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.

On The Road To Normal

Normal. What is that really? Not even sure it exists or if it does, we are always on the road to "it". Today the road had a work sign on it!!


BOB WORKED FOR 4 HOURS TODAY!!!! THANK YOU, LORD!!

The serotonin symptoms are still there but very mild. He is doing so much better. Will update more later. Enjoy the day!

One Week Later

Even though yesterday morning and afternoon were a bit rough for Bob, there is definite improvement. The syndrome symptoms are not as "forceful" and are not as frequent. When they do appear, they do not last long. Our doctor told Bob to only take the allergy med when needed. He took it again this morning. Looking back over the week, Bob took the med from last Sunday until Thursday morning. He did not need at all on Friday and then yesterday morning and this morning. I believe that is good progress.
My hope is to get Bob out of the house today for a bit. I would like to go to church but I know that might be a bit too much for Bob yet. We do need to get him around people more...it's been a long 6 months.

A Simple Treatment for A Horrific Syndrome

Sunday morning Bob work up with more shaking,jolting,muscles constricting and this time I saw that his eyes were dialated! He also told me his thoughts felt jumbled. I called our family doctor and he returned the call within minutes. After hearing it all, he said stop the fluoxetine. He then called in a prescription for cyproheptadine, an allergy med that blocks serotonin.
Within an hour we had the drug and Bob's shaking stopped a few minutes later. By the end of Sunday, Bob was back. He looked better and I could tell he was feeling better. He took the cyproheptadine for 4 days, 3 times a day. He has had a couple of mini shaking episodes but they lasted only a few minutes. Today is Saturday the 27th and this morning was a bit rough but nothing like before. He simply took one of the allergy tablets and calmness came. Our doctor said that it might take a few weeks to clear his system.
We had an appointment with the psychiatrist yesterday(Friday) and she apologized for Bob going through all that he did. In her defense, she never saw his shakes,jolts,muscles constricting or any other signs of the syndrome.
She is a good doctor and we plan on working with her during the next stage. Bob is now only taking 5mg of Zyprexa and 2mgs of lorazapam in the morning and 2mgs at night. She also said to take 1mg if needed during the day. Her plan is to add lamictol once the shaking has gone completely - which she too said could take weeks.
I am very thankful and praise God for Dr. Spencer the ER DOC. Also, our family doctor, Ambrose Peterman is in my opinion one of the best doctors available to us. He goes above and beyond and we know we can always count on him.