Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

Please bare with me while I explain..
This is very long..

Many of you know I had a stomach flu about 2 months ago. It lasted for 1 month. During that time I was in the hospital for 2 days and developed SLIGHT anxiety from being sick for so long.

I saw a new general doctor..He gave me a medicine called protonix to deal with the acid reflux I had been having due to the stomach flu..

I started taking this medicine one time per day..I started experiencing dizzyness...stomach issues...naseousness..increased heart palpitations...speeding/racing heart pains...i chalked all of this up to the anxiety i thought i had..

i went to a psychiatrist who gave me xanax..i tried not to take it unless i really needed it..i took it once and it made me really tired but didnt relax me at all..

the symptoms continued..i started wondering what changed in my life..i have never been like this before... one nite i started googling protonix (the acid medicine) and altho it is rare i started finding posts from pple who had the same symptoms as me...it was like that 1% odd side effect..anxiety, palpitations..headaches..dizzyness..i thought hmm maybe this is why the anxiety is heightened...this was in the midst of heart palpitations so bad on passover day i thought i was dying...

i called the general doctor and and told him what i found about the protonix..he insisted no way its not that from that.. he keeps blaming my anxiety..he did an ekg (oh my heart is fine) he checked my ears (no reason for me to be dizzy)...well here it is 3 days later--i have stopped taking the protonix and I feel like i am in detox for a hardcore drug..

i am dizzy, naseous, my heart is pounding, i keep gagging when i smell something (no im def not pregnant---checked 3 times!!).. i cant lay down w/o my heart raching, my acid reflux is ten times worse then before.. and I am not anxious. I know it sounds like I am but I am fully in control of what I am thinking. These are real symptoms. I am not vomiting every few hours or making the room spin trust me..

Because he doesnt believe the acid reflux meds did this to me. I dont know where to turn. I keep hoping and praying the meds will be out of my system and I will feel some relief but for now I am just sitting here hysterical crying...so tired...cant sleep at all..and I dont even know what to do.

See a new general dr? go back to the psychiatrist and fall into this trap that it is all anxiety when I feel like it is really really not?..I am in h*ll.. I dont even know what to do or who to turn to. I am just sitting here hysterical crying..

Message edited 4/12/2009 3:25:08 PM.

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

If I were you, I would see a new general doctor and maybe a new psychiatrist. Mainly because it doesn't seem like you trust them.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but many people who have anxiety don't believe their diagnosis.

I am not saying you have anxiety, I cannot diagnose you. It could be the protonix, it could be anxiety, but I think overall, you need a fresh opinion from a medical professional that you have a good rapport with.

Just my two cents....Good luck, I am so sorry you feel this way and hope it gets better very soon.

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

I hate when doctors don't take women seriously. I want to smack your general doc. Any medicine can give you side effects.

Who is your doc and where is he? Is he/she a family doc you know for a long time?

You sound like you need to tell your doc that he/she needs to come up with a better answer or you need a new doc and you need something much better for your anxiety. Xanax is not for everyone and it sounds like it did nothing for you. You may need a maintenance med to keep you level. No one can blame you for having anxiety after being sick for so long. There is an awful stomach infection out there that my co-worker had two times in 5 weeks. It required an antibiotic. Who knows if that's what you really have.

Anxiety can give you physical sickness.

I'm not diagnosing you but it sounds like you are not getting taken care of. I'm so sorry you are suffering. Don't stop searching for your answers. You know your body better than anyone.

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

Thanks Girls.
My Dr. is a well known Generalist but I feel like he was just so quick to blow it off like its anxiety.. I mean dude Im gagging, the room is spinning 90% of the time, I am not manifesting these symptoms ya know. I def. need to find new drs I guess. I cant stop searching for an answer b/c this is not me. I know something is just not right and I dont like being blown off. Not everything in the world is too be blamed on anxiety..maybe that is 2% of it, but something else is just off and I dont know how much more I can take of not feeling well :(

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

I don't have any experience with protonix, but the symptoms you listed are possible adverse effects of it as listed in the FDA info on drugs.comhttp://www.drugs.com/pro/protonix.html#s39

It sounds like your GP has not been responsive to your concerns. Maybe time to seek another opinion.
Hope you feel better soon!

