![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by F00TBALL on May 26, 2007, at 1:25:22
I was up to 75 MG Nardil and feeling great. It had completely wiped out my depression and helped significantly with my social anxiety. I had started CBT and feeling optimistic that that would further help my anxiety. I also had had my first appointment with a new p-doc and was left with a positive first impression of him.
I actually thought I was on the verge of beating all of this... LOL!May 17th, I woke and took my Nardil and Klonopin like normal. I noticed I was out of my Provigil. "Not a big deal. I'll go refill my prescription later today," I thought to myself. I took a shower and started getting dressed. I reached into my sock drawer to take out a pair of socks and felt a large oval-shaped pill. I pulled it out. I didn't have my contacts in yet, so I couldn't see it that clearly but it looked like a Provigil, so without a second thought I popped it my mouth. Worst mistake of my life.
An hour later I was at a job interview at my favorite music store. I really wanted the job and thanks to Nardil, my anxiety was minimal and I thought the interview was going really well!
Then, completely out of the blue, mid-interview, my vision got very strange. Everything was kind of out of focus, as if I was squinting or something. Then I noticed my arms were trembling. I started to have trouble understanding the questions I was being asked as well as following my own trail of thought. "Where am I?" I thought to myself. I remember nothing else about the interview.
Hours later I woke up. Feeling groggy I looked around and noticed I was in a hospital room. Several cords were attached to me and some machine sat next to me. I tried to sit up. "Mike, don't get up," said the nurse. I lay back down and rubbed my face. I noticed there was some tube going down my nostril. I fell back asleep.
I woke up again in the morning. The tube in my nose was gone, but there were still several cords connected to me. My parents and a nurse were in the room. "He's awake," my Dad said.
I learned that I had fallen out of my chair at the record store, and was completely unresponsive, so an ambulance was called. At the hospital I began seizuring so bad, that it took 5 nurses to lie on top of me to keep me still enough in the MRI machine. My blood pressure was sky high, so I was given some sort of medication. I was also having trouble breathing and was hooked up to a ventilator via my nose, because my mouth was clenched so tight, that that was the only option was to shove the tube down my nostril.
I had just survived a horrible case of Serotonin syndrome. "How? I didn't eat anything I wasn't supposed to. I was really careful with the diet!" "We found Zoloft in your blood," the nurse said.
Then it hit me. That oval-shaped pill I found in my sock drawer wasn't a provigil. It was an old Zoloft from several months ago that had accidentally never gotten tossed.
-
I left the hospital later that day. I had to quit Nardil cold turkey in case some Zoloft was still in my body.
I immediately became extremely depressed and all my anxiety returned. And I had to deal with terrible withdrawal symptoms that caused me to feel nauseous and vomit several times a day, have terrible nightmares every night, and have those God-awful brain zaps, every second of every day.A week later, May 24th, I had my next p-doc appointment and was very anxious to get back on Nardil. I wondered to myself if I would be able to go right back to 75 MG, or If I would have to start at a low dose and slowly build up all over again, as I sat down on the couch in his office.
"Mike, that was scary. I'm glad you're OK."
"Thanks"
"Terrible drugs those MAOIs are. Don't know why the FDA hasn't banned them."
"Um... actually Nardil worked great for me. I just made a stupid mistake. But it's the type of mistake I absolutely won't make again."
"Absolutely not. Paxil is a much better option for you. It's much newer and it's actually approved for social anxiety. It will work better then Nardil."
"I've allready been on 3 SSRIs. They don't work for me."
"Have you tried Paxil?"
"No."
"That's what you're going on next."
"No. I want to go back on the only drug that's ever helped me."
"Paxil is better. It's much safer. I've never prescribed an MAOI in my life. They're old and dangerous. They almost killed you."
"Actually it was Zoloft that almost killed me."
"I will not prescribe you an MAOI. Is that clear?"
"You won't prescribe me anything then." I get up and leave, mid-appointment.Monday, with the help of my family, we're gonna try to find a p-doc who will prescribe Nardil.
So that's where I am right now. No p-doc, no Nardil, major depression and major anxiety. And still the occasional brain zap.
This may be the lowest point in my life.
:(
Posted by Johann on May 26, 2007, at 3:04:41
In reply to I've gone from Cloud 9 to hell in a week., posted by F00TBALL on May 26, 2007, at 1:25:22
Mike,
What a story! and what a rollercoaster ride for you. I'm glad you had the ability to tell that idiot of a psychiatrist that you weren't going to submit yourself to his ill-informed arogance.
People don't realize how dangerous and intense serotonin syndrome is, and now you unfortunately have first hand experience.
I know you're in the pit, but I hope there's some room for the reality that you can start Nardil again and get back to where you were.
