Hi everyone.
So I just went to a new psychiatrist because I was basically terrified of the one that I used to see and it was causing me a great deal of anxiety.
This may have been the best decision of my life.
Just a quick recap of why I'm on Seroquel: I was hospitalized when I was 14 (8 years ago) because of severe anorexia; I had to gain weight for my health. I was given psychiatric medications and was not really given a choice in the matter because I was a minor. I was prescribed Seroquel for sleep, which has always puzzled me because Seroquel is an antipsychotic that is generally used for bipolar disorder. Anyway, I've stayed on Seroquel all these years because it has horrible withdrawal side effects and I was afraid to get off it. And it helps with my insomnia.
When I talked to her about
how I had never had a panic attack without first taking the Seroquel about
15-20 minutes before, a lightbulb went off for her. She said this had happened with other patients and actually with her son when he was on Seroquel. I told her about
the "restless leg" symptoms I have been having recently: Extreme pain in my feet that is only helped by moving. It turns out this is a common side effect of antipsychotic medications called Akathisia. Getting off of the Seroquel will most likely make it (and the panic attacks) diminish, if not go away.
This is great news! I have always had GAD but I never really understood why I started having untriggered panic attacks for basically no reason.
The only problem? I now have to get off the Seroquel, which is terrible to get off of, and I have to stop taking basically the only thing that helps with the Akathisia, which is Atarax, because it actually makes the symptoms worse in the end. I also can't take benadryl when I wake up in the middle of the night to fall back asleep. And I'm starting a beta blocker, which is scary because my blood pressure is already on the low side and I could faint.
So its pretty likely that the next few weeks/months will be full of insomnia and horrible withdrawal effects, but I finally know what's going on and how to fix it.
Sorry for the long post, but I was so excited/nervous I just wanted to share.
Av
Post Edited (Avrielle) : 1/25/2013 2:53:49 PM (GMT-7)