Seizures or serotonin syndrome, which one do i have

[Mike7777]

I want to know if i have seizures or ss. Im on trazdone and lexapro and have been having vivid nightmares, altered mind state, sometimes i wont know were im at or if im really there. Muscle spasms, bipolar increased, insane head pressure and ear pains, body shaking tremors and trembling. Today i had a brief period were i zoned out and started sweating cold sweats. and couldnt hear anything as i was talking to a teacher. I also had a period were i had a hard time breathing and i got really hot in the face with cold hands. What can cure this? Because i think its serotonin syndrome. Im really worried. People say go out and be active and social and get your mind off it, but that makes things 100% worse. Any input or knowledge?

[Mike7777]

I am going to stop trazodone ive only been on 25mg. But i know i cant stop lexapro cold turkey.

[Mike7777]

Please respond to me lol

[Mike7777]

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[TrustnGod]

Hello Mike. To me it sounds like anxiety. My very first panic attack I lost my hearing for a few moments and became partially paralyzed. From your previous posts, it sounds like you really have some severe anxiety and I’m not surprised if this is a result of it. I once had head pressure so badly I wound up in the ER where nothing was wrong. Most the symptoms give mentioned I’ve had and after various, negative tests, everything came back as anxiety.

If you want to go see a neurologist for testing about this, go for it. But what you’re experiencing really sounds like anxiety. Do you know anything about neuroscience? Why are you tapering off the medicine?

~Lia

[Mike7777 in reply to TrustnGod]

The meds are not working. I have an mri soon and eeg.

[Mike7777 in reply to TrustnGod]

This doesnt feel like anxiety to me and im tired of just saying its anxiety.

[TrustnGod in reply to Mike7777]

Good. That’ll rule out seizures or anything neurological for sure.

That’s fair. It could not be anxiety but I don’t think you should completely eliminate it from being a possible cause. And it’s not “just anxiety” I once had a severe anaphylactic reaction that I almost died from and that does not even compare to the type of symptoms and fears anxiety provokes in me. It won’t ever feel like anxiety but it could truly be it. When our nerves are sensitized and we have an imbalance in our brain, crazy things can happen. Our nervous system is already very sensitive. Cause an imbalance in there and you bet that whatever amino acids and proteins were working to quiet down some signals will not function as well. So then we’re stuck with constant electrical impulses in our brain that then head down to our body and cause our horrible horrible symptoms. I’m not saying that what you have is anxiety I’m just saying be aware that it can cause a whole array of crazy and confusing symptoms. I didn’t believe that for a long time but now I know.

~Lia

[Mike7777 in reply to TrustnGod]

I know. But the meds i have been prescribed for anxiety have made all these symptoms worse. I didnt know what i had in the first place, the doc just said it was ok for me to take ssris and snri. The only meds that seemed to have help me are benzos.

[Mike7777 in reply to TrustnGod]

Today i had shortness of breath and got really hot. Can that be from anxiety? I thought i was going to pass out. And it constantly feels like my head is unnaturally balanced, i have pressure so bad it hurts. Almost like im poisened with a toxic chemical.

[TrustnGod in reply to Mike7777]

I’m so sorry to hear that. Unfortunate SSRI’s don’t work for everyone but benzos seem to be very affective (but they’re addictive so you really can’t win.) oh anxiety and shortness of breath go hand in hand! I work in an ER and we have many patients who come in because they passed out all because of their incorrect breathing from anxiety. When we’re anxious we either up our respiration rate or lower it and that causes our O2 and CO2 levels to be all unbalanced but it’s harmless. Usually shortness of breath means you need to take some deep breaths to get more O2 in and keep that CO2 moving right on out. The unbalanced head feeling. Oh goodness I had that for weeks and I literally couldn’t sit up. My head felt so heavy. The pressure is a tough one to deal with. Does it feel like someone is sitting on top of your head?

Trust me when I say if you were poisoned with a toxic chemical it would’ve had much more severe neurological effects on you.

~Lia

[Mike7777 in reply to TrustnGod]

My neck is so stiff always as well as my spine. I feel like someones squeezing my brain and tingling as well, pain in ears too. Im worried about the breathing, it was more like it was hard to breath, is that the same thing as shortness of breath? I get spasms all over, i have high red blood cell count so i fear of a clot. Benzos arent addictive to me, they work, its simple as that. Atleast for me they do. Its not so much balance issues its more of like i literally feel like theres a toxic chemical imbalance in my head. Sensory overload as well.

