View Full Version : Pass my nuerological exam, but still worried.
emanticoff73
19-09-17, 17:28
I seen the neurologist, well actually the Physicians assistant. She took down my complaints. She proceeded to make me do all these different t tasks also babinski reflex and otger reflexes. At the end she said you passed your numerology exam. I cried most of the time out if fear and stress. At one point she was going to send me for an nerve test for my arms because of shooting pain. But she spoke with the head of nueromusclear diseases, the neurologist, and she came in the room and said well your BLOODWORK you showed us,was oral and your exam was normal so you need to see a therapist for your anxiety. I asked over and over if involuntary muscle jerking was a problem and she said no. I said bit it happened during the day, no benign she said. I said my fingers move when I hold my hands out, no benign. My face twitches, no benign. I said scared I have m.s or als or something insidious and they both said no you do not have any of that. But I'm writing this post and I have muscle pain, spasms and twitching all over and I'm scared they were wrong. Should I trust the doctors? I didn't really complain of pain so much but feel like I got hit by a Mac truck today . Figures! Lots of twitching and tightening of face muscles. Now what? Help guys, what do you think? They never sent me for the nerve tests. If appreciate your feedback. My muscles are haywire. Like I'm a robot that needs to be recurcuited. I'm off my ativan two full days cold turkey as well. Had tremors in bed last night, woke up with a numb half of my face a SPINE pain that went away within minutes. I'm so confused.
nomorepanic
19-09-17, 17:38
Can I ask why you stopped the Ativan cold turkey as that can give you withdrawal symptoms.
Pass my nuerological exam
As I knew you would! :D Now... time to treat the illness you do have. Why not download the free CBT workbooks and start reading?
And here's my obligatory "Told ya so!" :winks:
Positive thoughts
Catherine S
19-09-17, 18:00
I agree with Nicola about the cold turkey withdrawl, not a great time to do that if your nerves are on edge so much. It's always better to reduce these slowly with your doctor's knowledge. I took Ativan many years ago and had a bad time coming off them even gradually under my doctor's supervision. I shook and trembled so much that my teeth chattered.
Also, taking tranquilsers like Ativan can be the reason for your twitching and muscle spasms in the first place as some have side effects like this..have you or your doctor ever made the connection between this drug and possible side effects? Just a thought.
Cath S
MyNameIsTerry
19-09-17, 18:27
If you become dependent on a Benzo then cold turkey you can experience rebound anxiety. It's a really bad idea.
Annaboodle
19-09-17, 19:16
Hi, I was asking about your Ativan dosage the other day and you replied, but no one else posted about it so I thought, "hmm... maybe I don't need to mention, as it's a low dose they're on and no one else has pointed to this as an issue". But others have now, so just to share my personal experience, I found that withdrawal can be really bad, even at a low dose. It should really only be done if possible under medical supervision with a tapering schedule. I've been through it myself without one (several times, coming off different benzos at different doses and failing to come off them for a long time. Withdrawal can be really quite nightmarish). I would talk to your doctor about a tapering schedule and ask if there might be a connection with what you're experiencing at the moment. I came off a low dose of a benzodiazepine first cold turkey and I can remember just not sleeping at all on and off for weeks, getting insane restless legs, jerks, jelly legs and extreme fatigue, etc. Also lots of visual disturbances and aural ones.
I know from speaking to others that coming off them can be ok if you properly taper with a schedule though and are patient with it, so I really hope I'm not worrying you. This was just my personal experience and it can be fine - just needs to done under advice of your physician.
emanticoff73
19-09-17, 19:45
Wow you guys are so awesome. first I would like to say it's like having family on here. Touching really. Secondly, I got off cold turkey because my sister is in a psych ward indefinitely as,we speak due to ativan. She had a nervous breakdown. So it scared me already knowing what ativan was doing to me. I know i shouldn't just get off but when I was tapering I was suffering anyways. I was between 0.5 and a 1mg a day for 2 3 months and on and off for 3 YRS. Do you guys think I should trust the neurologist when she didn't do any further testing? They know what to look for right? Thank you to all of you for your quick responses. Best website on the internet.
