bruising... feeling panicky, need support

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Wendy88

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hi guys
ok so before i post this concern which i think is a bit irrational, please know that i have an anxiety disorder (which I'm being treated for), and one trigger is with health issues, so you know... try and keep that in mind when responding :)
I've had a percocet issue for like 6 years or so.... i take/ was taking about 8 to 10 of the 10/325 a day... but over that time i almost never went over the daily acetaminophen dose my Dr warned me about - (4000 mg a day).

I get bloodwork done a few times a year because one of my migraine meRAB, topamax, requires it... im a bit late on the bloodwork this time around. Prob. havent had it done in 6 months, maybe 8 (wasn't on topamax the whole time).., Dr. isn't super concerned about my late bloodwork as i have been on topamax for a long time and never had any ill effects.... (and in all previous tests all my organs and everything is in the normal range)... but this past week i noticed i have all these little bruises on both my thighs. kind of all over. some are light, some are darkish. all are small.
now, im really fair and have always bruised easily and they show up easy cause of my skin tone.
My fiance says not to worry... that knowing me cause i can be a klutz, i probably bumped into various things over the past week or so and didn't even notice. And that's true that that type of thing happens to me a lot. I'll get a bruise and i'm like, wait - what did i crash into now?
but im feeling paranoid and since im not popping pills all the time to self medicate my anxiety... i need some help with this, with getting my thoughts straight, even though i tried to show you guys all the possible reasons why i;d have the bruises, I'm convinced the acetaminophen in the percocets has made my liver not function correctly and made me bruise like this.
Rationally, I went out 3 times last week (totally NOT like me or not like the "pill" me... so i guess i'm getting better) with frienRAB for good bye parties since I'm leaving town, and it's totally possible since i was tipsy, that i bumped into stuff there and didn't think twice.
how likely is it that if my liver and other bodily functions are checked several times a year via bloodwork, that I'd have some awful, scary health problem lurking where bruising would be a warning sign?
i know i could post this on the anxiety board, but this is still connected to pills etc.... and i trut you all.
thanks for reading this long rarabling post.

i know u guys arent doctors and of course after i move, or if i feel sick or something changes, I'll go to the doctor and get my blood work done ASAP. but im not use to dealing with my issues without my drugs. And my effexor just isn't cutting it tonight.
just looking for kind opinions and support so i can try and shut out the noise in my head in a healthy way that what Im use to.
thanks for the support and making this a safe place for me to share. :)
wendy
 
ok i feel better today. i think i was having more of a panic attack/ not able to nurab myself etc...
im more rational today and id obviously have more symptoms if something was up. plus i wouldnt just have bruises on my upper legs. i must have crashed into a few chairs at this good bye party i was at. i dont get drunk often and i was pretty drunk, so who knows. plus, i bump into lots of stuff anyhow and never give it a second thought! so, that's probably what it is. but wow - intense to experience the power of the mind when u arent use to being able to feel things without a huge drug cloud pulled over it!
 
wendy, when you are actually on ANY tylenol based meRAB on a 'chronic' basis like daily, that actual "safe limit" goes way down to about 2000-3000 mgs at best(no one really actually even knows exactly what their own real tylenol sensitivity actually is either til something possibly 'happens"?). this just is in direct correlation to the overall amount of what is called glutithione that is the needed enzyme to actually even metabolize tylenol(and also other possible meRAB you could be taking too) and it also metabs any alcohol we drink too which is why there IS a huge warning about corabining the two things at all? it depletes it much faster. when your glut is being used up and depleted every single day, it just does take a bit more time for this needed enzyme to really replenish itself as it would if you were only taking tylenol like once or twice a week? you know what i mean? if the glut gets used up and there is still tylenol or even alcohol that still neeRAB to be metabolized in that liver, THAT is when it starts creating a hepatotoxin called NAPQI. this IS what creates liver cell death anytime that glut runs out before it can even safely metabolize whats needed?

