It's either covid or influenza according to one doctor

[Vincent]

Glad to hear you received better care this time!! You should begin to feel better soon!

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[Rusty PW]

Bill.......I know what you need. A set of jumper cables, a 12 volt battery, a qt of motor oil, and some wild sex.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Into week 3 now of the chest/sinus infection crap. About half-way through the antibiotic.
The coughing is much less but now into a new problem..............
Last Monday, because it's so very hard to get appointments with most doctors, they are weeks if not months out, I went ahead and kept my appointment with the neurologist who has been trying to deal with my headaches - both migraine and other types. They had been diminishing in number but in recent weeks were making a comeback. A while back it was a headache every day, and a migraine about 3 times in a week.
He said since the gabapentin didn't seem to be helping any more, "stop taking it".
So I did.
Go ahead - look up "what happens if you suddenly stop taking gabapentin".
i have a new respect for drug addicts and alcoholics going cold turkey and trying to recover.
The John Lennon song "Cold Turkey" comes to mind.
Hey, he said "stop taking it" - his words exactly, so I did.
So it's been a few days of pure hell. It's crept up, at first being the inability to fall asleep at night, anxiety, then leading to literal attacks and the inability to sit or lay down and relax at all. Saturday night I was up pacing the driveway at 3:30-4am - my wife trying hard to help. The night before I was up until about 2am, pacing unable to sleep or even lay down. The last couple of days the feelings have been day and night.
So yesterday just 1 minute (literally!) before urgent care closed, my wife drove me back in. I saw the same doctor who I saw on Thursday. I had planned ahead and took the tray of every med I've been taking, and a couple I had stopped, including the gabapentin.
She said it appeared to be drug withdrawal and that I was in for a few days of hell.
I showed her a med a doc had prescribed last fall when that doc thought my gall bladder pains were simply anxiety. It was 10mg, twice a day - this doc said take 2 every 4 hours and just before bed time take 5 all at once.
It worked, I actually sort of slept last night although not a normal refreshing sleep. Then a couple of hours after getting up - here it comes again.

Yeah, Lennon's song fits.

 

[bd100]

Don't do anti-anxiety pills long term. Gradually wean yourself off of as much as possible. Many of these things are very bad news if taken long term.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Nothing is working.
Today was a day from hell. Only about 2 hours out of the whole day allowed me any normal function at all. I tried going for walks - and I couldn't walk any faster or better than a 3 year old. I struggled to go 1/4 mile and turn around.
Panic attacks/anxiety attacks were the norm today, over and over and over. I made it - driving, which was stupid, to the street rod gang coffee this am, but it was a struggle holding it together for that 90 minutes. I got home and fell apart.
I took more of the pills - no real help. Exhausted totally, fatigued, struggle to stand and walk a straight line, confusion, why am I going to this room? Did I do this or that? What day is it? What month is it?
I've taken about all the lorazepam I care to - almost maxed on the doses the last doctor said I could do, do NOT want to take the max doses (1 to 2 pills every 4 hours (0.5mg pills - lowest dose)) and all it does is make me more fatigued.
I told my wife - if it's not better soon I'm heading to ER and telling them I'm not leaving until they figure it out. Ordinary family doctor is limited and will only use this one drug - guessing at what's really going on
(is it STILL Gabepentin withdrawal -two freaking weeks later?????? That's a damn long time when the papers on the internet all say 7 to 10 days)
Yeah, trying to sit and calm and type to wear myself down and get through this episode. Feel free to totally ignore this rambling bulls...........

 

[srchingon]

i had a similar bout back in 2020. it started in early Feb where every single night i would get congested, then it started to get worse. Within a month i could not breathe through my nose.

long long story short: check your dental work.

edited

I am going to DM you.

 

[WILDHOBO]

i had a similar bout back in 2020. it started in early Feb where every single night i would get congested, then it started to get worse. Within a month i could not breathe through my nose.

long long story short: check your dental work, check for anemia - take iron supplements for anxiety attacks and magnesium to calm you down.

I am going to DM you.

Not trying to get in a fight, but jeep forums shouldn’t be where w place for actual medical advice. Unless the advice is to go to a doctor. A real one. You don’t know history, allergies, medication interactions, none of it. Just because it’s over the counter, doesn’t make it a good idea.

