Neurological problems, muscle atrophy, exhaustion

I am 9 months post op.  About 4 months ago I started having some anxiety symptoms which my doctor thought would go away while on a 10 day vacation to Hawaii.  While in Hawaii, I was out walking everyday, and totally enjoying being in the sun.  Upon returning home to Alaska where it was 20 degrees and still 3 feet of snow, I got very depressed.  I have had depression for 15 years or so, that has been very well controlled by an antidepressant.  It seemed my antidepressant just quit working. So I switched over to another one.  I began having neurological problems (exaggerated startle reflex, Parkinsonian movements, changed gait, burning lips & tongue, small ulcers on the corners of my mouth, forgetfulness, confusion at times, and muscle atrophy) .  I was taken off the new antidepressant and put back on the old one, but the symptoms didn't go away.  I rcvd a B-12 shot and that lessened the movements dramatically for about 10 days.  I got another shot of B-12 and B Complex and it took care of the movements for almost 24 hours.  When I go shopping, I am shaking and exhausted in less than an hour.  I started daily shots 1ccB12 and 1cc B Complex, as well as daily liquid multivitamins and liquid B Complex, and a sublingual B12 every day.  I take a Vitamin D mega dose once a week.  The surgeon that did my WLS isn't an option for post-op, and my GP has no idea what to do.  The naturopath is the one that prescribed the daily injections.  I am wondering if anyone else has gone through this.  I feel like I am getting weaker every day.  Any suggestions?

Hi SheriBerri, You might have what I have POTS.  Go to potsplace.com and check it out.  It really sucks to have.  Do you get lightheaded when you stand.  How is your heart rate upon standing?  Is it really fast?  Check out the web site and get back to me.  reach me at [email protected] if you have any further questions.  Believe, I am close to an expert on this now.

Hiya, Since you're posting here, I hope I can assume that you have lupus. You wrote "While in Hawaii, I was out walking everyday, and totally enjoying being in the sun. "  Many folks with lupus can go into "flares" from sun exposure.  I sometimes do, then sometimes not.  I often get mouth sores (again, from lupus), and the forgetfulness and some mild confusion from the "brain fog" from pain, over-doing it, and too much sun.  I also sometimes get more shakey, and an exaggerated startle reflex when my lupus and fibromyalgia acts up. I have bipolar disorder and Seasonal affective disorder for which I take anti-depressants and an anti-convulsive medication approved for bipolar.  I also have chronice insomnia and trouble getting into stage 4 sleep (common with fibro patients) and thus need a sleep medication.  I was taking Trazodone until recently when it stopped working.  My psychiatrist put me on Lunesta and I got REALLY nervous and I felt like every muscle in my body was twitching.  There is only sporatic external shakiness that I've developed over the years, but I weaned myself off the lunesta and the extreme nervousness and much of the shaking has gone away.  I still get external tremmors which I will discuss with my doc this coming week. My point of mentioning the lunesta is that it *might* be a side effect of switching meds.  Without knowing the names I couldn't look it up -- but it is easily done. If you're not seeing a rheumatologist for your lupus, I hope there is one in your area that you can see.  It is important to be seen by a rheumy, or an immunologist for lupus.  In the mean time, try and stretch your muscles daily in case you've developed Fibromyalgia. I'd go more into that, but this, I'm sure, is not the place. Please remember that with lupus any stress (from surgery, or even an extreme change in climate - from Alaska to Hawaii and back) can aggrivate lupus and put you into a flare.  Last January I had my Gall Bladder removed laproscopically and I'm STILL feeling my flare because of it.   I hope this helps a bit.  PS - ask your psychologist/psychiatrist about Seasonal Affective Disorder.  You may not have noticed it until you went to a much sunnier climate, and then returned home. I have to up my anti-depressants in the winter.