37 replies to this topic

[fishinghat]

Well as I have lost my weight (40 lbs) my blood pressure has slowly dropped. In the last 2 weeks I have had increasing tingling and numbness in my extremities.

 

This morning when I got up I almost fainted. Blood pressure has dropped to 98 per 66. I went to the dr and there  it tested 94/62. He did some neurological tests and checked for bruis. I and him agree that this is due to the weight lost and made worse by the meds I take for anxiety that also lower blood pressure. He said I was at significant risk of fainting and certainly doesn't want my bp to drop more as I loos my last 10 lbs.

 

So, I will begin with tapering my hydroxyzine by 1/2 capsule every 3 days until my bp returns to normal.

 

I am looking forward to the increase in anxiety!!!  NOT

[lady2882Nancy]

Hiya fishinghat

 

Those blood pressure reading were what I would consider normal for me before Crapalta. Now with the extra weight from my Bipolar meds and the anxiety from the recurrence of my PTSD I know it has been creeping up.

I had no idea that hydroxyzine would lower blood pressure as well as everything else that it does.

Congrats on the weight loss but so sorry that it means dealing with more anxiety.

 

In the meantime remember to get up slower and don't be in a rush to go anywhere.

 

Take care of you and be well

[TryinginFL]

Dear FH,

 

I agree w/Nancy as I did not know about the bp and Hydroxyzine either. 

 

I am sorry that you now have to wean down on that too - aren't you currently weaning off of an anti-anxiety drug ever so slowly? 

 

The weight loss is wonderful, but oh at what a price!  More smiles for you are needed from above and I will be asking for them!

 

Take good care,

Liz   

[fishinghat]

Thanks ladies. Yes TFL, I am weaning off lorazepam right now but the cut back on hydroxyzine is a higher priority. I was on the higher dose of hydroxyzine to help with any withdrawal symptoms from the lorazpam. I am weaning off the Lorazepam so slow I don't have any withdrawal so cutting back on the hydroxyzine may not be a problem.

 

Lady Nancy it is always so nice to see your posts. I always remember the 'good ole days' of our withdrawal. lol

I always appreciated your support. There will always be a special place in my prayers for you.

[gail]

FH,

I thought that clonidine was to lower bp, not the hydroxyzine!
Aren't you on clonidine? Maybe I am mixed up here.

By the way, I take my neighbor's bp every few days, at times it is like yours, and a few hours later it is back to normal.

Always something, as you once said, God did not promise us a rose garden!♥

[fishinghat]

Yes Gail, you are right. I am on Clonidine as well as atenolol and hydroxyzine which are all used for anxiety BUT they are also used to lower BP.

 

I will deal with this in time with the good Lord's help and some encouragements from my friends.

 

God Bless

[thismoment]

FH

 

Game Warden: "Didn't you see that 'NO FISHING' sign?"

 

Fishinghat: "I'm not fishing, sir. I'm teaching these worms to swim!"

 

 

Hope you are feeling better soon my friend.

[TryinginFL]

TM,

 

Out of "likes", but that was a good one! 

[fishinghat]

Thanks TM. A good laugh is always good medicine. I will persist.

[navywife43]

Sending you well wishes on this next adventure!

[fishinghat]

Oh NW43, It is so good to hear from you. How are you doing these days? 

 

I look forward to a good report from you.

 

God Bless

[fishinghat]

Well I dropped 1/2 capsule (50 mg) on the 5th of March. My BP has went from 90's/60's to 100-110/65 to 75 and dizziness is gone. I may cut back 1/2 capsule more in a day or two because I still have a little tingling in my hands. Looking better though.

[gail]

FH, good improvement in only 2days!

How is the anxiety going? You sure know about your meds!♥

[fishinghat]

I was very physically nervous the first day but doing alright yesterday and today. Thanks for asking.

[gail]

Yeah! Looking good!

I sure can understand about starting or tapering meds. Makes us pretty nervous! Specially us with anxiety.♥

[lady2882Nancy]

Glad to hear that things are going so well for you fishinghat

[navywife43]

Good Morning FH! I am doing good...taking it day by day. I have my good days and bad days, but much more good than bad.   I have learned to not "plan" things, instead just do them. If I plan them then I get anxious. Does that sound crazy?

[fishinghat]

   Not crazy at all NW. I have learned to lead my life that way. When ever things get too much I just run home until I regroup.

 

So glad you are OK.

 

God Bless

[thismoment]

Hi NW43

 

So nice to hear from you!

 

On the 'planning' thing-- Since withdrawing from Cymbalta I find I have less long-range planning ability; I can plan one or two steps on a project, but beyond that the steps get kind of blurry, muddled. I seem to recall having broader planning skills prior to my exposure to duloxetine; granted it could be simply the passing of time-- it's hard to know.

