spinningmytires
Gold Member
During the mid 1960’s, I was prescribed a weight-loss drug to boost my energy level and help with my weight-loss. Yet after many months with cold sweats, intrusive thoughts, poor concentration and insomnia I decided to suddenly stop taken this weight-loss drug. Big mistake …
My symptoms of withdraw continued beyond a few weeks to months, if not indefinitely. I spent that entire summer in bed with fatigue and extreme depression. My worst depression ever! Because I was only out of bed about seven hours per day, my mother became concerned — so much so, that she once threw an entire bucket of water into my face while yelling at me to get up out of bed. She screamed that I needed to see a psychiatrist and that I needed a complete physical exam. I was then 20 years old.
My recent google search suggests that my abrupt cessation of amphetamine withdraw should have resolved itself within only three weeks or so, though my withdraw and fatigue had continued for months if not longer. Though I began therapy a few weeks later, my physical exam tests were completely normal except for my unexplainable bigeminy heart arrhythmia, Raynaud’s syndrome and lupus like symptoms.
I can recall telling my psychiatrist at that time that my hair was suddenly falling out and that I hadn’t enough hair to cover my ears. I then also developed dandruff while my weight gain returned. My newly prescribed Valium and tricyclic antidepressant Tofranil likely had their own side-effects, yet, my brief hair thickness never returned.
Now, I’m beginning to suspect that my sudden and extreme withdraw from this amphetamine drug had more to due with my sudden cessation of the included T4 medication within it. It was unusual that my hair had grown thicker in the first place so, something had caused it.
I can understand my returning weight-gain, as I wasn’t physically active that summer once I’d discontinued the amphetamine. However, no clear explanation has ever been found for my chronic bigeminy arrhythmia, bradycardia with RHR of 50 nor my chronic high MCV, lupus like symptoms with no lupus, my brpm of 12 … I could go on and on.
I only had a near normal amount of hair at about age 13 or 14 and again at age 18 through 20 when I was then taking the thyroid medication. Yet my many TSH Reflex tests always test normal and so, I haven't taken any thyroid medication in almost 60 years.
My doctors only need to look at my blood's chronically elevated MCV and low ferritin scores to understand my fatigue. My fatigue is hardly subjective — my red blood cells just aren’t normal. Perhaps, my mitochondria aren’t producing enough ATP. Or could my fatigue be caused by too much stress and cortisol.
B12, folate, D3 deficiencies, faulty liver functioning and lupus have all been ruled out. If I’m not mistaken, my many years of normal TSH Reflex scores suggest my pituitary and hypothalamus are also normal. My thyroid gland also appears normal and undamaged. I know this is all beyond my understanding but…
Perhaps a self-ordered comprehensive TSH test might provide me with some answered … at least, I could then say that I’ve tried.
My symptoms of withdraw continued beyond a few weeks to months, if not indefinitely. I spent that entire summer in bed with fatigue and extreme depression. My worst depression ever! Because I was only out of bed about seven hours per day, my mother became concerned — so much so, that she once threw an entire bucket of water into my face while yelling at me to get up out of bed. She screamed that I needed to see a psychiatrist and that I needed a complete physical exam. I was then 20 years old.
My recent google search suggests that my abrupt cessation of amphetamine withdraw should have resolved itself within only three weeks or so, though my withdraw and fatigue had continued for months if not longer. Though I began therapy a few weeks later, my physical exam tests were completely normal except for my unexplainable bigeminy heart arrhythmia, Raynaud’s syndrome and lupus like symptoms.
I can recall telling my psychiatrist at that time that my hair was suddenly falling out and that I hadn’t enough hair to cover my ears. I then also developed dandruff while my weight gain returned. My newly prescribed Valium and tricyclic antidepressant Tofranil likely had their own side-effects, yet, my brief hair thickness never returned.
Now, I’m beginning to suspect that my sudden and extreme withdraw from this amphetamine drug had more to due with my sudden cessation of the included T4 medication within it. It was unusual that my hair had grown thicker in the first place so, something had caused it.
I can understand my returning weight-gain, as I wasn’t physically active that summer once I’d discontinued the amphetamine. However, no clear explanation has ever been found for my chronic bigeminy arrhythmia, bradycardia with RHR of 50 nor my chronic high MCV, lupus like symptoms with no lupus, my brpm of 12 … I could go on and on.
I only had a near normal amount of hair at about age 13 or 14 and again at age 18 through 20 when I was then taking the thyroid medication. Yet my many TSH Reflex tests always test normal and so, I haven't taken any thyroid medication in almost 60 years.
My doctors only need to look at my blood's chronically elevated MCV and low ferritin scores to understand my fatigue. My fatigue is hardly subjective — my red blood cells just aren’t normal. Perhaps, my mitochondria aren’t producing enough ATP. Or could my fatigue be caused by too much stress and cortisol.
B12, folate, D3 deficiencies, faulty liver functioning and lupus have all been ruled out. If I’m not mistaken, my many years of normal TSH Reflex scores suggest my pituitary and hypothalamus are also normal. My thyroid gland also appears normal and undamaged. I know this is all beyond my understanding but…
Perhaps a self-ordered comprehensive TSH test might provide me with some answered … at least, I could then say that I’ve tried.
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