The Serotonin Syndrome Journey

Just to help explain a little about these newest health issues - Serotonin Syndrome is caused by too much Serotonin in the body. This is a result the medications I have been taking and apparently the serotonin increasing to toxic levels. The symptoms of this that I have been experiencing (and that have been worsening over the last few weeks) are:
restlessness, agitation, headaches, dilated pupils, muscle spasms, decreased coordination, nausea, sweating, heat intolerance, palpitations, hallucinations, hyperactive reflexes.
Thankfully I have not been experiencing the most serious symptoms. This condition can become fatal however we caught it before it got to that point thankfully. God is good. Aaron just happened to mention a couple of things to a friend of his (who is an MD) and he said that we should be careful about SS. Aaron started researching it and asking me about symptoms - turns out I had most of them.
I had to stop my Paxil (and did so cold turkey as directed which is not usually recommended) and now we are waiting and preparing for the withdrawal I will probably go through. The SS is usually resolved within 24 hrs of stopping the medication and I am feeling much better now where that is concerned - however I still have some symptoms. It is a hard place now though b/c the Paxil withdrawal sx (symptoms) usually show up within 2-3 days after discontinuing it (sometimes longer). So, the prayer is that I will not experience any serious symptoms and that these symptoms will not last the usual 2-3 wks. Some people say they can last even longer. So, please pray - with all of the changes that should be coming up it would be hard for me to be feeling so poorly for such a long time. I have done some research and these are the symptoms that I may end up experiencing:

Frequently Reported Symptoms:

• intense insomnia
• extraordinarily vivid dreams
• extreme confusion during waking hours
• intense fear of losing your sanity
• steady feeling of existing outside of reality as you know it (referred to as depersonalization at times)
• memory and concentration problems
• Panic Attacks (even if you never had one before)
• severe mood swings, esp. heightened irritability / anger
• suicidal thoughts (in extreme cases)
• an unconventional dizziness/ vertigo
• the feeling of shocks, similar to mild electric one, running the length of your body
• an unsteady gait
• slurred speech
• headaches
• profuse sweating, esp. at night
• muscle cramps
• blurred vision
• breaking out in tears.
• hypersensitivity to motion, sounds, smells.
• decreased appetite
• nausea
• abdominal cramping, diarrhea
• loss of appetite
• chills/ hot flashes

Less Frequently Reported Symptoms

• fainting
• "scratching sound" inside one's head
• constant white noise in the ears
• tingling sensation in cheeks, lips, tongue and surrounding areas.
• heart palpitations/ chest pain
• swollen and sore eyes
• fatigue
• extremely localized, bursting headaches
• lump in throat
• rash / dry, flaky and irritated skin
• grinding of teeth
• difficulty swallowing
• itchiness

The last couple of nights I have already had some pretty vivid dreams - but for me this is a side effect of the meds anyway. Today I am feeling some fatigue as well as some muscle weakness. Yesterday I was dealing with loss of appetite. Some of the symptoms I have had all along are nausea, fatigue, hot flashes. Lately I have had even more sx but these seem to be a part of the SS. It is all so confusing to try and know what is wrong when. But, now we have hopefully eliminated the SS and the Paxil side effects. So from here on out I should automatically know they are withdrawal sx. :) At least something has been made more simple. :)
I will try and keep updating the blog as we go. It is a good way for me to journal through this and also to keep everyone in the loop about how things are going. If you have any questions just ask them in the comments and I can answer. I know some of this is confusing.
Thank you for caring! And thank you for praying! I sure hope none of this comes across as me needing a pity party. :) That definitely isn't how I am feeling. I am actually feeling quite hopeful - I am praying for healing that after I get through these next few weeks I will not need any other types of meds and that I will finally feel like myself again. Please join with me in praying! And don't forget to praise the Lord for all of the work and healing He has already been doing!