Anti-Depressants - TMJ Disorder -TemporoMandibular Joint Message Board

klowieboyz · 05-13-2009, 09:51 AM

Anti-Depressants

Has anyone tried anti-depressants for pain treatment? I've read where tricyclics given in small doses can reduce pain up to 50%. I've been severely depressed and my doctor prescribed both Lexapro (SSRI) and Elavil (tricyclic). He gave me Elavil as a sleep aide at night to also help with my insomnia. I am currently only taking 10mg of that and he was unaware of the studies of that drug and chronic pain.

I've only been taking them for 2 days but I'm having some side effects. Some muscle twitching, just feeling weird and so far I'm still not sleeping.

Thelma-Louise · 05-13-2009, 10:54 AM

After 1 1/2 yrs of no sleep due to pain and overall muscle twitching and spasms I fianlly went to NYU's TMJ Dept's Pain Mgmt Clinic and the dr there explained how certain anti-depressants could affect the pain center located in the brain and break the chronic pain cycle that can develop over time. Although many drs had tried to prescribe them at the onset of my symptoms I initially resisted taking them b/c I felt it would mask the symptoms and no one would then be interested in correcting the actual cause of them. Plus I felt I wasn't depressed in clinical terms b/c who wouldn't be miserable when in pain with no relief in sight. I guess I let the words "depression" and anti-depressants and their connotations affect my judgement probably b/c it seems that's what every dr tells every patient that's what their problem is when they can not determine the real cause of their symptoms or condition. So I started taking 10 mgs of triavil and 10 mgs of baclofen - did so for a little more than a year and I must say I did sleep better and started to put some weight back on after losing close to 35 lbs. I eventually weaned myself off of them and now only use both when things become intolerable again.

The only side affects from the triavil which is a combo drug of perephenazine and amitryptaline was that it did cause me to sleep 10 hours plus and be very tired throughout the day - I could fall asleep at the drop of a hat - and I put on weight even though my liquid/mushy diet did not change - but my appetite, which had been virtually non-existant up to this point, also returned so I was probably eating more frequently - thus the reason for the wieght gain.

I was also told the affects of the triavil would take 2 weeks or more as it needs to build up in the system - the longer it is within the system the better or more effective it becomes in altering the brain's pain center- so it may be the same with other anti-depressants as well.

MissHeadache · 05-14-2009, 09:29 AM

I took the tricyclic amitryptiline for a year for TMJ problems. For me it did no good in all that time. It was hard stepping up the dose at the beginning (10mg-50mg) and coming off at the end as it made me very tired, but during the rest of that year I did not notice any other effects other than sleeping very well, no change in appetitie or weight or anything like that. Once I was off it I had a period of a month or so where I slept very poorly until my body had re-adjusted itself to not having the drug in my system. It takes about 3 months for the full effects to build up in your system so do stick with yours at least this long.

klowieboyz · 05-14-2009, 10:33 AM

Ok, thanks for the advice to both of you.

Snoop Dogg · 05-14-2009, 07:45 PM

I've been taking 25mg of amitriptyline since November. Initially, the side effects I noticed were that I had a lot of trouble waking up in the morning, and I think I had a bit of weight gain, but they've both balanced themselves out now. I was suffering with chronic headaches due to the very tight muscles in my face, neck and shoulders, and the amitriptyline has helped with that, however, if I forget to take them just once, the headache that follows the next day is quite debilitating.

My headaches are starting to come back again, so I invested in a TENS unit, which helps to relieve those headaches that the medication can't seen to control, as I'm not fond of the idea of increasing my dosage. But, I guess we'll see what happens.

I haven't noticed any difference with my mood, but they have enabled me to function normally. When people ask me about my medication, I have a tendency of telling them that I'm taking muscle relaxants because there's only so many times you can listen to the negative opinions of anti-depressants... especially when taking a very low dose.

Good luck.