EternalOptimist Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Just thought I'd share this as it was forwarded to me by a friend recovering from anxiety , Xanax use and w/d. Personally, I haven't done all these...yet but am considering. The nervous system rules It is important to remember that the nervous system has complete control over how muscles and soft tissue feels and moves. Soft tissue by itself is just a piece of meat. It is the nervous system that decides whether the muscles, tendons and fascia will shorten or lengthen, and whether it feels stiff or painful when doing so. If you took a drug to take the nervous system out of the equation, such as a general anesthetic, you would be left with a body that feels no pain and is far more flexible than you would imagine. A general anesthetic has no effect on muscles only the nervous system. We should also remember that the main priority of the nervous system is to protect the body from tissue damage occasioned by falls, accidents, or other movements that could aggravate or cause injury. Having a psychological threat is even worse – unlike a physical threat these can be chronic and if you had too much stress as a child the system is hard wired for hair trigger arousal and muscle tension. If you nervous system has been called on too many times in your lifetime to tense to protect you it can become stuck and turned chronically to the “On” position. This means pain, weakness, stiffness and muscle feedback to the central nervous system that keeps the whole process going. If a muscle it tight too long you get pain and eventually weakness. You many not even feel tense as muscle tension can be an internal process you wont feel... If you have Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, anxiety, IBS or any functional condition involving the nervous system you must stretch tight muscles for recovery. A relaxed muscle sends a message to the brain to stand down, stop tensing and protecting. If you have body pain and weakness equally important is calming the nervous system. It is impossible to stop muscle pain when the nervous system is stuck in arousal protection mode. Unfortunately medications used to treat these conditions only cause further nervous system dysregulations and keep the conditions going. The only way to recover is to retrain the nervous system and muscles/soft tissue back to a healthy balance using ALL THE TOOLS on our website. These are not medicine based – meditation, stretching, exercise, Tai Chi, Chi Gong, counseling and much more. Today we know how to retrain the nervous and soft tissues back to health. The nervous system is the slowest healing of all body and tissue systems, don’t be discouraged, it can take many months or longer of diligent work to restore balance to the system. The reward is no pain, no stiffness and a calm peace you may not have felt in years. Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy | University of Texas Medical School 1989-2004 low doze Xanax nightly. 2004 w/d in hospital c/t with 3 other meds, (trazadone, phenobarbital, risperdal) Tapered off those meds in 7 months. 2010- bad anxiety so tried Valium and klonopin, back to hospital, came home on nothing, got much better. 12-23-2013- hospital for anxiety, depression,insomnia...used low dose lamictal 12 days with mitrazapine. Came home on 15 mg mitrazapine, down to c. 10 mg mitrazapine in c. 3weeks, 7.5 mg in 32 days.. Tapered off mitrazapine March 6, 2014. Took .75 mg April 20 and 1.05 mg April 21st. Ended taper March 6, 2014. Take supplements tho not all daily: fish oil, Vit. C., Vit. D, cal/mag, little multi, mag at night, Been taking homeopathic remedy since June, 2014 via a Homeopathic M.D. (Trained in psychiatry). 