Parkinsonian-like symptoms

[Lightning-Nl]

I've notice, especially lately, that I'm experiencing Parkinsonian-like symptoms. My muscles have been very shaky lately. My hands are shaking all the time, and when I position my muscles in the right way - they will start to shake rather violently. I've also noticed that Adderall (which I take 40 milligrams of daily) isn't having much of an effect anymore. I'm psychologically addicted to it so I take it anyways. However, I experience little to motivational boost from taking it anymore. I get rather unfocused.

The weirdest part of it all, is the fact that Adderall is now putting me to sleep! Seriously! As soon as I take it, I instantly become very tired, and sometimes it gets so bad that I can barely keep my eyes open and have to take a couple hour nap. I should also note that Adderall is actually more sedating than the Benzodiazepines I take everyday as well. It's like they've turned into opposites. Adderall now feels like a downer, and benzo's now feel like stimulants. I'm not sure what to make of it. Maybe all of this is just due to tolerance? Who knows...

Anyways, I've also noticed that my back is always hunched over now... I walk with a bit of a hunch and I really have to try in order to keep my back up straight. Should I be worried about this?

I should also mention that it's possible that the other stimulants I take daily could be the cause of my muscular instability. Especially since I take Amphetamine, Albuterol, Caffeine (although not in doses over 100 milligrams), and Nicotine from an e-cig.

But anyways - should I get any of this checked out? I know for a fact that Amphetamine does not affect dopaminergic development in humans - in fact, there is actually evidence to prove that Amphetamine actually helps improve and is slightly neuroprotective to the mesolimbic dopamine pathways, but more importantly, Amphetamine protects the mesocortical projection (the one of the main parts of the brain responsible for generating the nerve impulses that control muscle movement) by stopping Glutaminergic activity - which therefore protects these neurons from excitotoxic cell death.

So that's why I'm not sure what to think of this. What does everyone else think?

 

[BlueBull]

If you aren't experiencing above average stress or sleep deprivation lately I would say it's the long term use of amphetamines. I have no idea why as I am not well-versed in neurology, apart from the neurological properties of the drugs I do myself, of which MDMA is the only amphetamine. But I do know a lot of chronic amphetamine users (both the ones that use illegal amphetamines and the ones that misuse legal ones) that started to develop shaking muscles after prolonged use. And it's not like I only know one or two, almost everyone I know of that uses amphetamines in moderate to high doses daily over long periods of time has this (though 40mg is a dose prescribed therapeutically if I am not mistaken it is a high dose). One of them has been using for about 15 years and at times he's unable to roll a cigarette or even walk properly because of the shaking

Don't know if this is of any use to you, as I can offer no real insight in the cause behind it, but from what I know I would point to the amphetamines as the most likely cause given the information I took from your post. If it doesn't improve or worsens I would seek professional help anyways so they will be able to tell you a lot more than I would ever be able to

 

[T. Calderone]

Are there any medications you havn't mentioned or switched from? You should talk with your doctor to get this checked out in case it worsens.

 

[Lightning-Nl]

Are there any medications you havn't mentioned or switched from? You should talk with your doctor to get this checked out in case it worsens.

Yes, I recently switched from Klonopin to Xanax. However - I don't believe that's the cause of the issue to be honest. It definitely could be, but I wouldn't suspect it is. Other than that - I've told my Psychiatrist that Adderall is not really working for me anymore and so after I've finished the bottle of Adderall I have left - we both agreed to try a Methylphenidate regiment. However, that hasn't started yet.

Other medications I'm prescribed to take daily are...

• Alprazolam (Xanax) 2 milligrams total per day (.5 in the morning, .5 in the afternoon, and 1 milligram at bedtime)
• Temazepam (Restoril) - 30 milligrams
• Amphetamine (Adderall) - (40 milligrams IR per day. Once in the morning, and once in the mid-late afternoon)
• Fluvoxamine (Luvox) - 200 milligrams
• Lamotrigine (Lamictal) - 200 milligrams
• Albuterol (PRN) - 160 micrograms per-inhaled puff

That's about it. I also have pretty bad allergies so I take Cetirizine (Zyrtec) as needed during the day. And if I'm having allergies at night I'll usually take 50 milligrams of Diphenhydramine (Benadryl). But these aren't everyday things. I usually only take them once a week or so.

 

[neversickanymore]

Swamp, sorry to here you are feeling this way.. are you on a antipsychotic at all as this is a medication that can cause this. If not, another possibility is drug induced Dystonia from the Amphetamine (Adderall).

