((((Larry Hoover))))))

Hi! I have been having boughts of dizziness. I have fallen about 5 times in the last 4 years. Bad falls, Larry. I am currently taking: Klonopin, 2mgs @H.S ;Cymbalta 60 mg q.a.m.: Wellbutrin 300mgs.q.A.M.:Methadone 10mgs X4 daily;flexeril, 4times daily; Utram, PRN, 1tab. 6 times daily;Xanax, 1tab, prn,q 12 hours. I have just stopped taking the flexeril on my own. I feel like a walking Pharmacy. Thanks for any input or advice you may have for me.(I am 58 y/o)

Hi Dottie, I may have missed this somewhere, but do you have a diagnosis for your dizzieness yet? It's suprising that your doctor has you on Klonopin and Flexeril and the same time. Klonopin can be pretty nasty stuff. I hope things get better for you Dottie.

Hey Dottie. Thanks for the hug. Always much appreciated.

I don't know why this detail tends to be overlooked, when people talk about Flexeril, but it is a tricyclic amine drug. Ya, that kind of tricyclic. It has potent side effects. All the standard tricyclic side effects, but also some changes in muscle tone. It's only recommended for short term use (literally, the monograph says "up to 2 to 3 weeks), in any case. Dizziness is a well-known side effect, also. Good riddance.

Just looking at your list of meds, and the doses, I suspect you were given Flexeril without adequate consideration of the potential for drug interactions. Also, there is an age-dependent decrease in the ability to metabolize Flexeril, so you got a double whammy.

I'm really sad to hear about the falls. As if you needed that, too. {{{{{{{{{Dottie}}}}}}}}}

You've been falling episodically, over four years. I'm sure you've thought about the circumstances of those falls many times. Is there any pattern involved? Can you feel one coming? Is there anything that gives you a sense of vulnerability to having a fall?

You could have an inner ear problem. You could have reactive hypoglycemia. You could have any number of things to consider. Would a wheeled walker help you?

I'm glad you're off the Flexeril. Maybe you have a clue of what you might work towards, to protect yourself better. Balancing drug side effects against chronic pain is very much an exercise in choosing the lesser of evils.

I wish I had more to offer.

Lar

Thanks Larry for your reply! I so appreciate it. I just 'feel' overmedicated. My mind is not as sharp as it once was either. This dizziness come as goes. It's like for a nanosecond..I blank out. I used to be on Zyprexa. That really made me unbalanced. I cracked a rib upon falling on the edge of the coffee table.That was the 1st fall. I told my dr. that I was refusing to continue with this drug.

I'm thinking about the combination of the Flexeril, Xanax..& the Klonopin. I am going to knock off the Xanax additionally...and do breathing excercises for the panic attacks. They mostly occur when I am driving. I cannot drive on the freeway anymore...even with xanax on board..so why take it?I figure..less sometimes is better, especially in my case. I also supect the Wellbutrin is something I want to ponder, and talk to my P-doc about.

I don't think my Pain mangement Doc in attentive enough. I'm in and out of his office in nothing flat. He does not look over my chart..and this really concerns me. He is treating me for Fibromyalgia, Chronic Myofascial Pain Syndrome. Plus I have 2 bulging discs, one disc is herniated. Plus a pinched nerve. Besides the meds..he has been giving me steroid shots into my knee, arm..and back joints. Phew.

Again thanks. You've given me a lot of good info. I appreciate it!!~Dottie

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dottie said:
Thanks Larry for your reply! I so appreciate it. I just 'feel' overmedicated. My mind is not as sharp as it once was either. This dizziness come as goes. It's like for a nanosecond..I blank out.

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Hmmm. Vaso-vagal syncope. That's where my brain leaps. Why don't you read about it, at this link, and see if it doesn't fit your experiences....

http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/arr...Syncope2_2.htm

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I don't think my Pain mangement Doc in attentive enough. I'm in and out of his office in nothing flat. He does not look over my chart..and this really concerns me. He is treating me for Fibromyalgia, Chronic Myofascial Pain Syndrome. Plus I have 2 bulging discs, one disc is herniated. Plus a pinched nerve. Besides the meds..he has been giving me steroid shots into my knee, arm..and back joints. Phew.

Again thanks. You've given me a lot of good info. I appreciate it!!~Dottie

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You're very welcome, Dot.

Your pain specialist's behaviour is reprehensible. <sigh>

Have you ever tried using Neurontin (gabapentin) or Lyrica (pregabalin)? What they do is reduce the tendency of acute pain to turn into chronic pain. As you move around every day, you can injure the nerve a wee bit, over and over again. If you interupt one of the feedback loops that leads to localized tenderness, you can inhibit the total pain sensed. You'll still need the opiates, but you may, over time, keep the pain to as low a level as possible.

Can you get "switched sideways" to a different pain specialist at the same clinic? Something like? Get somebody who looks at your chart?

Lar