tezza: risperdal withdrawal

[tezza]

I haven't updated for quite some time so here goes.

 

I'm in a wave I guess. After all the turmoil and drama was dealt with (as was possible), I've had more trouble falling back to sleep when I wake. I've been waking at 4am and only occasionally go back to sleep. I go to bed between 10 and 10:30, so I'm getting about six hours usually. It could be worse.

 

My mood has been low and tinnitus is louder and more frequent. Motivation is very low. Anxiety is back on some days. I'm tired and groggy during the day but can't nap.

 

I don't foresee a taper any time soon. :-(

 

Hugs and healing to all !

[basildev]

Hi Tezza,

 

Sorry you're in a wave.

 

Hugs and healing back to you, and I hope you get a window very soon xx

[tezza]

Thank you basil! It's good to see you! Has your sleep gotten any better?

[basildev]

Yes it's slowly on the improve.

 

Had a setback the last couple of months due to taking some valium.

[alex]

Hi Tezza, I am sorry that you are feeling bad;it seems like the waves are a symptom  of our bodies trying to heal.

Our CNS is also very sensitive.But it gets better.

Despite my neuro-fear, I have noticed that stressors that I couldn't handle a few months ago, don't give me the awful anxiety or dysphoria anymore.

 

Oh! and as I posted today, I took a nap!!

 

My spirit is with you, all good and brave people.

[tezza]

Hi Alex,

 

Thank you for stopping by my thread! A nap! That's really good to hear, that has to be a good sign. You sound better, too.

 

May you continue to heal!

[tezza]

Update:

 

I got results from blood work. First time it's been done since starting Risperdal and Remeron. Cholesterol was BAD! LDL too high to measure.

 

Overall cholesterol was 270! I've always been borderline, never very high! I have my three month visit tomorrow. I want to get TSH number. I'm thinking that's why the LDL was so high. (Reading back over the last two sentences, they sound a lot more calm than I feel.)

 

I'm really afraid to mess with thyroid but I'm afraid of damage being done if I don't find out and need to.

 

Any advice on questions for my doc is welcomed and appreciated.

[Barbarannamated]

{{{HUGS}}}

[tezza]

Thank you Barb! Do you know whether the routine blood work measures thyroid or not? I know very little about thyroid. I do have the most extreme fatigue. As soon as I get up in the morning, I start longing for bed time again.

[Barbarannamated]

I believe you'd have to talk to your doctor about thyroid and endocrine testing. Most docs still use TSH, but it's not the best indicator because it fluctuates. T3 and T4 are involved but I dont know what an initial screen might consist of. Karma would be the best one to answer this question. There's also a thread explaining it somewhere. I'll browse around.

 

I'm sorry you're feeling poorly, Tezza.

[tezza]

Thank you, Barb, I remembered hearing you and Karma discussing this. Others, too, but I can't seem to find those discussions. I'm hoping my GP is willing to investigate instead of suggesting a drug for cholesterol.

[Barbarannamated]

This might help:

 

THYROID SYMPTOMS

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1593-thyroid-symptoms/

[tezza]

That's exactly what I was looking for! Thanks bunches!

[Altostrata]

Eating a lot of nuts, olive oil, and fish oil can increase the good cholesterol to balance out the LDL. Exercise is good, too.

 

I would avoid taking a statin if at all possible.

[Skyler]

Hi Tezza, sorry to hear of your health issues.  While my BP did not get up as high as yours did, it was around 220 or 230... changing my diet did the trick.  It was a pretty radical change... I went from eating ***crap to 3 to 4 fruits, and 5 or 6 veggies a day, low carb, and dropped 60 lbs.  My BP is now 118 over 68 and the cholesterol is well within normal limits.  I would stay away from statins.

 

Hope you feel much improved soon!

[tezza]

Thank you, both, Alto and Skyler! My GP said he still had enough blood to check my thyroid and they took more to test for b-12.

 

He wants to check my cholesterol again in December. I do hope to stay away from the statin if at all possible.

