Another Horrible Week

My next post was supposed to be a continuation of the long list of drugs and experiences I'd had with those drugs during this ordeal.  I must, however, take a short detour with this post as it may have some relevant information to add.

My week started out this past Wednesday.  My doctor had prescribed Welbutrin, 150mg per day to address my severely, worsening depression and Prednisone as a third experimental trial to see if the previous results I'd had (see last post) would repeat themselves  The Prednisone dosage was to be as follows:  Day 1 - 60mg, Day 2 - 50mg, Day 3 - 40mg, Day 4 - 30mg, Day 5 - 40mg - Day 6 - 0mg, Day 7 - 40mg, Day 8 - 0mg, Day 9 - 40mg, etc.and to follow that dosing till I spoke to him.

The next afternoon, after having taken both medications my symptoms began to worsen.  Many of my old ME/CFS/Fibromyalgia symptoms that had been under control for about the last two months, came back with a vengeance.  I felt the all-over body pain creeping in and as the hours ticked by, they got worse.  I started to feel as though I had a fever (but of course I didn't actually) and coordination and energy dropped.  I was so depressed.

At first I thought that it may have been that I had missed a dose of Zoloft the night before.  When I had started taking the Zoloft (again) two months ago, my pain had mysteriously gotten much better.  My condition in general was better and all from a low 100mg dose of Zoloft it seemed.

I got back on track with the Zoloft and hoped to see a change after a couple days, but none came.  The pain and feverish feeling (on top of the already present weakness & fatigue) were getting worse if anything.

Then yesterday, I don't know what the hell happened.  I wondered if I had mistakenly gotten caffeinated coffee (a big no-no for me) that morning during my daily .5 mile walk to Dunkin Donuts because about an hour after I got home, the you-know-what hit the fan.  My mental state degraded, gradually escalated into a full-blown anxiety attack, complete with shaking limbs, heart practically beating out of my chest, that feeling that I was completely out of control and may just die any moment.  I couldn't talk to anyone or keep my mind on a single thought.  This lasted for hours (the severity waxing and waning) until I excused myself with an Ipod & headphones and locked myself into a room, lyed down on the bed, listened to Brahms and tried breathing exercises.  Oh yeah, I also took .5 mg of Ativan which is what I think finally brought me out of it for the most part.  As a result of my anxiety and just plain being out of my mind, I had missed a Prednisone dose (30mg).

The day wasn't over though.  My husband had flown in from LA that day after not having seeing me and our daughter for about six weeks.  We ordered pizza and sat down to eat.  I still wasn't feeling well and was not (to put it mildly) the life of the party but it seemed that the worst of my anxiety was over.  At one point I leaned my head over toward my husband's shoulder for some comfort.  The moment my head was down, my world began to spin out of control.  I'm talking full vertigo here - didn't know which way was up.  I also felt as though I would get sick at any moment.  I told everyone I needed to lay down and somehow stumbled to the couch as the worst of it was subsiding.  As I layed down, I still felt really dizzy and nauseated, but the spinning had stopped.  I remembered the missed dose of Prednisone and asked my mom to get it for me thinking I may be having withdrawal.  My dad took my blood pressure and it was 113/72 which is on the low side, but my pressure tends to be lower.  In about thirty minutes the dizziness got a little better and I was able to get up (with assistance) and be led slowly up the stairs to bed. 

The dizziness and subsequent nausea plagued me all night long.  When I got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night I lost my balance and almost fell twice.  This morning, I don't feel too dizzy but weak and unsteady on my feet. 

I'll be calling my doctor as soon as his office opens.