Hyperventilation, panic and anxiety attacks, all are indications that a person is having nervous problems, and these problems can be anywhere from mild to severe. Nervous disorders can cause mood swings, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, and excessive worry which can lead to attacks that might include tremors, difficulty breathing, racing of the heart, and even more extreme occurrences like loss of hair, sexual dysfunction and attempted suicide or heart failure. Assorted medications are available to aid those who suffer nerve problems, but some of them have side effects which can be worse than the actual attacks. Not only do some of these medications interact poorly with other medicines, but they can also cause the previous symptoms to worsen, in some cases.
It’s impossible to tell upon beginning the medication whether or not the patient will be one who will have adverse effects from the drugs, but almost all patients report at least some side effects, like dry mouth or trouble concentrating. And, the effects are so diverse that while one patient might report having trouble sleeping, another will report having trouble staying awake. After using the drug for a short period of time, many report that the panic or anxiety attacks have vanished, only to be replaced by severe stomach pains or the inability to control temper.
Memory loss, excessive sleeping, feelings of detachment from the world, loss of sex drive, feelings of suicide, fatigue, hot flashes, severe depression, anger, heart palpitations, nightmares and dizziness are only some of the ailments related to these drugs. Although many people benefit from the use of nerve medications, a few have further medical conditions upon taking the drugs.
When one medication is found to worsen the patient’s condition, another drug may be tried which will treat the patient without adverse effects, but the transition period can be very difficult. Even after taking nerve medications for a short period of time, the body can crave the drug when it’s halted and cause the patient, temporarily, a loss of sleep or appetite, feelings of despair or excessive weeping. These symptoms should disappear after a couple of weeks on the new medication. Usually the physician will ask that you try a particular medication for a month or so, since it takes some time for the proper medication level in the system to be reached. The exception is if you are having any serious side effects.
Sometimes the original prescribed dosage of certain medications can be too high, but with a reduction of the dosage, the patient feels almost normal again. Speak to your doctor when having any side effects from any nerve medication he has prescribed. Symptoms like numbness in a foot should be brought to the physician’s attention, since some seemingly unrelated ailments may, in fact, be caused by the nerve medication. Notify your doctor if you experience unclear thoughts, inability to feel any emotions, loss of taste, inexplicable fear, contemplation of suicide, headaches, nostril bleeding, extreme weight gain or loss, worsening of acne, feelings of an electrical shock anywhere on the body, swelling on any part of the body, or rashes. Your doctor may be able to prescribe an alternative medication or another treatment for your nervous disorder.
