lifequake Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 I am on Day 3 of Trintellix, and the restless legs are torture. It's often in my arms, too. Like bugs crawling on my bones. Constant at night, when sitting, or when anxiety spikes. Afraid to contact pdoc. Afraid to take another pill. I want the feeling to be over NOW. I self-medicated with former propranolol and requip Rx's to get through yesterday and last night. My life is so far down the drain after ECT brain damage and TBI. I don't feel suicidal in this moment, but OBGYN and parents urged hospitalization yesterday. Been such a sobbing, psychotic, raging maniac. But I have fucked over all treatment options presented due to fear and intense mistrust of doctors and psychiatry after ECT ruined my life. Trouble making decisions because I am so dependent, cognitively screwed, panicky, violent, aggressive, agitated, depressed. I don't know what to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancesintherain Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 Did the propanolol or requip help? I’m just wondering if it’s a situation where the awful side effect can be managed that way (with your psychiatrists sign off). Not ideal, but possibly a fix while you try to see if the medication helps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifequake Posted January 27, 2018 Author Share Posted January 27, 2018 5 hours ago, dancesintherain said: Did the propanolol or requip help? I’m just wondering if it’s a situation where the awful side effect can be managed that way (with your psychiatrists sign off). Not ideal, but possibly a fix while you try to see if the medication helps? Living with the horrible akathisia and restlessness feels like a non-option. But clearly can't go on the way I've been living. Catch-22. Took gabapentin, requip, propranolol and still want to run in place and peel the skin off my entire body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifequake Posted January 27, 2018 Author Share Posted January 27, 2018 I stopped the Trintellix. Praying the akathisia torture won't last more than a few days to a week. There have to be alternatives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancesintherain Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 I hope it goes away quickly for you. I know it did for me (from another drug), but that didn't make it any easier while it lasted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rextasy Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 What dose trintellix were you taking? Are you taking anything else? Did the RLS start with the trintellix? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifequake Posted February 8, 2018 Author Share Posted February 8, 2018 On 1/29/2018 at 4:20 PM, rextasy said: What dose trintellix were you taking? Are you taking anything else? Did the RLS start with the trintellix? 5 mg Trintellix. Started on day 2 of taking it. I ended up involuntarily hospitalized, and guess what? No more Trintellix, no more akathisia/RLS. Every pdoc who says my reactions are "not typical" or "can't happen" can eat my socks. heh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browri Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 @lifequake In the beginning, particularly at 5mg and somewhat at 10mg, I also noticed a lot of restlessness and hyperactivity very similar to what I would feel from antipsychotic-induced akathisia. Read some studies that showed that in the beginning, Trintellix causes a huge release in acetylcholine because of its antagonism of 5HT3 receptors. Akathisia generally happens when there is more cholinergic activity than dopaminergic activity, which is why dopamine receptor blockers (antipsychotics) cause akathisia. They reduce dopaminergic activity and leave cholinergic activity unchanged. The easiest way to address this is to take an anticholinergic like Cogentin (benztropine) or Artane (trihexyphenidyl). It's only short term though. When they did PET scans of the brain to assess activity, they did find that while acetylcholine activity was much higher for people starting Trintellix in the beginning, it didn't remain elevated and normalized on its own after reaching a stable dose for a few weeks. I personally used Cogentin sparingly as I was titrating up on Trintellix but didn't need it after being on 10mg for like 2 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifequake Posted February 10, 2018 Author Share Posted February 10, 2018 @browri Thank you mucho for that information. Anticholinergics are quite high on the no-no list for TBI. I feel like any shot at quality of life has gone down the drain. Tired of existing in this vacuum post-electrical lobotomy. It's the cruelest thing one could inflict upon another human being. Sorry, needed a rant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browri Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 11 hours ago, lifequake said: @browri Thank you mucho for that information. Anticholinergics are quite high on the no-no list for TBI. I feel like any shot at quality of life has gone down the drain. Tired of existing in this vacuum post-electrical lobotomy. It's the cruelest thing one could inflict upon another human being. Sorry, needed a rant. Oh I agree. Anticholinergics are a no-no. At least personally I'm against using them regularly. They're for emergencies only and for the short term until you can change the medication that's causing the restlessness. In this case, it was worth it to stick it out on the Trintellix. Just have to get past the hyperactive startup phase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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