![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by good4u on May 30, 2001, at 8:53:41
In desperation, I am trying to contact the best doctors in the country, be they neurologists, neuropsychiatrists, or psychiatrists, clinicians or researchers, to see if ANYONE has heard of a problem similar to mine or who MIGHT be able to offer some insight I have had NO luck with accurate diagnosis of my problem nor, more importantly, relief of symptoms to date. ANY advice/insight you can offer is GREATLY appreciated, and I am willing to travel ANY distance for an appointment if something can be done to help.
There are two problems that won't seem to go away. They are:
1. There is a restless, “over-stimulated” feeling in the front of my head. It feels as if my brain is receiving a great excess of electrical energy in the area in my forehead, as if that part of my brain is never relaxed, or is always ON. This feeling is accompanied by repetitive mental patterns, patterns that I am compelled to draw in my mind. The compulsion to draw these patterns and the speed in which I do so, increase in severity as the restless, over-stimulated feeling increases.
2. I have a very spaced out, drugged up feeling-constantly. For some reason, the source seems to in the front of my head directly above and slightly behind my eyes. This feeling has greatly impaired my ability to think, plan, make associations, grasp what others are saying, and recall from memory. Following are more explicit descriptions of these problems. I realize that it is probably difficult to understand such perceptive subtleties, so I will try to give as many examples as I can.In reference to 1. above:
In 1996, upon a doctors recommendation, I began taking 20 mg. of Paxil for depression. My depression rapidly lifted and felt o.k. for 6-7 months. At this point, I began “drawing” these “patterns” in my mind, and felt an excess of energy and restlessness in the front of my head. I felt no restlessness in my body nor did I physically have an unusually high energy level. As several months passed, this combination of symptoms increased dramatically eventually reaching the point in which I had to decrease my daily dose. Over the span of 6 weeks I slowly weaned myself off the Paxil, however, decreasing the medication had no effect on the severity of the symptoms. 2 days after completely being off the medication, the “patterns” vanished as did the over-stimulation-feeling in my head. My brain felt very “relaxed.” I liken the feeling at this point (when my brain felt “relaxed” finally) the to turning down a dimmer switch on a lamp that is blindingly bright. The “dimmer switch” on the front part of my brain had finally been turned down to the normal level. 1 month later I began feeling the depression returning. Now seeing a different doctor, I was put on 200 mgs. of Zoloft and 750 mgs. of depakote. My depression again rapidly lifted and I felt o.k. for 9-10 months when again I began making the patterns, and feeling the over-stimulation and restlessness. Over the next year-18 months, under my doctors instruction, I tried lowering the dose of Zoloft, raising the dose of Depakote, and tried several other medications and combinations. Nothing changed. At this point I would have much rather suffered through the depressive symptoms than the horrible side effects of the medication. Several times I weaned myself slowly off the drugs only to find that the side effects were now permanent. I have been off all medication for 2 full months with no decrease or change in these symptoms. **(I have noticed that when I have caffeine, the patterns and “restlessness” (again, not “physical” restlessness) increase for several hours).In reference to 2. above:
Two days after discontinuing the Zoloft and 4 weeks after discontinuing the Depakote, I began experiencing a weird sensation in the front of my head. Hard to describe, the sensation would last for about a second and would happen every 5-10 minutes. The feeling was a quick "flip-flop" (sorry, so difficult to describe) in the front of my brain. It was a whirling, spaced out feeling seemingly localized only in that small part of my head. The more this happened, the more I would feel “spaced out” and “drugged” in between these 1 second "flip-flop" episodes. Now I am left with a constant “drugged up, spaced out” feeling.. Seemingly with no antagonist, this feelings/perceptions vary in severity from moderate to extreme.Some questions I have are:
1) Could these symptoms be from medication withdrawal. (it feels very much like withdrawal).
2) What tests can be done? Won’t imaging tests/scanning using the latest EEG/MRI/SPECTRA be able to help?I am hoping someone in the world might be able to help me. As it stands right now, this condition has left me emotionally and cognitively vacuous. I am unable to “live in the moment.” My reaction time in conversation and in daily living is slow. I feel “disconnected” and “unsure-footed.” “Disoriented” is another word I would use to describe my state.
I would so very much appreciate any help or guidance you can offer.
Sincerely, with greatest appreciation and hope,
J Witowsky
Posted by Cam W. on May 30, 2001, at 12:35:42
In reply to Strange med effects???, posted by good4u on May 30, 2001, at 8:53:41
JW - Hmmm... Have you, by any chance, tried a low dose of Risperdal™ (risperdal - 0.5mg to 1mg) or Zyprexa™ (olanzapine 2.5mg to 5mg)? I would ask your doc if he/she thinks this might be appropriate. Either of these may help to resolve some of the feelings that you are getting. - Cam
Posted by blackjack on May 30, 2001, at 17:45:47
In reply to Strange med effects???, posted by good4u on May 30, 2001, at 8:53:41
> 1. There is a restless, “over-stimulated” feeling in the front of my head.
That really sounds like activation of a hypomanic or manic episode to me. Many antidepressants will do this, and going OFF the antidepressants won't necissarily make it go away, at least not immediately. Are you diagnosed as bipolar? If not, you should dscuss this possiblity with your doctor. Adding Depakote was on the right track, but man people respond better to different mood stablizers
> In reference to 2. above:
> Two days after discontinuing the Zoloft and 4 weeks after discontinuing the Depakote, I began experiencing a weird sensation in the front of my head. Hard to describe, the sensation would last for about a second and would happen every 5-10 minutes. The feeling was a quick "flip-flop" (sorry, so difficult to describe) in the front of my brain. It was a whirling, spaced out feeling seemingly localized only in that small part of my head.This sounds EXACTLY like the symptoms many people get when discontinuing short-lived SSRI's (usually Paxil, but sometimes Zoloft) and Effexor. This sort of sensation of an electrical jolt or sloshing, especially when you move your eyes quickly, is very common. People call it "brain lightning" or "the zaps." It is often accompanied by nausea, flu-like symptoms, dizzyness, and a general malaise. How long have you been off the Zoloft? Did you go off cold-turkey? The "zaps" usually go away in a few weeks, but can be lessened by tapering you dose down slowly. Some people have found that taking Prozac (which has a longer life in the body) just for a few days keeps the symptoms at bay while your body adjusts to not having the meds. Others have reported that Benadryl helps.
Posted by Sulpicia on May 31, 2001, at 18:04:43
In reply to Strange med effects???, posted by good4u on May 30, 2001, at 8:53:41
> Hi--
I didn't realize that you were the same person that posted
in the Truehope thread.
Are you taking their products currently?
You probably won't believe me because of my attitude on the other
thread but vitamins and supplements can have adverse effects too.
In fact there is an entire FDA adverse event monitoring system just
for them.Are you feeling any better?
S.
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.