I'm rooting for you,
Johann
> I was up to 75 MG Nardil and feeling great. It had completely wiped out my depression and helped significantly with my social anxiety. I had started CBT and feeling optimistic that that would further help my anxiety. I also had had my first appointment with a new p-doc and was left with a positive first impression of him.
> I actually thought I was on the verge of beating all of this... LOL!
>
> May 17th, I woke and took my Nardil and Klonopin like normal. I noticed I was out of my Provigil. "Not a big deal. I'll go refill my prescription later today," I thought to myself. I took a shower and started getting dressed. I reached into my sock drawer to take out a pair of socks and felt a large oval-shaped pill. I pulled it out. I didn't have my contacts in yet, so I couldn't see it that clearly but it looked like a Provigil, so without a second thought I popped it my mouth. Worst mistake of my life.
>
> An hour later I was at a job interview at my favorite music store. I really wanted the job and thanks to Nardil, my anxiety was minimal and I thought the interview was going really well!
>
> Then, completely out of the blue, mid-interview, my vision got very strange. Everything was kind of out of focus, as if I was squinting or something. Then I noticed my arms were trembling. I started to have trouble understanding the questions I was being asked as well as following my own trail of thought. "Where am I?" I thought to myself. I remember nothing else about the interview.
>
> Hours later I woke up. Feeling groggy I looked around and noticed I was in a hospital room. Several cords were attached to me and some machine sat next to me. I tried to sit up. "Mike, don't get up," said the nurse. I lay back down and rubbed my face. I noticed there was some tube going down my nostril. I fell back asleep.
>
> I woke up again in the morning. The tube in my nose was gone, but there were still several cords connected to me. My parents and a nurse were in the room. "He's awake," my Dad said.
>
> I learned that I had fallen out of my chair at the record store, and was completely unresponsive, so an ambulance was called. At the hospital I began seizuring so bad, that it took 5 nurses to lie on top of me to keep me still enough in the MRI machine. My blood pressure was sky high, so I was given some sort of medication. I was also having trouble breathing and was hooked up to a ventilator via my nose, because my mouth was clenched so tight, that that was the only option was to shove the tube down my nostril.
>
> I had just survived a horrible case of Serotonin syndrome. "How? I didn't eat anything I wasn't supposed to. I was really careful with the diet!" "We found Zoloft in your blood," the nurse said.
>
> Then it hit me. That oval-shaped pill I found in my sock drawer wasn't a provigil. It was an old Zoloft from several months ago that had accidentally never gotten tossed.
>
> -
>
> I left the hospital later that day. I had to quit Nardil cold turkey in case some Zoloft was still in my body.
> I immediately became extremely depressed and all my anxiety returned. And I had to deal with terrible withdrawal symptoms that caused me to feel nauseous and vomit several times a day, have terrible nightmares every night, and have those God-awful brain zaps, every second of every day.
>
> A week later, May 24th, I had my next p-doc appointment and was very anxious to get back on Nardil. I wondered to myself if I would be able to go right back to 75 MG, or If I would have to start at a low dose and slowly build up all over again, as I sat down on the couch in his office.
>
> "Mike, that was scary. I'm glad you're OK."
> "Thanks"
> "Terrible drugs those MAOIs are. Don't know why the FDA hasn't banned them."
> "Um... actually Nardil worked great for me. I just made a stupid mistake. But it's the type of mistake I absolutely won't make again."
> "Absolutely not. Paxil is a much better option for you. It's much newer and it's actually approved for social anxiety. It will work better then Nardil."
> "I've allready been on 3 SSRIs. They don't work for me."
> "Have you tried Paxil?"
> "No."
> "That's what you're going on next."
> "No. I want to go back on the only drug that's ever helped me."
> "Paxil is better. It's much safer. I've never prescribed an MAOI in my life. They're old and dangerous. They almost killed you."
> "Actually it was Zoloft that almost killed me."
> "I will not prescribe you an MAOI. Is that clear?"
> "You won't prescribe me anything then." I get up and leave, mid-appointment.
>
> Monday, with the help of my family, we're gonna try to find a p-doc who will prescribe Nardil.
>
> So that's where I am right now. No p-doc, no Nardil, major depression and major anxiety. And still the occasional brain zap.
> This may be the lowest point in my life.
> :(
>
>
>
Posted by Bonnie_CA on May 26, 2007, at 4:03:35
In reply to Re: I've gone from Cloud 9 to hell in a week., posted by Johann on May 26, 2007, at 3:04:41
Football guy,
I hate how pdocs think that SSRIs are so incredibly safe. He sounded quick to judge that the MAOI was the bad thing, as opposed to the accidental setraline ingestion. Although, in his defense, Paxil calmed my anxiety very well, although I quit because I didn't like not having sex. :) But he really shouldn't put such a bad rap on MAOIs. I bet he also never prescribes benzos either.
