Bradycardia, eptopics, chest pain, helpless.

[unephi]

Hey all, my name is Daniel and I'm 21 years young. In about 2011 or so (i was like 17 I wanna say) I was perscribed Lamotrigine for bipolar disorder. Taking that medication seems to have been the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life. Or, the most coincidental occurance I've ever heard of. Just a week after tapering daily to the regular dose, I began to feel what I called "crippling anxiety". My doc hardly believed me when I said it and, get this, UPPED my dose of Lamotrigine. Obviously nothing got better until I essentially forced him to perscribe me Xanax, which for whatever reason helped.. I knew it would help because I had been given one of my aunt's Clonazepam and I felt relief from it (he didn't believe that either). Soon, it just became something I constantly live with and even can mildly tolerate occasionally. But I have always been looking on sites like these to narrow down my idea on what's happeneing. You see, I need... WANT... A new doctor that won't treat me like a child, but I want to know about what's wrong with me before I go in so he can't tell me some BS and make another appointment. So, using my research, and unable to find a direct match for my symptoms, I come to you.

Symptoms (all worsening with physical activity OR lack of sleep):

Bradycardia accompanied by eptopics (occasionally from laying down)

-Hot feeling chest pain (sometimes without Bradycardia)

-Hard, painful beats (during bradycardia) and occasional palpatations.

-Dizziness/lightheadnedness/confusion

-Tingling limbs and "feeling like my blood is alcohol or dilute" (yes it's an odd symptom, probably just an interesting analysis of the next symptom)

-Cold sweats/feeling cold/shivering

-Super clammy hands, like can't hold on to my phone sometimes or open a door without wiping my palms (which chafe nicely).

-Panic (makes sense, it feels like a daily heart attack)

-Full inhale, breath wont "catch"

Now, I've been trying to get better at it, but I have trouble drinking as much water as most people... Often, unless it is distilled, it tends to make me nauseous.. So I often drink less water than I should.. That being said, I can at times actually FEEL definite dehydration, so I drink up. So I don't know if I'm always dehydrated, sometimes just really bad, or what..

Now WHY is this different from other people's accounts? One, it seemed to stem from lamotrigine. Two, no one has ever said that the symptoms worsen with activity or lack of sleep. Three, it causes me added mental issues such as feelings of mania and anger in desparation. I get in these moods where I just want to be abbrasive and destructive and malicious because, quite honestly, it's torture. I cant hold a job and no one believes me when i say it's literally so overwhelming that I can hardly function when it's happening. Got called "*****" by fellow construction workers before being terminated from the job.

ALSO:
After feeling like the Lamotrigine had given me this, I vowed to never take pills again unless I HAVE to. So I tried natural methods until finally one odd one stood out to me. Cannabis oil "dabs". Basically the essential oil(s) in cannabis (THC, THC-a, CBN, CBG, etc) can be extracted into a solid mass of oils and then vapourised and inhaled. KEYWORD vapourised. Another small "complication" was that any smoke (i assume more specifically maybe carbon monoxide) worsens the bradycardia. I stopped smoking Cannabis shortly after taking the Lamotrigine because of the complications until I found dabs. I was extremely skeptical, seeing as at the time I thought it was a interaction betweeen THC and Lamotrigine.. But I tried it anyway (oh to be a teenager). Suprisingly, the symptoms began to melt away. To this day I still get fairly solid relief from it, though tolerance and possible other factors let the symptoms seep through sometimes. **ALL OF THESE SYMPTOMS HAPPENED WHEN I WAS CLEAN -OR- SMOKING, AND AREN'T WITHDRAWAL FROM CANNABIS- I'D PROBABLY KNOW.***

P.S. I'm from Oregon, so this is all legal (...now)

[unephi]

My doctor said he doesn't feel comfortable addressing my anxiety without giving me Seroquel for bipolar. Thoughts?

[researcher09]

Some SSRI's will impact heart rate so tell your doctor your concerns because you experienced bradycardia on prior meds.  My teenage son experienced bradycardia after being prescribed Lexapro.   There are many choices in SSRI's so find one that works for you.  There is probably nothing wrong with your heart.

[des900]

don't worry all will be alright

[unephi]

Yes, I quit all meds long ago. Thank you for providing some natural supplements and the thyroid suggestion. I'm just getting desperate and worried about my future.

[des900]

honey stop all those anti psychotic meds as it have various side effects especially to heart if used for prolonged periods. even natural mood uplifting ones like 5-htp and l trytophan can create heart valve problems on long run.

as a natural approach make sure your vitamin d levels are optimal. also vitamin b12 and then check your thyroid levels.

[unephi]

YET AGAIN MORE INFO

It seems I havent actually paced myself for a while now and I just now got a rush of lightheadedness and tachycardia. This was right after a shower after not sleeping due to cold sweats... Though history shows Bradycardia as being the dominant arrythmia.

[unephi]

I forgot to mention, I rather quickly tapered back OFF Lamotrigine, hoping the symptoms would leave.