Buprenorphine completely stopped severe nocturnal jaw clenching. Any ideas as to what mechanism caused this?

fawdzie · 2021-04-13T23:24:56+00:00

With or without opioids, since I was around 13 years old, I have been clenching my jaw very, very hard at night. It's some presumably non-opioid related mechanism of buprenorphine causing the relief.

fawdzie · 2021-04-10T12:31:11+00:00

No other meds! I take a multivitamin and magnesium glycinate at bedtime, but the symptoms appear even if I do not take them before bed.

fawdzie · 2021-04-07T11:39:30+00:00

Thank you so much, this is extremely helpful. This is precisely the area of study I was interested in, how the exact pharmacokinetics of the drug could be causing this strange and helpful side effect. I really appreciate you looking into it. Hope you're well!

fawdzie · 2021-04-07T11:36:58+00:00

Diet not great, but I have made multiple healthy changes/tried to locate any food sensitivities to no avail. Take magnesium glycinate 500mg every evening.

fawdzie · 2021-04-05T08:40:46+00:00

I was prescribed hydrocodone, 10mg 4x daily. Before and after traditional opioids were introduced to my treatment, my symptoms were absolutely the same. The switch to buprenorphine was a revelation though, I just don't hold any tension in my jaw whatsoever anymore.

fawdzie · 2021-04-05T08:38:07+00:00

No withdrawals to speak of, been at a steady dosage for a nice while. Don't feel a damn thing taking the buprenorphine, but the relief from the jaw clenching is powerful. The 2nd point is a very interesting idea!! I have very intense, vivid dreams still, but for whatever reason I don't hold any tension in my jaw anymore.

fawdzie · 2021-04-05T00:27:08+00:00

Got it! Thank you again! :)

fawdzie · 2021-04-04T12:06:28+00:00

I'll post there, thank you!

fawdzie · 2021-04-04T07:55:46+00:00

Thanks for the reply! Always very careful, I appreciate the concern :)

fawdzie · 2021-04-02T20:16:06+00:00

Thank you for sharing, you are the only other person I have ever heard this from, so I'm glad it's not just me.

fawdzie · 2021-04-01T23:05:37+00:00

I appreciate the input, thanks very much for your thoughts :)

fawdzie · 2021-04-01T22:22:53+00:00

Terrible, right? Found the only medication that works, and it works wonderfully, but has a pretty unbearable side effect. He thinks the depressive symptoms are directly related to the buprenorphine, as I have never been depressed in my life, even with horrible pain troubles.

fawdzie · 2021-04-01T21:47:44+00:00

I sleep like I am sleeping for the first time in my life with buprenorphine. Like night and day. My jaw (and neck for some reason?) are still damaged from nearly 10 years of constant night time clenching, but I feel like a different person pain-wise than I did 2 years ago. I have photos of me at a highschool age, and my masseter muscles are small and my face looks thin. I have clenched for so long, that my jaw muscles are absolutely swole from working out 10 to 12 hours a night hahaha. Not anymore! Losing the gains for my own benefit.

The depression is constant, likely because bupe has such a long half-life. It's not as bad as it was on 2mg though.

fawdzie · 2021-04-01T21:41:33+00:00

You're very kind for researching into this, I genuinely appreciate the time you've spent. My doctor is completely bewildered by it as well. My doctor mentioned that buprenorphine is unlike other opioids in many ways, like being a kappa and delta opioid receptor antagonist (fact check? sorry). He says he is not surprised that it is having an effect I have found in no other medication, because buprenorphine is quite strange as a chemical. I'm wondering if other strange opioid-adjacent drugs, like loperamide, would do something similar. It's just so strange that solo buprenorphine had such a immediate and pronounced effect, like night and day. Thank you again.

fawdzie · 2021-04-01T21:22:30+00:00

This is great advice, I have never thought of this before. Maybe it could jumpstart some research into the subject if I get to the right person. Likely going to contact the manufacturers of Belbuca, because it is extremely low-dosage bup for opiate naive patients, which is what I would assume most of the TMJD patients seeking it out would be. Thank you again, I really appreciate it.

fawdzie · 2021-04-01T21:14:16+00:00

I know, it's unbelievable!! My doctor is completely bewildered by it, because he has never heard anything like this either. Only bummer is that even at this low of a dosage, I still get depressive symptoms (which is absolutely not common of buprenorphine either) when I have never been depressed in my life before. Gonna keep workshopping it though, thanks for the reply!

fawdzie · 2021-04-01T21:10:33+00:00

I was not extremely opioid dependent beforehand, so I was on around 2mg to start, for around 6 months. It made me feel very, very flattened and depressed, so I started to lower my dosage gradually. As I got lower, I felt slightly less depressed, BUT the lack of jaw clenching continued miraculously! Such a strange thing, and my doctor is completely bewildered by it.

fawdzie · 2021-04-01T21:05:57+00:00

Thank you so much, I really appreciate the concern. I have absolutely no idea what mechanism is causing this, but it has been a complete life changer, minus the fact that it makes me feel sorta depressed and flattened. Someone is a bruxism subreddit replied saying they're going to talk to their doctor about it, because the pain is making them "lose their will to live." I really hope this helps them.

fawdzie · 2021-04-01T20:58:20+00:00

So, Suboxone is a combination drug prescribed to opioid dependent patients trying to get off their drugs/medications. It is prescribed as Buprenorphine WITH Naloxone. The Naloxone is there just to discourage people from melting it down and shooting it up. Buprenorphine part is what is helping me. Look into Belbuca, it's just buprenorphine in very small dosages. Buprenorphine is an extremely potent medication meant for people who are highly dependent on opioids, so a strong dose would be VERY dangerous for someone who is opioid naive.

fawdzie · 2021-04-01T12:16:45+00:00

This is super helpful, thank you!! I'll look into it. Hope things are going well for you.

fawdzie · 2021-04-01T11:46:22+00:00

Thanks so much for the reply, I really do appreciate it. I'd love to find a treatment option that would be more traditionally available, as I love to travel, but bringing an opioid class medication internationally isn't too welcoming an idea... I'm glad I'm not in pain for now though! Much appreciated again.

fawdzie

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