☼ Wildflower0214 Effexor WD and PTSD

[Wildflower0214]

Did it give u bladder problems?

[luv2knit]

I have had problems with both bowels and bladder. Don't know if one affects the other in my case. Just drinking more water has helped me be able to pee more. I'm relatively comfortable on both issues now. For a few weeks, I was pretty miserable.

[Wildflower0214]

When you were miserable, did u feel like you had to pee all the time? What happened? Sorry to ask, but trying to get info. Was it during WD?

[Wildflower0214]

Could you void your bladder all of the way?

[luv2knit]

It didn't really feel like it, but it seems to be resolved for the most part now.

[Wildflower0214]

So, it felt like you didn't void?

We're u in WD when it happened?

[Wildflower0214]

Sorry, but can't find much info on this to try and help myself.

[luv2knit]

Yes, it started in WD, and I did feel like I needed to pee all the time. Really miserable at bedtime. I just drank more water, and eventually it got better. I know it's miserable--especially with the akathisia too. I sometimes have mild problems, but tolerable.

[Wildflower0214]

Ya, just hangin on.

Just one more question, I know u said u felt like u needed to pee all the time, BUT when u did pee, did u feel voided?

 

I know I'm going on and on just trying to find hope.

How long did it last?

[luv2knit]

I know--I understand. Yeah, even when I went, I felt like I still needed to go--so, no--it did not feel like I voided. I kept going back every 5 minutes. Sorry, I'm on my phone, so I think I'm missing stuff. I don't know exactly how long--at least a few weeks to a month, I think.

[Wildflower0214]

Well, I'm debating on seeing a urologist. I may not. Did you ever think of going to a dr? I guess I just freak out more. Who knows. I don't want to see a dr if it will pass. It happened once before but, it was in a night I felt like I was near death, shaking, unable to eat much, sleep deprived, then that set in, and God just stepped in and all of the sudden I just went to sleep. So, He has taken it before.

Thank you for responding. I just get scared sometimes. Thank you for praying and for helping me.

[luv2knit]

No problem. No, I did not think about going to the doctor, but then my doctor doesn't know about any of this, and I've had similar issues before. If I don't drink enough water, I still have issues!

[luv2knit]

Thank you for praying for me too--bad night and morning!

[Wildflower0214]

Yes. Praying now. So sorry you are suffering.

Thank you for your kindness. hopefully we both get relief soon.

[luv2knit]

I certainly hope so!

[luv2knit]

Ok, so not really sure, but today is a really high akathisia day, and I'm having a slight return of the bowel/bladder issues. Maybe it is closely associated with the akathisia?!

[Wildflower0214]

You know, mine happened both times when I was getting into a hot shower because I was cold. I'm always cold lately.

 

I think it shocked my system and my bladder spasmed or something.

 

Who knows. Trying to figure it out makes me want to start shouting incoherently at the top of my lungs!

[Wildflower0214]

It felt like I needed to pee, but all of the sudden, I couldn't. It was sudden. Like the muscle refused to do what it should.

[luv2knit]

Ugh... Well, the bowel and bladder issues are not really bad for me today, but they are worse than they have been, so just thought I would point out that possible connection.  My akathisia has been pretty ramped up since yesterday evening, and I got basically no sleep last night.  I was awake and thinking how terrible the holidays are going to be this year (the akathisia talking, I'm sure).  Although my akathisia is constant to some degree, it usually does not stay ramped up like this for a whole day.  I usually get anywhere from 1 1/2 days to, at most, 3 days "relief" (akathisia fairly low level) before it ramps back up again, and when it ramps up, it usually is several hours (maybe half a day)--not a whole day.  I'm sure this pattern is probably a trend in the right direction, but on days like today, when it comes and stays, it's not so good!  Continued prayers for you, JDM!!

[Wildflower0214]

I think about what the rest of my life will be like. Whether I will be able to have children, or go back to work. I'm only 30. I try not to think about this stuff, but it is hard for me not to on certain days.