 

My GP is pretty good, I think. I told him how my husband's heart beat is suddenly 190bpm and next day it's only 60bpm and my doc told me the name of his problem. He will be going to see my doc soon. He wore a monitor for a month and his heart was on good behavior. My doc said its tricky to catch but it's very important to catch and treat.

[basildev]

Big HUGS Tezza xxxxx

[tezza]

Big HUGS back to you, basil!!! Xxxxx

[tezza]

My TSH is 2.6; T3 is 29%; T4 is 6.5 and free thoraxine is 1.8. My GP says this is fine but I wonder, still...

[Jemima]

Before you get all upset, remember that the "normal" cholesterol number of under 200 was cooked up by Pfizer, the maker of Lipitor. Probably reducing the LDL number is a good idea, but I'm not even sure of that. Do some reading up.

 

Alto's advice is good, and I'd add eat all the fish you can stand. Do avoid the statins if at all possible. They're what got me so depressed that I ended up in a psych ward.

 

More hugs to you, Tezz! {{{HUGS}}}

[tezza]

I wasn't aware of that, Jemima. Thank you for filling me in, I will read up.

 

I've been checking out the better diet choices. I'd much rather take that route than the statins. I'm so sorry that happened to you.

 

{{{HUGS}}}

 

Thanks for making me feel better about those results, J!

[Rhiannon]

Aw, hugs from me too Tezza!

 

There's actually some debate among actual scientists (as opposed to medical $cientists) these days as to how dangerous cholesterol levels actually are. They're starting to think arterial plaques are caused by an inflammatory process. And it turns out that in cohort studies of people over 60 higher cholesterol correlates with better cognitive functioning, so much so that I actually wish I could get mine up a little higher. 

 

I personally wouldn't consider a statin unless my cholesterol was about 400, but I have much distrust of pharmaceutical companie$, and agree with Jemima about the 200 number; I remember when it was 250 then 220...

 

Anyway, much reason not to panic.

[Rhiannon]

http://www.theheart.org/article/407403.do

[Barbarannamated]

Good article, Rhi.

[tezza]

Thank you, Rhi, that is interesting. Thank you for the link.

 

I'm so glad you're feeling better!

 

{{{ Hugs}}

[Karma]

Hi Tezza

 

I am not a fan of the TSH as a lab value that either identifies or rules out hypothyroidism.  I've seen too many patients who have been told they are "fine" because of their TSH lab value and yet they are clearly presenting with hypothyroid symptoms.  When these patients press the situation with additional lab tests and finally get treatment they feel so much better ... here is an article by a physician (with references) which aligns with my belief and understanding about how the thyroid works:  http://hormonerestoration.com/Thyroid.html

 

In a nutshell, if you present with hypothyroid symptoms then the physician should take a measure of Free T3 and Free T4 ... most patients feel best when Free T3 and Free T4 are in the upper third of the range.  If your Free T3 is low in-range then as this doctor states, a course of natural desiccated thyroid is in order to determine whether the patient's symptoms are relieved ... and THAT tells you whether the patient is hypothyroid or not.

 

I have had to fight every single one of my providers to get the thyroid treatment I need to feel healthy ... so that I don't have brain fog, so that I don't have low grade depression, so that my joints don't ache, so that my skin isn't dry, so that I have normal bowel movements, so that I have refreshing sleep ... and oh by the way, I have enviable chloesterol levels.

 

Ok, now I will step down off of my soapbox  . 

 

As far as your lab values ... you need to have the reference ranges to determine whether they are good or not.  It appears that you have a Free T4 in the free thyroxine, but if you only had a total T3 then you don't have all the information.  A Free T3 lab value would be an important piece to your puzzle.

 

Karma

[tezza]

Karma,

 

Thank you, I was hoping for your input on this. I knew it was, many times, hard to get this diagnosed.

 

I was actually thinking of ordering "Thyroxin-Free Thyroid Glandular" from Swanson. I already feel that my GP is not looking into this as he should. The thyroid mentioned here is bovine. I'm just afraid I'm going to run into the same problem that you and many others have had.

