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What is going on here...We had it under control and now what....


mngirl

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Well, I just got out Saturday after 18 days in the hospital (there is an old post around here somewhere talking about what happened)...anyway...since Monday I have been hacving MORE dizzy spells and a racing heart.

My dr added a few new meds while I was in the hospital - added Florinef, Dilaudid, 2 new kinds of sleeping pills and upped my beta blocker.

Here is what I am on at this point:

Prednisone - 2.5 mg twice a day (for my Addison's)

Methadone - 5 mg twice a day, can double if needed (for rt arm and head pain)

Midodrine - 10 mg in a.m., 7.5 mg in p.m. (POTS)

Mobic - 7.5 mg twice a day (chest pain from POTS)

Lamictal - 75 mg twice a day (POTS)

Nadolol - 10 mg in a.m., 20 mg in p.m. (POTS)

Lidocaine Patch - 5%, all day (Ulnar Nerve Transposition Problem, RSD)

Lidocine Infusions - 300 mg twice a week (RSD)

Dilaudid - 2 mg, as needed (For pain from implanting port and headaches)

Florinef - .1 mg in the a.m. (POTS)

Kytril - 1 mg four times a day (Allowing me to eat from nausea which we do not know what is causing it - this is the expensive drug insurance wasn't going to pay for $6000 a month! They finallyt approved it though)

Klonopin - 1 mg at bedtime (Sleeping issues)

Zyprexa - 10 mg at bedtime (sleeping issues)

Heparin Flush - for my port they just implanted

So, on Monday I started getting the AWFUL dizzy spells back and I started to feel like I had been running a marathon. My dr wrote a prescription for a treadmill thinking it would be goos for me to start walking more. We went to find one. AsI was walking through the mall I was having issues walking in a straight line, I almost ran into a few benches and almost passed out about 4 times. So, we finally found one and it had a heart rate monitor on , so I stepped up on the treadmill to test it out (the treadmill was not running). The salesperson told me that I just had to grab the handlebars in front of me. I grabbed the handles and the readout said 145! The salesperson, said it will take a few seconds to adjust. I told him that I have a condition that would make that reading possible. So, he turned it off, turned it back on...the reading was then 140! Then he started tapping at the screen, like that was going to help. I felt like I had just been running. My husband had a heart rate monitor watch so I have been wearing that for the past 2 days. My rate has been from 80-120. And that is on my upped beta blocker! My rate in the hospital a few days eariler was 52! My dr thinks that maybe it was the Florinef (I wasn't on it prior to the hospital). We are stopping that over the weekend and see if it makes any difference. I am constantly feeling dizzy, like I am going to pass out and racing heart. We had this under control prior to the hospital...anyone help me figure out what is going on? He wants me to keep the monitor on through the weekend and really watch what is happening. My dr even stated that he expected my pulse to be low 40s, not 140! Today I ran into my hallway wall and a few cubes at work because I can't walk straight - nice, eh?

So...what do you all think?

TIA!

Lisa

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Hi Lisa..

I'm sorry that you are feeling so badly..

I was thinking do you think that one of your meds might be contributing to some dizziness?? reason why I ask is b/c I have been on some of the meds that you are on. and they cause my allready potsy dizziness to be worse.. like the klonopin (though excellent for sleep did cause some dizzyiness) and the dilaudid really casued me dizziness.. and a fw others..

are all thsoe meds safe to be taking all at once?? do any of them interact with each other??

I know that you arent feeling good..

I hope that you find something to help you.. and that you feel better soon!

HUGS

Linda :D

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Lisa,

I hope you get to feeling much better soon!!

I don't want to scare you...do a search on zyprexa though. The below is copy and pasted from a couple of websites. Please talk to your Dr and try to determine that none of your increased symptoms could be coming from the Zyprexa!!

The following drugs have either been recalled or warnings have been issued regarding the serious side effects that they may pose to users:

Vioxx

Celebrex

Zyprexa

Ephedrine

Bextra

Crestor

Certain Able Laboratories medications

In addition to these and other dangerous drugs, Guidant defibrillators have also sparked controversy in the recent past, as many of the devices have been recalled due to malfunctions.

Listed below are some of the many dangerous, and possibly fatal, side effects that have been associated with recently recalled medications:

Heart attack

Heart palpitations

Hypertension

Insomnia

Memory loss

Numbness in the extremities

Severe cardiac problems

Stomach aches

Stroke

Tremors

Vomiting

What are The Risks?

The following are the major potential risks and side effects of Zyprexa therapy. However, this list is not complete.

Zyprexa and other antipsychotic medications can cause serious problems such as:

A life-threatening nervous system problem called neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS). NMS can cause a high fever, stiff muscles, sweating, a fast or irregular heart beat, change in blood pressure, and confusion. NMS can affect your kidneys. NMS is a medical emergency. Call your healthcare professional right away if you experience these symptoms.

