Jump to content
SurvivingAntidepressants.org is temporarily closed to new registrations until 1 April ×

Van Putten, 1975 The many faces of akathisia.


westcoast

Recommended Posts

This was published before doctors were on the defensive about psych drugs, obviously before the internet let people like us find each other and learn what the drugs have done.

The author mentions mild akathisia and says it can manifest as sitting still! He then mentions akinesia, which I want to investigate also.
 
Compr Psychiatry. 1975 Jan-Feb;16(1):43-7.
The many faces of akathisia.
Van Putten T.

 

Abstract not available; citation at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/234073

 

Full text at http://psychrights.org/research/Digest/NLPs/RWhitakerAffidavit/VanPuttenManyFacesofAkathisia.PDF

Edited by Altostrata
added citation

2009: Cancer hospital said I had adjustment disorder because I thought they were doing it wrong. Their headshrinker prescribed Effexor, and my life set on a new course. I didn't know what was ahead, like a passenger on Disneyland's Matterhorn, smiling and waving as it climbs...clink, clink, clink.

2010: Post surgical accidental Effexor discontinuation by nurses, masked by intravenous Dilaudid. (The car is balanced at the top of the track.) I get home, pop a Vicodin, and ...

Whooosh...down, down, down, down, down...goes the trajectory of my life, up goes my mood and tendency to think everything is a good idea.
2012: After the bipolar jig was up, now a walking bag of unrelated symptoms, I went crazy on Daytrana (the Ritalin skin patch by Noven), because ADHD was a perfect fit for a bag of unrelated symptoms. I was prescribed Effexor for the nervousness of it, and things got neurological. An EEG showed enough activity to warrant an epilepsy diagnosis rather than non-epileptic ("psychogenic") seizures.

:o 2013-2014: Quit everything and got worse. I probably went through DAWS: dopamine agonist withdrawal syndrome. I drank to not feel, but I felt a lot: dread, fear, regret, grief: an utter sense of total loss of everything worth breathing about, for almost two years.

I was not suicidal but I wanted to be dead, at least dead to the experience of my own brain and body.

2015: I  began to recover after adding virgin coconut oil and organic grass-fed fed butter to a cup of instant coffee in the morning.

I did it hoping for mental acuity and better memory. After ten days of that, I was much better, mood-wise. Approximately neutral.

And, I experienced drowsiness. I could sleep. Not exactly happy, I did 30 days on Wellbutrin, because it had done me no harm in the past. 

I don't have the DAWS mood or state of mind. It never feel like doing anything if it means standing up.

In fact, I don't especially like moving. I'm a brain with a beanbag body.   :unsure:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://psychrights.org/research/Digest/NLPs/RWhitakerAffidavit/VanPuttenManyFacesofAkathisia.PDF

 

 

CHARACTERISTICS OF AKATHISIA ir Akathisia is often associated with other extrapyramidal side effects. Thus -59% rof patients with akathisia concomitantly experienced akinesia, parkinsonian i tremor, or dystonia. This association is helpful diagnostically because akathisia can be difiicult to distinguish from psy,chodynarnically deterrnined anxiety. The well-established interaction between anxiety and extrapyramidal symptoms flakes it even more difficult to distinguish a mild akathisia from anxiety. The distinction is clinically important, however, and for doubtful cases a trial of an oral

antiparkinsonism drug, or a test dose o[ 5 mg i.m. biperiden, is recomrnended. Other characteristics are that akathisia is nearly always experienced as ego-alien, that the inner irgitation and restlessness are difljculto articulate. and that once a patient has gained relief fronr akathisia he will seek relief from the next episode

It is an old book 1975 and they are talking about reactions to anti psychotics not antidepressants.  

All I can attempt to add to this is that I was given an antiparkinson drug by a neurologist and could not tolerate it either... go figure.

 

CONSEOUENCES OF AKATHISIA The inner agitation of akathisia is always subjectively stressful. Kalinowsky'n states that akathisia can be "more dififcult to endure than any of the symptoms for which [the patient] was originally treated," and he cautions that it may be mistaken for an "agitated depression." Fouks'o refers to akathisia as the "syndrome of impatience" and stresses that it often is associated with severe anxiety, peculiar bodily sensations, and bizarre mentation. Consequently it is not surprising that refusal to continue prescribed therapy with phenothiazines has been found to be strongly associated rvith akathisia.'