1-12, 2018 put on 60 mg cymbalta; 150 lyrica for anxiety and 50 mg trazadone. Tapered of trazadone after 3 months on it and tapered off of lyrica in about 9 months. As of March, 2019, only on 60 mg cymbalta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meimeiquest Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Thank you so much, very useful. As a P.S., I recently read a book by a doctor who believes muscles can develop "allergy" which causes chronic pain in them as well. I think I may have had that with Prozac and Cymbalta. When I stopped them in 2006 I had huge pain for a few days, and then it has never returned. My tendons and ligaments are still tender to significant touch, I might still have a positive trigger point test because of that, but that's it. The fatigue is another story... 1st round Prozac 1989/90, clear depression symptoms. 2nd round Prozac started 1999 when admitted to dr. I was tired. Prozac pooped out, switch to Cymbalta 3/2006. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder due to mania 6/2006--then I was taken abruptly off Cymbalta and didn't know I had SSRI withdrawal. Lots of meds for my intractable "bipolar" symptoms. Zyprexa started about 9/06, mostly 5mg. Tapered 4/12 through12/29/12 Wellbutrin. XL 300 mg started 1/07, tapered 1/18/13 through 7/8/13 Oxazepam mostly continuously since 6/06, 30mg since 12/12, tapered 1.17.14 through 8.26.15 11/06 Lithium 600mg twice daily, 2.2.14 400mg TID DIY liquid, 2.12.14 1150mg, 3.2.14 1100mg, 3.18.14 1075mg, 4/14 updose to 1100mg, 6.1.14 900 mg capsules 7.8.14 810mg, 8.17.14 725mg, 8.24.24 700mg...10.22.14 487.5mg, 3.9.15 475mg, 4.1.15 462.5mg 4.21.15 450mg 8.11.15 375mg, 11.28.15 362.5mg, back to 375mg four days later, 3.4.16 updose to 475 (too much going on to risk trouble) 9/4/13 Toprol-XL 25mg daily for sudden hypertension, tapered 11.12.13 through 5.3.14, last 10 days or so switched to atenolol 7.4.14 Started Walsh Protocol 56 years old Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EternalOptimist Posted August 28, 2014 Author Share Posted August 28, 2014 M, good news the huge pain never returned. Interesting concept that the muscles can develop an allergy causing chronic pain. I wonder if that's a literal or a figurative concept.? Thnx 1989-2004 low doze Xanax nightly. 2004 w/d in hospital c/t with 3 other meds, (trazadone, phenobarbital, risperdal) Tapered off those meds in 7 months. 2010- bad anxiety so tried Valium and klonopin, back to hospital, came home on nothing, got much better. 12-23-2013- hospital for anxiety, depression,insomnia...used low dose lamictal 12 days with mitrazapine. Came home on 15 mg mitrazapine, down to c. 10 mg mitrazapine in c. 3weeks, 7.5 mg in 32 days.. Tapered off mitrazapine March 6, 2014. Took .75 mg April 20 and 1.05 mg April 21st. Ended taper March 6, 2014. Take supplements tho not all daily: fish oil, Vit. C., Vit. D, cal/mag, little multi, mag at night, Been taking homeopathic remedy since June, 2014 via a Homeopathic M.D. (Trained in psychiatry). 1-12, 2018 put on 60 mg cymbalta; 150 lyrica for anxiety and 50 mg trazadone. Tapered of trazadone after 3 months on it and tapered off of lyrica in about 9 months. As of March, 2019, only on 60 mg cymbalta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoe Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Thanks EO for the post. I have gotten out of my stretching routine. I'm definitely going to start again after reading that. The above definitely describes what my neck & shoulder muscles feel like. I do feel like I'm stuck in the "on" position! Zoe Jan. 1994 Pamelor 2000 switched to Zoloft 2011 Zoloft pooped out- Dr. switched me directly to Lexapro15mg -had a horrible 6mths 2013 upped Lexapro to 20 mgs-pooped out June 2013 Dr. added 150 Wellbutrin to Lexapro. July 2013 Switched back to Zoloft 100mgs.Was still taking Wellbutrin. Lots of anxiety from the Wellbutrin July 2013 Started to wean Wellbutrin- off by Sept. Oct. 2013 added 400 mgs of Neurotin to the Zoloft Jan 2014 Tapered off of the Zoloft and onto Prozac 30 mgs. Also still taking 400 mgs Neurotin Feb 2014 Reduced