Aa
withdrawals from tx helper drugs
well kick me to the curb and call me stupid...I just spent the last month sleeping 2 hrs a night due to tremors and brachacardia/tachacardias all night long...
my doc told me it wasn't my withdrawal from helper drugs...3 specialists and umpteen tests later...yes, I'm more convinced than ever...especially since 3 or the drugs I was on for over 2 years and they ALL list tremors as part of their withdrawal profile, as well as the other issues with heart, joints that I am having.
ergo I'm pretty convinced this is NOT INF after effects as much as all the benzo ssri type junk that while needful during tx is nevertheless he.ll to get off of. They warned me they were difficult, but didn't tell me a 10 month taper would still be leaving me convulsing through each night.
sheesh. clawed hands, dry eyes, headaches, needlelike pains, aching feet and hips, vertigo, heart issues, body wide tremors that go on for 12 hours, insomnia x 10....such a fun way to eand and start the new year!!!!
mb
my doc told me it wasn't my withdrawal from helper drugs...3 specialists and umpteen tests later...yes, I'm more convinced than ever...especially since 3 or the drugs I was on for over 2 years and they ALL list tremors as part of their withdrawal profile, as well as the other issues with heart, joints that I am having.
ergo I'm pretty convinced this is NOT INF after effects as much as all the benzo ssri type junk that while needful during tx is nevertheless he.ll to get off of. They warned me they were difficult, but didn't tell me a 10 month taper would still be leaving me convulsing through each night.
sheesh. clawed hands, dry eyes, headaches, needlelike pains, aching feet and hips, vertigo, heart issues, body wide tremors that go on for 12 hours, insomnia x 10....such a fun way to eand and start the new year!!!!
mb
The reference to tx in this case is treatment; Hep C requires interferon and ribavirin for six to ? months. Here’s a link to the abbreviations used in here:
http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Hepatitis/Common-Hepatitis-C-Acronyms/show/3?cid=64
Bill
http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Hepatitis/Common-Hepatitis-C-Acronyms/show/3?cid=64
Bill
I was on ativan for a while until Medicare pulled all benzodiazepines off their approved lists of drugs. That was the nastiest withdrawal I have ever experienced. I couldn't sleep more than an hour 1 or 2 a night. My doctor tried every sleeping pill on the market and none worked on me.
I now take Lexipro and Amitriptyline (was taking that for years for my fibro) he just upped the dose on it.
I now take Lexipro and Amitriptyline (was taking that for years for my fibro) he just upped the dose on it.
well, I agree, without these drugs I would not have made it through treatment, and I'm not advocating NOT using them. Quite the opposite, you do what you have to do.
The ambien I began before treatment, because my doc didn't believe I had a bad pituitary, which kept me from resting or any stage 3/4 sleep....but I corrected for that finally by doing an end run around her.
Of course, by that time, I was having liver issues, got diagnosed, and the Riba started keeping me up 3-5 days at a time...so no way could I have NOT had these helpers.
Here's the issue, ambien is a semi benzo, ativan (lorazepam is a full benzo...the longer you are on them, the more chance you'll have permanent issue and NONE of the sleep aides, or antidpressants are GOOD for the liver...
Back in the 70's you may remember they pulled librium off the market (and replaced it with valium) (which is now being replaced with ativan)...
they replaced it because it had the side effect of making people permanent spastics after 10 15 years of use.
problem is, they replaced each benzo with another benzo....and even ambien is a kissing cousin, (and all the ones on TV now), they work on the GABA receptors..
OK< so with liver disease here's the rub, especially for those like me who haven't yet SVR'd....we have diminished liver function, so the drugs damage the organ more due to overloads on limited cytochromes, PLUS, overload leads to heavier concentrations in the brain than a normal person, and that leads to brain damage.
I reasoned that 3 years on 4 drugs could be like 15 years on one drug...especially for a liver patient, and that getting off them was important therefore.
I did this withdrawal slowly mind you...over an 8 months period....I just hope this will settle down and not be permanent damage, because after almost 2 months of 1-3 hrs per night...I'm beginning to wonder.
thanks for all your support. mb
The ambien I began before treatment, because my doc didn't believe I had a bad pituitary, which kept me from resting or any stage 3/4 sleep....but I corrected for that finally by doing an end run around her.
Of course, by that time, I was having liver issues, got diagnosed, and the Riba started keeping me up 3-5 days at a time...so no way could I have NOT had these helpers.