I stopped Xanax cold turkey and I got all kinds of weird nerve like pains. They were everywhere in my arms back and legs. They eventually subsided. Maybe it has something to do with bento withdrawals
Trust the neurologist! They are the experts and know what to look for. Reflexes test motor neurons and if they are normal then u are ok.
Catherine S
19-09-17, 20:04
Well I guess most of us would say trust the neurologists opinion...these highly trained specialists operate on brains every day after all so why would you not trust them? I'm sorry to hear about your sister too. I dont know the full story but if Ativan is part of it then I don't doubt that it's contributed to her breakdown. I wish her well in her recovery.
Cath ☺
Do you guys think I should trust the neurologist when she didn't do any further testing?
Well... either that or continue to torment yourself for absolutely no reason. Based on the tests, there's no reason at all to pursue further testing. What do you think makes the most sense? ;)
Let me tell you something... You may know from reading that I've survived two heart attacks, triple bypass, stents and most recently Stage IV Head and Neck Cancer. I could take up a page of the side effects and pain I feel on a daily basis. Two of the worst are neuropathy in my feet which makes them essentially numb to the touch. It feels like I'm walking on scrunched up socks all day. Add to that horrible stabbing pains that literally stop my in my tracks sometimes. Then, due to the surgery on my neck, I have these spasms that are so painful that they literally bring involuntary tears to my eyes sometimes. Due to the same surgery, I have nerve damage in my shoulder which makes the left side of my upper back burn with muscle pain.
I say all this because despite how much pain I'm constantly in, I know it's not sinister (like you now know your symptoms are not sinister). So I take my meds, exercise (mostly walking and simple home exercises) and work my rear off to maintain a positive mindset.
For you? You got the all clear. Your results are what so many diagnosed with a serious illness wish they had. Feel blessed instead of doubting. Push forward and start treating the reason for your symptoms. There are a few recent posts that illustrate what self awareness, self discipline and self help can do as well as one on on therapy and CBT. Be one of the members that slays the dragon and comes back to help others.
Positive thoughts
Catherine S
19-09-17, 20:17
Great post fish x
I will also dish out a Told ya so! and urge you to take all the good advice here. You have been brave in facing your fears but there is still work to be done. Do it for yourself first - but also your family.
emanticoff73
19-09-17, 21:27
Wow! Wish I had your mindset. The ativan is playing tricks on me. My body's moving before I want it to, excitability perhaps I hope, my muscles are all tense and twitching, in chewing gum like it's a sport and I want the trophy out of my nerves, my teeth also chattered to the point I couldn't talk. I feel like I want to jump out of my body, it's a horrible feeling. So was not sure if it was a disease or ativan. I jerk in my bed like I'm epileptic. My face is,twitching so bad in scared to pick my son up from school. Now I'm already a hypochondriac so this has sent me off the deep end. I'm trying my best to keep it together for my kids. My 1 yr old is gets up many times a night so I'm also sleep deprived. Two kids are a lot to handle when your suffering like this. But I will fight.
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Can a neurologist tell if you have a nuerogical disease by a nuerological exam. Walk on your toes, jerks, stick your younger out, smile, what's the days of the week backwards, reflexes, hold hands out close your eyes, how many hands am I holding up etc......
---------- Post added at 16:25 ---------- Previous post was at 16:19 ----------
Can a neurologist tell if you have a nuerological disease by an exam only. Walk on your toes, jerks, stick out your younger, smile, put your hands put and close your eyes, say the days of the week backwards, touch your nose then my finger, can you feel this, can you hear that, reflexes etc. That's my question. I just hope I didn't make them think I was nuts from the crying.
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Fishmanpa, I can't get over what you have been through. How do you find the strength to get through that. That is true strength in my book. I am thankful you are still here and wish you many many more healthy years. You help so many people with your strength.