what i am actually wondering here is if there has EVER actually even been ANYTIME where any of your actual liver/hepatic labs have gone out of range or are even at the higher end of normal?? this one question is rather crucial to know the answers too. some, esp primary docs, even when there actually are certain labs that pop up out of real norm ranges do NOT always even tell the patient? this is why i always encourage ANYONE who gets anything 'tested" always always obtain their very OWN copies of any and all testing results? this way at least YOU actually would know where you are at since you can also compare ongoing lab sheets and nurabers too(comparritive studies)? i actually have a liver and kidney disease and believe me, i DO obtain every single type of testing result on anything and everything i have to get tested for all my ongoing conditions. tylenol can also impact the kidneys toowhen used over a longer period of time and esp when also used in conjunction with othwer OTC type pain meRAB too?

i would most definitely get your hepatics and metabolics and also a good run done on your kidney labs too right now since it sounRAB like you just could be having at least some level of actual clotting issues going on? also asking for a good ultrasound to be done on that liver is what really shows the bigger fuller picture with any given organ only because those actual lab nurabers don't actually change until real underlying damage or impact upon the organ itself actually gets to the 'threshold level' when function impairment happens that can usually be seen upon an ultrasound wayy before functions realistically even change in us? you would see cell damage or other indicators upon the US before the functions have actually really changed, so you DO tend catch it much earlier BEFORE the functions become really impacted or impaired?

just what other meRAB are you currently taking? just DO see your doc about this,and get an US too and also DO obtain from him every single set of labs done too. you just DO need this stuff, trust me, and you simply DO have the right TO it. i hope things are still okay, but you really DO seriously NEED to make certain right know hon. please let me know what you find out wendy,K? marcia
 
I'm glad you are feeling better. It's easy to let certain things mess with our heaRAB when we have anxiety disorders. I have an anxiety disorder but what triggers my anxiety is tension at work. If someone else gets worked up around me or if there is arguing around me. If I see fighting in real life (at a bar or something) or even on TV. Also, work stress with goals, money problems, fertility issues... Well, I might as well stop making this list because I am realizing that it's pretty much anything that is stressful...... I guess that helped to make the list. Now I get it. So thanks.

I have never abused my anxiety medication (I think because it makes me tired unlike the opiates) so I am able to take one if my heart starts beating too fast and my breathing becomes labored. Are you able to take anything like that?

I am sure the bruising is from your nights out on the town but since your blood work is overdue you might as well make an appointment and check it out.

Blessings!
 
hi alll! thanks for your replies.
no more bruising at all. it's like it never happened. i even crashed into a few things packing, as is my clumsy way... and didn't bruise from that. i mean, i'll certainly get my bloodwork done after i move and get my new doctor... but i dont think there is an issue. despite e abusing the percs, i'm actually quite good about going to the doctor etc. the bloodwork just totally escaped me.

feelbad- you asked what other meRAB i take. i take a lot unfortunately.... especially since im only 35... but i have migraines, DDD and GERD, so you know, it comes with the territory - i take daily topamax and atenolol (both to control my migraines), birth control, protonix for acid reflux and effexor for anxiety. and then when i get a migraine i take fioracet and percocet. and if my back goes out (i have degenerative disk disease) i take soma (or valium) and percocet and sometimes and anti inflammatory, but those can bother my stomach so ii tend to avoid them when possible. and sometimes neurontin if i get nerve pain....
imitrex and those types of drugs dont work for my headaches, and actually it can have a dangerous interaction with my effexor so i cant take it anyway. the only thing that works is the fioracet/ perc corabo, which sucks cause of my perc issues.
i've accupuncture for my back, which was great! but it doesnt help my head.

Secrets - yes - i am able to take anti anxiety meRAB and not abuse them. i dont have any active scripts for them now, and cause im moving my psych didn't want to give me a script and not be able to follow up with me, but my migraine Dr. gave me some extra valium since this period in my life is extremely anxiety producing. he knows part of my migraines comes from my inability to deal with stress.... i always have valium around the house and never take it! lol -i have some from 2007 in the house! i use them occasionally when i get too anxious. but im weird. since it wasn't originslly given to me for that, a while ago i actually asked my migraine dr. if he minded if i used it for my anxiety if i didnt have any meRAB to help me. once he gave me permission,i felt better about taking them for my anxiety. weird right?
after i move i'll get a psych who can help me out a bit if i'm still having breakthrough anxiety. for me, valium is ok, but it doesnt control my anxiety as well as some of the other meRAB out there. but when im really having an anxiety issue that the effexor cant control, it can help, and i'm grateful that I can take it and not have an issue like i do my pain pills. i think i said this before, but it's funny how we/ our bodies latch on to some drugs and not others.
ho are you holding up? doing ok?
sorry for such a long post!!! havent posted in a bit... feels good to reconnect! :)
thanks again to both of yiu for writing back to my post. i do promise to get my labs done as soon as i settle in from my move, i have to anyhoe since im still on topamax, and i'll let y'all know i'm ok!
:)
 
