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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Lizzle on September 10, 2009, at 21:44:16
Okay, I've been seriously baffled and frustrated since last December.
In Dec, I took two ten milligram pills of Parnate, two days in a row. That's all. For the following 4 1/2 months, I had incredibly annoying side effects that I kept expecting to disappear. But they didn't until said months later.
Every day, I would just beg God to get the damn stuff out of my system. The side effects were so potent that they really made life TOUGH--sudden headaches, sex headaches, absolutely ravenous appetite, lack of focus, inability to exercise, incoherent speaking, nervousness, flat effect, fuzzy brain, etc. I couldn't believe that these effects were not lessening after a month or so.
Finally they DID lessen, and my life seemed to be getting back on track. My mind felt more or less clear, I was using Xanax and caffeine to combat the organic mild depression/anxiety. The headaches ceased and I was getting out more, having...fun, something I didn't experience with the Parnate side effects.
Well, I still had an appointment set up for my psychiatrist, so I went. I decided I didn't like the idea of having to take Xanax (even though I was only one .25 mg/day), so I asked about Lamictal, something my psych had talked about before. I thought it might banish anxiety similarly to Xanax.
So, I took a 25 mg pill of Lamictal in April. I fell asleep 2 hours later, something I normally wouldn't have done. I woke up and felt slightly optimistic...I felt a little different, in a good way. The rest of the day was productive.
So the next day, I popped another 25 mg Lamictal. BIG MISTAKE. By the time night rolled around, I was feeling strange, depressed, anxious...something in me told me NOT to take another Lamictal again. The next day I did an overnight at my work. That night, I felt like I had to physically cry, but couldn't. I was so scared, because what I was feeling inside of me was real, and I knew that this wasn't going to be just a quick round of side effects that would dissipate within a couple days. No, I knew in the back of my mind that it would likely take at least 3 months for this new host of side effects to leave, although I didn't want to believe it.
It was like a nightmare. I had just started feeling like my life was gaining some balance, but I had to take a couple pills to screw it all up AGAIN. At first I thought, "ahhh, so this must be what bipolar illness feels like" due to the strange shaky mood swings. My stomach suddenly ballooned up and I had strange stomach feelings. My appetite got all out of whack, craving sweets and fats this time. A week after taking the Lamictal, I noticed a persistent sore throat and a slight, itchy rash on my hands accompanied by flushing of the skin after physical activity. My menstrual period was nonexistent. I was much more self-conscious and depressed in a drugged-up way (hah, I don't know how to describe it). The side effects have been cyclical, meaning there would be periods of time where I ate everything in sight and just sat there, as well as periods where I was more active and energetic. But overall, I was mostly tired/foggy headed/unmotivated. My muscles ached as well, and I had stomach cramps.
After the first month or so of lingering side effects, I went to GNC and bought a full 7 day body cleanse out of desperation. Used it, and it didn't seem to help. I tried a detox diet. Didn't help. Bought some milk thistle. Didn't help. Now, after exactly five months since taking those two little tablets, I'm STILL feeling some of these side effects.
One not-so-bad thing about the Lamictal, however, was increased feeling during sex--I had taken SSRIs for a while before, so they pretty much caused long-lasting anesthesia down there.
Note that Xanax really didn't help at all while experiencing these Lamictal side effects, and it still doesn't do much, I have to take it in a larger dose to feel anything. Alcohol--I don't even get a buzz with what would have normally been an amount that would get me tipsy or even drunk.So, has anyone else out there in the world experienced anything similar? Taking a couple low-dose pills and then enduring potent side effects for the next few months? If so, I'd love to hear from you, because I feel alone and in need of a little validation of my experiences that even I doubt from time to time--how could 50 mg of Lamictal taken FIVE MONTHS ago still be wreaking havoc on my body? Does all the peanut butter I eat stick to my liver and grab the medication, preventing breaking down of the med and detoxification? hah :P
I've taken Prozac, Cymbalta, Effexor, Wellbutrin, Lexapro, Celexa, Buspar, Zoloft, etc. without the lingering effects from a couple doses.
