Quote Originally Posted by Joy View Post
Hi GrandmaD,

Thank you for your message. Since yesterday I have been in constant motion bothered by the itching. You are probably right it is w/d...and maybe the sunlight/heat that is triggering it more greatly because of the w/d. I seem to be hypersensitive to everything lately.
I am convinced the itchies are related to nerves... and perhaps tense muscles. I went for a swim for the first time in years and afterwards the nerves on my legs flared up and the itchies on my back. I just think it is related to the stress/exercise on the muscles and nerves. Oh, and heat also makes it worse, for sure.
You found your blood pressure went up with the w/d? You did a slow taper too. Were your chest pains that sent you to the hospital connected to your high blood pressure? Did you go on BP meds to control it? How do you feel now?
They hooked me up at hospital and next day told me they could find no cause for the high blood pressure - that is was not that. They could not explain the chest pains either, telling me my heart was ok. They said I had "anxiety" something I never had in myh life before this!
I suspect that my BP went up while on Effexor (the last pill to taper) ..but may have started going up last Fall following the taper of Serequel. I can't say for sure. It was higher then but went up much more over the winter and is one of the reasons I began to get off of Effexor, hoping it would fix the problem. At the highest my BP went up to 180/110. It remained this way for awhile, and I was getting sick from it. I went on BP pills, however I am not tolerating them very well. So have cut the dosage in half of what the prescription is. I do better on that but it is only coming down very slowly. Now at 145/90. The doctor wants to give me either another med to add to this one or a waterpill. Neither do I want so I am increasing my Omega 3's in hope that it will help prior to my next appointment in a month's time. If I could feel a little better I would try to do some light exercise or walking..as I expect that would help.
What have you found helpful?
My BP went up from 120 to 130 and then to 140 but the doctor I had was not worried about it. He was the same one who said I had to stay on the drug for life. It was when it went to 150 I began to get worried and then 160 perhaps I panicked and brought on the chest pains.
These days it is back in the 130's range over 85.
Sorry, can't tell you if anything helps. I take fish oil, vit. C. and walk for 20-30mins daily when I can. I put ginger in my tea, but have no idea what that is good for. I started doing that when I had ice freezing butt, legs and feet to try and help with circulation and now I hate tea without it!

You BP is still pretty high and yet you are ON BP tablets??? I think the doctor told my girlfriend she had to walk every day to get her BP down. I believe it is the stress that the w/d puts on the body that causes it to go high. Do you do relaxation exeercises? I do them plus breathing exercises and I do think they help. I do them twice a day and when I need to up to 4 or 5 times a day.