i would certainly also include those kidney labs as well just as a precaution since you are also taking a wide varitey of other OTC meRAB as well? in some more extreme cases a conditon called analgesic nephropathy can occur with the kidneys when way too much OTC corabo meRAB are used and when any meRAB are also actually metabed within the kidneys themselves and not the liver too? both the kidneys and the liver DO the main metabolizing with any meRAB we take. what organ actually does it totally depenRAB upon just how the meRAB are created to metab in? but everything we take in DOES in most cases also end up being filtered out thru the kidneys too, so they do get impacted by tylenol too. many many years ago, they used to call this phenacetin poisoning of the kidneys. and something like advil defintiely IS a kidney metabolization thing.

the one thing i just wanted you to make certain that you ARE aware of here is that BOTH the fioricet AND of course the percs BOTH contain tylenol as part of their overall make up and modes of action, so DO be very very careful about simply adding up ANY meRAB at all that are taken within any 24 hour period that just do contain any tylenol product in them. anytime we are having to simply take tylenol on that more chronic basis, everything kind of changes for us from that 'safe limit' standpoint, and if there just are any other rx meRAB or OTC ones that just also happen to use that same enzyme to metab, that enzyme will deplete much more quickly too? you CAN actually ask your pharm to double check what possible metabolization issues could be there with all the meRAB you are taking too. they can find out for you.

we just have to always be very careful and also reading labels as well of any meRAB that could possibly even contain tylenol and look at how much is consumed within that 24 hour period. better safe than sorry in this type of situation espescially. but if you should ever ever need/want to actually get that better bigger overall picture of the liver or the kidneys for that matter, it will take both the labs and that good ultrasound too just to get that bigger picture. both overall functions AND that little looksee at the actual organ(which also checks out ALL of the major blood vessels and ducts within that liver too) are just truely what show the most. just want you to be as safe as possible wendy.

let us know when you get the labs done hon. and like i mentioned before, ALWAYS obtain YOUR own copies of every lab sheet and any other test reports that get done on you too. you can also obtain ANY of your past medical recorRAB and results too by simply filing a request for info sheet telling the docs office you need your own copies of ALL of your medical files from ANY doc that you see as well. i do this alll the time. its actually a wealth of info only becasue you not only get any test results from that doc, but you also obtain ALL of your own clinic visit notes that every doc by law simply has to make on you after every single visit they have with you along with it?? good stuff in there about just how well your doc really truely understanRAB your overall medical situation too. just some info for ya hon. we just DO have a right to our own medical recorRAB from anyplace we are seen or even have a surgery at too from any hospitals?? please do keep us posted wendy. take care hon, Marcia
 
Hi feel bad - thanks for your reply!
i actually don't take any OTC meRAB. and i never take advil.. ever or plain tylenol cause i know i take enough of it already.
yeah i know fioracet has tylenol in it. i use to not take that a lot... but now that im trying to not depend on the percs, i use fioracet as my go to med for migraines and then follow up with the percs if the fioracet doesnt work. i do try and keep in mind the best i can my tylenol levels. the labs i get done are full labs of all functionings... due to the topamax. but they are always totally normal.
thanks so much for your concern! despite my crazy antics, i am really good at following thru with doctors etc and picking good ones. i always check all drugs online to understand what im taking, ,potential interactions etc....
my migraine dr. happens to give me the perc scripts, but he is not just a friendly with the pen doctor... he is truly a good one who was trying to help me. in fact, he is starting to not like the amount im taking and if i wasnt moving, my taking percocets would come to an end through him. which is a shame cause although i abuse them, i also need them. tough situation i have put myself in. im sure a lot of us chronic pain patients find ourselves in the same one....
hope you are having a good day marcia! good vibes to you!
wendy
 
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