Posted by Nilsouka on March 25, 2011, at 16:14:44
I have bipolar 2. I've been on Lamictal and Topamax for about 8 years. They worked for about 2 years and since then I've been adding one booster or another trying to find something to stabilize my mood.
In November the pdoc prescribed Effexor which caused severe TMJ and restless leg syndrome. I was miserable. And, since it seemed I've been miserable for years, pdoc and I decided we'd clean the slate and then start over. So, I've been weaning off of everything for the past month.
Effexor withdrawal was torture. Had the brain shivers, nausea, fatigue, sleeplessness. Now I'm weaning off of Lamictal. I am having HORRIBLE body aches. Everything hurts all the time.
I have a history of pulmonary embolism so the primary doc made me have CT scans of my chest to make sure I didn't have new blood clots because the chest pain was so intense that it painful and difficult to breathe. It was negative and they diagnosed me with costochondritis - inflammation in the sternum.
While that would account for the pain in my chest, it doesn't account for the pain in my shoulders, neck, legs, toes, fingers, head, jaw, hips...basically every where else.
Is it common to have such painful withdrawal from these medications? What do I do about it? How long will it last?
poster:Nilsouka
thread:981123
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110321/msgs/981123.html