My personal example of how NOT safe SSRIs is when I ended up in the hospital after ingesting cold medicine for a day. I took dayquil, and it made me feel bad, but I didn't think much of it. That night, I took nyquil, and I threw up non-stop and I felt like I was burning up and freezing at the same time. It was serotonin syndrome, although mine was far from the severity of yours. Where was the warning on either medication about the interaction? When will doctors stop pretending SSRIs are the pinnacle of all antidepressants? They've got their pitfalls like any other medication. At the time, I was on 20 mg of Celexa. At some point in the past couple years, I was on 60 mg. What would have happened if I had taken the cold medicine on that high dose?! I'd hate to think of it. But, I guess if no one actually dies, it will never be an issue to list on the package.
Good luck with finding a new pdoc.
-Bonnie
Posted by zmg on May 26, 2007, at 5:07:21
In reply to I've gone from Cloud 9 to hell in a week., posted by F00TBALL on May 26, 2007, at 1:25:22
Football/Mike,
You don't know me you don't need to, but that write-up of your lowest point is one of the funniest things I've read in ages. Not (of course) laughing at you funny. Just pure, honest funny. I wish my low points were like that.I'm definitely glad to read you're okay and I'm sure with a little diligence you will find a compassionate doctor. But your outlook is refreshing and you'll always have that.
Posted by meAgain on May 26, 2007, at 6:56:52
In reply to Re: I've gone from Cloud 9 to hell in a week., posted by zmg on May 26, 2007, at 5:07:21
so sorry for your pain right now, im in the same boat...been on every ssri and cant afford th 5 meds my pdoc has put me on, so i go thru withdrawls alot .they make it very tough to function daily, right now im not too well form sleeping to much from one med, plus stomach flu..slept 5 days,,now been up for 3 days and have work in 1 hour..cant do this anymore..i have a question how do you get seratonin syndrom and what are the symptoms? i am about 18lbs underweight and have been taking ssri's for 13 yrs straight..should i be worried?
Posted by Phillipa on May 26, 2007, at 10:06:39
In reply to I've gone from Cloud 9 to hell in a week., posted by F00TBALL on May 26, 2007, at 1:25:22
Football what a horrible story and you felt so good.Do you live near a large teaching hospital or have an old by standards pdoc near you as they may be willing to put you back on nardil. I'm so sorry. Love Phillipa
Posted by Denise190466 on May 27, 2007, at 13:50:40
In reply to I've gone from Cloud 9 to hell in a week., posted by F00TBALL on May 26, 2007, at 1:25:22
Hi,
What an awful and frightening experience for you. I can't believe this psychiatrist won't prescribe it for you when you told him it worked.
Well one consolation is that at least you know you've found something that actually works for you. That's great.
Denise
Posted by rvanson on June 1, 2007, at 1:40:52
In reply to I've gone from Cloud 9 to hell in a week., posted by F00TBALL on May 26, 2007, at 1:25:22
> A week later, May 24th, I had my next p-doc appointment and was very anxious to get back on Nardil. I wondered to myself if I would be able to go right back to 75 MG, or If I would have to start at a low dose and slowly build up all over again, as I sat down on the couch in his office.
>
> "Mike, that was scary. I'm glad you're OK."
> "Thanks"
> "Terrible drugs those MAOIs are. Don't know why the FDA hasn't banned them."
> "Um... actually Nardil worked great for me. I just made a stupid mistake. But it's the type of mistake I absolutely won't make again."
> "Absolutely not. Paxil is a much better option for you. It's much newer and it's actually approved for social anxiety. It will work better then Nardil."
> "I've allready been on 3 SSRIs. They don't work for me."
> "Have you tried Paxil?"
> "No."
> "That's what you're going on next."
> "No. I want to go back on the only drug that's ever helped me."
> "Paxil is better. It's much safer. I've never prescribed an MAOI in my life. They're old and dangerous. They almost killed you."
> "Actually it was Zoloft that almost killed me."
> "I will not prescribe you an MAOI. Is that clear?"
> "You won't prescribe me anything then." I get up and leave, mid-appointment.
>
> Monday, with the help of my family, we're gonna try to find a p-doc who will prescribe Nardil.
>
> So that's where I am right now. No p-doc, no Nardil, major depression and major anxiety. And still the occasional brain zap.
> This may be the lowest point in my life.
> :(
No you are not. Not from my standpoint. You made a mistake anyone could have made and no need to make amends to a quack who thinks he knows it all.No, you just stood up to this medical tyrant who doesnt suffer from the awful conditions these depressive Dx's cause, and you just got a HIGH FIVE from me to boot !!! ;-)
Its just a matter of finding a new P-doc, now, instead of this particular Rx'ing clown.
Granted, its tough finding a MAOI/Benzo pdoc in these days of SSRI's , but they are out there.
You done good, friend !!
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.