Has anyone else experienced "waves" of adrenaline

I posted recently on the general board about my w/d and especially the "vibrating" feeling that is constant and, I think, related to adrenaline.

I am only 7 weeks out on benzo w/d and 5 months on the Lexapro and Seroquel. I can hardly handle any physical stress. I think I feel a rise in the vibrating/anxiety after I eat. I played a timed video game recently and realized I was on the verge of precipitating major panic.

Let me state that my anxiety was bad before drugs, but never like this, and not with the physical and mental sensations I experience.

Circadian Rhythm

I have been experiencing a circadian rhythm to things, I hypothesize that I am reacting to morning cortisol etc when I feel a surge in the morning of adrenaline, I also wake every night at 3AM , where I think I am responding to some low hormone status. Between 11 and 6,  I experience a decline and am so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open. I feel more derealization/depersonalization and "weird" brain sensations. Definitely wired but tired at this point. I perk up sometimes a night and feel my best on some eves. Then “crash” like I have been drugged around 11-11:30 PM.

Thyroid Issue, T3, and "Waves" of Adrenaline

I have a hypothyroid issue....I just tried 5mcg of T3 yesterday afternoon at my dr's recommendation. It made the brain fog recede and other negative sensations in my head receded, but some 7 hours later, that night I was experiencing wave after wave of adrenaline that went from head to toe. It went on most of the night. I was on the verge of losing it...and taking a benzo. I still very uncomfortable palpitations.

I have some experience of this in the past before drugs, but to a lesser extent. I wonder if I made a mistake trying "stimulating" thyroid medication, even though I saw some cognitive/ brain anxiety improvement tho at a heavy cost.

When will my body return to some sort of homeostasis where I can take a "stimulant" ie thyroid meds and not be at the top of my physical (and mental ) anxiety range.

Has anyone experienced these "waves" of adrenaline? And why to the happen at night and late afternoon in past experience if they are to happen?

What about Nicotine?

Finally, I do smoke, would love to quit but can't take on more w/d at this point. Is it MAJORLY contributing to my daily agony? If so, I will have to bite the bullet.  :'(

I'm sorry you are having so much trouble with anxiety-related symptoms, Nuala.  I know it isn't much comfort but 7 weeks isn't long to be off in the scheme of things.  I did start feeling better myself around then but had a lot of difficult anxiety symptoms for about 6 weeks after my last dose.

I believe you are right about the morning anxiety.  There's an entire thread on the Anxiety board about that very subject.  I don't know that there's much you can do about it other than accepting that this is a temporarily a part of your life and is nothing more than w/d.

I know Theresa2 had thyroid issues and her symptoms got a lot better when she got on the right level of medication.  I myself wouldn't take extra thyroid hormone to combat the mental symptoms because they rev up the physical ones but that is a choice you have to make.  Theresa2 also quit smoking after she finished her taper but I think this was a personal choice unrelated to w/d issues.  In other words, I've not heard of smoking per se making w/d symptoms worse.

Thanks Beeper!

I'll check on Theresa2 and her thyroid issues. My pdoc let me try the T3, he plans a slow schedule for me - guess it may be slower than we thought. My body is so reactive, that I can't imagine ever being able to get the thyorid straightend out, and I am sure it always did have some role im my anxiety.

I asked about the smoking, because I once read something about nicotine being a strong potentiator of the HPA axis. I know now having looked at the Ashton manual that it is the HPA axis hyper-reactivity (to paraphrase) that is thought to be a big contributor to the benzo w/d. So, I do wonder if I am compounding things. I know I feel more anxious after the cig, but it also takes away the tension from the w/d anxiety. Who knows. Just wondered since you may have seen some people discussing it.

I thought of cortisol immediately when I started getting the moring anxiety and also the 3 AM anxiety. I was tested some time ago and had lower than optimum cortisol. So, I have it in my mind. I was perplexed thinking, ok, how can I be sentivite to both low and high hormone times. Butm it makes sense in context of w/d and being super-sensitive fight or flight, adrenaline.

How long did it take for your hyper reactivity or super sensititivy to pass?

Thanks!

 

I know Theresa2 had thyroid issues and her symptoms got a lot better when she got on the right level of medication.  I myself wouldn't take extra thyroid hormone to combat the mental symptoms because they rev up the physical ones but that is a choice you have to make.  Theresa2 also quit smoking after she finished her taper but I think this was a personal choice unrelated to w/d issues.  In other words, I've not heard of smoking per se making w/d symptoms worse.

I did have really severe symptoms when I got down to .25mg of Clono. They were anxiety, tremors, fatigue, headaches, cog fog, insomnia, starving feelings which was very similar to benzo w/d symptoms. Once I got my thyroid stabilized, all those symptoms went away except for fatigue, headaches and cog fog. It usually takes about 6 weeks for any changes in thyroid meds to stabilize on that dose. I felt the changes within the first week but took quite a few weeks until I was feeling a lot better.

I did find that smoking did rev up my w/d symptoms as far as anxiety and tremors but waited until I was done tapering before quitting.

 

I did have really severe symptoms when I got down to .25mg of Clono. They were anxiety, tremors, fatigue, headaches, cog fog, insomnia, starving feelings which was very similar to benzo w/d symptoms. Once I got my thyroid stabilized, all those symptoms went away except for fatigue, headaches and cog fog. It usually takes about 6 weeks for any changes in thyroid meds to stabilize on that dose. I felt the changes within the first week but took quite a few weeks until I was feeling a lot better.

 

I did find that smoking did rev up my w/d symptoms as far as anxiety and tremors but waited until I was done tapering before quitting.

What was your TSH etc, and how did you start the thyroid med? Just t4? and what dose? How quickly did you move up the thyroid med?

I know from reading, that some hypothyroid people are anxious and cannot tolerate the meds, and it is recomeneded that a benzo be used in conjunction.  I am in a bit of a pickle. Thyroid med would reduce the anxiety and some symptoms, but I seem to be too reactive at the moment to any stiumus/stimulant.

I was treated two years ago when I was on the Seroqeul and Lexapro, and felt so much better, that if when I first tried to taper. After a point, I could no longer tolerate the thyroi meds (I was on T4 and Armour). I don't know if this was due to the taperng, or just that the Lexapro and Seroquel contributed to my anxiety that I could no handle anything stimulating.

I do know that before meds, I was anxious and used to drink coffee to excess. Don't know why the slightest thing puts me in overdrive these day. I hope it is not permanent from all the years of drugs.