Jaw Clenching/Teeth Grinding chronic headaches/migraines

Just thought I would share some experience with this.

About 6-7 years ago when I was taking propecia I began waking up feeling worse than before I went to bed. I can’t believe it took so long but I finally figured out my “feeling bad” was mostly from severe jaw clenching/grinding overnight. I felt terrible most days even after sleeping about 8 hours. My headaches were even worse after sleeping longer than 8 hours or if I was anxious about something.

Finally went to the dentist and he confirmed I was a clencher/grinder. I got a cheap boil-and-bite mouth-guard and for a few days felt excellent, 0 headache. Finally I had a few nights of sleep like I had before I started taking propecia. Unfortunately, a few nights later I must had adapted and chenched harder. I even woke up a few times finding myself biting and chewing hard. While guards help protect the teeth, apparently they may not do any good to reduce clenching and might even make it worse.

I was so desperate for some relief I got 15 units of Botox in each masseter muscle. Very expensive and insurance likely wont cover it. (some insurances may cover if you get chronic migraines).

It’s been about 2 weeks now and 0 headaches. I have been sleeping better also. If I sleep 8 hours, I wake up and I feel like I slept 8 hours. Granted my sleep is still screwed up from propecia and I have nights where I wake up some 15 times.

I don’t imagine this applies to many of us on here. I only remember a couple people mentioning they get headaches a lot. If you get chronic headaches you may want to look into this more.

This site might help identify if your masseter muscle is tight.

saveyourself.ca/articles/perfect … sseter.php

very relevant, while on propecia I develped TMJ and jaw clenching as well, although not as extreme as you. also had worn down teeth and bone loss.

Bruxism is from excessive dopamine isn’t it?

I don’t think anyone knows if exactly what causes it. I have heard one possible treatment for it is Buspar. From what I understand Buspar increases dopamine levels.

Often SSRIs can cause bruxism. People on SSRIs are sometimes given Buspar to reduce the clenching.

Just an update. The Botox wore off in a couple weeks. It seemed to wear off with a long endurance event. What a waste of money…

On the upside I got an NTI-TSS device. kellerlab.com/115/products/nti-tss-plus.php . So for 3+ weeks and headache/migraine free. This is a very good device for jaw clenching and teeth grinding so far. Its a bit more comfortable than the full-upper guard. A bit annoying but not bad. They can cause an open bite though, fingers crossed.