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Posted 1/13/2011 2:31 AM (GMT 0)
I posted this in the anxiety section. Maybe someone on this board has an idea.

Hi Everyone. I wasn't sure whether to post here or in the Depression forum. I've been taking Xanax, .5 to sleep for about year, suffered a lot of anxiety and insomnia. I had a lot of health problems last year and took Ativan for a while. My doc gave me the Xanax but I never really used it other than night, and not everynight either. I've been sick again lately with no real idea why, all my neurologist test came back good so it's a "see you in two months" kind'a deal. That alone has cause me great stress. I find the Xanax works wonders for my nerve pain and it keeps me calm and in a much better mood. As of late, I've been using about 2 mg a day. I know that's not a lot but I feel like I need it right now, keeps the pain away and keeps my fears away that I'm suffering from some horrible fate, which I'm probably not but that doesn't stop my mind from going there. I'm wondering if it's the muscle relaxer part of the Xanax that takes away the pain or the way it calms my overactive CNS or what. I don't want to veer into high doses of this stuff for too long. For now, it works, but I know the ween off can be pretty bad news. I don't like Ativan, it makes me nervous. The Xanax makes me feel normal. Maybe I should be asking for some antidepressant or something, I am depressed by all this medical crap, in addition to the other struggles I face: mother of a disabled child, bought a new house, struggling business, personal stuff about not being healthy and not being where I want to be in life at my ripe old age of 41.

Maybe I need an antidepressant and I'd love any recommendations that might have the same impact as Xanax but without the big gun side effects. I love that centered and calm feeilng from Xanax amid all this chaous. I'm not sure I wouldn't have a breakdown without it and that scares me.

Should I keep taking this or ask for something else to try? FYI - Neuro wants me to take 300 mg of Neurotin but it made me shakey and depressed. I hate the idea of taking anything that adds to my problems. I'm not sure if I should do this or not. But, everytime that pain comes back or my muscle twitches and hurts, it immediately kicks off depressing thoughts because I just want to be well. At least with the Xanax, I don't have a problem until it wears up, but I can see that I might need to up the dose if I keep doing this much longer, I'm already kind'a doing that, which makes me concerned.

Posted 1/13/2011 5:12 AM (GMT 0)
MC-
You really need to discuss this with your psych. Every individual tolerates meds differently. For now, though, if the Xanax is working why do you want to switch? Let it do it's job. Who says you have to go off it? Plenty of people stay on it long term.

As for your neuro, maybe you could ask for a different anti-convulsant. Have you tried Lyrica? All the a/c's will likely make you sleepy and physically slowed down but if they are making you feel sad or unmotivated, you need to bring that up at your appointment. If the neuro doesn't have any ideas, ask to see a pain specialist. The irony, though, is that the pain specialists often like prescribing Xanax for muscle spasms (even for people who don't suffer anxiety) so you may just end up going in circles.

wishing you well,
frances
Posted 1/13/2011 6:15 AM (GMT 0)
agree with frances regarding pain management. i am seeing my doc as i think i have fibro-on top of everything else, ofcourse!!! hang in there. jamie
Posted 1/13/2011 12:33 PM (GMT 0)
I agree with Frances about the med. If it aint broke, don't fix it. But if you feel you need an antidepressant, talk to the doctor. They will know which one is best for you. And they all work differently on each individual. So it is kind of trial and error there. As for the xanax, I use to take four mg a day. When I was under a lot of stress, now I take one to one and a half.

What do you have that causes the nerve pain? I have fibromyalgia. I tried neruontin, but it made me stutter. Didn't like it one bit. I wish you the best of luck. Keep posting and know we care.

Hugs, Karen
Posted 1/13/2011 11:14 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Everyone.

Thanks up front for the advice. I don't know what's wrong, neuro didn't find anything and told me to come back in two months. There's the anxiety, naturally, and the problem is still here, of course, though it seems a bit better now, like it hit its low and I'm mending in some way.

I tried the Neurotin again last night, I was OK today, not bothered by the pain as much, but then the nerve pain hit again around 4pm so I took the Xanax.

I've got no clue what's wrong.

The first doc I saw said the numbness down my arm, thingling, severe ulnar nerve pain was from a pinched nerve in my neck, MRI shows herinations and some nerve root compression. I asked why my leg hurt and he said I probably had the same problem lower down my back. No MRI for those areas.

That weird nerve pain started in right arm, was there four or five days, moved to my left arm and down my leg where it's been growing on more two now. Neuro did an EMG and nerve conduction study and an MRI, he has no idea. He said I do not have ALS and that's all he said. What do I have? I mean something is going on, for sure, but what????

