I just wanted to share something I learned from an experience and hope it might help someone. A few weeks ago, I got a cold. I live in a real cramped situation for 7 years now with someone that I question if they really care about me. That's another story. Anyway, he has been bringing home a lot of colds this year, and the germs have nowhere to go but in me because of the limited space. I got really tired of having a stuffy nose and aches and pains, so got a bunch of cold medicines which I never really used in the past. For the stuffy nose, I used Dristan nasal spray. I used that a few times the first few colds of the year, and since my nose was so stuffy, the drug must have gotten mostly on the swollen membranes. This time around, I didn't have the severe stuffiness, but was so pleased with how well the medicine worked, overused the drug and had rebound stuffiness. I was experiencing constant butterflies in my stomach, and couldn't figure out why. Before I went to sleep, I squirted a little spray in my nose because I thought the blocked breathing was causing the anxiety. Anyway, after a few days of this, and my cold going away, about 2 am, I started shaking and could not stop. It was uncontrollable and lasted for an hour. (This happened 2 more times before I finally figured out it was the drug.) Scared, I visited the ER,and with a little bit of an attitude, the docs said I just had a panic attack. I kept having nights of no sleep, and rapid heart rate, difficulty breathing, and a stomach that felt like a hot rock, and really had to work to push my urine out. I couldn't eat or drink water as it made me nauseous and dizzy.
So, I stayed at my mom's thinking my living situation was finally catching up to me. I felt better, and didn't have that spray with me, but hadn't connected the dots yet. The next night I stayed there, I brought the spray and put a squirt in each nostril for better breathing. I was looking at stuff on the internet trying to figure out what was wrong with me. It popped into my head about the nasal spray drug. I looked it up and sure enough my symptoms matched exactly. I tried to go to sleep, but was jolted out of sleep gasping for air and a pounding heart, followed by shaking that felt like what Parkinson's tremors look like. Actually my cat helped me wake up by licking my arms. She must've sensed something was wrong. On top of these physical symptoms, I felt like I was losing my mind. The next day I had a doctor's appt. as the ER told me to follow up. They diagnosed panic attacks too. As soon as the drug got out of my system, I started getting back to normal, which is mildly anxious and most symptoms are mental. I never had such terrible physical symptoms before. I thought I was going to die. One of the days it was really bad it felt like my lungs were tightening and I just laid there as still as possible trying to breathe.
The doctor did say that the drug I took was a stimulant, but shouldn't have such a dramatic effect. I know doctors have to study a lot and know 100 times more than me, but I don't think they accept that some people may have such a low tolerance to certain drugs that it can actually be dangerous. I have been reading about the P450 enzymes that metabolize drugs, and believe I have a genetic defect in this system. So, a little stimulant can have a dramatic effect on me. All my bloodwork came back normal and I got an EKG for the first time in my life which was totally normal. I believe this drug intensified my mild, mostly mental anxiety symptoms. I was told to completely cut out caffeine and all stimulants, which I already tried to do, but overlooked this type of cold medicine. Lesson learned: drugs can affect everyone differently and in some ways that doctors may not believe is caused by the drug. If anyone has sensitivities to drugs, don't overlook even OTC drugs, they could be making your symptoms worse.

[Sunflower123]

How frightening for you. I'm glad that you are okay and are passing what you've learned out there for others.

[Unrigged64072835]

I've had to cut out stimulants, including caffeine. My anxiety is somewhat controllable now.

[Guiness187055]

I wish I could cut out the caffeine but I need my pot of coffee a day. I do believe all that coffee is the culprit of my chronic heartburn.