Serotonin Syndrome/Clonazepam Withdrawl

I am learning that you really must be on top of every medications, supplement, or vitamin that is prescribed to you.  Sometimes even asking questions is not enough.  Right now I am being looked at for the possibility of Serotonin Syndrome and less possible Clonazepam withdrawal.  I have ask questions about interactions and always list what I am taking.

I have been seeing 3 doctors, my primary, my orthopedist, and my psychiatrist.  I have been on Cymbalta for quite some time along with Clonazepam.  I start going to U of M Psych clinic and have been seen by 2 doctors there.  The first one puts me on Lexapro slowly and starts to taper off Clonazepam, the second doctor does the same.  These are both residents. They are doctors but schooling in psychiatry overseen by a superior.  I asked inf these medicine are all compatible.  Yes the Cymbalta and Lexapro are, but we don't like to see long term use of the Clonazepam or Valium you have also taken in the past.  OK, so I go fill the prescription.

Then I have surgery for my ankle on July 11th this summer.  All goes well.  A little slow in healing due to the Fibromyalgia.  In the hospital I was put on one aspirin to thin blood and prevent clots from forming.  I asked if OK and they went and research and said for what they were using it for it our ways the risk they are concerned with NSAIDs and Cymbalta.  Ok, I have been told this before for short term usage, just not on regular basis.  For pain I was given Percoset and Flexaril.  I have never had trouble with these medications and I stop them as soon as I can as I don't like the fogginess I get and I get knocked.

When these symptoms of twitch, jerking, and uncontrolled movements I called the doctor, thinking since I just recently went off the Clonazepam I may be going through a withdrawal.  After a discussion with a very snotty nurse I got her to run this by my primary doctor.  When the nurse called back she told me he thinks it might be Serontonin Syndrome, cut the Lexapro in half, and follow up with my psychiatrist.  That is the next call I make.  The psychiatrist thinks it is Clonazepam withdrawal and tells me to keep taking the Lexapro and Cymbalta together.

So that night I did some research on both.  In my opinion I agreed with my primary doctor that it sounded like Serotonin Syndrome.  From the articles I read on sites like the National Institute for Health and WebMD it really did not sound like a withdrawal to me, even though a few symptoms overlapped.  Oh well I thought and went to bed. 

The next morning I was having the twitches and jerking almost constantly.  I call the psychiatrist and he has me take a Clonazepam.  It makes me a bit sleepy and maybe knocks down the symptoms a bit.  By this time I am really worried and my anxiety is soring.  I decided I needed to be seen either at the E.R. or my doctor's office.  I make an appointment with a Resident whose superior is my Primary doctor. 

They both talk to me when I come in to the office.  The resident does an examine and test reflexes and such.  I am so over reactive when my reflexes were tested that they bring in a medical student working in the office and says in front of me we don't see this ofter so would you mind showing the student.  No problem I am willing to help.  They have to learn so how.  They take me off the Lexapro, told me to take one more Clonazepam so I may get a good nights rest. 

At this point I am all good with everything.  I trust my doctors fully and what they said made sense to me.  Well today I get a call from my psychiatrist checking in on me.  Now my doctors emailed him and explained there findings. Now he wants me to go off the Cymbalta too, and start up the Clonazepam again.  I ask a ton of questions as this is not making sense at all.  I can see not taking the Cymbalta, but starting to take the Clonazepam again doesn't sound right.  If I am withdrawing after we tapered it off over several months I would just as soon suffer and be done with it then start the process all over again.

Well, at this point I have a call into my primary doctor and am awaiting a call back. Again I am not sure what to do and how to proceed so I feel better.  I also haven't even brought up about the pharmacy not picking up on these interactions of the Cymbalta, Lexapro, and Flexaril.  So never hesitate to take your treatment into your own hand.  Always ask questions, go with your gut, and research what doctors, nurses, and pharmacists tell you.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004531/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000635/

Fall is Creeping In

Wow, summer is flying by really fast this year.  It was so hot and humid in July you could hardly be outside here in Michigan.  Now August is here and you can smell fall on the horizon.  Not only in the air, but all the fall time activities are starting up even though it is about 3 weeks give or a take a few days till school is back in.