 

[srchingon]

Not trying to get in a fight, but jeep forums shouldn’t be where w place for actual medical advice. Unless the advice is to go to a doctor. A real one. You don’t know history, allergies, medication interactions, none of it. Just because it’s over the counter, doesn’t make it a good idea.

understood. i edited my post.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

A slight turn of the pages, but still stuck deep in the woods.
The antibiotics took care of the chest congestion and coughing. So obviously it wasn't flu or covid, but something else.
Backtracking a bit - in the middle of that, one of the two neurologists I see (one for essential tremor, the other for headaches/migraines) said since the gabapentin wasn't helping, stop taking it.
That I did on July 9th. I took one that AM and then none after that.
Several trips to urgent care since then............last time the doctor on duty there said to schedule a 2 week follow-up with my regular doctor. Their computers were down but they said they'd schedule something and call me. Yeah, right - never happened (as is typical) so I scheduled a follow-up myself.
Symptoms still extreme attacks of anxiety and panic (originally attributed to gabapentin withdrawal) but I found myself unable to stay awake very much during the day. Pure exhaustion, fatigue beyond belief. I updated my doctor with everything, including the extreme (and I mean extreme) fatigue that meant sitting for very long would find me sleeping, no matter where I was.
He explained it was not unexpected at his point, and he believes the gabapentin was covering up something else, and my brain and body trying hard to fight the attacks and stay centered were totally exhausted. He said I was in 24/7 fight or flight mode and it had worn me out.
New schedule for a drug they already had me on, and a new one added that should take over in a few weeks until things normalize.
I told the doctor it reminded me of when I was in college and stayed out until 4 am, went to my apartment, crashed for a couple of hours, then got up and went to classes.
He said - yeah, but that was your choice, and for fun.
This is no fun. It feels like I haven't slept for a week. (among the other stuff, too)

 

[Vincent]

A slight turn of the pages, but still stuck deep in the woods.
The antibiotics took care of the chest congestion and coughing. So obviously it wasn't flu or covid, but something else.
Backtracking a bit - in the middle of that, one of the two neurologists I see (one for essential tremor, the other for headaches/migraines) said since the gabapentin wasn't helping, stop taking it.
That I did on July 9th. I took one that AM and then none after that.
Several trips to urgent care since then............last time the doctor on duty there said to schedule a 2 week follow-up with my regular doctor. Their computers were down but they said they'd schedule something and call me. Yeah, right - never happened (as is typical) so I scheduled a follow-up myself.
Symptoms still extreme attacks of anxiety and panic (originally attributed to gabapentin withdrawal) but I found myself unable to stay awake very much during the day. Pure exhaustion, fatigue beyond belief. I updated my doctor with everything, including the extreme (and I mean extreme) fatigue that meant sitting for very long would find me sleeping, no matter where I was.
He explained it was not unexpected at his point, and he believes the gabapentin was covering up something else, and my brain and body trying hard to fight the attacks and stay centered were totally exhausted. He said I was in 24/7 fight or flight mode and it had worn me out.
New schedule for a drug they already had me on, and a new one added that should take over in a few weeks until things normalize.
I told the doctor it reminded me of when I was in college and stayed out until 4 am, went to my apartment, crashed for a couple of hours, then got up and went to classes.
He said - yeah, but that was your choice, and for fun.
This is no fun. It feels like I haven't slept for a week. (among the other stuff, too)

Slow process. Glad to hear that it seems like you’re headed in the right direction tho! Is your breathing better?

 

[Hootbro]

Backtracking a bit - in the middle of that, one of the two neurologists I see (one for essential tremor, the other for headaches/migraines) said since the gabapentin wasn't helping, stop taking it.

I assume they have ruled out Parkinson's?

Not trying to go negative or dark on the subject but that seems to get overlooked a lot before proper diagnosis.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I assume they have ruled out Parkinson's?

Not trying to go negative or dark on the subject but that seems to get overlooked a lot before proper diagnosis.

As far as I know, they've not even thought about it and when I mention "I had an aunt with Parkinson's" and so on, they right away say "no, you don't have that".
It was 6 months before they figured out my gall bladder - I'd been in several times to urgent care, the regular clinic, and twice to ER before they finally decided to even look in that direction (even though it was a textbook set of symptoms)

 

[Rusty PW]

As far as I know, they've not even thought about it and when I mention "I had an aunt with Parkinson's" and so on, they right away say "no, you don't have that".
It was 6 months before they figured out my gall bladder - I'd been in several times to urgent care, the regular clinic, and twice to ER before they finally decided to even look in that direction (even though it was a textbook set of symptoms)

My wifey went to a couple of different specialists before finding one who properly diagnosis her Parkinson's. He said that people will have it for at least 10 yrs before the symptoms show. The other doctor's said that they don't believe that she has Parkinson's.

 

[Vincent]

So, how’s it going?

 

[Rusty PW]

Hey you crazy old squirrel. Wifey got you hooked up to the that 12 volt battery with the jumper cables yet?

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