Non Drug Induced Akathisia

[Chuck52]

I have suffered from the symptoms of Akathisia for as long as I can remember. This would include childhood to around the age of 8. I am now a 40 year old male. The symptoms have always interfered with my ability to lead a normal life in that I am constantly in a state of agitation. Adult relationships have been affected by this condition to the point where I am unable to lie in bed with a partner due to the constant need to move or manipulate my body and joints to temporarily relieve the impending feeling of agitation or anxiety.

I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder 5 years ago and have been taking 20mg of Lexapro and 300mg of WELLBUTRIN XL. I believe they have relieved most of the symptoms of depression but may have exacerbated the Akathisia type symptoms.

My question is can Akathisia or some other disorders similar to this occur without drug therapy? Could there be a connection between this non drug induced Akathisia and the depression I have suffered from throughout my life?

I lost my career as an Airline Pilot due to the depression and would love to regain that part of my life. I worry that I may have been misdiagnosed initially and that the Akathisia like symptoms maybe the underlying cause to my troubles.

Thank you in advance for your any help that anyone maybe able to provide. I would be interested to learn even if any other people have had this experience.

[Hann14]

Hey I also have this problem. For as long as I can remember I could not sit still. People have told me perhaps it's undiagnosed ADHD but I don't think so. I can concentrate fine and I really feel the restlessness and constant movement I feel surpasses that experienced by someone with ADHD. I've been tested repeatedly for hyperthyroidism and it's not that either. Most days I have to pace for at least 2-4 hours, move and fidget constantly while sitting and basically have to shake myself to sleep. People always look at me funny, especially since I'm in university, surrounded by people all the time, and I know it must be distracting for people. I do it without thinking. When I heard of akathisia I was so excited because I figured I had finally found it! But then everywhere I looked it was said that it was caused by drugs in some way. For me, however, my symptoms started long before I was ever introduced to any drugs and only started anxiety medication a year ago and notice no difference in the frequency of my issue. I would really like to know what's up! As for all of you guys out there going through the same thing, I feel you. It really ***** and can be very embarrassing.

[ponderingit]

First of all I want to say I'm sorry that you have suffered so much with akathisia, especially as a child. I am a grandmother who has also suffered from childhood depression, ADHD and Reading Dyslexia and Panic Disorders. Unfortunately, I went undiagnosed until I was in my mid thirties.

I had no idea that such a problem Akathisia, had a real name and was thrilled when I learned that it wasn't me just losing my mind! Most of my issues with it are drug side effects, some of the biggest being; Requip (used for restless leg syndrome), Phenogrin (used for nausea), Armour (used for hypothyroidism), as well as the usual anti-psychotic drugs.

The reason I am posting this is that I think we need to consider every drug that take when trying to understand what is causing this stuff. It may not even be the drug so much, as the filler agents that mixed into the drug making process.

I ended up here on this site today because I had decided not to take my Adderall today, so that I could just lay in bed and have a day of rest. Well, it didn't work. I've discovered that NOT taking Adderall, has brought on Akathisia. So I got up, took the Adderall and am feeling relief. It doesn't make sense, being so sensitive to medications, but the point is, we just need to pay attention to what our bodies are telling us. We need to evaluate what works and be aware of triggers. We may also have hyper-sensitivity to the additives in our foods.

Please let us know if you discover any possible triggers or solutions to your issues. Thank you for sharing!

[drnancy880]

In considering the situation of a patient of mine (I'm a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist), he faces a complex history that includes severe traumatic brain injury, probable prior history of Bipolar II disorder, sleep walking and sleep eating, insomnia and frequent wakening, and akathisia.  He is on Lexapro and no anticonvulsant or other mood stabilizer.  I don't know whether to consider his akathisia as resulting from his TBI or Lexapro or mania or ...  Anyone with ideas, write to me at ***@****      Thank you.
Nancy

[ILADVOCATE]

I would look up to make sure that no medication you are taking can worsen akathesia. For example I have advanced tardive dyskinesia. As it turns out it was not caused by an antipsychotic but because "Lamictal can worsen a pre-existing Parkinsonian condition" (as my psychopharmocologist quoted from the PDR) which in my case was focal dystonia with some form of akathesia (although not diagnosed as a child). Lamictal is a perfectly safe and effective medication and has not been known to cause tardive dyskinesia on its own. But it can worsen dystonia. I'd say go to the medication website and see if they can worsen akathesia. Don't change anything on your own but ask your doctor for something in the same class that can't worsen akathesia. As for akathesia itself see a neurologist who is a movement disorders specialist. There are medications for it that could treat it.

[ksebmom]

My mother has severe akathisia attacks almost every other day that last up to 10 hours.  She also has parkinson's disease.  The doctors don't know what to do about it, there's nothing that triggers it or prevents it.  There's no way to track it.  They say her brain is "misfiring" and there's nothing we can do about it.  She is in agony, they try to knock her out with drugs so they aren't so bad and sometimes this heads them off.  She is either dopey from the drugs or moving all over the place or in an attack.  Anyone know of anything like this or know of any treatment that works?

[Clay201]

I, likewise, have symptoms of akathisia that can't be explained by meds. I found a brief abstract of a case report on a patient in India who developed akathisia after suffering encephalitis. That's it. Every other reference to akathisia I can find says it's caused by SSRIs, anti-psychotics, or a degenerative neurological disease like Parkinson's.

[fightingthefall]

btw, is akathisia a drug-induced problem only?  if so, does anyone know of conditions that mimick akathisia?  Thanks!

[fightingthefall]

I too am trapped in a constant state of agitation.  I don't know how to explain it to my doctor, because it's not anxiety, and it's not depression (though it has caused me to become progressively more and more depressed).  It's like I don't want to be touched (ultra sensativity), I don't want to sit still, but I don't want to do anything, I'm sometimes achey, and i'm severely tired if I don't take my adderall (was like this before the adderall too--was prescribed for possible add and extreme fatigue).  In addition, I feel like I am going completely psycho!  There's static in my head that won't go away, like I constantly either have a song stuck in my head that I can't stop repeating, or I'm having imaginary conversations.  At the worst points, all of this manifests into instense feelings of guilt, but for no reason.  Antianxiety meds do nothing, and the adderall only gets me out of bed.  I've decided to attribute my fatigue to the depression that has resulted from all of this, but I don't get where this other stuff is coming from.  I havn't been on any long-term medications, or even many short-term meds.  My pdoc doesn't understand my symptoms.  The only way I can explain it is to say I feel like I've been standing in line for several hours, and just can't take it anymore--but all of the time.  This is pretty much a constant feeling.

If anyone can help me w/ this, I would greatly appreciate it.  ANYTHING you can tell me would be a life-saver!

[markv]

Lexapro and every other SSRI are known to worsen Akathisia. I don't have much data about Wellbutrin because it's not a SSRI but it's still a form of a stimulant. I would seriously consider consulting with your doctor about stopping Lexapro for good and maybe lowering the dose of wellbutrin (if possible)

I know how Akathasia feels like since I had a few episodes after taking some medicine that is known to trigger it. It is hell and I would not wish it to my worse enemy.

Best of luck.