Midnight-mouse
19-09-17, 21:31
If they couldn't tell enough by running the tests they do, they wouldn't have made you do them. Just believe In the people that have trained many years to tell if there is a problem or not.
I can only sympathise with what your going through in regards to coming of the medication. But you got the all clear.
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emanticoff73
19-09-17, 22:04
The neurologist did say ativan was a dangerous drug . I'm literally at home pacing. My husband says I make him nervous. Oh if only knew what nervous truly was. I heard it's harder coming off ativan then heroin. My cousin threw himself off a building twice. Survived the first time with a broken leg, rod up his spine and ruptured spleen. Then 6 yrs later he jumps out of a 6 th story window of the famous Chelsea hotel in my hometown of New York City. This time he accomplished his mission and I watched him take his last breathe. He was 23 YRS OLD. My other two cousins blew there heads off with shot guns. My father was schizofrantic, my sister has been admitted to a psych ward, my mom has always has severe anxiety. All she did was cry when I was little. My father was an alcoholic and was abusive to us. I'm scared of this beast mental Illness. I have seen the darkness it puts people in. I'm trying my hardest to fight this. I can't wait to see a therapist. With my stories though I hope she's ready for me. If I told you guys half the things I have been through you wouldn't believe it. I have handled it all never have drank or did drugs. I am a health nut. Except for the ativan. My mom started me on those.
Can a neurologist tell if you have a nuerogical disease by a nuerological exam. Walk on your toes, jerks, stick your younger out, smile, what's the days of the week backwards, reflexes, hold hands out close your eyes, how many hands am I holding up etc......
Thanks for your kind words and yes, they can tell. My wife has an acquired brain injury due to her illness last year. When we go to her neurologist, he performs all those tests and more and yes, those tests can and do show present and past issues/injuries both physically and mentally. That is fact... I live it every day.
Positive thoughts
MyNameIsTerry
20-09-17, 01:41
You've been through a lot of traumatic experiences in your life and I hope your therapist wll be able to help you address it all.
But I think you need to remember that even though all this you have managed to live. You are married. You haven't turned to substances or alcohol. That shows you have strength because it could so easily go the other way and who wouldn't understand if it did with all these experiences?
Benzo's are considered to be worse than coming off heroin but those studies are into benzo addicts only, not mental health cases where it has occurred as a result, if I remember correctly. So, it's compared one addict to another and that's not representative of mental health sufferers as we have different issues to work with.
But I reallt think you need to be talking to a doctor about your Ativan. Coming off them can certainly result in all the electric shock, jerk stuff and rebound anxiety is worse so you could be putting yourself through more than you need to when you could get yourself with your willpower through a taper instead.
emanticoff73
20-09-17, 02:04
I started getting the twitches and jerks while on ativan. I just realized though that I probably was taking it as I should. One day 0.5 the next 1 mg. Then all of a sudden not taking it. I did this for months and I think I damaged myself. I hope it's the ativan. My HA is bad tonight as I lay here feeling all these twitches and muscle pain all over. I'm trying not to think I'm dying. It's hard! I have so much muscle pain all over. Ugh.
Are you in therapy? If not, you really, really need to be. Not trusting doctors is the number 1 criteria for hypochondriasis.
MyNameIsTerry
20-09-17, 02:55
Ativan right now can certainly be making it worse. When your doses were up & down, if you had become to dependant then any reduction would be causing you symptoms.
The best thing you can do right now is talk to a GP about this and get yourself stabilised or at the minimum, supported.
I really feel for you honey, what you are going through right now is truely awful and the fact you have a young family to care for too, you are so brave.
You WILL get through this!
I was on diazepam for 7 years I hit tolerance started having muscle spasms and twitches and all sorts of jerks and involuntary movements. I saw 3 neurologists I was so scared and I was diagnosed with bfs and functional neurological disorder. Both benign conditions but very distressing with very real symptoms.
It's not all in your head.
You were in tolerance on the Ativan and coming off quickly has upset your cns. I've been off diazepam over 7mths now and still have symptoms.