 

These days I have to keep my planning simple and short-ranged; I've become more of a one-trick pony. This is not a complaint, merely an observation.

 

Take care.

[fishinghat]

Caution - A little discriptive

Well as I mentioned in one of my previous posts,I had a barium enema back late Feb and the radiologist said "all OK'. Well what I didn't tell you is my gastroenteroligist read it and called me and said he thought it was a terrible picture. Soooo, two days of clear fluid diet, my blood pressure dropped like a rock, almost passing out, could not get enough sugar in me. Drank 30 12 oz bottles of Gatorade, 6 cans of beef consume' and a 64 ounce white grape juice AND 1 gallon of Golytely . About 50 bowel movements later I had my second barium enema. Radiologist came back and said that once again not cleaned out so picture even worse than first one. Also way too many colon spasms. My dr told me before this test that if it doesn't succeed then the next step is a colonoscopy.Ugggh, more pain and suffering. Just had to complain.

[fishinghat]

I forgot to mention that in order to get my bp back to where it belongs I skipped my clonidine and hydroxyzine and atenol for 16 hours. This causes a rebound in bp. Now my bp is still slowly going up so I am slowly getting back to my regular dosage. Ever since the weight loss My bp will drop for the slightest reason.

[TryinginFL]

Oh, FH...

 

I am so sorry to hear this.  You certainly have been plagued by those intestinal issues.  Good luck with the next test and I'm happy that your BP is finally coming up to normal.

 

Yikes, another colonoscopy...

 

Please take good care of yourself!

 

Prayers for you,

 

Liz

[gail]

Here we go again! Appropriate phrase.

That must be a very stressful time for you Fisherman. Don't we all have our crosses to bare!
At least we know that the rest is fine. May God give you the strength to go through what has to be done. Colonoscopy scheduled yet?

[thismoment]

FH

I am wishing you all the best! I do hope all is well.

[fishinghat]

Gail, not yet. The dr is doing surgeries today and Monday so he won't see the pictures until next Tuesday. He may or may not want to see me first. I don't know.

 

Thanks TM. None of the drs really think there is a problem but after that cat scan in Dec. they just want to be sure. And you are right. There is always something going on in life. We just have to deal with what we have.

[lady2882Nancy]

Hey fishinghat

You have my sympathy with having to have two barium enemas. I have IBS-D predominant with all the horrid colon spasms and those are the worst for me. They can't get a cleat picture at all with the spasms I end up having so I have to have the colonoscopies instead and with a family history of colon cancer I get to have them every 5 years.

The prep for one is particularly hard on me as laxatives are not my friends and I end up wearing "protective garments" to bed. Thank goodness that during the procedure I am out or I don't know if I could stand it.

 

More and more it seems to me that having been on Cymbalta and then having gone through withdrawals from it, those of us who really suffered during withdrawals and had long lasting withdrawal seem to have less ability to cope with the other health issues that come our way. Something was damaged in our brains and we just are not the same.

I wonder if we ever will be.

 

Take care of you dear friend

[TryinginFL]

Lady Nancy,

 

Great post!  I agree whole heartedly with your last paragraph - I wonder how many of us who have gone through this long and nasty withdrawal have NOT ended up with more physical problems...

 

Perhaps it is because I am older, but then, perhaps not

 

Liz

[lady2882Nancy]

Hey Liz

 

I don't know about it causing some of these more age related problems but it sure has messed up the ability to cope with them as we once would have and I directly blame the Crap drug for that.

There just are so many things that I would have just handled so easily that are totally overwhelming and cause no end of anxiety post Crapalta

[fishinghat]

Well just a little update. My bp is still running in the 90s/50s range. I am half way off my hydroxyzine with only a small gain. I am on 2 1/2 tablets of clonidine a day (strong blood pressure med). Starting tomorrow I will drop 1/2 tablet every 3 days. Dr. Agrees. What I found interesting was that the research shows that for every 2.2 lb of weight lost your blood pressure drops 1 point for both systolic (top) and diastolic(bottom) number. I lost 39 lbs so far so that is around 17 points!!!  That is about what happened to me. Thought you might find it interesting.

[TryinginFL]

FH,

 

That is definitely interesting...

 

I have lost over 20 pounds, but my blood pressure has stayed the same.  About 120 over 65.  I have been on BP meds for years - currently taking Amlodipine (free med!) and Benazepril for about the last 8-10 yrs.  We all sure are different, eh?

 

Happy that your Dr. is keeping such good tabs on you!