It's good to know about the akathisia connection with the bladder and bowel issue. I'm hoping I didn't make your anxiety worse by making u remember it :-/

 

If it's ramped up, then my experience is that the next window will be a good one. Ramping up always seems to come before a good window. It's a hideous cycle. But, I've noticed this in myself. Praying for us both. It feels like hell sometimes. I made an appt with the urologist for Friday. Who knows if I will go or not. Hope I don't have to.

 

So, is your daughter expected to recover? What kind of symptoms does she have?

[Wildflower0214]

When your akathisia is bad, describe what it looks like. What does your day look like when it is the worst?

[Muddles]

Sorry to hear about your hospital visits and problems. I hope you manage to sort it.

 

Thinking of you.

[luv2knit]

I think about what the rest of my life will be like. Whether I will be able to have children, or go back to work. I'm only 30. I try not to think about this stuff, but it is hard for me not to on certain days.

It's good to know about the akathisia connection with the bladder and bowel issue. I'm hoping I didn't make your anxiety worse by making u remember it :-/

 

If it's ramped up, then my experience is that the next window will be a good one. Ramping up always seems to come before a good window. It's a hideous cycle. But, I've noticed this in myself. Praying for us both. It feels like hell sometimes. I made an appt with the urologist for Friday. Who knows if I will go or not. Hope I don't have to.

 

So, is your daughter expected to recover? What kind of symptoms does she have?

I hope you're right about the window.  

 

If you do decide to go to the urologist, I hope you will be able to get some answers!!  Maybe you will be able to get some relief before then.  If/when I do go out, I always have a bottle of water with me.  For me, it helps, but I know you said they told you to limit your fluid intake!

 

We really don't know whether my daughter's situation will be permanent.  Most people do recover to some degree, but then she already got about 90-95% better after a couple of years, and then got worse again a year-and-a-half later.  She has autonomic nervous system dysfunction, which includes anxiety, depression, low blood pressure, rapid heart rate, bladder issues, very low body temp and much more.  She also has burning nerve pain, muscle spasms, and joint and tendon pains.  Like I said before, these antibiotics affect every system in the body, so there's always stuff cropping up.  She's also had many bouts of kidney stones, ovarian cysts, and salivary gland stones... very strange (and painful) stuff.  In spite of the fact that there are numerous warnings put out by the FDA, doctors still really don't acknowledge the problem, and we are pretty much on our own (with the thousands upon thousands of others who suffer)!!  She was perfectly healthy, though, until about 5 hours after she took the first pill, so we know what caused it!!

[Wildflower0214]

What is different in her recovery from ours? Is it because she had a rapid bad reaction? I'm ignorant, so just wondering Does this concern you in regaurds to your own recovery?

 

They told me when I was 16 that I had POTS which is an autonomic dysfunction. But I don't know if I ever really had it or not. It concerns me because of this WD. I feel like mine is worse than most. Maybe it's my imagination.

[luv2knit]

Well first of all, her issues were with an antibiotic--not an antidepressant. Many people with FQ toxicity have been diagnosed with POTS. She actually may have it as well, but we quit taking her to doctors early on, because we couldn't find one in our area that actually believed anything was wrong with her. Our GP wanted to send her to a psychiatrist when her tests all came back normal. (They usually do with this.). We settled on a counselor, who promptly took the Physician's Desk Reference off the shelf, and said, "Well it's right in here!"... And so it is... One key, though, is to avoid as many prescription medications as you possibly can, and it's common to be misdiagnosed with many other ailments that it mimics. I feel like with time, she hopefully will get over it. No way of really knowing, though.

[luv2knit]

It is well known there is no treatment, so it's not like the right doctor will be able to do anything for her.

[Wildflower0214]

This scares me. Do you ever doubt your own recovery because of watching her?

[Wildflower0214]

Sorry to hear about your hospital visits and problems. I hope you manage to sort it.

 

Thinking of you.

Me too! Thank you for your thoughts. I guess this urine retention thing is kinda common in WD. It's not a fun symptom. I hope it rectifies itself without a trip to the dr.

[Wildflower0214]

Well, two bottles of magnesium citrate later, and still dealing with constipation and bladder retention.

 

I beleive the magnesium citrate made me depressed yesterday.

