benzos.

 

After a few days after updosing, the daily jaw tension started. It would come and go at random times. I'd even feel it coming on and slightly have my mouth open only to discover the tightening getting extremely intense! Oh, before updosing, I had daily and I mean daily tension headaches or what everyone here calls head pressure. It's like all of my muscles are fudged because of benzos. Never ever had a problem before benzos.

 

My p doc thinks I'm grinding my teeth at night. However, how the hell do I not wake up with jaw pain then if that were true? I usually get it midday or in the evening for no apparent reason. Seriously wtf! P doc looks at me crazy and has never heard of brain zaps before, which I find incredibly hard to believe since he prescribes this crap all the time and gets people of it. I can't be the first to experience that. Ughhhh.

[[Gr...]]

Wow. It really does sound like the updosing caused the jaw pain.  It really could be from grinding at night.  I know it's hard to believe but it's really crazy what things we can do with our mouth at night and not wake up.

[[Ye...]]

I had similar jaw tension (and neck/shoulder/back tension).  There are some exercises and meditations that can help you learn to relax your jaw (and your neck and your shoulders).  Do a little googling, and I'm sure you'll find some.  fwiw - It felt like an impossible mission to relax those muscle groups when I first tried - the withdrawal-induced tension just seemed overwhelming.  But with practice, I could begin to relax a little.  Then more and more over time.

 

We all have to learn to relax on our own (without resorting to pills) - whether the tension is chemically induced (from the benzo withdrawal) or from our own 'natural' anxiety.  The exercises and meditation will probably seem useless for a while (it did to me).  But since I wasn't sleeping much anyway, I listened to the meditations each night, and in time they helped.

 

Thank you for the reply. I'm just overwhelmed with the hell benzos have caused me. Before this I was for the most part, normal. Had some panic attacks because of a stupid decision of mine. SSRIs compounded that anxiety and panic and now benzos are causing me other problems I've never had. I'll Google relief strategies and keep at them since you said they eventually will work. Honestly I don't know how many of you do this tapering, I think every benzo survivoir needs a Olympic gold medal for mental and physical anguish.

[[Ye...]]

Wow. It really does sound like the updosing caused the jaw pain.  It really could be from grinding at night.  I know it's hard to believe but it's really crazy what things we can do with our mouth at night and not wake up.

 

It very well could have... I'm so clueless now. I've been researching and looking for answering for benzo tapering etc for months. Now am at a point where I want to throw up my hands and just admit I'll never know why such and such is occurring and how to solve it.

 

Do you think a mouth guard at night might help? It's possible to be grinding your teeth at night and not wake up with pain but experience it later? Thanks for the replies!

[Guest [ba...]]

Even before benzos, I was a jaw grinder.  My dentist made a lot of money doing crowns for me because of my grinding.  I was never aware of it until my withdrawal (we become aware of everything during withdrawal), but the thousands I've spent over the years on crowns strongly suggests that I've been doing that for a long time.

 

I totally agree that everybody who survives this should receive a medal.  A nice cash award would also be nice!!

[[Gr...]]

Wow. It really does sound like the updosing caused the jaw pain.  It really could be from grinding at night.  I know it's hard to believe but it's really crazy what things we can do with our mouth at night and not wake up.

 

It very well could have... I'm so clueless now. I've been researching and looking for answering for benzo tapering etc for months. Now am at a point where I want to throw up my hands and just admit I'll never know why such and such is occurring and how to solve it.

 

Do you think a mouth guard at night might help? It's possible to be grinding your teeth at night and not wake up with pain but experience it later? Thanks for the replies!

 

Yes, a mouth guard will help.  I actually just got back from the dentist today to find that I cracked tooth by grinding a few weeks ago, and now I gotta have a root canal on that tooth cause the filling there became a giant new cavity.  I did that even with a mouth guard on.  I never had a grinding problem before benzos that I know of.