Around our household it is all about football right now.  My baby Caleb is playing his first year of flag football.  Jacob is on his second year of tackle.  We are on the fence if we are making Nicholas play.  That decision must be made by this evening.  I am thinking yes as the attitude is taking a new level.

I have spend most of July up to now recovering from surgery on my ankle.  That has been a blessing, even though I am once again healing slower then normal, and we have had to put of physical therapy until September.  I am just so happy to be on the path to getting it better.  I knew going into to it that my Fibromyalgia would probably slow my healing just like when I had my gallbladder out, but surgery is the first step to being able to walk again.  It will be a year in October since it was sprain the first time with multiple since and since it was not getting better I knew surgery was the option.

I think my boys are ready for school to start up even though not a single one will admit it.  I know I am.  I miss a set schedule.  I also hope that I can get my house in order some with them at school and football practices, but even though my husband, Ed is coaching both teams for the two younger boys I may still have to do the running back and forth to get them there.  But I won't have to stay, as their practices are in another town next to us.  I can come back and get them dinner ready.  Through the fall though it will be taking up 4 evening and Saturdays for about a 1/2 day.

Right now I am trying to see what the boys need for school clothes.  I have asked them to clean up their clothes so I can see what fits and doesn't.  Though I am not holding any breathes there.  I have told them no new clothes if not done.  I am sure they each have some and for September and part of October unless winter blows in early they will wear shorts so no real rush except shoes and maybe a 1st day of school outfit.  Our budget is tight from all the things that have happened in the last year or so.  They will only get what they need probably and that truly is better for us all.  Makes me keep up on laundry and less mess they can make.

I am looking forward to fall.  It is my favorite time of the year.  Weather is usually nice until the end.  Though it is sad to see summer going, especially as fast as it has seemed to have gone.  Before I know it I will be cold and hurting more, but I would miss the seasons changing if I lived somewhere they did not change.  So time to move forward to the stage of this year, embrace what is coming, and get my life on track once more.

Laundry Items to Help

I am finding a few products that I like to help with laundry.  My first is the Purex 3 in 1 sheets.  They wash, soften, and prevent static cling in the dryer.  I thing for multiple uses.  Also makes shopping easier as it is no heavier the a box of dryer sheets.  With Fibromyalgia I find little things like this a tremendous help.  http://www.purex.com/products/detergents/purex-complete-3-in-1

Another product that is new on the market I received a sample from Vocalpoint.com is Downy Unstoppables.  We all know when you leave laundry in the washer it will start to smell.  I have used it only once so far to remove the smell from clothes left in the washer, though it is meant to be used in as a regular additive.  I used it after not being able to get back to get clothes in the driver because I hurt too  much.  I ran it through a very short wash and everything smelled great, even better then rewashing so it is another new thing for me for those time I just can't get back to it or get the boys to switch it over for me.  Check out Vocal Point (http://www.vocalpoint.com/unstopablesblogger?memberid=77A7D8E0-B7C3-4943-AD45-F51C7735F170)  for more information on this product.  I find a lot of new products I find useful by being a member of this site and being able to test products.  Just another way of finding things to help me with my Fibro and to pass along for others.

Alcohol Causes Flare

Ok, we all know that Alcohol is probably not the best for us as a regular part of our diet except maybe an occasion glass of red wine or such.  Well a holiday weekend has come and gone and I indulged a bit.  A bit more then normal.  Two days later I am still feeling the lethary and achiness.  I am assuming it is that and a lack of hydration, plus a weekend of camping and being more active them normal.

Did not get to sleep extra today to catch up as I had an eye appointment to replace glasses our dog, Tucker chewed up.  Trying to get the boys to take care of clothes.  Sort dirty, put away clean.  You would think I am pulling teeth without anethesthia.  I feel bad that I pushed it a bit much.  I don't feel I am asking too much for taking them to the camper.  At least we don't have to pack up a lot with a seasonal site. 

