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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by lilabelle on February 13, 2013, at 12:46:59
Dear Fellow Posters, this post is in part related to *Akathisia cause by terrible drug called Geodon?* michael marozik, found on the 'neurotransmitter board.'
I have a dx of BP 1 ( florid mania appears only when on 95% of psychotropic meds.) ...but have experienced periods of mania when drug free. Also major anhedonia/atypical depression/anxiety disorder and recently dx-ed with ADD. Lastly, like so many on this board-- treatment-resistant with usually paradoxical med. effects.
To return to the subject of this post I had an almost fatal response to Geodon when I took it in combo with nardil in 2009.
The only meds that have ever worked for me to relieve major atypical depression and severe anhedonia are the MAOI's mainly nardil & parnate but also had a good, although milder response to moclobemide which is available here in Toronto, Canada. I was on nardil for many years and in hindsight I'm sure I was a little more than hypomanic but after years of heavy depression/anhedonia, 'hypo-manic' felt wonderful.
My response to mood stabilizers as well as anti-psychotics was a disaster, (will explain more in another post.)
Only anti-psychotic I could handle was Geodon, (Ziprolex in Canada.) So after being on nardil with no major physical side effects I began the Geodan to counter the BP.
Now unlike a lot of my fellow posters who are hyper-vigilent about their meds and mental/physical health, I had always been very lax on what I experienced. In other words if I felt good, even too good ie: euphoric mania/ I was happy. Perhaps this was the result of having a doctor who gave me whatever I asked for whenever I asked or perhaps it was a sympton of my ADD -- irresponsible,inattentive and unconcerned. Whatever.
Paradoxically the Geodon actually made me a little more manic but I ignored that because it was an anti-psychotic and I felt 'better than well.' Strange physical reactions began sometime after the geodon but I did not relate it to the new med addition!?!?!
First, like Kat's experience with nardil and which I did not experience until the addition of Geodon, I started falling down. This usually happened in the morning but not always. I would get up walk to the bathroom and suddenly with no warning my legs would give out and I would crash HARD on the room's stone floor. It hurt. Sometimes I would make it through the bathroom routine and begin walking down the stairs when I would feel my legs give out; balance shot. Luckily I usually managed at some point to grab onto the bannister with both hands but I had usually stumbled down several steps at that point and once I did flat out fall down the stairs which were carpeted and not that steep. Needless to say I was covered with bruises during this period.
Another, in hindsight, terrifying thing happened at this same point. On three occasions I tried to talk to my 16 year old daughter and gibberish came out. I was sort of aware of this but not totally. My daughter told me that I wasn't making any sense but I laughed it off. Now if this was not a red flag I don't know what is!! But unless you have been euphorically, truly manic you cannot understand how bent your judgement becomes. An example is how so many people with bi-polar happily shoplift with no thought whatsoever of the consequences. (I've been there.)
Let me explain that all of these truly horrible physical responses occurred within a 3--4 week timeframe. But here is what finally happened:
One night I remember feeling particularly high.(I was always able to sleep as I was taking 4mg. of Klonopin.) I had a hard time sleeping that night but I got up the next morning feeling a little 'off.' This was because I had not picked up my scripts and I was out of both nardil and geodon! (okay I know) I felt sleepy so I lay down on my bed and the next thing I barely recall is being in emerg. at my local hospital, being tossed around as I was totally out of it.
What happened was my daughter returned home from school at 3:30 to find me unconscious on my bed, drenched in sweat. I was rushed ambulance to emerg. I have no memory of any of this. After a spinal tap/Cat Scan and every other test, the head of neuropsychiatry concurred I had suffered Neuro-Malignant Syndrome.
I had a temperture of 108 and I could have died. The following three days I shifted in and out of consciousness. I was delusional and it was horrible.
To sum up this very long post I now know that psychotropic meds, and to my mind, especially the anti-psychotics, are POWERFUL drugs and they can seriously screw up your brain and thus your life.
Therefore I now know that any drug should be approached with extreme caution and one should constantly monitor all and every side effect no matter how big or small. I now keep a Med Journal and daily report responses/mood/side effect etc.
I am 58 years old and have been on just about every med. out there and it's sad that I still have not found a remedy to my current depression/anhedonia.
Finally at the time of the above event I was taking: 60mg nardil/120mg geodon/4mg klonopin
Peace and love brothers and sisters and stay well
.........lilabelle
This is the end of the thread.
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