[peonyprincess]

Hi all. I am hoping that someone out there can snswer my questions. I feel for you if you are in the same boat as I, as I wouldn't wish this junk on anyone.

First, my body I think, has finally broke. My eyes have become extremely blurry at times. Not all the time, but definately getting worse. I cannot read thing up close and when I look up to watch tv or something, it takes a few minutes for my eyes to adjust.

Second, my lungs stink. Interstitual Lung Disease. Oxygen 4 liters 24 hours a day, 365 a year, seven days a week. Uggghhhh,

Third, I have to absolutely "bear down" to urinate. I cannot just go into my bathroom and "go" There has to be help. So far the labs have been fine. No spilling protein, BUN/CREAT have been fine.

Fourth, during the day, I can take multiple catnaps. Like 1-2 minutes of so. I have these quick dreams about very random things. No, I am not trippin on pain meds or anything like that. What I take is very compatible with each other. To top it off, I evidently talk to whomever is around and I say some pretty dumb thing, however, at least what I say ties into my dream.

Fifth and yes, I saved the best for last. The whole jerking and twitch thing is slowly getting worse. I have accidently thrown things, dropped things and goodness knows what else has happened.

Well, that oiught to keep all of you busy for a while. Yes I do plan on seeing my doctoe or in this case doctors, I would still ask you all, the ones that deal with Lupus on a daily basis, you just might have more information.


Nancy


good luck

 

[Lily]

http://www.thelupussite.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72919

 

[Joandublin]

Hi Nancy

Im sorry you are going through this and I dont have many new insights to share except that its good you are going to see your doctors about these symptoms. However I really think you should consider whether the Lortab are causing or contributing to some of your current problems. There is no doubt that the way in which your previous Neurologist handled the situation leaves a lot to be desired but 'dont throw the baby out with the bathwater', as they say. Did you ever get that referral to the other Neurologist for a second opinion?

Its not a question of whether one is or isnt 'tripping' on pain meds - the facts are that the side effects of short and long term use of Lortab are similar to what you describe you are going through.

Lortab can cause severe side effects such as shallow breathing, slowed heart rate, fainting or light-headedness, confusion or fear, unusual thoughts or behavior, seizure, sedation, urination problems or dark urination, nausea or stomach pain, vomiting, jaundice and, even when used for only a short time, dependence.

Less serious side effects include feelings of anxiety, dizziness, blurred vision, headache, erratic mood changes, constipation or dry mouth.

http://www.medicine-addiction.com/drug_information/narcotic_painkillers/all_about_lortab.html

Like you, I take some strong painkillers that are prescribed for severe pain and I worry about side effects and dependence. I dont trip on pain meds but I do have to take them regularly or otherwise I just couldnt function. Sometimes, if I am having a bad day and have to max out on my painkillers, I get blurred vision and definitely feel much more sleepy than usual. The body builds up a physiological dependence on these type of opiod drugs and its a bit of a vicious circle because as times goes by we need more of them to be able to function normally. Thats not addiction by the way, its dependence - and there is a world of a difference between the two.

There are some days when I dont take any painkillers. These would be days when I dont have much to do and I can just amble around the house and put up with the aches and pains. Psychologically it also helps me if I can manage a day or two without painkillers. I feel more in control, if that makes any sense?

If there is a possibility that the Lortab are causing these problems then I think you need to consider what you can do. Those symptoms, by the sounds of it, are making your life miserable at the moment. I know its not an easy thing to contemplate - coming off a drug you have become dependent on - and you have my deepest sympathy and understanding.

I hope you can get to the bottom of all this as it sounds very unpleasant and scary. If you are going to try and change painkillers then you absolutely need support and guidance to do this and the first place I would start would be a frank discussion with your own doctor to see if he agrees that it might be the Lortab causing a lot of the problems. If he agrees that it might be so then you need his help and support to try and come off them. Its probably the only way to be sure that they are or arent causing these symptoms actually.

I hope you can get some answers and I hope you can return to better health soon.

Take good care
Joan:rose:

 

[Maia]

What medications are you on and at what doses? You never answered my question before and really that speaks volumes to me at least.

It actually concerns me even more when you say that what you take pain med wise is all "very compatible with each other". This suggests you're taking more than 'just' Lortab.

Every single symptom you have listed can be a side effect of long term use of narcotics; and assuming your respiratory problems are not a side effect from long term use of narcotics... there is still the fact that people with severe respiratory issues ideally should actually NOT be on narcotic pain medications.

This is your life we're talking about here... be honest with yourself and your doctors about the doses you are taking. Please try to get off them and onto some other type of pain control; it will likely require hospitalization. Good luck to you - I really think it's in your best interest to get off those drugs.

