“Do I have seratonin syndrome?”
I am a 21 year old female.
I am diagnosed bipolar since I was 16. I was originally on 60 mg of Prozac prior to my diagnoses, then switched to 20 mg of Prozac and lamictal. Eventually around 17 I was unable to take the lamictal anymore and was taken off of that, and given Klonopin for my anxiety instead. Now I don't take the Prozac anymore either, as the 20 mg has no effect on me whether I take them or not.
I have occasionally taken psychedelics since I was 15. In the past I have what I call "seizures" but I am not sure if they could be classified as such. Because I am always under the influence during the event, I do not always realize something is wrong. The first time I was 15 and I took LSD, was high for about 8 hours before I began to feel confused, and very cold and hot at the same time. My body would then tense up and all of my movements became incredibly wobbly and repetitive. I would reach to touch my face, and have my hand get to my chin before it would fall down again and retry, very quickly over and over. At some point the shiver became very bad. This lasted about 4 hours before I blacked out. When I woke up, everything was okay, and I wasn't high anymore. I swore off LSD, and decided that mushrooms would be safer. At 18 I was taking mushrooms with my boyfriend and suddenly right as I started to get high, the confusion and the shivering began, all the same symptoms as before. At the time I was prescribed Klonopin for anxiety and figured it would help, and it did for that night, within 30 minutes, I was asleep. I had sworn off of those until recently, when through some research, I learned that my Klonopin can be used preemptively to help stop these events, due to the effects on my nervous system. So we tried again, and the first couple of times I took very low doses of the mushrooms, and felt great, and thought the effects were incredibly positive. My boyfriend decided to make some mushroom tea, and I decided to try my new method with it as well. However, just as before when I was 18, I began to feel confused and shivering. I suspect it has something to do with Seratonin syndrome, but I am also not certain. However, this last time I experience a huge depressive episode after the event, bordering on needing hospitalization.
Could that episode have been caused by the strange "seizure," and is it possible that I do have Seratonin Syndrome? What should I do if I do have Seratonin Syndrome, and should I be talking to my doctor right away?
*I think it might also be important to note I have had multiple severe concussions before, including a few where I lost consciousness, and now deal with the symptoms of post concussive disorder. May be unrelated.
I am diagnosed bipolar since I was 16. I was originally on 60 mg of Prozac prior to my diagnoses, then switched to 20 mg of Prozac and lamictal. Eventually around 17 I was unable to take the lamictal anymore and was taken off of that, and given Klonopin for my anxiety instead. Now I don't take the Prozac anymore either, as the 20 mg has no effect on me whether I take them or not.
I have occasionally taken psychedelics since I was 15. In the past I have what I call "seizures" but I am not sure if they could be classified as such. Because I am always under the influence during the event, I do not always realize something is wrong. The first time I was 15 and I took LSD, was high for about 8 hours before I began to feel confused, and very cold and hot at the same time. My body would then tense up and all of my movements became incredibly wobbly and repetitive. I would reach to touch my face, and have my hand get to my chin before it would fall down again and retry, very quickly over and over. At some point the shiver became very bad. This lasted about 4 hours before I blacked out. When I woke up, everything was okay, and I wasn't high anymore. I swore off LSD, and decided that mushrooms would be safer. At 18 I was taking mushrooms with my boyfriend and suddenly right as I started to get high, the confusion and the shivering began, all the same symptoms as before. At the time I was prescribed Klonopin for anxiety and figured it would help, and it did for that night, within 30 minutes, I was asleep. I had sworn off of those until recently, when through some research, I learned that my Klonopin can be used preemptively to help stop these events, due to the effects on my nervous system. So we tried again, and the first couple of times I took very low doses of the mushrooms, and felt great, and thought the effects were incredibly positive. My boyfriend decided to make some mushroom tea, and I decided to try my new method with it as well. However, just as before when I was 18, I began to feel confused and shivering. I suspect it has something to do with Seratonin syndrome, but I am also not certain. However, this last time I experience a huge depressive episode after the event, bordering on needing hospitalization.
Could that episode have been caused by the strange "seizure," and is it possible that I do have Seratonin Syndrome? What should I do if I do have Seratonin Syndrome, and should I be talking to my doctor right away?
*I think it might also be important to note I have had multiple severe concussions before, including a few where I lost consciousness, and now deal with the symptoms of post concussive disorder. May be unrelated.
Female | 21 years old
Complaint duration: 6 years
Medications: Klonopin 0.5 mg
Conditions: Bipolar 2, Major Anxiety Disorder
2 Answers
Your story is complex and the symptoms are extremely concerning. I would recommend being evaluated so you can have some testing done to make sure you are not having these brain events. You could really end up getting hurt and permanently damaging your brain on a larger scale if it's something serious.
Good morning, I am so sorry you are facing with health issues at such a young age. To answer your question, i don't suspect you have serotonin syndrome based on the symptoms described or at list not as severe as i ma seeing in the hospital with altered mental status, rigidity, fever etc. But, one problem which scares me is using non-prescription drugs. Not everyone acts the same to them and looks like you are one of them. It may make you feel well at the time but then you will try something else or more and enough to cause a disaster. Could be just the combination of drugs at that time, or simple poor hydration and even nutrition and again, can be catastrophic. It breaks my heart when I am consulted to see patients your age and I have to let the family know they will never be the same. You have to follow with your psychiatrist and try different medications to help - Lamictal is a good one, Trileptal is also very good. Clonazepam as need or how was prescribed is very good. And try mediation, yoga, physical activity , go for a run when you are sad, look at the birds, nature, make you boyfriend do the same. Smile and find the inner power to help yourself. I am confident that your doctor loves to help you. Just recognizing your symptoms and trying to find a way to help yourself is the key to win this battle. I had patients telling me they loved psychotherapy; i have the website - no interest in this as i am not related but at list you can check it out.http://www.brightohypnotherapy.com and email is brighto@icloud.com Have a wonderful day and Merry Christmas , Dr Kiliment Neurohospitalist
