Waiting for diagnosis, the neuro says that I'm a mystery ...
 

Hi! I'm new to this forum.

About eight weeks ago, I started noticing tingling in my hands and feet, and some weird feelings on my skin, like insects are crawling on it. I ignored it for a while, I take a fair few psych meds (Prozac, Abilify, Seroquel, Seroquel XR, and Lamictal), and it's easy to blame weird side effects on those. Abilify in particular - I've only been on it a few months.

Over the last 1-2 weeks, the symptoms rapidly progressed. I suddenly found myself feeling extremely weak, struggling to walk. I started getting dizzy, unsteady, and the tingles got worse. In the last few days, the tingles have become painful. I started Lyrica last night. Will see how that goes, but I have a massive headache this morning and I was quite out if breath last night.

I'm currently in hospital. I went via emergency, as requested by my GP. I've had heaps of tests, with more to come. MRI brain and spine normal, CT normal, and so far the results from my lumbar puncture are normal. More results to come. Had lots of blood tests, B12 levels are normal.

The neurologist is a bit puzzled, but he does suspect Charcot Marie Tooth Disease. I have very small calves, that don't match the rest of my body, and I have the high arches and hammer toes that are a sign of CMT. I have an electromyography test in a few days.

All of this has been quite stressful! I have two kids and I worry about how I can help my husband care for them. I'm also dealing with Bipolar Disorder and that (as some of you know) is enough!

This thread will be my journal of sorts, trying to make sense of all of this. Any input is welcome.

It might be worth checking out the "Interactions Checker" in this site to see if any of your physical signs could arise from the meds that you are taking http://www.drugs.com/pro/.

Thanks! I really do wonder if my meds are doing this, I'll check it out. :)

Glad to have helped - you could also have a look at each of your meds individually in terms of possible side-effects (rather than interactions between them) in that link.

If anything comes up then talking with your prescribing doctor could be a good plan.

Dear Tangerine,

Kiwi, as always, is very, very wise. All your meds have listed neurological side effects which may be magnified by their interaction.

I was on a heavy antidepressant cocktail for years, including Paxil, Effexor, and trazadone, and a had a rash of neurological symptoms for about 18 months. I primarily had Parkinsonism without rigidity. No one suspected my meds. I was worked up for Parkinsons and a brain tumor.

By November 2014, immediately after my negative MRIs came in, I erupted into a hypertensive crisis. I also had anaphylaxis (very unusual i know) and I was told, by my covering PCP, (it was Thanksgiving) to go off all meds. Terrible advice!

Went to ER... they temporarily got my BP down and sent me home. In retrospect, this episode might have been an odd variant of serotonin syndrome which was very negatively affected by antidepressant abrupt withdrawal syndrome. I was severely hypertensive for months.

Long story short....by April (I was still med free) I developed acute dysautonomia and I now have positive biopsies for Small Fiber Neuropathy....I have sensory symptoms and confirmed severe orthostatic intolerance and other cardiac irregularities. I'm very disabled.
and working hard to get a better team together for a more effective treatment plan. A dysautonomia specialist confirmed this may be a result of the meds and their abrupt withdrawal.....but there is not much on the neurotoxicity of antidepressants in the literature.

So please consider this story and work on very gradually tapering your meds with close medical supervision. You might try to find a psychiatrist who is aware of these issues. You most likely will come out of this just fine.....but I now know there can be real dangers in multi-drug combos. I hope my story is helpful to you.

Also...I know how hard it is to face mood disorders....but you might actually do better with fewer meds.

Best of luck....

Sylvie

Been tested for pyridoxine toxicity, B6? It causes neuropathy. Becoming an epidemic. Are you supplementing? Eating fortified foods...anything?