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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
seizures and SSRIs
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
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seizures and SSRIs
by Elisabeth, Apr 01, 2003 12:00AM
I have recently been diagnosed with OCD (obssessions only), major depression and self harming tendencies (such as cutting superficially on my arms and legs). A few weeks ago I started taking zoloft to control some of these symptoms and to help deal with obssessions about mistreating children. I am tolerating the medication well and am already begining to "talk myself down" when I get vivid thoughts of hurting kids and not feel so guilty about having them. My depression is also improving and for the first time in months I have enough energy to get out to the gym and enough consentration to read. I've even managed to not cut on myself in over a week. My concern is that I have a history of partial seizures and even though I haven't been on medication in 3/4 years I'm worried that the zolft might lower my seizure threshhold due to it's effects on seretonin. Have any of your patients with epilepsy who take SSRIs had problems with re- occurring seizures after being seizure free for years? I'm doing well and am not willing to risk loosing my independence by having seizures again. Thank-you for your help.
Elisabeth
Elisabeth
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Apr 03, 2003 12:00AM
, Apr 03, 2003 12:00AM
Seizures occur in only 0.1% of people on this medication, and then usually only at the highest dose. If you are more sensitive to seizures because of your past, ask your neurologist about a small dose of seizure suppresant medication. Be careful when you stop taking the drug...that's when you might be more susceptible...follow your doctors instructions carefully, and avoid alchohol is you are worried about seizures.
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Conquering Anxiety, Depression and Fatigue Without Drugs - the Role of Hypoglycemia
by Professor Joel H. Levitt
The Anxiety & Hypoglycemia Relief Institute
e-mail:***@****
voice-mail:212-479-7805
web-page: http://www.travelersonline.com/anxiety/
(For questions regarding anxiety & hypoglycemia and New York City
classes, contact Prof. Joel H. Levitt ***@****)
Stress is often blamed as the root cause for anxiety, depression and fatigue, but, although stress can make any problem worse, the source of such problems is often physical in nature. And hypoglycemia is one of the major physical causes.
This article covers the following:
What is Hypoglycemia? - the cause of hypoglycemia and its effects.
Typical Hypoglycemia Symptoms - the wide range of mental, emotional and physical symptoms.
Testing for Hypoglycemia - standard medical testing and why it is often unreliable.
The Solution to Hypoglycemia - a list of dietary and nutrient recommendations, with special notes and cautions.
Recommended Reading - books and other references that will give you a more complete understanding.
What is Hypoglycemia?
First of all, let's be clear on one major point - hypoglycemia is not a "disease" in that you either have it or don't, it is a condition, and, in most cases, it is fully reversible.
Some types of hypoglycemia are caused by a tumor or other physical damage to a gland. However, that is rare, and not the focus of this article. The more common type of hypoglycemia - called "functional," "reactive," or "fasting" - is your body's reaction to what you put in it.
Hypoglycemia is the body's inability to properly regulate blood sugar levels, causing the level of sugar in the blood to be too low or to fall too rapidly.
Blood sugar, in the form of glucose, is the basic fuel for all brain operation and physical activity, including muscular. If the available fuel is too inadequate, any marginal physical or mental system may start to shut down. In addition, the glandular imbalances that result, as the glands struggle to regulate the sugar level, cause their own symptoms - especially high adrenaline, which is usually perceived as anxiety or panic, but, in some cases, can lead to violence. (Am I saying this has something to do with domestic violence and street crime? YES! And there is expert congressional testimony to back this up.)
Here is a typical pattern:
1. You eat or drink excess sugar (the average American consumes well over 100 lbs/yr.).
2. The body releases insulin to put sugar into storage, but the insulin response is excessive (due to ADAPTATION and/or chromium deficiency).
3. About 2 hours later so much sugar has been put into storage that there is not enough left in the blood, and you get a low-blood-sugar emergency.
Symptoms such as weakness and mental fog begin.
4. The body responds to the emergency by dumping adrenaline into the system.
More symptoms follow from the high adrenaline, such as racing heart, anxiety, etc., etc., etc..
5. The roller coaster rises and falls in critical hormones, causing an unbalance in all the hormones and often resulting in ongoing symptoms.
Many Americans have hypoglycemia to a greater or less degree. The symptoms comprise a remarkably long list and range from mild discomfort to being completely incapacitated.
Typical Hypoglycemia Symptoms
Following is a list of symptoms I've drawn from multiple sources, plus my own observations. The list is long because symptoms result not only directly from low blood glucose but also from the glandular imbalances that result, especially high adrenaline. Only one or two symptoms may be present, but most often, you will find several.
Note that although I've listed mental and physical symptoms separately, they often overlap.
Mental Symptoms
Anxiety - ranging from constant worry to panic attacks.
Phobias - claustrophobia, agoraphobia, acrophobia, and so on. This is anxiety tied to a particular issue.
Nervousness
Restlessness
Irritability
Depression - especially with females
Violent outbursts - especially with males
Obsessive Compulsive Behavior
Forgetfulness - this may just be choline/inositol deficiency.
Inability to concentrate
Unsocial, Asocial, Anti-Social behavior
Crying spells
Nightmares & night terrors - terror can continue after you wake up. It is especially indicative of hypoglycemia if you wake in a cold sweat, if the terror continues, if there is pressure on the chest, or if you are unable to breathe.
Physical Symptoms
Headaches - especially if a meal is missed.
Tachycardia - racing pulse due to high adrenaline.
Fatigue, weakness, "rubbery" legs.
Tremor or trembling of arm, leg, or whole body (outside or inside)
Twitching, jerking, or cramping of a leg muscle - cramping may be just calcium or magnesium deficiency or food allergy response.
Waking after 2-3 hrs sleep
Tinnitus - ringing in the ear, due to high insulin in about 70 % of tinnitus cases.
Abnormal weight - too high or too low.
Compulsive craving for sweets, colas, coffee, alcohol
Lack of appetite
A diagnosis of "mitral valve prolapse"
Crawling sensations on skin
Fainting
Blurred vision
Smothering spells - gasping for breath
Red blotches on skin or circular arcs of red skin
Lack of sexual drive
Chest pain - severe, but EKG normal.
Can't tolerate bright light or loud sounds
Joint pains
Another clue is that the symptoms are usually worse in the early morning after waking, and get better after being up and around a full day.
It's a remarkably long list and for very good reasons!
Many of the above symptoms can be found in the standard PDR
(Physician's Desk Reference) as the typical expected side effects
for a NORMAL HEALTHY person given an injection of adrenaline
(alternate name epinephrine).
Why should anyone not injected with adrenaline have such symptoms? To understand what is going on, we have to understand how