pErMAsKeTcH

Well, that's another thing, but still gott treated simiarly when I was at home, didn't want to go to this hospital in case it was drug-related (It wasn't, but it the fear of piolice had been drilled into me long ago.)

The first symotomology to present itself was Parkinsonian-type distonic reactions' That is, every single muscle in your body wnts to contact, and won't let go; believe you me, it hurts like Hell since you can't relax any more the muscles (think of how sore I was the next day).

I could hear the resident (i.e. new graduate doing his internship in Emergency Medicine) talking outside about my, "Not telling the truth about what I took," (which was true--I hadn't had anything except my first-ever Quizno's Sub.)

Now that I've done more research on neurleptics, like haldol, zyprexa, and other neuroleptics, generally used as antipsychotics (no, I'm not psycho or schizo or anything--it's an adjunct in my depression theray) and found that what I had experienced was, indeed, a neuromusclular dysntonic reaction, commonly referred to as oen of the sigs of Neuroleptic Malignancny Syndrome, a rare, but potentially fatal (I can see wht, too--I couldn't even contract my chest olr diaphrapm muscles any more since they werer already isotonically contracting.

The first physican, doing his Emergency Medicine residency, was convinced that I had taken street drugs--specifically large amounts of haloperidol, another--but much, much older antisyhchotic drug, again used in Parkinsonianism as well as paranoid schizophrenia. My psychiatrist had prescribed it to me, not because I am a psycho, and not because I have paranoid delusions, but in order to help stop the "ruminating" over the my failure--spint of putting in everything I had--to save my daughter and continune our happy marriage.

His initial diagnosis, on discarge, was "possible dystonic raction," which doesn't say much, beacuse had it been tardive diskinesia, I would not be able to type to you today at all.

Now, the new antpsychotic drugs. such as Zyprexa, are not associated with NMS, but I am still leary about taking them...

Without finding a clear cause for my painful extremely painful and asphyxiating dytonic (out of control) muscle reaction (sort of like a seizure, except you are completely conscious and are able to feel the pain--at least enough to want to trade your life for it to stop... He asked if I had been doing any street drugs; I said no. He asked me if there was any possibility someone could have slipped something in my drink (Zyprexa--but to a greater extent haldol and chlorpromazine--the older anti-psychotic medications) He discharged me and advisecd me to see my psychiatrist ASAP. He gave me 50 mg of dphenhydramine (benadryl--they use it all the time IV in hospitals), and sent me on merry way.

Within 15 minutes of being discharged, whilst waiting for a taxi cab to come and bring me home, I had another attack of this "dystonic reaction." This time it much much worse, and my time a much older physician, Dr. Johns, came to my side and immediately recognized this to be a case of Neuroleptic Malignancny Syndome. You can look it up on the Internet if you're not familiar with it. But that said, this older, much more experienced doctor did not prescribe an OTC drug (such as buy Benadryl, 50mg caps), but he prescribed them to me. What a way to waste money and time. But anywys, this Dr. Johns immediately recognized NMS and administrated an IV push of 2 mg of cogentin IV in divided doses and a dripof benadryl. This seemed to work, but everytime I get the feeling like Paxil withdrawal, which isn't fun, this is 10,000 times worse. And it can be fatal. I don't have the numbers in front of me--my CPS is in the other room--but I guess the point is, play with your SSRIs and SNRIs as much as you want, but neuroleptics are not to be toyed with, even when prescribed properly.

By the way, it was no physician that discovered that was the cause, it was I, who confirmed it with my father, who is certified in both Canadian and American Emergency and Family Medicine. It took a few weeks to figure out, and I haven't had a anything like muscle rigidity since then.

So even prescription pharmaceuticals aren't necessary to played with (Wtith the excpetion, of course, of Naproxen(tm) which is only available by presciprtion in Canada, and tylenol/aspirin with codeine which is avaible behind the counter without prescription in Canada, but not in the US.

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DJ RobIncAMDSPhD [pErMAsKeTcH]
vita non est cratera plena cerasorum.