 

Appt with the urologist tmm, probably for him to tell me nothing and look at me like I'm crazy.

 

Just took three ducolax, hopefully some relief and avoid the dr.

 

Is this normal in WD? Does it go away?

[westcoast]

Yes, these problems with elimination occurred in my first protracted withdrawal from Effexor. First one month of of liquid only from my bum. Then several months of intermittent emergency trips for apparent bowel obstruction--incredible pain--but I think they might have been intense panic attacks, or might have been related to a bowel surgery I'd had just after they accidentally discontinued my Effexor. On my second go-round I had the urinary thing of having to go every five minutes, while being completely crazy. I ended up using adult diapers for about a month. I just could not get in and out of bed every five minutes (I lived in bed for months, too.) This stuff is SO PHYSICAL. The mental angst is just the icing on the cake.

[Wildflower0214]

Yes, these problems with elimination occurred in my first protracted withdrawal from Effexor. First one month of of liquid only from my bum. Then several months of intermittent emergency trips for apparent bowel obstruction--incredible pain--but I think they might have been intense panic attacks, or might have been related to a bowel surgery I'd had just after they accidentally discontinued my Effexor. On my second go-round I had the urinary thing of having to go every five minutes, while being completely crazy. I ended up using adult diapers for about a month. I just could not get in and out of bed every five minutes (I lived in bed for months, too.) This stuff is SO PHYSICAL. The mental angst is just the icing on the cake.

So, you had retention? I feel like I have to pee but can't get it all out!!

 

And I think I have a brick in my abdomen!!

 

I'm sorry, to be so redundant. This is troubling to me.

[westcoast]

Well, my surgery also caused 'neurogenic bladder' which is a condition where the bladder can't contract on its own, and one has to "push" urine out. However that diaper period was not like that. Urine basically wanted to trickle out constantly. Just goes to show how SNRI WD can seriously disrupt every aspect of our functioning.

[Wildflower0214]

But it went away right?

[Wildflower0214]

Good things during this experience:

Absolutely NO wait either time at the ER. I went to desk, they took me straight back.

 

Dr's both times did not look at me like I was insane when I told them I had problems from WD

 

Miraculously, I was sane enough to sit in hospital over four hours both times.

 

I was not alone. My mom was with me and then the second time, I had my mom and my friend

 

The CT scan showed the constipation problem, which I would have not addressed because I was so out of it and didn't even know when my last bowel was.

 

I took magnesium citrate 2x, the whole bottle, nothing to severe happened, maybe a bit of depression, but nothing horrific

 

I took ducolax, again, no reaction. And it worked.

 

I have slept while this is going on, not fantastically because of the sensation, but grateful.

 

I got about 30 min relief from the sensation after relieved constipation. So, maybe that is what it is after all.

 

During this time, I got up the nerve to use real toothpaste instead of baking soda. Went fine

 

Also, tried sweet potatoe, since my food list is so limited, and it turned out ok.

 

Got appt t tmm with urologist. Was Friday, I called and asked to get in faster. Pretty fast for a specialist.

 

I have the money to see a urologist.

 

Lots of things went well. Blessed.

Thank you Jesus.

 

Hopefully the bladder thing just works itself out. Gonna ask for smaller catheter and instructions to do it myself. The one they used in hospital was the size of a garden hose. No thank you.

 

Pretty sure the bowel thing will resolve as I am able to add more food.

[luv2knit]

This scares me. Do you ever doubt your own recovery because of watching herI 

I am concerned about her recovery, but I don't really think there are any significant similarities in our situations.  I quite frequently am concerned about my recovery as well, but not because of her situation.  Does that make sense?!

[luv2knit]

JDM, sounds like you are on the right track toward getting your issues under control--especially the bowel thing.  I tried to be especially watchful the other day when my akathisia was really bad, and the following day (yesterday) when it was much better.  I was somewhat constipated the day it was bad, and was much better yesterday.  I remember thinking once before that my akathisia seemed somewhat better when I was able to move my bowels, but I think the reverse is probably true--that the akathisia actually causes the constipation issue--at least in my case.  Hope your issues continue to get better!!