In the Morning

I use to love the mornings. There was always such hope with the dawn of a brand new day. I know that the hope is still there, somewhere but it is hard to see when the day starts with shakes and jolts. It appears there is a real pattern here. For the past few days, around 5:00am Bob wakes up, goes to the bathroom and when he comes back to bed, the shakes begin.

We need to know without a doubt that this is still part of the serotonin syndrome. September 18th was the first day of no fluoxetine. We are going into the 1st full month of not taking the drug that caused the problem. Trying to find some real information on how long this can continue has been exhausting.

Bob is only taking larazepam and cyproheptadine.

More of the Same

Since my last post, Bob has experienced more of the same. Morning tremors and shakes. Nothing like it had been, but still fustrating for him. We have to look beyond what we are seeing on the surface and try to understand what is happening deep within. The fluoxetine chemical components breakdown in stages. It's affects are not localized to just one area of the body. My sister-in-law was able to explain it to me with chemistry largo. It is important to keep in mind, that we are talking about when the drug becomes toxic; serotonin syndrome. Fluoxetine(and drugs like it) are used successfully to treat depression and related symptoms. What happened to my husband is not the norm, but it does happen. And when it happens to you or someone you love, it is frightening. The question always looms, when will this end?

Holding On To Half Way There

Bob was able to work about 4 hours yesterday morning. I find that simply amazing compared to how he was Monday morning. Taking the cyproheptadine makes a huge difference in controlling the affects of the syndrome. At this point, Bob seems to be just pushing through the depression. I asked him yesterday, on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best possible, how do you feel overall? He thought a bit and answered maybe a 5. Not sure he really meant it, but I said, well you are half way there!! Progress is good.

Reality Check

First of all, I want to express how thankful I am to see that Bob is making progress. When I look back over the past month or so, it is obvious that he is getting better. It is still very difficult though. Even though he pushed his way to work about 4 hours Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday and Friday, Bob was feeling weak and shaky.

Saturday and Sunday mornings both brought shaking and jolting, giving him an overall feeling of oh now, it's coming back. Yesterday morning Bob shook from head to feet. It was short lived but scary. His whole body shook and his arms and legs jerked and flopped - he had no control over them.

Even though I was pretty certain that was to be expected, I wanted to be sure we were not overlooking something. I called our family doctor and we decided that Bob needed to go into the office. We reviewed EVERYTHING. We are confident that yes, it is Serotonin Syndrome and it will take weeks before all of the symptoms stop. (Actually, I had read months but I'm holding onto weeks)

Our doctor gave Bob a neurological examination. All looked well. For now we are going to start up the cyproheptadine(allergy med that blocks serotinin) 4mg tablets. 1 tablet 3 times a day. He suggested taking one in the morning, one later in the day, and one closer to bedtime. He is to continue on with the Lorazepam, 2mg tablets - one in the morning and one at bedtme. Also, 2, 1mg tablets spaced during the day as needed.

Bob weaned himself off of the Zyprexa over the weekend. Our doctor agreed that was a wise decision at this point. I am praying that the depressed state will lift on it's own.

Reality check. Things take time. Never lose hope. Our God is greater. Our God is stronger. He is the One and Only. The great I AM.