Carpel tunnel syndrome

[Zoloft25]

I read on prozac truth.com a website about withdrawal side effects from ssri drugs, it says a side efect is carpel tunnel syndrome, I wander if anyosne else has this symptom, I've seem t ohave had thesesymptoms since i started weaning off celexa a year ago.

[dolly64]

i also read this as a side effect. I never had it but did develop TMJ.

[Zoloft25]

whatis tmj??

[scotty]

Carpel tunnel is a repetitive movement injury. There are reports that blame ssri's for everything from cancer to a hangnail....they create enough problems, we don't have to add more.

[Mixter]

Carpel tunnel syndrome is not always withdrawal, it could be something other.

Shane, so you are not reinstating or I have wrong?

You said you would?

Please, answer my question. Thanks

(Because I care about you)

[Jackson]

I could very well imagine that carpal tunnel syndrome could arise as a being an associated effect by suffering from withdrawal, due to being immobilized/disabled for longer periods of time, which inevitably leads to many hours spend in front of the computer.

But that is very different from being an actual sideeffect of the drug mechanisms.

[LCrawford67]

Originally Posted by scotty

Carpel tunnel is a repetitive movement injury. There are reports that blame ssri's for everything from cancer to a hangnail....they create enough problems, we don't have to add more.

Exactly. It's caused by repetitive motion, putting pressure on the median nerve.

Understand, prozac truth.com is run by a guy selling a supplement program. Anti depressant facts.com is run by scientologists. Both sites claim ADs are the reason for everything from ingrown toenails to brain tumors.

[carolyn]

I don't see how SSRIs could cause carpal tunnel -- *maybe* they could make the nerve more sensitive so that you're more prone to it, but fundamentally you still have to be doing the repetitive motion to cause carpal tunnel, SSRI or not.

I'm pretty sure I've already posted in a different thread the stretches and exercises I did when I was in PT for carpal tunnel and tendonitis (yeah, I'm in PT a lot ), but if not, remind me and I'll find them again for you.

Ibuprofen etc can help but, honestly, the only "real" cure is to stop doing the motion long enough for the nerve to settle down. That can be a huge problem if it's being caused by your job (a large amount of RSIs these days are on computer workers) but nothing else really works.

[rain]

My daughter developed carpal tunnel when she was pregnant, and it's been a problem for her ever since.

[guitar77]

While weaning off stuff, I was absolutely certain I'd developed carpal tunnel. I was just thinking about it a couple days ago, amazed at how fine my wrists feel now.

I was thinking that maybe something about SSRIs or during SSRI withdrawal causes inflammation that mimics the symptoms of carpal tunnel, because without a doubt I felt it, but obviously I didn't actually have the real deal.

In my research I have found that serotonin imbalances caused by SSRIs do cause inflammation, so it seems to make sense to me.

[TryingtoGetWell]

Originally Posted by Jackson

I could very well imagine that carpal tunnel syndrome could arise as a being an associated effect by suffering from withdrawal, due to being immobilized/disabled for longer periods of time, which inevitably leads to many hours spend in front of the computer.

But that is very different from being an actual sideeffect of the drug mechanisms.

Originally Posted by guitar77

While weaning off stuff, I was absolutely certain I'd developed carpal tunnel. I was just thinking about it a couple days ago, amazed at how fine my wrists feel now.

I was thinking that maybe something about SSRIs or during SSRI withdrawal causes inflammation that mimics the symptoms of carpal tunnel, because without a doubt I felt it, but obviously I didn't actually have the real deal.

In my research I have found that serotonin imbalances caused by SSRIs do cause inflammation, so it seems to make sense to me.

I had a very bad flare-up of carpal tunnel syndrome just recently - far worse than it was when I was initially diagnosed with it long ago (long before w/d, and it subsided soon so hasn't been an issue again til now).

I had been thinking what Jackson suggested, but I used to do far more typing (and on regular old typewriters!) so although I'm trying to remember that with a computer you don't have to hammer on the keys like with the old manual Royal typewriters I learned to type on, I do think there may be another factor - inflammation.

If I'm right on that - and my doctors do think that's a factor because I've had a bunch of varying inflammations as well as very bad virus and subsequent chest infection - it isn't "mimicking" carpal in my case, because both my doctor and the neurologist I was referred to confirmed that it's carpal tunnel syndrome.

My previous problem with it many years ago was nowhere near this bad - it resolved quickly with the use of just one wrist brace (and not my dominant hand) and was just an ache. This time my hands were going numb for some time and then it also felt like millions of shards of glass in my hands (both hands this time).

I think I was rundown but also I used to take a lot of vitamin B6 - found when I was very young that I needed a lot - and haven't taken any due to w/d for more than three years.

I'm not a candidate for surgery due to allergies/sensitivities, so I was desperate not to lose the use of my hands. I had already gradually started taking low-dose B complex, and now added B6. I went to a neurologist who suggested I also take B1, which helps B6 utilization. She said to take 1.5 mg. (!) (the RDA) of B1, but I was getting 9 mg already from my B complex.

So I added equal amount of B1 as B6 - I had started it very gradually (just a tiny piece of a tablet, then gradually increasing). I'm now taking 150 mg./day in divided doses of both B6 and B1. I'm also using the wrist braces my regular doctor had prescribed immediately (got the Rx filled at a good orthotics place - that ensures proper type and fit) - use them every night and also while I'm typing on the computer (wrist brace on right now!).