Here's the issue, ambien is a semi benzo, ativan (lorazepam is a full benzo...the longer you are on them, the more chance you'll have permanent issue and NONE of the sleep aides, or antidpressants are GOOD for the liver...
Back in the 70's you may remember they pulled librium off the market (and replaced it with valium) (which is now being replaced with ativan)...
they replaced it because it had the side effect of making people permanent spastics after 10 15 years of use.
problem is, they replaced each benzo with another benzo....and even ambien is a kissing cousin, (and all the ones on TV now), they work on the GABA receptors..
OK< so with liver disease here's the rub, especially for those like me who haven't yet SVR'd....we have diminished liver function, so the drugs damage the organ more due to overloads on limited cytochromes, PLUS, overload leads to heavier concentrations in the brain than a normal person, and that leads to brain damage.
I reasoned that 3 years on 4 drugs could be like 15 years on one drug...especially for a liver patient, and that getting off them was important therefore.
I did this withdrawal slowly mind you...over an 8 months period....I just hope this will settle down and not be permanent damage, because after almost 2 months of 1-3 hrs per night...I'm beginning to wonder.
thanks for all your support. mb
I too couldn't have continued to work (or function) if I hadn't taken the Paxill but I do remember how terribly difficult it was to get off. The first week was just bad bad bad and I thought I might really harm somebody I was so angry/mean/anxious but eventually, slowly it went away and so will yours.
I will be honest though and tell you I am still on the Ambien and have NO desire to ever ever ever go off them as long as I live. I never was a good sleeper to begin with and with them at least I make sure to get a couple of hours in.
You know better than anybody Merry you just gotta do what you gotta do even if it's not any fun. I'm sorry you are having such a tough time of it.
I will be honest though and tell you I am still on the Ambien and have NO desire to ever ever ever go off them as long as I live. I never was a good sleeper to begin with and with them at least I make sure to get a couple of hours in.
You know better than anybody Merry you just gotta do what you gotta do even if it's not any fun. I'm sorry you are having such a tough time of it.
I'm so very sorry that you are being made miserable by helper drug withdrawal!
I could not have continued to work on TX without the antidepressant, lexapro. Even though it crashed my platelets, it was the only one I could tolerate and I would have eaten alive anyone who approached me while on interferon without the Lexapro to dull my tongue. I needed a 3-4 week taper to get off that ssri. I also desperately needed the ambien for the post-TX insomnia that the ribavirin caused. It altered my personality so that I was so bubbly that I wanted to duct tape my own mouth some days. Took 200mg benedryl to get through the few nights of poor sleep from stopping ambien and the lunesta I alternated with it. Quit the benedryl a month ago with no problems. Sleep is soooo essential to healing. I've seen the remeron tremors in a family member. Very scarey to watch. The only way to be sure what drug is causing what side effect is to get rid of all of the ones that are not essential to your life. Tou are on the right track. Hang in there, Merry. I'll be sending good thoughts your way.
I could not have continued to work on TX without the antidepressant, lexapro. Even though it crashed my platelets, it was the only one I could tolerate and I would have eaten alive anyone who approached me while on interferon without the Lexapro to dull my tongue. I needed a 3-4 week taper to get off that ssri. I also desperately needed the ambien for the post-TX insomnia that the ribavirin caused. It altered my personality so that I was so bubbly that I wanted to duct tape my own mouth some days. Took 200mg benedryl to get through the few nights of poor sleep from stopping ambien and the lunesta I alternated with it. Quit the benedryl a month ago with no problems. Sleep is soooo essential to healing. I've seen the remeron tremors in a family member. Very scarey to watch. The only way to be sure what drug is causing what side effect is to get rid of all of the ones that are not essential to your life. Tou are on the right track. Hang in there, Merry. I'll be sending good thoughts your way.
It seems better to tough it through treatment rather than ride the ad train and ultimately crash in the end.
jep
jep
sorry to hear your are going through this. i thought i had a hard time getting off the ambien but nothing like what you are going through. i had heard that getting off those drugs could be rough. I didn't do any AD's
6 months later and I still don't sleep well. I'm up right now at 4am.
have you tried a supp like melatonin to help you sleep. my feeling is if you can sleep through these sx until they subside then it would help a lot.
Hope you are feeling better soon.
6 months later and I still don't sleep well. I'm up right now at 4am.
have you tried a supp like melatonin to help you sleep. my feeling is if you can sleep through these sx until they subside then it would help a lot.
Hope you are feeling better soon.
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