I have been on oxycodone and hydrocodone for several years now taking anywhere from 15mg to 80mg a day for chronic pain. I had taken a short break of about a week and took 15 mg of oxy (legit from pharmacy). In about a half hour I felt like I was having a very bad panic attack. I was soon experiencing gigantic brain zaps. It felt like serotonin was surging from my brain. I could feel every individual hair on my head standing up. My heart would start racing every couple of minutes, I was sweating, and shaking. It felt like I had taken a bad combo of speed, MDMA and SSRIs. I felt like I was having a stroke or heart attack or both. It seemed to slow down and eventually stopped but I am pretty shaken by it.
I didnt tell my doctor because I didn't want to be taken off the opioids, so I just told him oxy was no longer working so he switched me to hydro. For about a month I was taking 7.5mg without issue, then one day I got hit with this terrible feeling and the brain zaps and heart racing returned. I took another break to give my body some time to heal and tried just half a pill and unfortunately it happened again. I am not sure what is going on here. I am not on any other medications other than doxycycline for lyme disease. I finally told my doctor and he said it sounded like serotonin syndrome but he said that shouldn't happen from taking such small doses without any antidepressants. We considered the possibility of a panic attack, but he said it wouldn't have caused the strange brain shocks.
I have had liver tests done and they are normal. I had an MRI done on my brain and it was normal. I had genetic testing done to see if I am an ultra fast metabolizer and I am not. Doctors are stumped, I am stumped. I have been pretty much shut inside since being off the opioids due to pain. Please let me know any ideas of what might be going wrong with my body metabolizing the drugs or if you know of anyone developing a sudden allergy or intolerance to opioids after years of use, please let me know.
I didnt tell my doctor because I didn't want to be taken off the opioids, so I just told him oxy was no longer working so he switched me to hydro. For about a month I was taking 7.5mg without issue, then one day I got hit with this terrible feeling and the brain zaps and heart racing returned. I took another break to give my body some time to heal and tried just half a pill and unfortunately it happened again. I am not sure what is going on here. I am not on any other medications other than doxycycline for lyme disease. I finally told my doctor and he said it sounded like serotonin syndrome but he said that shouldn't happen from taking such small doses without any antidepressants. We considered the possibility of a panic attack, but he said it wouldn't have caused the strange brain shocks.
I have had liver tests done and they are normal. I had an MRI done on my brain and it was normal. I had genetic testing done to see if I am an ultra fast metabolizer and I am not. Doctors are stumped, I am stumped. I have been pretty much shut inside since being off the opioids due to pain. Please let me know any ideas of what might be going wrong with my body metabolizing the drugs or if you know of anyone developing a sudden allergy or intolerance to opioids after years of use, please let me know.