Posted by Alice Fay on March 6, 2001, at 0:59:37
In reply to Re: Muscle tension: My theory ...and vice versa.. » willow, posted by dj on March 5, 2001, at 21:33:16
> > So my theory is if something disturbs your >sleep it can result in muscle tension.
>
> That's true, however sustained over-tensed muscles (part of the fight or flight stress reaction)can also interfere with your sleep, so it can come from either direction and one can contribute to the other...and it is possible some ADs may have a contributory effect as well... I wonder how this all relates to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which some have characterized as being related to depression?Some interesting thoughts here. Thanks dj and willow for your comments. First, I think you have a very good point, willow, that sleep deprivation probably can increase muscle tension. The effexor xr has certainly caused me to lose sleep (in more ways than one!), and I think this may have played a part (but only a part) in the increased muscle tension I have experienced.
But I read dj's comment as saying that ADs (does that mean adrenergics? That's what I thought) can, through the "fight or flight" response, directly stimulate or overstimulate skeletal muscles, which might even lead to muscle spasms or sore, tight muscles (such as in my case). Thanks for reminding me of this adrenergic reaction of the muscles, dj. Actually, this concept of muscle "overactivation" from the "fight or flight" response is a tenet of many physical therapists and bodyworkers like myself.
So that is why I'm a little confused why your doctors, Willow, would give you one drug, that causes in you some profound adrenergic side-effects, such as high BP and HR, and from your own account, increased muscle tension, and then give you Baclofen, which basically undoes what the Effexor most likely actually aggravated! (That is, an increase in your muscle tension.) Very, very strange, I think, but that is my opinion. I think what dj was saying was not (as you thought) that Effexor might decrease the "fight or flight" response, but that the sympathetic stimulation it causes, actually can create that response.
All the doctors (including some psych ones) I have
talked with about the high blood pressure side effect of Effexor have seen that as a reason for discontinuing the drug.I also have been interested in the link between CFS and depression, dj. Interesting, that is may be due to overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. In looking at some websites, I saw that fibromyalgia is linked to too much epinephrine in the nervous system. Well, I'm not about to wait on this dose of Effexor to see if it will cause even longer-term muscle pain than I already have (feels like temporary symptoms of fibromyalgia). Anyway, I HOPE it is temporary.
So today, I saw my psych M.D. who did not quarrel with my assertion that my increased Effexor dose caused increased muscle tension and pain. I am tapering off the drug, and he gave me an Rx for Valium to help with the muscle tension I am still experiencing.
Anyway, did not want to be preachy or anything, Willow, but thought you might want to think about those things. Hope it helps.
poster:Alice Fay
thread:55468
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010302/msgs/55671.html