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

Trust your gut, Doctors are human and they make mistakes and snap judgments just like the rest of us.

You know your body better than anyone.

My mom is a nurse and I honestly trust most people in medicine but mistakes happen, so if you feel like it's something, follow it.

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

I take protonix and have never had they symptoms. I would say if it's been 3 days and it's just as bad then that's not it. There is A LOT of stuff going around right now so I would be inclined to think it's something else. For the GERD try some prilosec OTC and see if that helps. I would have them do blood work to see if anything is off. It sounds to me, also, that you're questioning the doctor. That tells me that you don't fully trust him/her. I would look for anbother doc. Just because they are well known does not mean they are good for you. The dizziness and n/v sound like vertigo. I have that as well and when it's really bad I take Antivert. Maybe talking to a doc about that would help. My vertigo is unexplained and so it would not be because of an ear infection. I hope ytou feel better soon. FM if you need to talk!

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

Get another opinion with another PCP.

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

I sold that drug and similar ones for many years. That drug and all of the others are out of your system in about 12- 24 hours. The biggest side effects could stomach upset, loose stool, head ache.

I would suggest that you either go back to the original Psych or if you are not comfortable, pick a new one. Call your Insurance Company to see who is in the plan.

Maybe you need a drug specifically for anxiety or Depression. Xanax doesn't work for everyone and isn't a long term solution.

Maybe when you originally got the stomach virus it set off some type of anxiety in you. Are you under a lot of stress at home/work???

Don't worry, it will work itself out, just give it time.

In the mean time, keep busy- see friends, go to the gym, maybe find a counselor to talk to. As far as the heartburn, there is a diet you can follow, and Tums help a lot and can be taken as needed.

Good Luck!

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

Posted by avamamma

I sold that drug and similar ones for many years. That drug and all of the others are out of your system in about 12- 24 hours. The biggest side effects could stomach upset, loose stool, head ache.

I would suggest that you either go back to the original Psych or if you are not comfortable, pick a new one. Call your Insurance Company to see who is in the plan.

Maybe you need a drug specifically for anxiety or Depression. Xanax doesn't work for everyone and isn't a long term solution.

Maybe when you originally got the stomach virus it set off some type of anxiety in you. Are you under a lot of stress at home/work???

Don't worry, it will work itself out, just give it time.

In the mean time, keep busy- see friends, go to the gym, maybe find a counselor to talk to. As far as the heartburn, there is a diet you can follow, and Tums help a lot and can be taken as needed.



Good Luck!

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

Call a friend or relative to come stay with you. I would bet money it's the medicine. Just try to give it as long as you can to get out of your system. Sometimes our body reacts in strange ways to medicine. I hate it when doctors tell you it can't be causing these things. I was on anti-depressants for a time a few years ago and I can't tell you how bad it got. they made me ten times worse than i was before I started taking them and I was told time and time again it was not possibly the drugs. Once I was off them I was back to my normal self in no time. I would find another doctor and see if they can prescribe something else for the reflux or maybe even try an over the counter drug at this point.

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

I just want to add - your symptoms do not seem consistent to someone with JUST an anxiety disorder. If it is NOT the medicine I don't think that your doctor should just chalk these symptoms up to anxiety alone. You are not in denial of an anxiety disorder - something is clearly amiss.

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

no problem - and each of us takes our own time to metabolize medicine so it IS entirely possible some of the medicine or the side effects it caused are still present. even if it isnt the medicine, it will be good to rule it out as a cause.

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

I just want to send you . I came off an anti anxiety med last summer and could not believe the withdrawal symptoms. I too felt like a drug addict detoxing. Don't let anyone dismiss your symptoms...go to a new dr if you have to. Hopefully it won't be a long withdrawal. Feel free to FM me if you need to talk or have any questions. I am well aware of the effect anxiety can have on your life.

