Serious Problems - Bad Side Effects from lots of Meds (w/response))

[Guest guest]

[bradi posted this. I have broken it into sections to be more readable and to

respond to a couple of different points. I will make it clear who is speaking.

A note to everyone: it is very difficult to read text that is not formatted into

paragraphs. You can remedy this by simply hitting the ENTER key twice after each

3-4 sentences. This will create some space. I took the time to read this

because it is clear that is in crisis. Normally, I won't even attempt to

read it unless it has been reformatted. I will format this one so everyone can

see what I mean. My comments arte marked as ** --]

wrote:

<<I would like to give you some back ground so you can understand what has been

going on in my life for the last 18 months. I had my 4th daughter 18 months ago

in August 2010. This was only 20 months after I had my 3rd daughter. My

husband was in Iraq from April 2009 to May 2010 and then we moved to KS in June

2010. He started his Master Degree program and military classes in August.

After the baby was born I felt like I had no help I started taking care of all 4

kids and the household immediately after coming home.>>

<< Eventually I stated having problems. I didnt know it then, but I guess they

were anxiety attacks. I had made multiple trips to the ER. In the mean time my

Dr. was ordering different test on my thyroids. I was told my thyroid level

were a little off so I went to a specialist. My thyroid levels eventually

returned to normal with out medicine.>>

** A person whose thyroid swings has thyroid problems and should be treated

for them. It is not normal to have one's thyroid readings alter to that extent.

wrote:

<< I had been having some balance issues i.e. tripping on things, my perception

was off, having severe mood swings (mainly bc I was mad at my husband for

starting a Masters Program the same month I was having the baby.)I was under a

lot of stress. In Feb 2011 I didn't sleep but a couple of hrs here and there

for about 3 days. I had started reading the one year bible in January and so if

the baby woke me up in the middle of the night I would read the bible at one in

the more and I was journaling. I few times I was sacared afterwards as I felt

like something was in the room. Needless to say Feb 3rd I finally had a

Psycotic episode. >>

** Atypical psychosis is a normal reaction to an extended lack of sleep --

especially when being exhausted and stressed. This can happen to ANYONE under

these conditions and is not an indicator of an illness.

wrote:

<<The Dr in the hospital diagnosed within 10mins wih Bipolar Disorder.(I was 35

at the time and had seen many therapist and 1 psychitrist over the years) I

found another Dr for a second opinion. He also said Bipolar Disorder. I felt

like it was bc I told him what the first Dr said.>>

** It's already clear you have good instincts. Trust them.

said:

<<However I took the meds that he prescribed .... eventually we worked me up

to ...Lamictal 50mg and Abilify 5 mg and Clonipin 1 mg all at bedtime. It took

me quite awhile to adjust to the medicine and if I would accidentally miss one

dose I felt like a was dying.>>

** This is a crime. All drugs given for " bipolar disorder " are meant to

heavily sedate a person. Others observe the person being quieter and calmer so

assume the drugs are " working " . There is no test that can definitively show a

" bipolar disorder " . Realistically speaking, a bipolar disorder is quite rare.

Lamictal is an anti-epileptic drug. It's given to people with seizure

disorders. Abilify is an antipsychotic. It is also deeply sedating. Clonidine

is a drug for high blood pressure prescribed as a " last line of defense " drug

for high blood pressure. It is prescribed as only a last resort because it has

numerous powerful adverse effects.

said:

<<I continued taking the medicine he prescribed from Feb 2011 to Sept 2011 and

my mood was eventually stabilized. However then we moved to NC and I ran out of

Abilify and I told my Family Dr that my Psychiatrist was talking about taking me

off the Abilify and raising my Lamictal to 75 mg. So that's what we did in Sept

2011.(Lamictal 75 mg and clonipin 1mg at bedtime) In the meantime I was still

concerned about the Lamictal causing birth defects if I accidently got pregnant

and I didnt like how bad it mad me sick if I skipped one dose. So I asked my Dr

if we could try me on Lexapro. She prescribed it 20mg.>>

** Do I get to revoke my statement about good instincts, lol? As many of

you reading this know, one cannot abruptly stop and of these drugs or drop one

and add another. It is not only the Lamictal that will cause birth defects.

Virtually all psych drugs will but they only need to tell you this if they have

formally collected data on this. Most drug makers avoid keeping this data to

avoid having the issue of harm come to light.

wrote:

<<Eventually I started having really back side effects. I was v ery naseated

and couldnt eat much. Looking back I think I became depressed at some point. I

contiuned to Lexapro 20mg and Clonipin 1 mg at bedtime from end of Oct til

january 4th. While taken that the side effects continued to persistently get

worse. I even started having really bad nightmares in the last month or so of

taken it. I would wake of feeling like I was dying. Now I have always had

dreams that would wake me up in the midddle of the night. I did have some

trauma growing up and during my first marriage until 2000. >>

** This has nothing to do with depression of trauma from earlier in life or

a relationship. You were in extreme extended withdrawal from the Lamictal.

Most doctors do not recognize this condition. The small percentage who try to

find out more don't get anywhere with it. When they call the drug companies and

report what the patient is experiencing, the drug companies tell them they have

no information on their drug ever doing this.

The law states that a drug company is obligated to collect data about adverse

effects from phone calls if they believe their drug played a role. Read it

slowly again. All a drug company needs to do is state they didn't believe a

report had to do with their drug and they can justify not logging the data.