 

 CONCLUSION Akathisia, therefore, requires immediate treatment with antiparkinsonism agents and, where possible, a reduction of neuroleptic dosage. Failure to treat the patient with akathisia may lead to a refusal to continue with prescribed neuroleptic drugs, sudden elopernents lroni the hospital, "paradoxical" responses to phenothiazines, and at times, exacerbations of psychosis

 

It does not copy right of course and it is not talking about withdrawal so this is apples and oranges here were need to be careful not to jump to conclusions and lead folks astray too. 

 

This is interesting as parkinsonism is listed as a side effect of antidepressants. 

 

" Bing'viewed akathisia as a "psychosis" characterized by a "morbid fear oi sitting down," but in another chapter he explained it as a way of overcoming the muscular rigidity of Parkinson's disease" 

 

When I had the intense form of akathisia I walked a lot to me it felt like I was walking off a over abundance of something that gave my muscle the ability to contract if I used it all up ...whatever it was maybe it would go away or ease. 

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

biperiden yes I know always looking for the magic bullet ourselves one more drug to look up how could I not look I did. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biperiden

Biperiden is an antiparkinsonian agent[1] of the anticholinergic type.[2] The original brand name, which still exists and is manufactured by BASF/Knoll Pharma, is Akineton. Generics are available worldwide, one of them is Dekinet manufactured by Rafa Laboratories.

 

I then tried to compare Biperiden with Mirapex one of the drugs I was given by the neurologist that I could not tolerate. 

https://books.google.ca/books?id=EceBUtR1D50C&pg=PA167&lpg=PA167&dq=compare+Biperiden+mirapex&source=bl&ots=PPDE3T-3aF&sig=Wc9fZ21rx9ZJGIFo0Z07w14_TpM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3rTDVMPFGMGLgwSZmoLIDg&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=compare%20Biperiden%20mirapex&f=false

 

Then I thought of what I did use an otc drug and if that was a help or a mistake... and was it actually an anticholinergic to my surprise it was...or so I thought when I seen this

 

  • Gravol - definition of Gravol by Medical dictionary
    medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Gravol
    •  
    •  
     

    Definition of Gravol in the Medical Dictionary. Gravol ... Information about Gravol in Free online English dictionary. ... Pharmacologic class: Anticholinergic.

     

    But when I clicked on the link above it turned into this

     

    dimenhydrinate

     /di·men·hy·dri·nate/ (di″men-hi?drĭ-nāt) an antihistamine used as an antiemetic, particularly in the treatmentof motion sickness.

     

     

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

41LXE8boFPL._AA160_.jpg

 

If you look at this package it is a child form of gravol it is quick dissolve cherry flavor in 15mg the adult dose is a 50 mg to 100mg in a single pill.  While I could not seem to use the meds given by my doctors other than one that seems helpful for a bit from the emg.. the name I cannot recall.  It stated with a b...I am certain it was no drug mentioned here so far as in not biperidine.  - that is all I got in my head. 

 

This 15 mg rather soft tablet has a dividing line to cut it in half to make it 7.5mg I would use this drug at half the half so 1/4 dose of 3.25 mg 

 

This is what I used it for:  dizziness when I felt I was actually going to fall down or when I needed to drive to a doctor and I was too dizzy to drive or when I was out and had to get home.  I know this is terrible advice as it has a warning not to drive till you know how it is going affect you.  At the time none of those things matter much to me I was trying to survive and this drug did help. 

 

How I came to this idea?  I had a concussion long ago before I started on Ads I had a neurologist who gave me this drug in a much higher dose to treat the dizziness from the concussion.   

 

Am I recommending this to other people not a chance in hell... I do not know what is really going on with anyone else or what other drugs you might be taking this is something I did and  I found helpful.  It may have had ramifications that were bad that I do not understand I wish I was a chemist or something even better than that but I am not as as a layperson I have no business telling other people to take a drug.  Especially when we see what drugs can do to a person.  What I know is when I was in hell this helped me...only because I know hell I am willing to risk mentioning what helped me when I was there.  