You've come off now you either have two choices, stay off and give your brain time to heal or if this is impossible see a dr about a withdrawal taper plan. Just getting off 2mg diazepam on the last dose took me a taper of 2mths and I still got hit by loads of neurological symptoms. It's worse when done cold turkey.
Please be assured it's not a nasty neurological condition. It's what these sorts of drugs can do to a person xx
Annaboodle
20-09-17, 11:07
Everything Michelle said is spot on. If I hadn't known what the effects were I'd have thought I had some sort of terrible neurological condition too. As it was I still struggled with accepting that I wasn't just going completely mad and clung on to a mantra of "it's the diazepam withdrawal" when symptoms were v. bad. I found that it was impossible to tell what was my anxiety underneath it all and what was the effects of coming off the drug. It just merged into one big ol' mess! But it does get better (I got "good" minutes, then hours, then more) and then after a while it's so much better. As you improve you can start to work more and more on your anxiety. x
CleverLittleViper
20-09-17, 16:07
Neurologists are extensively trained, and they see people, day in, day out, with neurological illnesses/injuries. They know what they're doing. If they didn't, they wouldn't have the jobs that they do.
The neurological exam can seem rather flimsy, if you like, and not as intensive as one might imagine, but they are very good at detecting if there is any cause for concern. If there was slight doubt over your symptoms, they would have sent you for further testing. The fact that they didn't proves that they are confident that everything is A-OK.
Like others have said, you could very well be suffering some side effects of withdrawal. The worst thing you can do is just come off the medication cold turkey because the withdrawal will be so much harder to deal with. I'd book an appointment with your GP. They should be able to offer support and advice for handling the withdrawal.
I hope you start to feel better soon.
emanticoff73
20-09-17, 16:56
I'm off cold turkey 4 days now. The joint and muscle pain is maddening. Twitching is awful. Spasms in my face ugh. But I am so scared of this drug that I am too scared yo go back on even just to taper. My mom is on it 20 yrs and is getting Alzheimer symptoms. Wish she never have me my first pill. You guys give great advice and comfort. I appreciate every reply. I don't know what I would do without this website. Love to all of you.
How much were you taking daily in the lead-up to going cold turkey? Benzo withdrawal can definitely cause what you describe.
emanticoff73
20-09-17, 20:15
I was taking between .o5 and 1mg a day for about 3 month and on and off for 3 yrs.
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I feel like I have bells palsy. My lower face feels like it's being tugged on, my left eye has been twitching on and off for a week. But the joint pain is maddening. I get these sharp PAINS in my arms that feel like I'm getting a flu shot. I feel like I have arthritis throughout my body. Especially wrists, fingers and feet. It's insane. Feel sick. Like I have the flu. Is this normal with withdrawl or do i maybe really have a disease. Feel 90 yrs old.
Withdraw from many drugs can be challenging. I went through some hell coming off opioids after my treatment. I still take prescription pain meds almost daily but just not an opioid. I recall not having any major symptoms while on Zoloft for 6 months for some depression after my 1st heart attack (dodgy tummy at worst) but coming off I got the brain zaps and general "yuck" feeling for a couple of weeks.
Hang in there. It'll get easier as time passes. Just keep thinking you got the all clear! That's what's most important.
Positive thoughts
Your nervous system is overexcited because you no longer have the benzos acting on the calming GABA receptors. Try taking magnesium glycinate or taurine or l-theanine.
emanticoff73
20-09-17, 21:16
Okay I will look in to those. Take magnesium oxide, is that any good? Yes fishmanpa, that is all i keep saying to myself. So i don't freak out. It's been hard not to freak with all these symptoms though. It's like how can I feel this much pain. I went to put my 1 yr old shirt on and thought my wrist would break from the pain. I'm get twitches that shoot from my butt to my eye, then back down to my feet and up my leg. I will all of a sudden get pull on face too and numb feeling by mouth. . Unbelievable tingles and pain in my feet. But all over I feel like my joints have no cushion anymore. This is crazy.
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