My doctor was giving me remeron to fall asleep, but my dentist gave me valium for my jaw to take at night because i clench and grind so badly that i crack all of my nightguards that protect my teeth, and next thing I know I am going to crack a tooth if I dont get it under control. I have noticed that the valium makes me fall asleep YAY so i am able to discontinue the remeron which I had BAD BAD side effects from... does anybody take valium for sleep or anything? do you have side effects? I notice a HUGE HUGE HUGE difference in my jaw, before every morning in order to open my jaw id have to force it open with my hands and it would crack a few times and then crack every hour a few times and now its not cracking and opening normally... so im having great results. But just wondering about any side effects.... And I ONLY take 5mg at night for my jaw and so i fall asleep which is a bonus!!!

Have you tried magnesium supplements to relax the muscles?

Many people are low in magnesium, and could use some daily.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread1138.html

sorry... I had the wrong link up here... it was a copy/paste error!

How much magnesium would you recommend? I have taken magnesium for a number of years but never saw a difference. Maybe I am not taking enough?

If you are taking magnesium OXIDE.... you will so no difference.

It is not absorbed, but remains in the bowel, and is a laxative.

You need an absorbable type:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread1138.html

What were you taking and how much?

I dont remember as my mom just gave it to me, But I stopped taking it because I saw no difference. I have TMJ and lock jaw, and ligamentus laxity on top of my RSD which causes my muscles to tighten up to support my bones because my ligaments dont....

What brand, name of it and dosage do you recommend? I will go buy it today and try it out. I take natren probiotics the trinity and notice MAJOR MAJOR improvements when taking that. It was the first supplement that I cried it made my stomach so relaxed and painless because I was actually going to the bathroom regularly and it wasnt cramping... so I believe there are some out there that work! I would WAY rather rely on valum once a week or every once in awhile than having to take it everyday for my muscles. I have tried every other type of muscle pain medicine and I just didnt like them.

Hey. My mom was on valium for many years for sleep. She does not have RSD. I spoke to my doctor about going on it cause I have horrible sleep issues and no meds seem to help. Anyhow valium I guess is very addictive and most people continue to need a higher dose. So for that reason many doctors don't like to rx it. My mom was switched to ativan.
As for magnesium I talk magnesium glycinate that a holistic doctor suggest but have to order it online. Mrs D has sated that Slowmag which I have seen at CVS or Walmart is well absorbed as well.

I have been taking Valium for over a year now for muscles spasms associated with my RSD. I have just recently had to increase my dosage, but only because my RSD spread after having a SCS implanted, and all the complications that arouse. I haven't noticed any adverse side effect from the Valium. The few times I have gone off all my meds to fee the "true pain", and give my body a break, Valium was always the easiest for me to stop taking.
I also take Magnesium daily. Finest Natural 250mg x 2 daily. My surgeon said you can't take too much magnesium esp. for RSD patients, and esp. after any sort of procedure.
I wish you the best of luck. For me if its working, don't mess with it

Thank you, again, so much for posting this. I wrote my Doctor today about what type of magnesium he wanted me on. He said for RSD patients he recommends Magnesium malate or Magnesium glycinate 1000mg per day in 2-3 doses.
I never would have thought that I was taking the wrong kind. You have helped relieve the WORST of symptoms from taking too much of the wrong kind of Magnesium. So thankful for these posts. Originally we were sent home with a note that just said the 1000mg of Mag each day. Had no idea there were different kinds.

I used to have a horrible time sleeping so definitely can relate. For the past two or three months I've been sleeping like a baby. I always take Melatonin, 5-HTP (both are over the counter) and recently my Doctor added Trazodone, 50 mg at bedtime. That, along with my .5 mg of Klonopin knocks me right out and usually keeps me soundly asleep for the night. Trazodone is classified as an antidepressant so also helps with pain and is not addictive. It was Dr. Shwartzman I think who added it to my meds months ago and it reLly has helped tremendously with no side effects.

Valium can help at times but honestly 5 mg doesn't help as much, can leave me more drowsy the next day and can be addictive. That said, I always have Valium on hand for bad nerve pain and do use it for that when needed.

Pre this I was on trazadone for awhile for sleep. Then it began to not work. Anyhow a few years later my pain doctor suggested to try that. So you may want to talk to your doctor about it.
I wonder though if a med like ativan or klonopin would help you better since it is used to relax with anxiety