 

I did not take this drug on any sort of timeline it was as needed for emergency situations and I am the one who defined what the emergency was too dizzy to stand was one.  I will also say the first thing I found helpful with this sort of dizziness creepy feeling was pedialyte an electrolyte replacement for babies... so I used both but in beginning the gravol did not sit well with me and only the pedialyte would help. 

I used both... but all pills sparingly because I felt there was a increase in my symptoms if I used the gravol too much sort of like a feedback loop thing... same as benadryl which I managed to use only a couple of times as the fallout was too much for me in the days that followed using benadryl

 

Take it for what it is a person on the internet self medicating and think long and hard before trying any of it.  I think it helped with the hell helmet later when I was a  lot better and further along I used one advil each morning to ease the helmet... when I say further along I mean a year or maybe 2 after starting wd- this process is in no way fast. 

peace

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gravol seems to be an antihistamine, but its chemical name is different from Benadryl's.

 

That anti-Parkinson's drug has a host of scary side effects.

 

I like that Benadryl helps me sleep, but I found it was making my eyeballs red and sore and I discontinued it. Might try Gravol if I can get it in the US. I understand your warning and caution-- will investigate further before trying anything new.

2009: Cancer hospital said I had adjustment disorder because I thought they were doing it wrong. Their headshrinker prescribed Effexor, and my life set on a new course. I didn't know what was ahead, like a passenger on Disneyland's Matterhorn, smiling and waving as it climbs...clink, clink, clink.

2010: Post surgical accidental Effexor discontinuation by nurses, masked by intravenous Dilaudid. (The car is balanced at the top of the track.) I get home, pop a Vicodin, and ...

Whooosh...down, down, down, down, down...goes the trajectory of my life, up goes my mood and tendency to think everything is a good idea.
2012: After the bipolar jig was up, now a walking bag of unrelated symptoms, I went crazy on Daytrana (the Ritalin skin patch by Noven), because ADHD was a perfect fit for a bag of unrelated symptoms. I was prescribed Effexor for the nervousness of it, and things got neurological. An EEG showed enough activity to warrant an epilepsy diagnosis rather than non-epileptic ("psychogenic") seizures.

:o 2013-2014: Quit everything and got worse. I probably went through DAWS: dopamine agonist withdrawal syndrome. I drank to not feel, but I felt a lot: dread, fear, regret, grief: an utter sense of total loss of everything worth breathing about, for almost two years.

I was not suicidal but I wanted to be dead, at least dead to the experience of my own brain and body.

2015: I  began to recover after adding virgin coconut oil and organic grass-fed fed butter to a cup of instant coffee in the morning.

I did it hoping for mental acuity and better memory. After ten days of that, I was much better, mood-wise. Approximately neutral.

And, I experienced drowsiness. I could sleep. Not exactly happy, I did 30 days on Wellbutrin, because it had done me no harm in the past. 

I don't have the DAWS mood or state of mind. It never feel like doing anything if it means standing up.

In fact, I don't especially like moving. I'm a brain with a beanbag body.   :unsure:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gravol seems to be an antihistamine, but its chemical name is different from Benadryl's.

 

That anti-Parkinson's drug has a host of scary side effects.

 

I like that Benadryl helps me sleep, but I found it was making my eyeballs red and sore and I discontinued it. Might try Gravol if I can get it in the US. I understand your warning and caution-- will investigate further before trying anything new.

 

  • Diphenhydramine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diphenhydramine
    •  
    •  
     
    Diphenhydramine is a first-generation antihistamine possessing anticholinergic, antitussive, antiemetic, and sedative properties that is mainly used to treat ...
    Half-life: 8 hours (children); 9 to 12 hours ...
    Metabolism: Various cytochrome P450 l...

So it too has anticholinergic properties but for me I had a fallout from it... I could take a very small dose less than a third and I would sleep BUT in the days that followed I would have a back slide in my healing that is how it felt.  It would be bad.  

 

I saved benadryl for the times I was really not going to be ok.. when I was slipping too far into psychotic state where I was a danger to myself or thought I was... 

So I used if very sparingly I did not want to be set back and used only 3-4 times throughout the past 7 years. I could generally get thru the first 48 hours of not sleeping ok ...not great but not horrid.. more a low bad time. 

The 3rd day I would generally sleep but if I didn't sleep on the third day I was in trouble so on the fourth day I would be nuts... then I would take 1/3 dose of benadryl. 