Drug-Induced Disorders are usually caused by the pre- or postsynaptic dopamine antagonists or CNS stimulants, which are frequently prescribed following TBI, such as anticonvulsants, tricyclic antidepressants, antipsychotics, and neuroleptics

.
>source<

Drug-induced Dystonia (Tardive)

You will need to see a doctor and I would make the appointment quickly and also seek a phone consult to see what you should do about taking the medications you are prescribed until you can get in.

You should also ask a doctor if a little diphenhydramine (benadryl) could be something you could take to try and treat this until you can get into see them.

Hope this helps and you find relief.

 

[vicapro]

Honestly I HIGHLY doubt that a prescribed dosage of 40mg of adderall daily for even 20 years would destroy enough dopamine receptors to cause you to develop parkinsons. I mean you would lose interest in adderall long before you got parkinsons because with such a small dose along with you tolerance the amount of destruction to your DA receptors to cause adderall to show little to none cns activity compared to how much dopamine destruction is needed to cause such a detrimental disease as parkinsons is a large to say the least. Also this would cause only norephinephrine to be just as active still do you notice those effects still or just nothing; not even some anxiety and stimulation which norepinephrine would cause without the positive effects that the dopamine creates (bc otherwise it would feel like your basically taking ephedrine)? Just read this excerpt from methamphetamine wikipedia page 'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methamphetamine:'

Comparison to amphetamine pharmacodynamics

Comparison to amphetamine pharmacodynamics

Both amphetamine and methamphetamine are potent CNS stimulants with a few biomolecular targets and affected transporters in common; however, there are important pharmacodynamic differences between the two compounds.[Refnote 2] Both compounds are potent trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) agonists (causing non-competitive inhibition of DAT, NET, and SERT) and inhibitors of VMAT2, SLC22A3, and SLC22A5.[Refnote 3] However, methamphetamine appears to bind at a different site at VMAT2 than amphetamine.[63] Methamphetamine also inhibits VMAT1, has agonist activity at all alpha-2 adrenergic receptor and sigma receptor subtypes, and is directly toxic to dopamine neurons in humans, whereas there is no evidence of acute amphetamine toxicity in humans.[25][30][47][53] Sigma receptor activity is known to potentiate the stimulant and neurotoxic effects of methamphetamine.[53][54]

In contrast to the adverse neuroplastic effects evident in methamphetamine addicts and abusers, long-term use of amphetamine or methylphenidate at therapeutic doses appears to produce beneficial changes in brain function and structure, such as normalization of the right caudate nucleus.

I would tell your doctor about your concern and see what he thinks because I am far from educated on the subject of neurotoxicity and have no place in trying to make educated guesses to the reason that yourr having changes in your gait that is affecting your daily life along with your problems associated with the sudden absence of noticable cns effects from your daily adderall. But IMO I highly doubt you will be happy with switching from adderall to methylphenidate and I dont think it will make any difference whatsoever and if adderall is giving you bad effects my guess is that methylphenidate will make those even more unpleasant.

 

[Alex000]

If you were physically dependent on the Klonopin, then switching to Xanax, which has a such a short half-life, could be causing some symptoms of inter-dose withdrawals; however, the amphetamine could well be the cause, in whole or in part, of your symptoms. Then again, maybe the albuterol is making things worse. These are mere speculations - I would definitely get it checked out by a physician whom you trust.

 

[Lightning-Nl]

If you were physically dependent on the Klonopin, then switching to Xanax, which has a such a short half-life, could be causing some symptoms of inter-dose withdrawals

Does it though? Think about this, you can feel the effects of Clonazepam for up to around... 8ish hours? Yeah, it may stay in your system for up to 50 hours, but it's actual effects only last 8-9 hours. However, Alprazolam, because of it's increased potency - you can feel it's effects last the entire 9 hours until it reaches it's half-life. So does it really have a short half-life? On paper, maybe... but in terms of effects - it actually lasts the same time as Klonopin.

 

[LilyMilošević]

I also shudder, but only when I'm immobile. I do not shudder in the movements. It's pretty weird, because unlike you, I do not take many drugs. Hm... just coke, 1 gram per month, and coffee.

I hope this is not the beginnings of Parkinson.

 

[Doubleup12]

I've notice, especially lately, that I'm experiencing Parkinsonian-like symptoms. My muscles have been very shaky lately. My hands are shaking all the time, and when I position my muscles in the right way - they will start to shake rather violently. I've also noticed that Adderall (which I take 40 milligrams of daily) isn't having much of an effect anymore. I'm psychologically addicted to it so I take it anyways. However, I experience little to motivational boost from taking it anymore. I get rather unfocused.

