Posted by rjk on July 22, 2002, at 17:30:56
In reply to you are in the wrong place , posted by katekite on July 22, 2002, at 16:37:06
Hi Katekite,
You didn't have to say that I am in the wrong place to get my attention. I would have read your message and thanked you for it in any event.
You have given me a lot to think about, however, I am totally convinced that combining Effexor and Remeron has in some way damaged my brain. My theory is that combining Remeron and Effexor was far too strong for my brain to cope with and that whatever part of the brain the drugs affect has been damaged. It is as though something "snapped" because since then I have had extreme reactions to any meds I have taken, including those that I had previously taken without a problem. Also, the more I have taken, the more sensitive my brain has become. To me it all seems very obvious, it is a sort of cause and effect thing. A/Ds have caused whatever part of the brain they affect to become very sensitive and the effect is that chemicals such as those contained within certain foods now also affect me. The best example is alcohol. If I drink so much as one beer I feel extremely depressed. As I have said, spicy food also affects me. If I eat a curry, I will be in tears the following day. The same thing applies to paracetamol, if I take one I will feel terrible about two hours later. Any drug that can affect the brain now affects mine to extreme.
I suppose you are right in that I am sick. I just wished that that was a doctor who could identify what the problem is, but even if they could, I am not sure that they couls do much about it. I have had physical examinations, which have been okay and I have had both a MRI brain scan and EEG test. The MRI scan was normal, but the EEG test was not, so that at least does prove that all is not right in the brain department. To be quite honest I really do not know who is likely to be able to help. I have seen a neurologist and it has he who organised the EEG and MRI scan, but other than saying that he believes my abnormal EEG results are due to exposure to psychotropic drugs, he cannot say exactly what the problem is. So, yes I am ill, but all the tests that I have had carried out do nothing other than confirm my belief that my problems stem from combining A/Ds.
If you still feel that I am in the wrong place, please let me know.
best wishes,
Richard
> Hi rjk,
>
> I titled it 'you're in the wrong place' just to get your attention. I hope you stay and post here as you work on figuring out a solution.
>
> I do think, though, that you are looking in the wrong place. It sounds to me that you are physically ill.
>
> Hear me out. Feel free to disagree.
>
> Here on this website, there are countless stories of meds making people have reactions to things, of adverse side effects. 99.5% go away when withdrawal is over! I have seen a couple scary stories from people who have persistent pain, a headache or twitches or other neurological condition after all withdrawal from a drug should be past.
>
> You, however, seem different. You don't have one thing, you have many problems now. You say you can't even tolerate an aspirin! That exercise makes you feel bad! That you are sensitive to spices! That your whole chemistry has changed from before you took effex-rem to after.
>
> Sure, psychotropic drugs theoretically could, in some susceptible individual become toxic and actually kill off a lot of neurons somehow making that person have an extra-sensitive brain. But are you that one person? There are other explanations. How about: you had a hormonal condition that was subclinical before and not causing a problem and then the stress of drug withdrawal made it much worse? Or, you had a minor heart condition that is now much worse? Or, you have a sulfite allergy? Who knows?
>
> My experience has been good regarding sensitivity to meds and exercise turning out to be a treatable medical condition. I was taking Neurontin and 5 weeks in I thought Neurontin had begun to have bad side effects: my pulse would race on its own, I could no longer drink a single glass of alcohol or I got hot sensations over my body, I could no longer eat salmon, salt became a problem. I tried to exercise and felt horrible. At first I thought I had some sort of serotonin syndrome. It turns out I had high cortisol and abnormally fluctuating estrogen: menopause. Now that my hormone levels are stabilized I am myself again. I am still working on figuring out the cortisol, but on hormone therapy all the worst symptoms are simply gone. I will never know if Neurontin maybe brought it on, or made it worse, etc. But I know what is wrong now.
>
> I also have mild depression going on for years. I saw a total of 5 psychiatrists during the time I was in search of answers and only ONE of them thought it might be medical. The others were happy to give me more drugs and more psychiatric diagnoses. You are going to the wrong kind of doctor.
>
> No one believed me: I am too young, 31, for menopause. I had lots of medical tests but not the right ones at first. I looked healthy: my face was even more rosy than normal which I now know was a hormonal effect. I had to experiment with some medications. I had to educate myself on every disorder that could cause the symptoms and suggest these in the order of how common they are, to the doctors I saw, because they were unfamiliar with the type of problem I had. I had to keep notes. I had to see multiple doctors and be persistent but it paid off completely and I am myself again.
>
> My point is that physical conditions can sensitize you to exercise, food and drink. Mental conditions do not do this! (ok, maybe some individual out there gets so anxious about aspirin that it does something bad to them. not you, I don't think).
>
> Maybe you still have the depression that you had years ago, but this new stuff is not likely a somatic expression of depression -- not when its this severe. Depressed people take aspirin. Watching what you eat will not help except to make you feel slightly better about it and avoid trigger foods. Therapy may help you deal better but not help the actual illness. More anti-depressants aren't going to do the trick.
>
> You are sick.
>
> Yes, maybe some important neurons died from the toxic effect of effex+remeron. It is possible. But the possibility is remote. The more likely possibility is that something else is also going on.
>
> You need to find out what is wrong. You need to take responsibility and stop thinking that your doctor would know if something was wrong. They know barely more than us. If you've read up on something you will often know more than them. It's just the way it is. You need to see an internal medicine specialist. If they don't help, you need to see an endocrinologist. A rheumatologist, an allergist. We can help point towards possibilities and the right specialists if you describe what actually happens to you when you eat things.
>
> If in the end it turns out that there is no other explanation besides the death of some important neurons, then at least you have tried. Right now you have no idea what the true cause of your problem is.
>
> Maybe you saw a doctor and they said they couldn't find an explanation. Maybe they even said they thought you were fine. Do you feel fine?
>
> Kate
>
> PS -- So, what happens when you take aspirin? What spices can you take and which are not ok? What happens?
poster:rjk
thread:113254
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020718/msgs/113313.html