Undiagnosed, specialist appointment

[BELAwesome]

I went to see a specialist (neurologist/epilepsy) because of involuntary movements. Like muscle jerks. I'll be having a video EEG done, probably in a few months. I'm exhausted and think I've slept more than enough already. I've had narcolepsy looked into cause I have symptoms of it but during the night part of the study, I didn't sleep enough because of the muscle jerks, etc. So I guess I need to be sure if it's seizure related or not first and address that. I'm feeling depressed and anxious again. It's hard being so unstable and sometimes not able to take care of things in the house or even myself at times. I want to be able to do more. This sucks not really knowing what's going on and having to wait. Feeling misunderstood. I was getting better with treatment for depression and anxiety but it made sleep issues worse and muscle jerks so I changed and lowered the medication and now feel more vulnerable/ mood swings, etc. I'm exhausted. Any support is appreciated. 💖

[blackcat64013]

Hi Bela,

Thank you for sharing your story on the forum.

As you have a complex history, I am wondering if you would benefit from a medication review for your depression / anxiety from a mental health specialist doctor, a psychiatrist.

My local doctor sent me to a psychiatrist to get on top of not sleeping etc. The psychiatrist prescribed me an antidepressant with sedative properties (Mirtazapine) to take at night and for when things were really bad an off-label prescription for a small amount of antipsychotic (Quetiapine). This combination plus tablets in the morning worked for me. I realize polypharmacy, a combination rather single med is the exception rather than the rule.

It is really important to find a key support person that you can talk to about your feelings and emotions. This special person could be a family member, friend or counselor.

Hoping you can find out the reasons for your issues real soon.

[BELAwesome in reply to blackcat64013]

Thanks so much cat :),

I have been to a psychiatrist. He's ok. He leaves it up to me a lot about medication changes. Right now I'm just on 20mg of Fluoxetine. I was thinking about coming off the medication for a little while to see what's from medication or not but I think the mental health is struggling right now for me so maybe I shouldn't yet.

I'm afraid if I'm on more meds it will make me more sleepy than I already am. But maybe if I take on medication to help with sleep at night and then something else to help during the day (be alert, etc) then maybe that could work. If I address what's affecting my sleep than maybe I'll be less tired during the day, I just don't want the medication to then make me drowsy during the day. I think I'll be able to see the psychiatrist next week. I'm not sure if we'll be able to make a change with medication but I'll share my concerns. I haven't seen him for a few months. That's when I changed medication to get off Effexor.

[BELAwesome in reply to BELAwesome]

I was prescribed the same thing (Quetiapine) after seeing a walk in doctor when the higher dose of antidepressants was making me feel restless and agitated, etc. It did help stabilize my moods but made me really tired. Now my psychiatrist said I could just take the one antidepressant (back to where I was before) and just take Quetiapine as needed. I feel way less tired not taking it and less agitated on less of the antidepressant. I have to watch and be careful about mood drop but I'm taking multivitamin before which I wasn't taking before which helps my energy level and feeling overall better. My sleep is a lot better. Hoping it stays good/gets better. I'm in a day treatment for mental health recently so that keeps me occupied and hopefully will help improve mental health, etc as well so I should be able to handle the lower dose.

[howard327]

HI, I suffered through the same story that you described with muscle jerks in my leg. This was terrible! I would climb into bed and begin to doze off and after about 10 minutes the jerks would start and they wouldn't stop and I couldn't get to sleep. I tried all kinds of rubs that only gave slight relief. Finally, a neurologist said that my problem might be related to restless leg syndrome and he prescribed "pramipexole dihydrochloride" @ 1mg per day near bedtime. The first night that I took the drug, the leg jerks were GONE! I was completely ecstatic with this and was able to get a good night sleep. I have continued to take this medicine for about five years with the same total relief and no side effects. You may need a smaller dose but the doctor can decide about that. I have a good feeling that this will work for you since our stories are so much the same. Let us know about your results.

[BELAwesome in reply to howard327]

Thank you! Well when I was feeling quite depressed I had increased the antidepressant but it was making me agitated and anxious, etc and the mood stabilizer was making me very drowsy. With doctor direction I went back down to the previous dose and just take the mood stabilizer at night when needed. Way less drowsy and less sleep problems. Less agitated. A lot better. Also taking vitamins. Helping with energy and maybe mood as well.