This should make it clear that these drug companies have been handed a pass.

wrote:

<< So when I returned to the DR on January 5th so switched me to Paxil 20mg

and put in a referral to go to a Psychiatrist. However by Sunday morning,

January 8th I felt like I was dying. My side effects were getting worse and

including diareha which was occurring for about two weeks t this point.>>

** This compounded the withdrawal. The majority of serotonin receptors are

in the gut; hence, the intestinal reactions.

wrote:

<< So I went to the ER expecting to see a Dr for my side effects. How ever

since my husband told them that I was diagnosed with bipolar in Feb 2011 they

brought me to the Psyc Unit. Well waiting to see the Doctor I starting have

some distorted thinking like in Feb 2011 psycotic break. However in Feb 2011 it

turned voilent bc people were trying to control my thoughts and behaviors and I

blacked out. But in January 2012 at the ER they just left me alone and I was

able to come back to reality on my own. So the ER Dr said you definitely don't

need to be on Lexapro or paxil. It sounds like you do have bipolar nd you need

to be on something like Lithium or Lamictal. So he gave me Lithium and clonipin

at 6pm on Jan 8 2012.>>

** This was a calmer, more rational approach on the part of the doc, closer

to the original Rx you were used to-- but still a misdiagnosis. What he was

seeing was drug-induced behavior. The first time, it was stress and lack of

sleep induced behavior.

wrote:

<< He then suggested go inpatient to get back on the correct meds and let them

watch me for 3 days to make sure I didnt get worse. The next morning the

In-patient Dr rediagnosed me with PTSD, Bordeline personality traits, and Mood

Disorder unspecified. He staterted me on Cymbalta 40mg in the morning and

Ativan 3 MG at nightOn January 9th. I kept telling him I was getting worse he

said well that's good that means the medicine is getting in you system.>>

** This rapid alteration in drugs threw you into a tailspin again This is the

arrogant response of a physician who has no clue what is going in so makes it

up.

wrote:

<<I stated getting very emotional and my mood was everywhere. Although after

they gave me Mallox I was able to eat and the naseau worn off. I was released

on Jan 12, 2012 even tho I told him I was getting worse. After returning home I

got even worse. I was taking care of a lot of different things and my 4 kids

16, 12, 3, & 17 months.

I started having really bad ADD symtoms I could not concentrate for nothing a

was very dizzy. I have also lost 15 – 20 lbs since Novemer 2012. I am now down

to 110 lbs at 5' 1'' So I couldn't take the side effects an012. I am now down

to 110 lbs at 5' 1'' So I couldn't take the side effects anymore and on January

26th I dropped down to 20mg of Cymbalta in the morning for 2 days then on

January 27th I decided I couldn't take it anymore and stopped taking it all

together.

Still taking Ativan 2 mg at bedtime to sleep. I continued to get worse and

went back to the ER on February 2nd but a different ER. I decided that I needed

to get back on the Lamictal 25 mg and Abilify 5 mg and Ativan 2.5 mg on February

2. So I went to ER just to make sure it was medically necessary for me to

restart those meds. They said yes and I restarted them bc I had some from

before. >>

** The majority of your problem in order of how it occurred, is:

1. You were over-drugged with powerful, mind-numbing, toxic drugs;

2. You abruptly stopped one of these drugs;

3. You made abrupt changes again by adding yet another new drug (Lithium);

4) Within a few days of your last change, someone created a vast change in what

you were taking;

5) You did what is referred to as an abrupt withdrawal and ended up in crisis

because of it. In these situations people are always told they are feeling as

they are because it is proof they " need " the drugs.

wrote:

<< I do not have a Psyc doctor appointment until February 9, 2012. I feel like

my body is shutting down (nervous breakdown) on me and I'm not convinced that

all the medicines have not caused any internal medical problems. >>

** The drugs have not caused the kind of internal medical problems you're

thinking about but they have had a huge adverse effect on your chemistry. What

you've done is the equivalent of an out of control college kid experimenting

constantly with any drug handed to them just for the sake of getting high. I

know you're not trying to get high. I'm saying that you would feel the same if

you were the college student.

wrote:

<< I don't want to go to the ER bc I don't want them to send me back to a

Behavioral health system as inpatient. I did want to try natural alternatives

to all this prescribed medicine but my husband is literally making me take my

meds. He threatened to call 911 last night if I didn't. At this point I don't

know what to do. >>

** First, you cannot go off any of these drugs so suddenly. If I were you,

I'd think about when I felt the least bad and then call my family doc and ask

for an extended visit. Leave your husband home. Explain what you believe is

going on (too many drugs at first, coming off them too abruptly while adding

others in too abruptly) and explain that you'd like to go back the the protocol

that seemed to be most comfortable to you (the way I read it this was the

protocol from the ER doc, but only you know for sure if this is true). The goal

here is to see if you can get the cooperation you got when you got her to add

the Lexapro.

said:

<< I get up and eat and I still feel weak like I'm going to pass out. Last

night in walmart I was just spinning and sometime when I'm driving I don't know

where I am. Do you think I should go to the ER to see an internal medicine dr

or atleast go the my family dr Monday to get a referral to see an internal

medicine Dr? I don't know if the ER visits have checked to make sure my Liver

is function properly and pumping the chemicals out ?>>

** They'll find nothing. Nothing like that is wrong with you. A visit to a

doc or the hospital asking about this will get you labeled a hypochondriac or

reinforce the Borderline label.

Your body, NOBODY'S body, is equipped to take all these drugs. You've been

chemically assaulted. EVERYONE would respond as you are.

Your husband is frightened. I don't know if you can ever get him to

understand. Most people find it easier to be discreet.

Final note, the last thing you need right now is a pregnancy. Do you have a

way to avoid this (not a drug way)?

You are going to need some close guidance to get out of this crisis. I can't

put in a lot of time in the beginning if we aren't sure you're committed to the

process. Please read this, ask questions (make it easy to read, please, by

formatting), and we'll see what to do next.

Regards,