Prozac to 13 mgs. Still taking 400 mgs Neurotin Aug. 2014 Prozac 13 mgs. Finished with Neurotin. .7 Risperadol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meimeiquest Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 M, good news the huge pain never returned. Interesting concept that the muscles can develop an allergy causing chronic pain. I wonder if that's a literal or a figurative concept.? Thnx She's an environmental medicine doc...very literal. Her name is Sarah Myhill MD, has a website and book. Some people think the fibro type pain is related to copper overload, also...that the copper makes nerve impulses move too much too fast, and the overstimulated muscles spasm and hurt. The hard thing with all those concepts is that it is hard for regular people to know what is accurate, and even harder for conventional docs to explore new paradigms. 1st round Prozac 1989/90, clear depression symptoms. 2nd round Prozac started 1999 when admitted to dr. I was tired. Prozac pooped out, switch to Cymbalta 3/2006. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder due to mania 6/2006--then I was taken abruptly off Cymbalta and didn't know I had SSRI withdrawal. Lots of meds for my intractable "bipolar" symptoms. Zyprexa started about 9/06, mostly 5mg. Tapered 4/12 through12/29/12 Wellbutrin. XL 300 mg started 1/07, tapered 1/18/13 through 7/8/13 Oxazepam mostly continuously since 6/06, 30mg since 12/12, tapered 1.17.14 through 8.26.15 11/06 Lithium 600mg twice daily, 2.2.14 400mg TID DIY liquid, 2.12.14 1150mg, 3.2.14 1100mg, 3.18.14 1075mg, 4/14 updose to 1100mg, 6.1.14 900 mg capsules 7.8.14 810mg, 8.17.14 725mg, 8.24.24 700mg...10.22.14 487.5mg, 3.9.15 475mg, 4.1.15 462.5mg 4.21.15 450mg 8.11.15 375mg, 11.28.15 362.5mg, back to 375mg four days later, 3.4.16 updose to 475 (too much going on to risk trouble) 9/4/13 Toprol-XL 25mg daily for sudden hypertension, tapered 11.12.13 through 5.3.14, last 10 days or so switched to atenolol 7.4.14 Started Walsh Protocol 56 years old Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Excellent post EO;thank you. 4 years aprox. on 150mgs.Effexor for situational major depression.No AD before.Tapered 150-0mgs in 3 months. Tapered Quetiapine,Xanax in the last 18 months.NO med of any kind anymore.First 3 months off acute w/dProtracted w/d ever since.Symptoms:Anxiety,anhedonia,insomnia,tinnitus,PSSD 04/13/2014 Awful Relapse.Recovered fairly fast. 3 years and 4 months off. waves and windows.Very much recovered. November 2015,health issue.Setback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EternalOptimist Posted August 29, 2014 Author Share Posted August 29, 2014 Welcome Zoe. Good luck. . Hope you get unstuck. Welcome Alex. Meimeiquest, thnx for the info. Curious bout the copper angle. Yes, is difficult for us to know what is accurate. Hope we all get off of ON! 1989-2004 low doze Xanax nightly. 2004 w/d in hospital c/t with 3 other meds, (trazadone, phenobarbital, risperdal) Tapered off those meds in 7 months. 2010- bad anxiety so tried Valium and klonopin, back to hospital, came home on nothing, got much better. 12-23-2013- hospital for anxiety, depression,insomnia...used low dose lamictal 12 days with mitrazapine. Came home on 15 mg mitrazapine, down to c. 10 mg mitrazapine in c. 3weeks, 7.5 mg in 32 days.. Tapered off mitrazapine March 6, 2014. Took .75 mg April 20 and 1.05 mg April 21st. Ended taper March 6, 2014. Take supplements tho not all daily: fish oil, Vit. C., Vit. D, cal/mag, little multi, mag at night, Been taking homeopathic remedy since June, 2014 via a Homeopathic M.D. (Trained in psychiatry). 1-12, 2018 put on 60 mg cymbalta; 150 lyrica for anxiety and 50 mg trazadone. Tapered of trazadone after 3 months on it and tapered off of lyrica in about 9 months. As of March, 2019, only on 60 mg cymbalta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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