Since I was having various inflammations and also bad BP flareup, I also have been using ginger and now turmeric (95% curcuminoids; quality brands I can rely on) supplements. I also found a brand of vitamin C I tolerate much better than most (maybe because it is not only pure ascorbic acid - I still couldn't tolerate well many ascorbic acid supplements - but this one is manufactured to have no corn residues remaining, and I unfortunately don't seem to tolerate corn products still). I'm now able to take fairly large doses (approx 500-750 mg. - approx because I cap them myself from bulk powder) three times a day.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to sort out what's what, but my carpal is markedly better after 1 month+ (don't remember exact time frame, would have to look it up - also started these remedies at different times and also did some fine-tuning on what I took and dosages), my infections are virtually gone (without antibiotics), my blood pressure is almost always normal and often below normal even though I've been under numerous humungous stresses recently, my cognitive abilities have gotten markedly better though not quite back to normal, and the torturous vibrating sensation that felt like I was being electrocuted almost all the time is significantly better. My heart rate has been too high for a very long time and that too is better, though I still often have heart racing when I wake during the night and in the morning, and occasionally other times for no reason.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the burning sensation (inflammation??) I've had in my limbs (and sometimes other parts of my body) throughout w/d, that had flared up worse during these problems, has hardly occurred at all on this regimen!

Some or all of this could just be coincidence, but that seems unlikely. Too many things are better. I realize that many people can't take B vitamin supplements yet (I still advise people to stop B vitamins for some time in w/d, though at almost four years off, I find I can take them again, though need to limit the dose - and certainly the type - of some). But if you cannot take B vitamins in even small doses (most supplements are quite large doses), I suggest if you have carpal tunnel syndrome you google to learn what foods are high in B6 (and B1 - thiamine) and see if you can eat increasing amounts of those foods.

What I wrote here applies to more than carpal tunnel syndrome, but thought jotting down all this might help people explore things that might help them. As usual, I suggest trying things one at a time (though I rushed that too much this time, because I was already trying to get BP down from baffling high levels again, and because of the severity of everything that was happening to me - I was really falling apart and my doctor was stymied at the extent of it. And I emphatically suggest trying lower than normal doses at first (I started everything with just small fractions of tablets or as little as 1/6 the contents of capsules, and only gradually increasing doses as I learned what I can tolerate!). I had to play around with the doses of some things but found how much I seemed to need without symptoms getting worse, and restrict doses of things I can only tolerate low doses of.

I don't think w/d causes carpal tunnel syndrome, especially since I had had it diagnosed many, many years ago, but I do think inflammation may make an existing case (even one a person doesn't feel) flare up, and I've had more and more reason to think inflammation may be a factor in some w/d symptoms, perhaps because the body is under par and also because some of us have food and other sensitivities that may be limiting our getting the nutrients our bodies need.

Just for the record, I see the neurologist for a one-month follow-up Tuesday, and will be having a nerve conduction study on my wrists or hands done earlier that day because I was having strange pains (not typical of carpal) extending from the base of my thumbs; still have the pains, especially when I type more than just a tiny amount without having the wrist braces on, but they're barely noticeable most of the time. So much better I called the neurologist to see if I should defer the nerve conduction study, but she still wants it done and said it also will give us a good baseline. But whatever I'm doing - including the wrist braces - seems to have helped that too, and the numbness in my fingers is mostly pretty minimal lately.

Sorry for the length of that message, but hope it's helpful to some people, though people earlier in w/d may not be able to tolerate the supplements that I think have been helping me. It is a reminder that as one heals - even if not symptom-free - it's probably a good idea in time to slowly and carefully try again supplements if one had found one needed them in the past.

Over and out...

[rain]

Originally Posted by TryingtoGetWell

I don't know if I'll ever be able to sort out what's what, but my carpal is markedly better after 1 month+ (don't remember exact time frame, would have to look it up - also started these remedies at different times and also did some fine-tuning on what I took and dosages), my infections are virtually gone (without antibiotics), my blood pressure is almost always normal and often below normal even though I've been under numerous humungous stresses recently, my cognitive abilities have gotten markedly better though not quite back to normal, and the torturous vibrating sensation that felt like I was being electrocuted almost all the time is significantly better. My heart rate has been too high for a very long time and that too is better, though I still often have heart racing when I wake during the night and in the morning, and occasionally other times for no reason.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the burning sensation (inflammation??) I've had in my limbs (and sometimes other parts of my body) throughout w/d, that had flared up worse during these problems, has hardly occurred at all on this regimen!

Don't care how or why... just SO GLAD you are feeling better!!

[TryingtoGetWell]

Thank you!!!!

I just found your emails (from over a week ago... oops!... time flies when you're having fun... NOT!)

Still dealing with a bunch of issues (some w/d-related, some not, some probably benzo-related too...). But making some progress with some things, which is more than I could say for too long. Glad about that!

By the way, all, I forgot to mention that even though my lytes were fine on my blood tests, taking additional potassium is probably what got my BP under control, and may have helped other things as well. I think I must have been really low, especially since I still can't tolerate most foods without rashes and hives and more. (Potassium dosage under guidance from my doctor - I'm well aware that too much is dangerous - the OTC ones are limited by law to 99 mg, which is much lower than it seems since we need over 4000 mg/day! - my doctor said to take 6-9 tabs a day, but really had progress when added potassium-rich tomato paste and such as to that!

Still very weak, but I had been getting so weak the neurologist had trouble getting a reflex when tapping my knees, and she was startled at how my limbs just flopped. Now I'm even able to take short walks again. Pretty small accomplishment, but a start!

But I got off-topic there. I really think the B6 and B1, along with wrist braces, made a huge difference in my carpal tunnel syndrome. Took a number of weeks for results to be sustained, but well worth it. Will see the neurologist again this week after the nerve conduction study.