To make a long story short, I've been suffering for something here for the last 3 years. It was originally diagnosed as some kind of stress / anxiety disorder, which I thought was probably not right at the time, but since a heavy dose of the medications Xanax and Klonopin eliminated my symptoms for a time, I guess I came to believe that I must've been diagnosed correctly afterall. Of course my symptoms were so severe and I was only really mildly stressed, so it never really made sense to be. Anyway my symptoms have now returned yet again, but naturally even worse than ever.
My symptoms include the following: (1) numbness in the face, scalp, chest, and limbs (on both sides equally); (2) neck stiffness; (3) general disorientation and very clouded thinking.
While the symptoms were totally gone when I was taking those medications, I am becoming increasingly convinced that it was never actually anxiety in the first place. As my medication has now begun to loose its effectiveness, it is obvious to me that my symptoms are actually worse then they were before I even started taking the meds in the first place. I have less stress in my life then ever of crouse, and in fact I haven't even been "stressing" about my symptoms because the meds definitely do seem to eliminate me needless worrying about something I can't do anything about. And yet I would still like to know what's happening to me obviously. I'm still on Klonopin, but the effectiveness is beginning to come to an end here after taking it for about 9 months, exactly like the Xanax did before it.
By the way, I have undergone numberous tests all to no avail. I have recently come to the conclusion that I have a virus of some sort, but am not certain about this. The only other idea I had came up with was when I overheard someone talking about numbness as a possible side effect of the drug Cipro (which I took a few years back for about 6 months related to an infection - not anthrax paranoia). Of course numbness is not listed as an side effect for Cipro and my doctor had never heard of that being a side effect, so I wrote that theory off as just a weird coincidence.
Anyway, if anyone has similar experiences, particular with extreme numbness, I would very much be interested in hearing about it. Of course additional theories or comments are also welcome too. Thanks!
[This message has been edited by Lucky4Me (edited 09-26-2002).]
Just to clarify though, I was never on both Xanax and Klonopin at the same time. I guess I wasn't clear in my previous messages. Originally I went into the doc with numbness, stiff back muscles (especially in the neck area), clouded thinking, weird headaches (probably from the muscle stiffness I think), and some chest pains.
Those were my symptoms before I was ever prescribed Xanax.
That particular medication worked to eliminate all my symptoms once they prescribed it for me though, so it was assumed that anxiety/stress must've been the cause of all my problems (even though I tried to tell them that I really didn't feel very stressed out). Anyway taking Xanax twice a day, every day, really worked for me until my tolerance built up after 10 months using it. They had wanted to get me to cut down on it over time, but that proved impossible because my symptoms would begin to reappear immediately if I attempted to cut down. Eventually though the Xanax just stopped working for me, at which point they switched me to the Klonopin. And for the next 8 months I again had no symptoms whatsoever. But anytime I tried cutting down, just like the Xanax before it, my symptoms would come back again. I'm now to the point that the Klonopin is beginning to fail me, and my symptoms are again coming back. My tolerance has built up to the point that it just doesn't work for me anymore. Anyway, my psychiatrist now is beginning to think (just as I always kind of suspected), that my symptoms do not actually stem from anxiety or stress. Those type of drugs definitely worked to eliminate all my symptoms, but she is beginning to think it's not for the reason they thought. Anyway, she sent me to neurology just to get their input, and of course the doctor I saw there said, after some very basic tests, that I should just continue on with my psychiatrist and that he didn't think my problem was neurologic in nature (or something to that affect).
Anyway, I've never had a seizure in my life so I'm not quite sure why they would want to test me for epilepsy. And I'm not sure what blood coagulation even means, but I do know that my blood pressure is very good, or so I've been told. No breathing problems either.
As far as the side effects of those meds go, I think I probably know them far better then the doctors who prescribed them for me. I can tell the difference between the side effects of the meds, and my original symptoms. It's actually pretty easy for me to discriminate between the two.