A movement problem called tardive dyskinesia (TD). Call your healthcare professional right away if you get muscle movements that cannot be stopped.

High blood sugar and diabetes. Patients with diabetes or who have a higher chance for diabetes should have their blood sugar checked often.

Strokes have happened in older patients treated for mental illness from dementia. Zyprexa is not approved for this use. See FDA Alert.

Other serious side effects include low blood pressure seen as dizziness, and possibly fainting; increased heart beat; seizures; liver problems; increased body temperature; and difficulty swallowing.

The most common side effects include sleepiness, dry mouth, dizziness, restlessness, constipation, upset stomach, weight gain, increased appetite, and tremor.

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Hi Steph,

It's the first time I hear of the Teddy Bear effect and I really like that term and explanation. I have to remember that!

To everyone,

My personal beliief is that if a medication is making me worse off on it than without it I stop it. If a medication does not do anything, good or bad, I stop it. If a medication helps me with or without light side effect I take it.

It's very complicated to manage many medications because the synertic effect is often unknown. You have to really be attentive to your symptoms, etc..

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My doctor won't even up my hormones! He is very conservative with meds.

I have NEVER heard of zyprexa being used for sleep. It is an extremely potent drug and it's indication is not for insomnia. I know some meds are used outside their scope, but I have never heard of this one. Also, you are on 2 very potent pain meds, a benzodiazepine, and zyprexa. Those alone could be causing a lot of your symptoms.

This is something you need to discuss with your doctor, and I realize you are in a great deal of pain, but I think you would be wise to investigate some of these meds and ask why he has given them to you specifically. What I mean is, why zyprexa, when there are sleeping agents out there. Frankly my dear if I took half the stuff you do, I'd expect to be comatose, I'm amazed you get around at all. I do know every one has very different tolerance levels, so it's not for me to judge, but sometimes I just don't think doctors realize what's being piled on, especially if more than one is involved and they don't communicate.

I certainly wouldn't just stop them, but I would discuss them one by one with him and his reasoning for using all of them. Don't stop anything suddenly.

I hope you get to feeling better very soon.

I like teddy bear too. I realized I was taking more valium than I needed and cut my dose in half. I take only what I absolutely know helps me and refuse to take anything that makes me feel worse than I already do....morgan

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Oh- xyprexa can help a great deal with sleep- before we had the POTS diagnosis, we didn't sleep hardly at all. We dabbled with the idea of bi-polar (wrong) and tried xyprexa. It was the ONLY sleeping med that helped my daughter. But- she gained TONS of weight on it (at 14) and we stopped it. Then we got the POTS dx, anyway. I do agree, though, that we now only try a new med if the symptom is REALLY bad, and we stop it if she doesn't feel any better. One med did reduce the heartrate, but, overall, she didn't feel any better. We stopped it. I also know a few who are on 10 or more meds a day, and are finally functional. everyone is diff, but, I think you might want to try and , one by one, reduce a few and see what happens.

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Guest Finrussak

my two cents??? its very dangerous to use rx drugs for their side effects...like when they prescribe an epileptic med so that you can fall asleep due to its drowsiness side effect!!! Also I recommend that ANYone taking more than 1-2 drugs hook up with the very rare entity called a "knowledgeable pharmacist" or "pharmacologist". Forget the Supermarket druggist or the CVS maven...they count pills period. Ask around and get to know someone who can compound things ( make them up from scratch...this usually means a moderate level of chemical knowledge) and who is caring and willing enough to be your coach. I have found a WONDERFUL and intelligent neighborhood drugstore manned by the owner...a gal with many degrees and more importantly the knowledge of pharmaceuticals...and she has saved my life MANY many times over from caring doctors who tried to inflict a chemical soup upon me.

That being said...many doctors (alas most) have no clue beyond what the latest salesmen have left on their desks...and the drug companies are notorious for underreporting problems etc...theyre in the make money game folks...lets say my eyes have been opened by a relative working for one of the largest in the world!!!

And the dangers of COMBINING these meds are exponential compared to their affect when taken alone!!!

so, my best advice is to review ALL of these meds and start really prioritizing with the Drs and that pharmacist working together to take ONLY absolutely necessary drugs and for the shortest time...this may be the era of "modern medicine" but we are no where near the capability of duplicating the God given machinery that is our bodies!!!

Is this meant to scare all of us taking a LOT of meds??? NO -it is meant to say we have to be very very careful of what we are asked to take, be informed consumers and NEVER assume that any one person ( be it a Dr or another) has all the answers ( or even many of them) :) !!!

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