[TrustnGod in reply to Mike7777]

The stiffness could be due to muscle tension from anxiety. When we’re anxious we tend to carry the tension from that in our shoulders in chest which is why chest pain, headaches, and stiffness in the upper part of the body is so common in people with anxiety. The brain symptoms could be due to a lot of things. Your brain goes through a lot on a daily basis. I mean it’s constantly taking in signals and then sending signals down to the rest of your body. I’m not sure exactly what the squeezing feeling is but again, could be due to anxiety.

Shortness of breath is going to be more like you feel like you can’t take in a full breath of air. If you can take in a full breath of air and then exhale it, your less likely to be experiencing shortness of breath. It’s also very obvious when people are short of breath. If you’re ever worried You can always ask someone to observe your breathing for a couple of seconds to see what they think.

Spasms..oh goodness I remember when those first started in me. I literally couldn’t sleep. I started taking magnesium which helped with them but sometimes you just gotta wait them out.

How high is your red blood cell count? Also, how do you know benzos aren’t addictive for you?

~Lia

[Mimimylon]

You are not alone. I recently switched from lexapro to Zoloft but the same symptoms exist. Cold sweats, nightmares, restless and interrupted sleep, depression, headaches, brain fog, gastrointestinal problems from the stress and the anger turned inside, forgetfulness, isolation, and lashing out at people who love me the most.

[No1wthayla]

Hi, Mike.

I suffer from anxiety and depression and Fibromyalgia on top of that. My anxiety attacks feel like everything is too loud, it gets hard to hear, I start breathing way too fast. My head feels like a bomb waiting to explode - the pressure is so bad. So I try to shut down and try to block out the world. I put my fingers in my ears, close my eyes and just try to breath. Other times I run away from where I'm at. I go to my room or my truck, just sit there and tell myself that I'm alright. If anger caused the melt-down, I often hit things. Just objects like the steering wheel, the mattress, the pillow. I tell myself - I can control this.

My Fibro makes me feel confused, unable to concentrate, kind of like a foggy/fuzzy brain that can't focus on anything. Then I get hit with the depression, then anxiety, then back to normal, and then go back through the whole cycle again and again.

When you put everything together, it's a horrible mess of emotions. I take lots of medications because of these problems and I have a few other illnesses as well. It's taken a long time and many different medication combinations to make most of the problems controllable. But I still have episodes. One day at a time they say. For me it's a minute instead of a day.

Try to find things that help you relax. Something you can focus on that makes you feel good. I think of my cat purring and giving me that silly smiley face with eyes closed and head tilted back and into my hand. I think of him meowing at me when I get home and pouting when I have to go to work. He's a piece of work but I love Ralphie a lot! (He's also very spoiled and so is his buddy, Spike.)

Hang in there, Mike. Just keep updating your doctors about what kinds of problems you are having. Write it down so you can tell them everything. You might need a different medication or a different dosage. I can't guarantee you will get back to totally "normal". But hopefully you can be a better you and with less stress.

[AjaStar]

Go to neurologist and see if you have FUNCTIONAL NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER

[Mike7777]

I have been. Would that disorder show up on an mri or eeg

[AjaStar in reply to Mike7777]

In functional neurological disorder All tests come back normal. It’s like the brain is a computer, the hardware is fine but the software glitches and you have neurological symptoms but the brain and the nerves show no damage.

[NWGal]

You may indeed have serotonin syndrome Mike. You should contact your provider right away. Very serious symptoms could cause death so I would get checked out pronto! I compared your symptoms with a very reliable info source. You really shouldn't stop any psych med cold turkey my friend. There's no definitive "test" for serotonin levels although some perps out there would try to sell you one! Boy it would be so much simpler if there was a test - we'd all be feeling great! Good karma Mike. Sorry you're experiencing these symptoms.

[Mike7777 in reply to NWGal]

My doc told me to stop the meds. I will continue ativan though.

[NWGal]

Great - sounds like you're getting it handled.

[Frankie24]

I am no Dr. but have been doing a lot of research on serotonin syndrome and it sounds like that. I think you need help ASAP.