I wish to hell I knew. I'm going to ask for a Lyme test. My regular bloodwork was good. I'm going to allergist and immunologist next week to turn over another stone. I get really whacked out nerve pain, muscle cramps, strange bodywide muscle fasculation (even in my neck and ear, stomach) etc., I didn't even a begnin muscle fasciliation diagnosis from the doc, I got nothing. So either I go for a second opinnon or wait it out.

I'm going the immunologist route. Doc did see some white spots on my brain MRI, which he said may be normal for me. My mother has MS and she was diagnosed at 45, I'm 41 so I was kind'a expecting to hear that, the two of us are identical in our medical issues, sadly. But, for now, this is mystery diagnosis. And ya wonder why I need a Xanax? I just want this to go away and not come back. At this point, whatever this is should be paying me rent.
Posted 1/13/2011 11:15 PM (GMT 0)
two months now this has been going on.
Posted 1/14/2011 12:13 AM (GMT 0)
I haven't read your earlier posts, mental compass, so I don't know if
you have been seeing doctors who are specialists.  Since your mother had MS and you're showing symptoms of the same illness, it seems logical that you might want to be interviewed by a specialist in that illness

or at least by a neurosurgeon whose specialty is spinal surgery.  One helped my husband remarkably when he was in his fifties.

The inheritability factor is so prominent in illness.
Good wishes in your search,


It's Genetic

Post Edited (It's Genetic) : 1/13/2011 5:23:27 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 1/14/2011 12:59 AM (GMT 0)
I'm going to have to do something, I can't keep letting my mind try and figure it all out. I want to ask the neuro for my file but I'm afraid to look at it, with my anxiety, I'll read into it in a heartbeat. But you know, seeing a specialist in MS is a darn good idea. I have some symptoms, however, that aren't part of MS, I think, such as fasciculations. I was thinking of asking for an MRI of the thoraic and lumbar to see if, in fact, there was herinations there that might be causing the lower leg problems. But, doesn't it seem odd that this would suddenly start at once time? I think that's not likely and the cause hasn't been found. If it's MS, so be it, I can handle that, but I'm not sure. I really have no choice but to keep pushing forward for an answer, I'm not the type of person who can forget it, plus the symptoms are painful and annoying and scary, best to find the source now. :)
Posted 1/14/2011 2:23 AM (GMT 0)
If it isn't MS or Lymes, it could be fibromyalgia starting with the trauma of the back injury or neck injury that you had. That sometimes happens. I just hope it is something that you can control with meds or whatever. Please do let us know what you do and what you find out.

Hugs, Karen
Posted 1/14/2011 10:36 PM (GMT 0)
When I had that problem with my nerves last year, plus all the sinus infections, I kept coming across Fibromyalgia when I googled the problems. I've wondered again if that's what this is. I actually feel better when I'm in motion, when I'm working, but then when I stop, it feels like I just ran 10 miles. That passes kind'a fast but I can feel the soreness. The big nerve pain has really dropped down many degress, been taking Neurotin for three days, but the muscle soreness remains, some spasms (not charlie horse kind, just super tight muscles all over), roving muscle ticks. My left arm is getting better, I think, but the left leg still hurts, now mostly my calf. My joints hurt too and I had lower back pain today. This seems to be hitting me all over the place with a special affinity for the left leg and arm. I get werid sensory stuff. Today, in the carline to pickup my kid, I had what felt like chills across my left leg then an immediate sensation that someone was pouring cold water on me. Now that was really odd. Not sure what to make of all this. If I stay moving, I seem to feel better, isn't that weird?
Posted 1/14/2011 10:37 PM (GMT 0)
I'm not sure about Fibro. I thought that had to going on on both sides at once.
Posted 1/14/2011 11:19 PM (GMT 0)
Fibro can hit anything at anytime. It doesn't have to be both sides at once. Have you visited the fibromyalgia forum? The very first post (It is a permanent one, I guess called a 'sticky') is called fibro101. It has all kinds of information on there. All the symptoms, other things it could be and also other peoples experiences. If you ever feel like it, check the forum out. I moderate over there too. You could get more of an idea as to what is going on or if you have it. But it sounds like you do.

My lower back has been hurting today too. Maybe it is the weather. I always feel bad when a front moves through. We all kind of figure whtn that happens, it is the barometric pressure changing that causes it. Often I will feel better when a storm finally arrives.

Pain can really depress us. And when you finally find out what is wrong, you can also go through a grieving process. Adjusting to it and letting it finally sink in. Know that if you do have fibromyalgia, it can not kill you. But it is something that you have to learn to adjust to and live with. Working around it can be done. But it isnt' easy. But you learn to take life one day at a time. That is all you can do. You never know how you are going to feel the next day when you get up.