 

I don't know how much 'fight' I have left at this point. I appreciate your knowledge in this area.

 

HUGS!!!!

[tezza]

I was feeling strange like I often do and decided to check my BP. BP IS 100/74 and heart rate is 137. HR was 150 the first time so I sat and relaxed and checked some more.

 

My activity before the first reading was feeding the baby.

 

My mood is good and I slept well last night :-) tinnitus is bearable but annoying.

[Barbarannamated]

Does your HR usually run that high?

 

Glad your mood is good!

[tezza]

Thank you, Barb...no my HR usually is around 100, give or take 10 either way. Risperdal is known to cause the BP to run low. When the BP runs low the heart tries to accommodate by pumping more blood. I was hospitalized about 10 days after I started Risperdal because of this. BP was 80/50 and HR was 137.

 

The hospital gave me NONE of my meds, I went into DTs and BP shot up high.

 

Keeping the baby, I haven't had much time or energy to read a lot. Are you feeling any better?

[Barbarannamated]

I didnt know that about Risperdal or that you were hospitalized.

 

I'm still very down, but hanging in.

[Meimeiquest]

Tessa,

 

As a nurse, I would have told you to call your dr. for immediate advice, but it sounds like you have been down that road before. It just happens that my sister just called to chat. She has for years had neurocardiogenic syncope which is another manifestation of autonomic nervous system dysfunction, not caused by meds, similar to your situation right now. It helps her to drink water and take salt...ideally a tsp. of sea salt in a cup of water, but that may not work for you. Today she told me that spironolactone has really helped her..I have no idea if it would benefit your situation or not. I do hope you're better soon! If you have shortness of breath or chest pain....re-evaluate!

[tezza]

{{{BIG HUGS}}} Barb!

 

Meimeiquest , thank you for reading and your advice. The salty water is worth a try. It feels like I can't take in a good breath except now and then. I'm hoping after I'm off Risperdal that my entire system will straighten out.

 

I'll look up spironolactone ... thank you!

[Altostrata]

Yes, tezza, please take care of yourself. Where are you with the Risperdal taper? How awful your doctor didn't notice it had such a bad effect on you in the beginning.

[tezza]

Yes, if they had given me all my regular, plus the new psych meds in the hospital, they would have caught that. (At least, I would hope they would have.) I was in CCU for two nights and had been there over 24 hours before they gave me anything besides a Restoril; I don't even take that. Then, they only gave me Lorcet, soma and Xanax. I had gotten past the shakes and started jerking.

 

Alto, take good care of yourself, too! We all depend on you for too much, I know, you are one of a kind.

 

{{{HUGS}}}

 

I'm at .133 Risperdal

[Karma]

Hi Tezza

 

I second the salt water for the high heart rate ... the only additional suggestion I have is to try sea salt rather than table salt.  I use celtic sea salt, but Himalayan salt can also be effective.  In fact, I drink at least 2 teaspoons of celtic sea salt daily ... if I start to get the sensation of a racing heart I find that half a teaspoon of celtic sea salt in 8 oz of water resolves the symptom within half an hour.

 

Ideally, you would track your lab values for the electrolyte, sodium, so that you would know whether that is what your body needs or not.  In my case my sodium tends to sit low in-range.  When I drink celtic sea salt on a regular basis I do just fine.

 

I'm reluctant to suggest that you try the thyroid glandular because what I have learned is that there are a lot of factors that need to come together for successful thyroid treatment.  For example, vitamin D and iron need to be in a particular range in order for you body to optimally use thyroid.  I've seen patients who have low iron experience heart palpitations when adding thyroid.

 

In my case I've found that electrolytes, particularly potassium and sodium need to be in balance for me to be symptom free and feel my best. 

 

I do recommend that you learn more about optimizing thyroid and my suggestion for that is for you to take a look at https://eaware.org/ - you could even contact them to ask specific questions.  The other site that has been beneficial is http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/.

 

I am happy to support you, but in the same way that this is an AD withdrawal site and that is what we focus on, I think you would get more complete advice from a thyroid patient support site.

 

Karma