Getting off Invega has been mostly fine. No brain charges like with Effexor. No crying spells. No hallucinating. So for that I’m grateful.
Instead I’ve got bruxism. I’m not grinding my teeth but I am clenching my jaw almost constantly. I have a continued jaw/neck/head ache. I actively try and relax my jaw muscles which takes a lot of thought and concentration. I’m still sleeping fine but waking up with a very sore jaw.
According to some sources, it can take as long to work through buxism as you took the drug. And sometimes it doesn’t go away. Some people get the condition when they start taking the anti-psychotic, which i did not.
At one point in my life I was a meth head and while high, you clench your jaw a lot. This reminds me of that feeling. Aaaaaaand I don’t like it.
Hi Leah, I’ve been hoping you’d update and checking often. You sound down. I guess you’re having a really hard time finding a job? It takes a ton of patience, but I know something is out there for you, just keep at it.
I am depressed about money myself. I haven’t paid my bills this month, can’t afford child care, etc, etc. But I’m trying to keep it together so I can think of a good way to solve this.
I wish the same for you! Tell us about Mother’s Day, hope it was lots of fun. Take care.
“you have just entered the twilight zone”, is it just me?
bruxism. my god that sucks. i suffer from from teeth grinding while asleep, and clenching while awake.
after trying several items, the NTI thing has worked for about two years now.
my chiropractor also aided in the prevention of the muscles getting tense in that whole head area. it helped tremendously once i shared some history with him that i’d previously left out.
I have bruxism, too! AND, like Piglet, I have an NTI-TSS, and I love it. (I wear it at night, and also during the day when I’m particularly tense.) It wasn’t covered by insurance, unfortunately, but it’s totally worth the $$$.
Good luck to you!
I’m just curious of the brain changes you mention caused by coming off Effexor. I have to come off it and am wondering what you mean.
thanks for the heads-up on the nti-tss, ladies. sounds like a good idea.
angela – everyone’s experience is different but i encountered hallucinations and brain electric shocks. hope yours goes better. my advice would be to go sloooooooow.
Leah, that sounds rather scary. I’m hoping I have a better experience. I’ve got 2 more days of pills, then we’ll see.
I had to get off Effexor cold-turkey when my insurance coverage ended. I was also taking Welbutrin and trazadone so the withdrawal was brutal. Electric waves all over my body, feeling like ants were walking all over me, could not sit still, etc. It was really hard. I feel like that particular doctor was using me as a Guinea pig or something…
Angela- can’t you off it slowly? Best of luck to you with that, hope it isn’t too hard for you 🙂
My doctor has lowered my dose of effexor from 75mg to 37.5. I take the low dose for a week then stop. I guess I’ll see how it goes and if it’s bad I’ll go back to the doc and see what he says. Thanks for the info. And I hope you update again soon leah, I always like reading your blog.
RUN, do not walk, to Walgreens where you can buy a home kit that has a flexible mouth guard for your teeth. You put it in HOT water then slide it into your mouth and bite the mutha. Then you can use a file and file down any thick spots or make more room for your tongue, etc.,
When you put it in your mouth at night,you will NOT grit your teeth. It really works.
As for coming off Effexor, the doc said “stop it” and I did. Now I would come off it s*l*o*w*l*y……… even thought I’m the impatient sort.
Right now, I’m coming off of Xanax. Been on it for 20 years and my new doctor won’t refill it. He said I’m bound to be addicted to it. I said “SO what? It works and causes no problems” but he dug in his heels.
Wow, this explains what I have going on then! just started effexor and noticed my jaw is killing me. i just told my dh this morning I think I am clenching my teeth all the time…..
I take effexor now along with trazadone and Wellbuterin which I have been taking for years.
You guys are freaking me out…..my psych said trazadone is not a big deal, not many side effects, nonaddictive and works great with both my meds……any other opinions on that I should know about??
Deb, I think that all drugs and combinations of them work differently for each person. If they work for you, don’t worry about it. But if you ever need to switch or come off them, just talk to your doctor about doing it slowly and well supervised by him/her. The real problem is when you just lose your insurance and have no choice but to stop cold turkey (that was my case.)
Leah, please write something! I know you’re in a funk right now, but what could be more therapeutic than blogging about it? We (your readers) miss you.
I clench my teeth when I am stressed. What I do when I notice I am clenching is flatten out my tongue and stick between my teeth. You can only bite down so hard on your tongue before you will stop. Hopefully. Once you have done the tongue thing a lot while you are awake, you can do it in your sleep, too. It’s weird, I know, but it works for me.
Grinding teeth is a curse. I had it for years and did not manage to stop it.
It is far more common than known. People are just not talking about it.
I have found a great cure lately. Read about it here – http://www.stopgrindingteethnow.com
Ativan helped me through the really bad bruxism I have been having with this most recent weaning off Abilify/drug withdrawal. It’s been 10 days, the last 3 without ativan. I am still a little clenchy, but not enough to need the ativan anymore. But when I did, boy did I ever. Maybe your doc will give you some, or some valium?
I also use the NTI device but honestly, the do it yourself night guards from the drug store work almost as well for me. I have dealt with bruxism my entire adult life and the head & muscle aches plus tooth sensitivity makes dealing with it without a night guard is miserable.I hope yours goes away but until then, maybe get a cheap moldable guard to get you through. Good luck & hope the perfect job is around the corner.