I hope that this helps some. I know you probably have a lot of questions. I really think reading on the fibro forum will benefit you. And I hope that you find out what it is. And I hope that it doesn't take too long. It is hard to get a fibro diagnosis. They have to rule everything else out. But both fibro and depression are hard. Keep posting as we would like to support you through this. Take it one day at a time. No more than that. Life is really short, and you want to try to find something nice out of every day that you can.

Hugs, Karen
Posted 1/14/2011 11:39 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Karen. I keep Fibro, MS and Lyme rolling around in my head, nothing else makes sense. Since I passed the EMG, that pretty much rules out motor neuron disease, at least for now, plus it doesn't really come on the way this has, at least not according to what I said. The only thing the neuro said was, "you don't have ALS." He didn't say it wasn't MS. I think that's why he's having me back in two months, to see if I feel the same. I hope I don't but at this rate, I might. You know, I noticed a few other things over the last year, like when I type, I miss a lot of words, just omit them, which isn't normal for me, I was a professional writer for many years. I've always had headaches but started with migraines four years ago. I've had a bad back for a lot of years too but worked around it. This last 12 months have really put me under the gun healthwise.

By the way, same here on the weather fronts, I can tell long before it moves through that it's coming, I normally get a headache! Let that cold weather come and deliver you from the backpain.

I'll read the Fibro forum, maybe post a question tonight.

I ordered a Lyme test and I sure wish it would arrive, my appt is Wed with the allergist/immunologist, want her to draw the blood and test me. :)
Posted 1/15/2011 1:28 AM (GMT 0)
MC-
If you've ruled the other things out, and you're at least in your mid-20's, it could be "chronic pain". There are a whole myriad of symptoms & minor radiological findings that tend to fall under that category. Degenerative Disc Disease, radiculopathy, herniations, etc. often cause the symptoms you're listing. A pain management specialist could help get the symptoms under control, but as anyone in the Chronic Pain forum will tell you, there is no cure for most of those. When I was having muscle spasms/twitches that got to be very disruptive of my life, I was sent to a neuro for way too many tests -- MS, fibro, lyme, etc. At the end of the day, it turned out that the minor issues with my spine/discs/vertabrae were impacting my spinal nerves which in turn were causing muscle spasms and then producing jerking movements. Anti-inflammatories helped a little bit, but the biggest help was muscle relaxants. Of course, you can't take muscle relaxants all the time or you will damage your muscles, so they switched me over to anti-anxiety meds which have the side effect of calming down spasms but don't weaken the muscles.

It's up to you and your doctors to decide how much testing is enough; I just wanted you to know that there are plenty of people with those symptoms in the CP forum who don't have any kind of "serious" diagnosis. Their pain is real. Their dizziness or nausea or spasms or shooting pain or paraesthesia or whatever is completely real & does have an organic cause, it's just not connected with any major disease. I spent thousands of dollars before someone finally explained that to me. It took me a long time to understand that basic aging (or in my case, somewhat accelerated aging) could wreak such havoc on one's body. But now, thanks to a few lifestyle changes and a fantastic pain specialist, I am able to live a fairly normal life for a young 30-something. Just wish I wouldn't have wasted nearly 4 years of my life searching for a diagnosis that didn't exist. My PCP was the one who kept encouraging me to pursue more testing, but I ultimately made the decision to listen to her & it's something I wouldn't have spent so much time on if I knew then what I know now.

Hope that helps!
frances
Posted 1/15/2011 1:35 AM (GMT 0)
I wish I was in my mid-20s, I was racing Triathalons then on a sponsored bike team. :) I'm 41. :)
Posted 1/15/2011 1:38 AM (GMT 0)
You know what Frances, you might be exactly right. If it was something major, the neuro would have found it since it was in full swing when I was in there. I'm trying one more place and, then, I don't know, it's just manage the pain and hope for the best. The Xanax is a big help me to. What do you take?
Posted 1/15/2011 1:42 AM (GMT 0)
It's hard to resist the "this has to be something major" type of thinking. I was Ok then I wasn't. Well, I wasn't totally OK, I had four months of problems last year that went away, but it's impossible not to wonder why something like this is happening to you. Today I wondered if I should buy life insurance for my 5-year-old. Sick or not, I probably should.

I know the Xanax relaxes muscles, perhaps that's partly why it's helping me so much. Do you take muscle relaxers still? I'm taking the Neurotin and Xanax and the never pain isn't near what it was, it's for sure better, but the muscle ticks are really fustrating, they get going, the sensory stuff acts up, it throws my entire body off center, then anxiety kicks in, viscious cycle.

This might be the new normal. Sheesh.
Posted 1/15/2011 3:33 AM (GMT 0)
If you were okay for 4 months, that would fit in perfectly with chronic pain. It tends to be cyclical. I've found that often I have 6-12 weeks a year (most of which seem to be around the same time of year) when my pain is substantially better. Then, I tend to have 6-8 weeks when the pain is just totally debilitating. My PM says this is very common with pain. There's still a lot of research to be done as to why this occurs, but it does seem to come and go, get better and worse and not always for any apparent reason.