I also learned people get addicted to benadryl and I think it possible with gravol too should it be over used.

I was shooting for normal sleep and to get there low low doses were what I needed as more was very very bad for me... I am so thinkingful for the antidepressantfacts list of things to do for suggesting low low doses as I think it save my ass... at the adf site it was suggested to start any med or supplement at 1/6th the recommended dose 

as the recommended dose of gravol for an adult is 50mg .16 would be 8 yet I could not tolerate even that I took 1/12th the recommended dose to start and eventually worked up to 1/6th 

peace 

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This makes me wonder about the drug Alto took lamatical... I think. She took very small doses I wonder if it is along these lines.. I will look...

 

  •   interesting more looking needed tho Schizophrenia Medications - The New York Times
    www.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/schizophrenia/medications.html
    •  
     
    Mar 8, 2013 - Among the anticholinergics sometimes used are trihexyphenidyl (Artane,... (Tegretol), gabapentin (Neurontin), lamotrigine (Lamictal), or others  ...

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I took Lamictal. It didn't relieve my iatrogenic mania. In fact I was so nuts I took a double dose on two occasions. One of my eyes was looking at the ground and the other was straight ahead. Couldn't walk without holding onto things. Lasted a few hours. My mind was fine during those episodes (i.e., same as if I had taken the correct dose). I eventually saw some place that Lamictal is useful in the depressive phase of "bipolar." So why was I on it for (iatrogenic)  mania?

2009: Cancer hospital said I had adjustment disorder because I thought they were doing it wrong. Their headshrinker prescribed Effexor, and my life set on a new course. I didn't know what was ahead, like a passenger on Disneyland's Matterhorn, smiling and waving as it climbs...clink, clink, clink.

2010: Post surgical accidental Effexor discontinuation by nurses, masked by intravenous Dilaudid. (The car is balanced at the top of the track.) I get home, pop a Vicodin, and ...

Whooosh...down, down, down, down, down...goes the trajectory of my life, up goes my mood and tendency to think everything is a good idea.
2012: After the bipolar jig was up, now a walking bag of unrelated symptoms, I went crazy on Daytrana (the Ritalin skin patch by Noven), because ADHD was a perfect fit for a bag of unrelated symptoms. I was prescribed Effexor for the nervousness of it, and things got neurological. An EEG showed enough activity to warrant an epilepsy diagnosis rather than non-epileptic ("psychogenic") seizures.

:o 2013-2014: Quit everything and got worse. I probably went through DAWS: dopamine agonist withdrawal syndrome. I drank to not feel, but I felt a lot: dread, fear, regret, grief: an utter sense of total loss of everything worth breathing about, for almost two years.

I was not suicidal but I wanted to be dead, at least dead to the experience of my own brain and body.

2015: I  began to recover after adding virgin coconut oil and organic grass-fed fed butter to a cup of instant coffee in the morning.

I did it hoping for mental acuity and better memory. After ten days of that, I was much better, mood-wise. Approximately neutral.

And, I experienced drowsiness. I could sleep. Not exactly happy, I did 30 days on Wellbutrin, because it had done me no harm in the past. 

I don't have the DAWS mood or state of mind. It never feel like doing anything if it means standing up.

In fact, I don't especially like moving. I'm a brain with a beanbag body.   :unsure:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe Alto too a minuscule dose I think you would have to either ask her or look up her posts about it to find out more.  I think the low low dose has something to do with it maybe... I have no idea what a normal dose of it is suppose to do really and not sure why the doctor gave it to you you would have to ask.  

peace

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrator

When dosed excessively, lamotrigine has bad side effects like any other neuroactive drug.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Mentor

This was published before doctors were on the defensive about psych drugs, obviously before the internet let people like us find each other and learn what the drugs have done.

 

The author mentions mild akathisia and says it can manifest as sitting still! He then mentions akinesia, which I want to investigate also.

 

Compr Psychiatry. 1975 Jan-Feb;16(1):43-7.

The many faces of akathisia.

Van Putten T.

 

Abstract not available; citation at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/234073

 

Full text at http://psychrights.org/research/Digest/NLPs/RWhitakerAffidavit/VanPuttenManyFacesofAkathisia.PDF

OMG that book is so old....   injecting people with stuff, then wondering why they act weird?  O well, times havent changed I suppose.  

