Posted by jerrympls on July 20, 2004, at 23:32:26
In reply to How bad/What is Serotonin Syndrome?, posted by 1980Monroe on July 18, 2004, at 18:44:30
> Is it something to just blow off and wait till its over, or is it a serious condition.
>
> I'm would like to hear from people who are wise on this sort of Subject.I suffered a full-blown case of serotonin syndrome last year while on Nardil. I accidentally took some Nyquil to help me sleep. At first I thought I was having a hypertensive reaction, but the docs in the ICU told me otherwise.
Nyquil has dextromethorphan which is in most OTC cough meds as a supressant. It also blocks reuptake of serotontin and when mixed with a potent med like the MAOI Nardil - it can have dangerous outcomes.
15 mins after I took a couple teaspoons of the Nyquil, I started to shake uncontrollably and it continued to get worse - I don't know how to explain the serverity - but I can say I didn't know the human body had such power to shake its self. Then I started sweating - pouring sweat. I started to become really confused and scared so I crawled to the phone and dialed 911. Luckily they came within 5 mins. They had to strap me down in the ambulance so I wouldn't shake out of the gurney.
I was in and out of consciousness and next thing I know I'm in the ICU with doctors all around me. I heard them say to give me periactin (an old antihistamine that blocks release of serotonin) and ativan. I finally started to calm down a bit but was still having terrible bouts of severe shaking. The Periactin made me sleepy. Then I heard the docs say they were worried about kidney failure.
I was kept overnight and had to have my urine measured to make sure my kidneys didn't give out.
LUCKILY I was ok the next day and was able to go home.
Be careful of the serotonin syndrome - it was one horrifying situation for me.
Jerry
poster:jerrympls
thread:367484
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040719/msgs/368458.html