Anyway, there's not a lot I can do anymore. I don't know what the problem is. All I know is that I was totally healthy and never went to the doctor before I came down with prostatitis and they prescribed about 10 months worth of antibiotics for me. I can't be sure, but my guess is that the drug Cipro, or a combo of Cipro and something else, maybe ultimately responsible for what's happening to me now. I found some bits and pieces of information on the internet from other people which has lead me to that conclusion, but none of my doctors seem to be aware of any neurologic problems that stem from antibiotics. I told them I've found testimonials on the internet...but they just reference the manufacturer's side effect guideline list and tell me that it's not on the list!
"Of course it's not on the list," I think to myself...."would anyone take Cipro if it were?!!"
Well, I think I finally have an answer to my problem. The funny part though is that I actually think I'm going to have a problem convincing my doctor that I'm right! Of course I had to figure it all out on my own, but hey...isn't that what modern health care is all about?
Well, unfortunately it certainly seems like it. So many people seem to get that "anxiety" label slapped on them without even asking if such an diagnosis really makes sense!!!
..sorry, I'll take an anti-anxiety pill here and calm down...
Kidding of course. Seriously though I have to watch people hiding behind giant tarps at the gas station in Virginia, afraid that they're going to die at the hand of a sniper, and they think...I...have anxiety problems! Nevermind that those people should probably be a teeny tiny bit more concerned about just driving home safely. Statistically speaking I think you're actually more likely to die of anthrax in your mailbox than at the hands of a sniper, but I could be wrong...
Anyway speaking of anthrax, has anyone ever heard of the drug Cipro?
Yeah well, I have.
I was prescribed boatloads, and by that I mean like 4-5 months worth over the course of a year. It was for a possible infection that my doctors thought may have been the cause of my prostatitis.
Well, my most mild symptoms just happened to begin when I was taking Cipro. Which at the time didn't really seem to be caused by the drug. I had some neck stiffness, pain in my knees, and just a hint of numbness from time to time. I never would've connected my symptoms to the drug at all, had the symptoms not gotten worse, and had I not finally come across some of the side effects of Cipro that they don't tell you about!
Over a year ago, at the height of the whole anthrax scare there was an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal describing the bizarre side effects that some nationally renowned doctors had been seeing in the class of drugs called fluoroquitolones. Cipro is a member of that particular class of drug you see, and since it was the drug of choice to fight anthrax some doctors wanted to get the word out about some of the serious side effects that weren't (and still aren't) very well known to the medical community, nor the general public.
Well, the side effects apparently are bizarre because they're not the usual sort of side effects that doctors are use to seeing, and they don't quite behave in the usual way. By that I mean, you take a medication, experience a side effect...then stop taking the medication and the side effect goes away. Yeah well, guess again. Many of the side effects from this particular group of medications can happen long after you stop taking your prescription, and probably will be so seemingly unrelated that you won't even make a connection between the drug and your symptoms.
Anyway, to quote the article "as many as a third of patients taking a fluoroquinolone will experience some sort of psychiatric side effect, such as anxiety, personality change or confusion." Side effects can include a lot of things that are apparently typically associated with anxiety, as well as some other rather severe side effects such as seizures and tendon ruptures among other things.
The main problem apparently is that drugs like Cipro can quickly reach high concentrations in the blood, and thus also reach high concentrations in the brain. And apparently once high concentrations in the brain are reached, the drug can do permanent neurologic damage.
I'm pretty sure I didn't read any of that on the list of side effects when I was taking Cipro!
Anyway this article is now over a year old, and the medical community is no more aware of these problems today then they were back then. Why? Well, because of the drug manufacturers of course! Many of the drug companies are apparently adopting the tobacco industries old defense in lieu of actually getting some of these new poisons off the market.
Severe long term side effects?....we don't know. We just make it. We're not aware of any long term effects that have actually been proven to be caused by our product.
Meanwhile they get rich, while turning a blind eye to nationally recognized doctors who insist that their medications are doing a lot of permanent damage to a lot of people!
Remember that the next time you see a drug commercial on prime-time TV.