1992 Dothiepin 375mg 8 weeks, exhaustion/depression.  Serotonin syndrome, oh yes!  seizures . Fell pregnant, 3rd baby, Nitrous Oxide, 3 weeks mental hospital pp psychosis. zoloft tegretol.

Feb 1996 ct tegretol, tapered Zoloft 8 weeks. as (unexpectedly)  pregnant. Steven died after 3 days.(Zolft HLHS baby).  98 had run in with Paxil, 2 tablets, 3 weeks taper, survived.
2005..menopause? exhausted again. Zyprexa, mad in three days, fallout....  Seroquel, Effexor, tegretol,   and 8 years of self destruction. Failed taper.
Damn 1/4 valium... nuts again! .fallout, zoloft 100mg  seroquol 400mg mirtazapine 45 mg  tegretol 400mg.  Mid 14 3 month taper. Nov 14 CRASH.
Mid 15 ....   75mg  seroquel,  3 x 1800mg SJW  2 week window end of December followed by 6 week wave
5/2 68mg seroquel, 2.5 x 1800mg SJW::::20/2 61mg seroquel, 2.5 x  SJW::: 26/2 54mg seroquel, 2 x SJW::::21/3 43mg seroquel, 1 x 2700SJW :::: 23/4 36mg seroquel 1 x 1800 SJW
15/5 33mg seroquel, 1 x SJW::::   28/5 30mg seroquel, 1 x SJW::::;  18/6 25mg seroquel 1/2 SJW::::, 11/7 21mg seroquel 1/2 SJW::, 26/7 18mg seroquel 1/2 SJW:::, 9/8 12mg seroquel :::, 16/8 6mg seroquel ;;;;, 12/9 0 jump.

23/9  3mg.....,  27/9 0mg.  Reinstated, 6mg, then 12mg.............  LIGHTBULB MOMENT,  I have  MTHFR 2x mutations.  CFS and issues with MOULD in my home. So I left home, and working 150km away during week, loving it.

Oh was hard, panic attacks first week, gone now, along with the mould issues.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I came to the gravol in the first place because years ago I had a serious concussion.  The neurologist I was seeing at that time gave me the drug as in the same active ingredient for the nausea and dizziness I experienced from the concussion.  

 

Gravol is used in the treatment of the flu so it was a natural flow for me to try taking it when I had the withdrawal flu that hit six wks after stopping effexor.  That entire 3 months I spent in bed with the wd flu are a blur... I already knew I could not take a full adult dose of gravol even before wd as in tolerance I had the nausea too and tried the gravol.. I knew already I could not take the adult dose and had moved down to a fraction of a child dose.  After the vomiting eased I was still extremely dizzy and my digestive system became completely non functional from its hit and miss functioning in tolerance.  Raglan was tried in tolerance and domperidone was tried after my 3 months in bed... reglan was a quick try ... I stopped it right away as I reacted badly right away.. domperidone too was hell on wheels ... terrible anxiety akathisia. 

 

From there an anti parkinson... name i can't gather from my brain today... think it started with a M. 

 

Electrolytes helped with the dizziness as did the fractioned doses of child gravol.   I am not saying anyone should do this it is just how I survived. Flying by the seat of my pants.  It felt to me like I was causing medical distress at the clinics and hosp I went to at this time... they kept me breathing gave me fluids tried this pill and that.  I am sad to say the symptoms were treated or attempts were made to treat them... but I could not get any "cause" for my symptoms.  The closest I got was one time in emerg when in tolerance a nurse suggested to me effexor was my problem and suggested perhaps I had been on it long enough.  :) she was walking me to the exit after my treatment... it was not anything official. I sure did not know what was wrong with me I had no clue.... in hindsight her unofficial suggestion was my first clue. 