I'm so confused and frustrated. I'm hoping/thinking that the Lamictal side effects will clear up soon. I'm going to be EXTREMELY CAREFUL next time I take a med that isn't short-acting. What if something stuck around for a year? Who knows when a med will leave the system...who knows.Thank you all for reading, all and any input is appreciated. :)
Posted by yxibow on September 12, 2009, at 20:55:40
In reply to Side effects that last 4+ months from 2 pills, posted by Lizzle on September 10, 2009, at 21:44:16
Well I hate to be so reductionist for a lack of better words but I think this sounds like causality is not always causation.
Psychotropics don't have a window of 2 pills (other than illicit knockout drugs which really are affecting the CNS more than anything) -- it takes some time for neurotransmitters to respond, and it also can be many years (of usefulness) before neurotransmitters shift on a given medication.
That being said, I can't explain some of the odd and nasty side and lingering effects I've had from APs, but I'm pretty sensitive to them.
To a lot of other medications I'm a high metabolizer, possibly because of my weight, and just genetics and the way my body works.
If anything it sounds like the lack of medication and very temporary use of it that has stirred up a lot of emotions and a disorder that hasn't been monitored.
I can understand your reluctance towards medications from your experience, but I think what has been felt is probably more side effects and effects of the cycles of something that could be part mental (biological imbalance) illness and maybe even organic components.
That's the best I can explain it.
-- tidings
Posted by bleauberry on September 13, 2009, at 17:53:15
In reply to Side effects that last 4+ months from 2 pills, posted by Lizzle on September 10, 2009, at 21:44:16
This is such a mysterious disturbing phenomenon. I came up with these possibilities. As the only genius psychiatrist I ever had told me, "with these meds, anything is possible, good or bad".
1. What has happened was going to happen anyway. It was just coincidentally timed with the meds.
2. There was a predisposed condition that the meds triggered.
3. Genes can be turned up or down, on or off, with various meds. Sometimes maybe they never return to where they were. All it takes is a single dose to give a gene new instructions and maybe it becomes stuck there.
4. There is something else going on, which goes full circle back to #2 above.
I am fairly confident in assuming these points:
1. The receptors themselves did not change in that short exposure.
2. There is something else biochemically going on that is non-psychiatric. The possibilities are many, but include things like amalgam fillings, infectious organisms (unsuspected virus, Lyme, other bacteria, Candida), and unsuspected food intolerances.
3. The meds themselves did not do the harm, but obviously appeared to be the guilty ones. They were merely the triggers that alerted you to something else going on.
One of the best explanations I know of when there is sensitivity to meds or unusual reactions is a confused immune system.
I know all this isn't readily helpful, but will hopefully open up some new thought patterns in planning future health care. I think it would be wise to add an Integrative MD to your team to help navigate these things. If I had to place my own money on a bet in this case, I would confidentally do so in betting there is something nonpsychiatric at play here. It only looks psychiatric from the outside and is deceiving that way.
Posted by Lizzle on September 16, 2009, at 22:17:50
In reply to Re: Side effects that last 4+ months from 2 pills » Lizzle, posted by yxibow on September 12, 2009, at 20:55:40
Thanks for the responses, yxibox & bleauberry.
I agree more with bleauberry's post; the effects have not been akin to the stirring up of emotions...in fact, I've felt more blunted emotionally, especially with the Lamictal.
I know that what I've been experiencing is directly related to the drugs, as each drug had unique, never-felt-before effects that I felt full blast after taking the drug. They just won't go away. I want to find that I'm not alone with this. It's so incredibly frustrating.
I know how I feel off drugs, and it's not this.
Maybe my body is just unique.
I took a capsule of yohimbe bark once and had bad mental/emotional side effects that caused me to lay on the couch most of the time for four days straight.
This is the end of the thread.
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