Gumleaf: major adverse reaction to Valdoxan 50mg

[Gumleaf]

Hi all, 

 

i’m writing In the hope that someone might be able to provide me with some help regarding Valdoxan please.

 

i started taking this medication in June and about 4 weeks in (after having my liver tested via bloods as is recommended), I developed pins and needles in my left hand and mild muscular twitching in the left leg which affected my walking a little.  The pins and needles soon progressed to my right hand and my feet.  Difficulty walking worsened and I also started having fine motor issues in my fingers, along with lower back pain.  It also caused me constipation, to the point where I was only having a bowel movement every 2-3 days.

 

Apart from this, Valdoxan made me very happy and i felt surprisingly calm and untroubled, even though there was a lot happening in my life at that point.

 

I consulted my PDoc, who dismissed Valdoxan as being the cause.  I accepted her word, and the problems continued.

 

My best attempts at researching this problem yielded 4 cases where other people also experienced pins and needles (otherwise known as Parethesia) as a result of taking Valdoxan.  Unfortunately, details of their experiences are sparse, which is why I’m writing here.

 

The manufacturer documentation mentions Parethesia as being an uncommon side effect.  A paper that I read on Valdoxan, describing the trials that were done with it, indicated that when Parethesia did occur, it was severe to very severe relative to other side effects that were experienced.

 

Fed up of not being able to use my hands properly, I stopped taking the Valdoxan, cold turkey.  It’s not recommended, but it’s the road I chose because these side effects really started to frighten me.  That wasn’t too bad, but three weeks after stopping it, the pins and needles persist with only mild relief in the left hand. My bowel movements returned to regularity after being off Valdoxan for about 2 weeks.

 

So, my question is :  Valdoxan has a half life of 2 hours, but how long can I be expected to wait until the side effects wear off?  

My PDoc, who subsequently conceded that Valdoxan could be the cause of my symptoms, isn’t sure.

 

If you’ve read this far, thank you very much.  Any information would be gratefully received.

 

GumLeaf

[ChessieCat]

Hi Gumleaf and welcome to SA from another Aussie,

 

Q:  Is Valdoxan the only psychiatric drug you have taken?

 

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When we take a psychiatric drug, the brain adapts to getting it.  It isn't a case of getting the drug out of our system:

 

From this topic how-psychiatric-drugs-remodel-your-brain

 

On 8/31/2011 at 5:28 AM, Rhiannon said:

a complex physiologic remodeling takes place. This takes place over time. The brain does not grow and change rapidly. This is a vast oversimplification of the amount of adaptation that takes place in the brain when we change its normal chemistry, but that's the principle.

 

When we stop taking the drug, we have a brain that has designed itself so that it works in the presence of the drug; now it can't work properly without the drug because it's designed itself so that the drug is part of its chemistry and structure. It's like a plant that has grown on a trellis; you can't just yank out the trellis and expect the plant to be okay. When the drug is removed, the remodeling process has to take place in reverse. SO--it's not a matter of just getting the drug out of your system and moving on.

 

It is going to take time for the brain to regain homeostasis or factory settings.  How long?  Nobody knows.

 

Are you experiencing any withdrawal symptoms?  Dr Joseph Glenmullen's WD Symptoms Checklist

 

[Gumleaf]

Hi Chessie, 

 

Thanks for your reply!  It’s nice to see another Aussie here 🙂

I created a signature in the account settings before posting, I can see it at the end of my post in grey.  Do I need to enable it or anything?

 

The information you’ve provided is very useful.  Thankfully I’m not suffering from any withdrawal symptoms, even though I went cold turkey, just the side effects from taking it 🙁

[ChessieCat]

Thank you, your signature is showing up.

[Steve61]

@Gumleaf How are you ? Thank you for dropping by my thread. It’s always nice to hear from people who have experienced the ad that I am withdrawing from. I’m glad that you have found your way to this site. It is proving to be my greatest defence against the wd’s. Whatever I am going through, someone on here has experienced it ! It’s a great relief to know that I aren’t going mad. I’m sure that it will work in a similar way for you.

Good luck

Steve

[Steve61]

How are you GL? How about an update. Let us know how you are doing.

Steve

[Gumleaf]

VALDOXAN AGAIN!

 

Please see my OP for a description of what happened when I took Valdoxan.

 

Earlier this year I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.  My neurologist told me that what Valdoxan had done was just a coincident and that the symptoms I experienced were MS.  “Hooray!”, I thought, eager to back on to it for the pure psychological  bliss it gave me.  I heeded her advice and after coming off Amitriptyline, I recommenced Valdoxan with much gusto.

 

Just like last time, a few days into it, I felt OMG SO GOOD and then, just like last year the pins and needles started again, in the same place (left pinkie) before spreading to both hands and feet.  Having MS, I already had mild pins and needles in both hands but this ramped it right up.  I can’t feel my left pinkie finger.  I am having trouble walking, too, that was no there prior.

But psychologically I feel soooo good.  I need to find something else, something that makes me feel as good but without the attack on my central nervous system.  Could it be that Valdoxan does this to people with MS?  The earliest signs of MS for me go back a few years.  I bet there isn’t a person in the world who has MS and has tried Valdoxan, with the former being a 1 in 100,000 people thing, and the later being still a new medication that hasn’t seen widespread use.

 

i don’t know what to do because over the years I have tried 15+ antidepressant medications and they either do nothing, or have awful side effects.

 

Aside from this I am sleeeping very well and feel very happy.  I’m scared if I drop the Valdoxan again I won’t find a med that will make me this happy.  It’s helping me deal with the fact that I have MS!  I’m literally cruisin’ in spite of this pretty awful diagnosis.

 

 

 

 

[Altostrata]

Hello, @Gumleaf, how are you doing?