 

[onetay]

Nancy,
I am so sorry that you are having a hard time. It seems that all that could be going wrong with you has. I hope that you speak with your doctor(s) and they find an answer for you. I have some blurry vision sometimes and often have trouble focusing to read things close to me, but I have been told that is part of turning 40 and going to need bi-focals. I am not sure of your age but for the vision problems maybe an eye doctor could find and answer for you. Do any of the meds you take have side effects close to what you are discribing? It was just a couple thoughts. I wish you the best to find your answer soon and feel better also.
Tammy

 

[BigSis]

Do you have a diagnosis of CNS problems Nancy?
I don't know what drugs you are on so cannot comment further except to say that amitriptilline cause some delay in passing urine as you discribe.

Hang in there (((((Nancy)))

 

[peonyprincess]

Well, I am going to try this again. Last night I sat down and entered all of my medications and wouldn't you know, for whatever reason, it didn't take. So I will enter it here again here shortly.

To answer a few questions first though. My Neuro will not give me a CNS diagnosis and I am not sure why. He might actually have a reason but I am not sure. AS for my medications, I take great pains to know all about my medications for a several reasons. One, prior to my disability, I was a Registered Nurse and a supervisor over ICU/IMC. I obviously have to know about the medications that I would give to my patients but I also made sure that I knew not only what I was taking but my family as well. I will also say, that I like many others, can make mistakes and not know all there is to know and have to ask questions from time to time. There has been a question about the Lortab that I take. I have been on Lortab for well ov er three years now, unfortunately, and it very well could be the Lortab useage, however low it may be. I also do take antiseizure medications. So could my problems be the Lortab, does the dose of my Keppra need to be increased or do I need a new medication all together? There was also a question about what "other" medications that I take that I am not admitting to and I can tell you that I do not take any street drugs as the possibility of them causing problems with my other prescribed medications. Also, I could lose my nursing license. While I am disabled and not using my license, I refuse to let go of it. I worked to hard for it. Anyway, here comes the handfuls of medications that keep me going.

Indomethacin 50mg one capsule three times a day
Plaquinel 200mg one capsule twice a day
Evoxac 30mg one capsule three times a day
Furosemide 120mg twice a day
Flexeril 10mg take three tabs at bedtime
Lyrica 150mg one capsule twice a day
Coumadin 3mg one tab at supper
Metolazone 2.5mg one tab daily
Metoprolol Tartate 50mg take one tab twice a day
Cymbalta 60mg one tab twice a day
Spironolactone 50mg take one tab twice a day
Ranitidine 150mg take one tab twice a day
Lipitor 80mg take one tab at bedtime
Potassium 10meq take 4 capsules four times a day

Now those medications listed above are the ones I take on a daily basis. The rest are the ones that I have PRN: Restoril, Lunesta, Attarax, Xanax, Meclizine, Promethazine, Benzonatate, Acyclovir, and Lortab.

As for my respiratory problems..... I was born with a form of asthma that goes away as you grow up. I was exposed to some pretty nasty bugs working as a nurse and having a compromised immune system, I caught them. I have had Mycoplasmpneumonia, Histoplasmosis, as well as the regular old flavor of pneumonia. My lungs are scarred from these illnesses which led to the diagnosis of Interstitual Lung Disease. Oh and yeah, the doc said that my Asthma was back. Might as well be...hahaha.

Yes like others, I can get quite depressed about my illnesses and yes after four years of not working, I miss nursing as if I left it yesterday. I have to remain upbeat because of my family. I do not like to let my children see just how down I can get. Anyway, better end, my granddaughter feels she needs attention. Hope all is well for everyone.

Nancy

 

[Monica3]

Dear Nancy,

So sorry to hear about all your troubles. I have little knowledge of most of the meds you take, so I can't help you out there--best leave that to the doctors (someone posted a neat site recently that allows you to enter all your meds and it runs an interaction check for you--it's pretty neat and might be worth looking into).

The only thoughts that come to my mind are related to the naps/dreams you mentioned. If you are not sleeping well at night (not getting through all the stages of sleep repeatedly) and are not getting adequate REM sleep (the stage in which you dream), you can have what is called "REM rebound" where all you have is dreams when you do finally fall asleep. Of course, this is not restful sleep either because it is not the entire cycle of sleep. But, the falling asleep and immediately dreaming makes me think of this. So...it might be worth talking to your doctor about your sleep and the fact that some of these dreams might indicate severely interrupted sleep. Not sure what can be done about it because sometime pain/sleep meds contribute to this I think (I for one cannot sleep deeply when taking Tramadol). MY other concern what whether you were falling asleep while you were actually doing other things (i.e., when you are actually entertaining guests, or driving). If so, this is obviously hazardous and might indicate a need for a sleep study.

Just a few thoughts about sleep. It is likely more complicated than this...just ideas to consider prior to seeing your doctor.