Also my anxiety is sky high.  Not sure  why.  Is it because I drank a bit more them I should have?  Am I getting anxious about my ankle surgery?  Good or bad.  The anxiety makes me hurt more.  Seeing a new doctor for that as my other being a student has moved on to the next level.  Maybe that is it. 

Since I am down and out today and the boys don't want to listen I am hoping I can get a nap and maybe make them too, or at least have them watch a movie or something quiet and relaxing so I can.  I have a lot to prepare for this week, but the rest of today needs to be very low key I think so I can accomplish everything else that needs to be done before surgery on Monday. 

Have you had a few drinks and paid the price with a flare and anxiety?  I would love to hear your input.  I don't drink much, but we had a small gathering at our camper so we kicked back a bit which sometimes you have to do even though you know there are consequences.  Love my friends and needed the break, but next time I also need to dial it back a bit. 

I Learned About the 48-Hour Recovery

I just read an interesting article on about.com.  It was discussing how it takes 48 hours to recover from stresses.  It was extremely interesting and I will post the link below, but first I would like to put in my 2 cents.

I have not thought of my my recovery of a Fibro Flare as a 48-Hour Recovery, but as I sit and think about it, it is so true.  After I have a day where I am not in my "normal" activities and push it hard then thought or should have it does take me a few days to feel better.  Thinking about it is about 2 day or 48 hours.  Does this happen when you push through something, a deadline, a project, taking care of kids needs that are out of the ordinary? 

I work from home, but from time to time I go to the training center to work and even though it is not too strenuous it takes its toll.  I usually am not quite myself for a day or 2, then I get back to my "norm".  If I go shopping for the day with a friend, I know the next day needs to be a quiet day.  So I am going to post the link to this article and would love feed back.  I hope it will give you some in site as it did for me.

The 48-Hour Recovery Period in Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

By Adrienne Dellwo, About.com Guide June 27, 2011

http://chronicfatigue.about.com/b/2011/06/27/the-48-hour-recovery-period-in-fibromyalgia-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.htm

Positive Pessimist

I am sharing an article I just read.  This is something I truly believe in and something I struggle with.  I am very much a pessimist at heart and one of my favorite sweatshirts has Eeyore on it saying "Positive Pessimist".  That is so me. 

I believe though it is better to optimistic so I try, and try again.  Whether you have a perfect life or one that is falling completely apart, you suffer from an illness or have great health, you are in pain or not, you need to find one thing good and focus on it.  After that look for something else good, etc. 

This article below is just about doing this.  We do need to focus on good and not judge others just like we don't want to be judged.

