Cotter, 2007 Improvement in neuroleptic‐induced akathisia with intravenous iron treatment in a patient with iron deficiency

[UnfoldingSky]

See link:

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2117825/

 

 

[bheb]

Very interesting! I wonder if this helps for those who are not iron deficient. I am anemic and when I don't take my iron pills I notice a vibrating feeling that adds to the akathisia. 

[UnfoldingSky]

So you don't notice any lessening of the akathisia though, just the vibrating bit?

 

Before I had a reaction to an SSRI I am almost sure now my iron had been running low.  I was eating iron rich foods though and felt better doing that, less fatigue. After the reaction though I really wasn't getting that much iron, then on top of that I developed an issue where I was not digesting my food properly.  It probably did go low at some point, then years on I caught that it was on the lower end and started treating it. But that was after the akathisia abated.

 

I now wonder if treating for low iron (assuming it was low) while I had it would have solved it?  I guess I'll never know now.

 

 

[UnfoldingSky]

Very interesting! I wonder if this helps for those who are not iron deficient.

 

In general from what I've read about iron levels, it's best to get checked to make sure your iron is low as if you are not, taking too much can be a problem.  I'd be worried about trying it for akathisia if I didn't know I was low to start with.

[bheb]

Nope, taking iron supplements didn't help me with any of the restlessness/terror/generally uneasy feeling of akathisia. In fact, I often avoided my iron pills so that I would slip into groggy anemic haze and oversleep through the akathisia. 

 

Yes there's so much to wonder about, but happy to know you are free from akathisia! I so wish there would be more research and more viable treatment options. 

[UnfoldingSky]

I wish it had worked for you.  I agree with you about research and treatment options too, it should be a major research priority .  I wonder if they even bothered to try to see if this case study could be replicated?  

 

I hope yours abates ASAP.

[bheb]

They probably haven't. Boggles my mind. 

 

And thank you, I hope so too.