I was only on muscle relaxers for a couple weeks. On occasion, I will go on them for a week but mostly I avoid them. When needed, my PM will write me for Serax. It is weaker than Xanax, but I prefer it b/c it also has milder side effects for me. Do the muscle ticks get worse a day after you skip the Neurontin? If so, that's probably just withdrawal. I got the same thing when I was on Neurontin & would skip it. Now I'm on Lyrica & get the same issues when I skip a dose of Lyrica. I'm on a low dose of it now, but when the twitches were the worst my neuro had me taking it 3x/day at 200mg per dose. Now I'm down to 50mg just at bedtime. Makes me sleep, helps my muscles relax which in turn helps me feel more relaxed and peaceful. The other thing that would make it worse for me was when I wasn't sleeping. I was on Lunesta on an as needed basis for maybe a year (I took it most nights). As a sedative, it also had a little bit of an effect on the twitches, but mostly it would let me sleep through them, which was a real blessing. And craziest of all, I found that yoga was really helpful. I used to run too (not marathons, more like 10K to half marathons) and found out that was making me worse. I saw a pain psychologist who helped me analyze my behavior, learn to relax & change anything that was causing me more pain and stress. He told me that though I got a short term emotional benefit from going for a couple mile run when my pain/twitches were bad, that it was increasing the inflammation around my nerves and was worse for me in the long term. It was hard to give up running, but I found that certain types of yoga can provide similar health benefits whilst DECREASING inflammation and promoting relaxation.

As for your daughter, I'm probably not the person to ask. I used to work in insurance & have heard one too many sad stories. If you can afford some kind of basic coverage, go for it. If it's going to break the bank, skip it. In 2014 the new "Obamacare" laws take effect where people can't be denied coverage due to pre-existing illness.
Posted 1/15/2011 2:39 PM (GMT 0)
I just to run too, not in a long time, but I did a lot of long distance running. I tried last year when I was just recovering from being sick but I got calf cramp so bad I hobbled all the way, it's like the muscle just couldn't get enough O2 down there, same calf giving me trouble now. The problems last year seem mild to what I've got now, like a precursor. This started Nov. 4 so it's two months. I think it's calming down, it seems that way, or maybe it's that I've calmed down and the drugs are working. I haven't tried skipping the Neurotin yet but I just thinking about it today, what would happen if. I take one 300 mg dose at bedtime around two hours after I take the Xanax. I made it until 6:30 pm last night before I needed to take something, I keep extending the time. I did take a Vicodin yesterday, half, after I worked for an hour cleaning the kitchen. You know I felt better while working, like my muscles are just longing for the bloodwork so I'm guessing Yoga would be reallly helpful to me. I'll be out all day today, I'm anxious to see how my body responds, going to the Scottish Highland Games. I was just thinking that I need that Neurotin midday or late afternoon too. I wonder if he'd up the dose, which might let me wean off the Xanax and really offer all-day pain control. Is that Neurotin addictive? Next to the Xanax, I don't notice it. :)
Posted 1/15/2011 2:43 PM (GMT 0)
How long has this been going on for you? Does it impact your entire body or just parts of it? I've been thinking that it's the muscle giving me the most trouble, like they tighten so bad that it kicks off off the twitching and irritates the nerves, or perhaps it's the nerves messing up the muscles. What's the difference between the Lyrica and the Neurotin? By the way, on a gross note, did you find it hard to use the restroom on Neurotin because that's becoming a problem for me now. I heard it's a side effect.
Posted 1/16/2011 5:07 AM (GMT 0)
Hello Every One,

I am a 36 year old guy.
I am suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome disease.
Can anyone tell me about Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) treatment?
What are the reasons of this Disease?
Do you have any idea about its cure?
What is the best drug suites for it treatment?


Thanks.
Posted 1/16/2011 5:56 AM (GMT 0)
Declan-
I think you'll have better luck starting a post in the Crohn's Forum. Go to healingwell.com/community and then scroll down to the Crohn's forum. This is the depression forum & we don't have many members with IBS here.

good luck!
frances
Posted 1/17/2011 5:55 PM (GMT 0)
I was diagnosed with that at 18 but I'm a nervous person anyway and under a lot of stress, but I do think he found the wrong topic.

How you doing Frances?

My twitching has really, really showed down, it's not gone by any means but it's dramaticlly improved. Sensory stuff still there and the nerve pain. That Neurotin is helping, I think. I'm doing 300 mg a day at night, that's a slow dose, isn't it? I keep thinking I could use one midday. I hope I can go off this stuff soon.
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