"Playing The Cards We’re Dealt

I have been accused of being many things in my life, but I can assure you that one of them has never been being “too positive”. I have never been the type of person to intently stare at that glass of water and size it up as being anything but half-empty. It’s the way I’m hardwired. I am, by all definition and description of the word, a pessimist. However, in the ten years that I have been labeled as “sick”, I have fought like hell to change that little unattractive quirk about myself. For example, when most people would see Friday as the beginning of the weekend….I saw it as two days before Monday. As most people see a vacation as a time of relaxation and fun….I see it as a huge pile of work on my desk waiting for me when I get back. See where I am heading with this? It’s almost as if I had trained myself to see the negative in my day to day life three times as fast as the positive. Maybe I did it on purpose as a self-protective mechanism. Or maybe I did it because that’s the type of energy I had surrounded myself with on a day to day basis. I remember as a kid, my mom always saying “you are what you eat.” Well, as an adult I’ve come to the conclusion that the same can be held true to your relationships, environment and attitude. You are what you believe.
Now I know some of you are rolling your eyes at me right now, glancing at your pill bottles on the nightstand and at the pajamas you have been in for three days because the pain hasn’t allowed you to get out of bed to shower, and are about to write this article off as another “mind over matter” piece of crap. To you, I smile, raise my 28 day blinged out pill box from my nightstand, tuck my non-washed hair behind my ear and toast you as I down another 10 pills. See? I’m right there with you. I’m not a doctor, I’m not an expert writing a book, I’m not someone trying to make money off of an illness…..I’m me. I’m one of you. I’m sick.
Let’s get to the point of why I am writing this, and let me state for the record that my opinion may be one that may ruffle some feathers. That’s alright, though. What’s the use of having feathers if they don’t get ruffled once in a while? Ruffled feathers remind us we’re alive and sometimes make us justify the choices we make not only to others, but sometimes to ourselves. In doing that, sometimes we are forced to look in the mirror and to really see ourselves. It wasn’t too long ago that someone forced me to do that….and I didn’t like what I saw. So, instead of expending energy trying to justify an attitude that wasn’t productive, I changed.
How did I change? I stopped being angry. Sounds simple doesn’t it? It isn’t. It isn’t easy to stop being jealous of healthy people. It isn’t easy to sit at your desk at work, feeling as if your body is literally about to break in two from the pain, still unsure of how you got to work that morning because you don’t even remember driving, and hear that person whine about the cold they are getting and how they feel like they are “just going to die at any minute and have to go home,” I know the anger that burns through you like a hot poker as those words sear your heart in two. In your mind all that you hear is “if you only knew…if you only knew what REAL pain felt like. If you only knew what wanting to die felt like.”
News flash…maybe they do.
As perpetually sick people, we tend to live in a bubble and think in terms of OUR sickness….OUR world. Yes, that little cold they have is trivial, but how dare we think they don’t know what real pain is. Maybe they have had open heart surgery? Do we know? Do we ever really know? We ask people every day of our lives not to judge us because “we don’t look sick.” Isn’t it time to practice what we preach?
I spend a lot of time on social media, whether it be twitter or facebook and I am constantly asked the same question: “Don’t you feel bad? You must be in remission, because you don’t really ever post about being sick and you hardly ever complain.”
Of course I do.
fundraise, I write, I try to make people feel less alone. What kind of community would we be if all we did was sit around and try to one-up each other about who felt the worst? I choose to offer solutions and help and support. Is it fair? Hell no. But the fact of the matter is, these are the cards we have been dealt, and we have to learn to find some sort of winning hand in the deck or just fold and leave the table.
I choose to play.
Besides….I have one hell of a poker face.

Article written by senior editor, Stephanie Kennedy
Stephanie lives in Fayetteville, NC and is the mother of 3 always hyperactive and occasionally adorable children. She was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in 2001 and in the time since has added Scleroderma, Hashimotos, Celiac and Degenerative Disc Disease. In her day-to-day life she is a Community Relations Specialist (aka, marketing and creative hodgepodge facilitator) and a part-time blogging snarkzilla. She can always be found somewhere in social media-land causing some sort of trouble. Find her on twitter at @steph_in_nc or on facebook at Stephanie Welborn Kennedy.

©2010 butyoudontlooksick.com"

 

 

 

Please post what you do to keep pessimistic thoughts away and being in those positive thoughts.

New Pain

I have had a return of panic attacks in areas that I had control of them before.  When I suffer a panic attack I can pretty much guarantee it being followed by a Fibromyalgia Flare.  This we I have had 2 major panic attacks and a lot of anxiety and it has cause a pain I have not felt before.

This new pain is the top of my head.  It hurts to touch.  I can barely brush my hair, a ponytail hurts.  Only way I can remotely explain the pain is it feels like a severe sunburn.  Since here in Michigan we have not had much sun and the few days we did it was dangerously hot outside, so I have not been out so I know it is not a sun burn.

I have always love my boys playing with my hair.  Jacob and Caleb have always liked to which with them being boy, boys I find it hard to believe they like to to that.  Right now I can't let them.  It just hurts too much.  I am sad about it as it is a specially bonding feeling.

As long as I have had Fibromyalgia, Anxiety, and Depression I have never had this pain before.  I am pretty sure the attacks is causing the pain on my head since my neck, shoulders, and other normal spots hurt.  I think I will have to check out some boards and see if anyone else has experienced this.  If you have please post.  I am very curious about this new pain. 

Hoping for it to feel better soon so I can do my hair when I go  out and my boys and I can have our special time together.