 

Back to the point: 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9262526

Antidepressant withdrawal reactions.
Erratum in
  • Am Fam Physician 1998 Feb 15;57(4):646.
Abstract

Antidepressants can cause a variety of withdrawal reactions, starting within a few days to a few weeks of ceasing the drug and persisting for days to weeks. Both tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors cause similar syndromes, most commonly characterized by gastrointestinal or somatic distress, sleep disturbances, mood fluctuations and movement disorders. Most symptoms related to tricyclic antidepressant withdrawal are believed to be caused by rebound excess of cholinergic activity after prolonged anticholinergic effect on cholinergic receptors. (This situation is analogous to the adrenergic rebound that occurs after beta-blocker withdrawal.) Treatment involves restarting the antidepressant and tapering it more slowly. Alternatively, tricyclic antidepressant withdrawal symptoms often respond to anticholinergics, such as atropine or benztropine mesylate. Three case reports of antidepressant withdrawal are presented, including one featuring akathisia (motor 

"antidepressant withdrawal symptoms often respond to anticholinergics, such as atropine or benztropine mesylate"

 

Seems gravol is an anticholinergic too

 

  • DF]Dimenhydrinate - Hamilton Health Sciences
    hhsc.ca/Workfiles/basehospital/Dimenhydrinate.pdf
    •  
     
    Dimenhydrinate has anticholinergic actions that act centrally at the chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ) to reduce nausea or vomiting. This antiemetic action is unrelated to the actual blockade of histamine receptors, and it explains why Dimenhydrinate will not be useful in abolishing all forms of nausea or vomiting.
  • [PDF]Dimenhydrinate (Gravol)
    www.hsnsudbury.ca/.../23/Dimenhydrinate%20(Gravol)_Benadryl.pdf
    •  
    •  
     

    H1 Effects. H1 antihistamine drugs - not very selective; they will also interact with other receptors such as muscarinic cholinergic receptors, serotonin receptors  ..

     

    For some reason I can't tolerate H2 drugs... perhaps the larger doses they come in is part of the problem... 

     

    I happened upon this drug only because I had used it in the past for a concussion had I not used it before in much higher doses when concussed I doubt I would have thought of it when I was having severe dizziness in wd. Just a fluke actually. 

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrator

Please keep discussion on-topic in the Journals section. I have hidden the off-topic posts.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Here is yet another study out of Japan on akathisia.

 

The Causes of Underdiagnosing Akathisia by Shigehiro Hirose

http://schizophreniabulletin.oxfordjournals.org/content/29/3/547.full.pdf

 

Abstract

This article reviews what causes clinicians to overlook or underdiagnose akathisia. The causes are considered to be related to both the patient's symptoms and the clinician's attitude toward akathisia. The patient fac- tors include mild severity of akathisia, lack of appar- ent motor restlessness, no voluntary expression of inner restlessness, no clear communication of inner restlessness, restlessness in body parts other than the legs, atypical expressions of inner restlessness, other prominent psychic symptoms, and absence of other extrapyramidal signs. The clinician factors include emphasis on objective restlessness, failure to consider akathisia during antipsychotic therapy, failure to fully implement antiakathisia treatments in ambiguous cases, and strict adherence to research diagnostic cri- teria. Akathisia is likely to be overlooked or under- diagnosed when both patient and clinician factors are present Currently, there may be two major problems with underdiagnosis: (1) symptoms that fulfill the diagnostic criteria for akathisia are overlooked, and (2) conditions that do not fulfill the diagnostic criteria but can still benefit from antiakathisia measures are underdiagnosed.

 

Keywords: Antipsychotic-induced akathisia, over- looking, underdiagnosis, undertreatment, diagnostic threshold.

Schizophrenia Bulletin, 29(3):547-558,2003.

2009: Cancer hospital said I had adjustment disorder because I thought they were doing it wrong. Their headshrinker prescribed Effexor, and my life set on a new course. I didn't know what was ahead, like a passenger on Disneyland's Matterhorn, smiling and waving as it climbs...clink, clink, clink.

2010: Post surgical accidental Effexor discontinuation by nurses, masked by intravenous Dilaudid. (The car is balanced at the top of the track.) I get home, pop a Vicodin, and ...

Whooosh...down, down, down, down, down...goes the trajectory of my life, up goes my mood and tendency to think everything is a good idea.
2012: After the bipolar jig was up, now a walking bag of unrelated symptoms, I went crazy on Daytrana (the Ritalin skin patch by Noven), because ADHD was a perfect fit for a bag of unrelated symptoms. I was prescribed Effexor for the nervousness of it, and things got neurological. An EEG showed enough activity to warrant an epilepsy diagnosis rather than non-epileptic ("psychogenic") seizures.

