Akasthesia multiple times?
 

Has anyone had akasthesia repeatedly from various meds? I'm BP I with med sensitivities. I was 1st diagnosed with akasthesia years ago when I tried abilify. That time it was not that bad and I was working again soon. I assumed it would never happen again given it is rare. A few months ago I had surgery. We're not sure what triggered it although some nausea meds can and I was nearly certainly given one of the high risk ones because I'm on an MAOI which kept triggering that Zofran, which is safe, is contra-indicated (I've been taking it for years because of a condition where I dehydrate rapidly and dangerously if vomiting too long). I'm waiting for the records to come so I can see what was given. I eventually was admitted to a well-known psych hospital where a protocol they are using was started. For me this was neurontin and cogentin (can't take propanol b/c of asthma). This did work but neurontin and I fought and I came off it last week. I'm now solely on cogentin. I am still having serious sleeping issues which scare me as I start working this week. With permission I tried adding a bit to my antipsychotic dose last night only to find myself trying to cancel agitation very early this AM. So I guess I'm not done with akasthesia.

What really scares me is that I have been diagnosed twice, with this recent one being horrible and long-lasting. But I know of another time when I was between doctors that I am 100% sure I had it (and it's a side effect of that med) and another probable time.

I haven't had a chance to talk much to my doctor about the repeated incidents. I am very med sensitive and suspect this is another way. Has anyone else has akasthesia repeatedly? (this happening for an innocent med given in a carefully monitored b/c of my meds surgery is really scary, especially at 2 months post-op). Any treatment success in preventing it or stopping when it is severe (mine was mistreated as mania for a while with, unfortunately, high dose antipsychotics)?

I actually was under the impression that certain medical conditions, particularly mental or neurological conditions that affect the chemical structure of the brain, can actually cause akathisia.

It sounds like it could be your medication, there are other things that can cause akathisia as far as I know. A lack of iron, or insomnia seems to play a role in some people. Things like that could help 'push' you into it, if you get what I mean. People with mental disorders like depression or manic depression often seem to have problems sleeping, so it could be you're getting the akathisia from a different source. I would ask your doctor about that, and ask if in their opinion it was solely due to your medication, or if other factors could have contributed.

Oh, also, I had really bad restless leg syndrome while I was on a Effexor for whatever reason. I also got it pretty bad when I had a withdrawal from klonopin, but I think that is pretty common. None of my bouts with it lasted for too long, but it was enough to make note of.