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

No advice other then like some of the PP said to get a second opinion. But I think we know when something is wrong, so def. see if you can see another Dr tomorrow. I do hope you feel better soon.

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

It NEVER hurts to get a second opinion. I hope you feel better soon though!

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

definitely get a second opinion it doesnt hurt

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

As hard as it is I would give it a few more days - then I think you will have a better idea if it is the withdrawal from the protonix or not. I would then get a new Dr. and get a full bloodwork done to try to get to the bottom of your physcial symptoms. If it is established 100% that there is nothing physically wrong with you and the medicine is definitely out of you system then find a good therapist - and, even then, meds aren't always the answer.

HTH at least a little

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

IMO anything is possible when it comes to medication and I'm a health care professional. Is what you're going through common? No. But possible? Yes.
I have had plenty of patients that were the 0.1% of the population that had the extremely rare side effect from something.
Having gone through steroie injections and experiencing every single one of the possible side effects I believe anything is possible depending on a person's make up.
Most of the population is fine and can tolerate most medications with no problem but all health care professionals need to step out of the box of the information that is fed to them and realize that there are those rare occurrences and you can be just that.
I would give it a few more days as hard as it is and see where you stand. Your symptoms definitely sound like more than generalized anxiety.

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

I dont know if this will help or not...

But my daughter was on a medication for years without ANY side effects. She developed a side effect of the drug which was very rare. When I questioned the doctor about it she blew me off b/c, although it was a documented side effect, it was a rare one. At my insistance we changed my daughters medication and the symptoms stopped. Her response to me was that it was very unusual occurance...

I would insist upon an alternative treatment or medication.

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

I would definately get a second opinion and also give it another day or two to see if your symptoms go away that way you can know for sure if it was the medication.

With that said though, I suffer from anxiety and panic disorder and I can tell you that anxiety can most definately make you throw up constantly and gag like you are doing. I swore up and down that I was sick with something -- my DH even drove me to the ER one night when I threw up for hours and shook like I had a fever. It was actually anxiety causing it. You dont realize what your mind can do, but it definately has the power to make you physically sick.

Lastly, the first time I took Xanax I didnt think it was working either. Try disolving it under your tongue -- it'll work faster. Give it another try if you feel you need it. I noticed the first time I just felt sleepy, but after another couple of times using it, I realized after about 10 or 15 minutes that my heart rate slowed down, my breathing wasnt as heavy, and i was slowly calming down. You wont instantly feel "normal" with xanax, but it should calm you slowly (and making you sleepy is part of that effect).

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

Thank you all. I truly appreciate all the advice and plan on doing what you have all suggested.. I truly feel at a loss as to what is going on with me on so many levels. Tomorrow I will see the psychiatrist again..and then call some new generalist drs..

i will keep everyone posted

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

Be proactive with your health

Re: Advice Needed, Please bare with me..

Some people think I am a little nuts for not liking to take medication, even common medication that rarely causes side effects. But I know that medication can cause side effects. I have a sensitive body and react strangely to some meds. Perhaps it is the medication that is causing this for you.

However, anxiety can have some strange effects too. There have been times that I have SWORN certain symptoms that I was having (shaking, dizziness, etc). were purely physical, but once I dealt with the anxiety, the symptoms went away. Its really amazing what the brain can do to your body.

All that being said, I suggest that you find some doctors that take your situation more seriously and are open minded. A doctor that will consider all possibilites. I know its very very very hard to find. But they are out there. It bothers me that your doc is not taking all possibilities into consideration. If he is wrong, you are the one to suffer. I wish you the best. Keep us posted and feel better.

Oh, and I may be in the minority with this, but if a doctor suggests that you take another medication to counteract these symptoms, I would look in to the medication first. If you are sensitive to meds, you should be careful what you put in to your body. Personally I think medication can be serious business. Good luck!