The weirdest part of it all, is the fact that Adderall is now putting me to sleep! Seriously! As soon as I take it, I instantly become very tired, and sometimes it gets so bad that I can barely keep my eyes open and have to take a couple hour nap. I should also note that Adderall is actually more sedating than the Benzodiazepines I take everyday as well. It's like they've turned into opposites. Adderall now feels like a downer, and benzo's now feel like stimulants. I'm not sure what to make of it. Maybe all of this is just due to tolerance? Who knows...

Anyways, I've also noticed that my back is always hunched over now... I walk with a bit of a hunch and I really have to try in order to keep my back up straight. Should I be worried about this?

I should also mention that it's possible that the other stimulants I take daily could be the cause of my muscular instability. Especially since I take Amphetamine, Albuterol, Caffeine (although not in doses over 100 milligrams), and Nicotine from an e-cig.

But anyways - should I get any of this checked out? I know for a fact that Amphetamine does not affect dopaminergic development in humans - in fact, there is actually evidence to prove that Amphetamine actually helps improve and is slightly neuroprotective to the mesolimbic dopamine pathways, but more importantly, Amphetamine protects the mesocortical projection (the one of the main parts of the brain responsible for generating the nerve impulses that control muscle movement) by stopping Glutaminergic activity - which therefore protects these neurons from excitotoxic cell death.

So that's why I'm not sure what to think of this. What does everyone else think?

SwampFox56 Do you mind me asking if you ever found out a diagnosis on this or what you did to solve this? I have the same symptoms you described especially the shaking and falling asleep after a dose on Adderall and it is freaking me out. Posture is off also... thanks for any input

 

[d1nach]

Are you on two benzos at once?

 

[Doubleup12]

No but I do take lorazepam for sleep occasionally. Quit drinking about 6 months ago as I started drinking a bit much in the evenings almost like I was self medicating some depression like symptoms. I have taken Adderall for a couple years now, also took it for a couple years about a decade ago. Never had issues like this until recently though.

 

[iconicdave420]

Dystonia.....no fun!

I've had Dystonia since the first antipsychotic I was prescribed to, and recently was put back on Latuda for my bipolar manic-depressive disorder. The dosage of latuda I was on was half of the smallest pill of latuda they make which is 10mg's so I was taking 5mg's a day and it still brought on Dystonic reactions. So I told my doctor and my therapist that I was stopping it and they both agreed. After I was off it I started to go into a Deep Bipolar Episode, complete with suicidal thoughts and dreams and dark ideas and thoughts. I was going to wait till my next appointment with my Primary Care Doctor but it was getting really bad so I went in early and he saw it in me and plus I described my feelings and such to him so I could give him a picture from my point of view. My doctor ended up putting me on 7.5mg's of Clorazepate and a week later he put me on 15mg Adderall XR. Which has worked out better than I hoped for. I've read places that symptoms of bipolar disorder and adhd can be similar. Now I have all antipsychotics on my medical records as allergic to. But for the Dystonic Reactions that would last longer than 10minutes I was also given 2 10mg Diastat Acudial's. I have yet to have to use one but I've done my research on them and I'm sure it will help stop any type of movement disorder.

 

[Barry big tits]

A Lot of the drugs you take can cause tremor. With such a cocktail of medications im not surprised at all you are having these symptoms.

It's pretty unlikely that you've got the parky's. But drug induced dystonia can be a cause of tremor. I have suffered severe essential tremor in my hands, arms and facial muscles ever since i took too much speed and fried the synapsys in my brain. It's benign but rather inconvenient and embarrassing especially when i go to smile. I take propranolol to reduce my tremors.

Speak to your GP and get a referral to see a neurologist. They will do an mri to rule out anything nasty like MS or parkinson's disease.

They can also do extensive blood tests to look for any enzymes that might indicate CNS or autoimmune causes for your tremor.

Best of luck mate

 

[JK25]

Being on anti-psychotics for 10+ years now I can attest to rythmic periodical spontaneous muscle twitches and spasms to the point where I actually cannot keep my whole body still for even 10 seconds...something somewhere will twitch or move that is guaranteed.

 

[ObieWan]

These tremors are also known as tardive dyskinesia. This can be seen with long term use of anti-psychotics. I'm not familiar with side effects of amphetamines. I can tell you WD for alcohol are terrible for tremors. Only thing that got me through that was xanax. A nightmare. Now I drink at the most once a week instead of 3/4 of a bottle a day.

The slumped posture and shuffling gate are classic for parkinsons, not saying thats what you have, but I'm sure it lies somewhere in the polypharmacia you describe. Please discuss with you doctor because some of these symptoms can be permanent.