:o 2013-2014: Quit everything and got worse. I probably went through DAWS: dopamine agonist withdrawal syndrome. I drank to not feel, but I felt a lot: dread, fear, regret, grief: an utter sense of total loss of everything worth breathing about, for almost two years.

I was not suicidal but I wanted to be dead, at least dead to the experience of my own brain and body.

2015: I  began to recover after adding virgin coconut oil and organic grass-fed fed butter to a cup of instant coffee in the morning.

I did it hoping for mental acuity and better memory. After ten days of that, I was much better, mood-wise. Approximately neutral.

And, I experienced drowsiness. I could sleep. Not exactly happy, I did 30 days on Wellbutrin, because it had done me no harm in the past. 

I don't have the DAWS mood or state of mind. It never feel like doing anything if it means standing up.

In fact, I don't especially like moving. I'm a brain with a beanbag body.   :unsure:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://1boringoldman.com/index.php/2015/06/18/the-age-of-the-decepticons/ is a great post in itself. It's about an NIMH study that criminally (IMHO) disregarded/downplayed suicidality in Prozac groups, clear as day. From 1BOM's post:

 

 

tads.gif

(pbo=placebo, cbt=CBT, FLX=Fluoxetine aka Prozac, COMB=CBT+Fluoxetine aka Prozac)

 

1BOM added this to make a very good point: "A more truthful version of the legend would read:"

tads-x.gif

 

The authors said: "evidence of medication-induced behavioral activation" was not found. Whatever that means.

 

The topic of akathisia was brought up by Alto in a comment about the authors' statement, where she cited the Shigehiro Hirose study as a possible explanation, along the lines of ... maybe the authors didn't recognize akathisia, maybe because it's too hard to describe. (It is very hard to describe...not sure it is "gettable" unless you "got it" yourself.))

 

It's definitely a possibility, but it might be giving the Trialists too much credit. Maybe the subjects described akathisia very well, but the Trialists didn't chose to consider self-reports to be "evidence," and thus were able to say there was "no evidence." (This refers to the differences between signs and symptoms. Patients describe symptoms-- how things feel-- but doctors like signs--measurable physical changes.) When trying to determine if a drug is safe or not, however, symptoms reported by suicidal people should be reported in the study, too.

 

We might never know what really happened in that trial. I sure would like to hear from the subjects. If *I* were the FDA I would require 3rd-party debriefings after and maybe during RCTs.

2009: Cancer hospital said I had adjustment disorder because I thought they were doing it wrong. Their headshrinker prescribed Effexor, and my life set on a new course. I didn't know what was ahead, like a passenger on Disneyland's Matterhorn, smiling and waving as it climbs...clink, clink, clink.

2010: Post surgical accidental Effexor discontinuation by nurses, masked by intravenous Dilaudid. (The car is balanced at the top of the track.) I get home, pop a Vicodin, and ...

Whooosh...down, down, down, down, down...goes the trajectory of my life, up goes my mood and tendency to think everything is a good idea.
2012: After the bipolar jig was up, now a walking bag of unrelated symptoms, I went crazy on Daytrana (the Ritalin skin patch by Noven), because ADHD was a perfect fit for a bag of unrelated symptoms. I was prescribed Effexor for the nervousness of it, and things got neurological. An EEG showed enough activity to warrant an epilepsy diagnosis rather than non-epileptic ("psychogenic") seizures.

:o 2013-2014: Quit everything and got worse. I probably went through DAWS: dopamine agonist withdrawal syndrome. I drank to not feel, but I felt a lot: dread, fear, regret, grief: an utter sense of total loss of everything worth breathing about, for almost two years.

I was not suicidal but I wanted to be dead, at least dead to the experience of my own brain and body.

2015: I  began to recover after adding virgin coconut oil and organic grass-fed fed butter to a cup of instant coffee in the morning.

I did it hoping for mental acuity and better memory. After ten days of that, I was much better, mood-wise. Approximately neutral.

And, I experienced drowsiness. I could sleep. Not exactly happy, I did 30 days on Wellbutrin, because it had done me no harm in the past. 

I don't have the DAWS mood or state of mind. It never feel like doing anything if it means standing up.

In fact, I don't especially like moving. I'm a brain with a beanbag body.   :unsure:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use Privacy Policy