Not Razor Blades, But Cotton

Posted on June 18, 2006 in Body Language Psychotropics

My arms — especially my right arm — lost some of their sensation The band of deadness proceeded from a point between my elbow and the crease, riding the groove ridged by the radius and the ulna. It was at its worst on Wednesday but barely noticeable because of the restlessness and the anxiety. It all fell against me thanks to my extraordinary sensitivity to Abilify. As I write, there’s a slight jiggling numbness and my ring and middle fingers want to call a sick-out.

So does Joel suffer, not in razor blades but mounds of cotton.

About four years ago when I started seeing my present psychiatrist and was put on Effexor (a mistake because it turned out that I was bipolar), I ran into a Swedish fellow online. I was getting off Prozac and he was getting off Effexor. He wanted to know why I left off the Prozac. Well, I said, after eight years, it just wasn’t working anymore.

“That’s too bad,” he said. “I had a weird experience when I was on Effexor. I was walking along and it felt like my arms and legs disappeared.

“But,” he went on, “that was my experience. I hope your’s will be better.”

Hearing from a few of you about your Abilify experiences made me feel like less of a freak. Sometimes the drugs make it feel like our arms are falling off.

But that is no reason for the rest of you not to give a drug sincerely prescribed by your psychiatrist a go. Be honest about your symptoms and you will be able to act together towards rehabilitating your mental health.

Here is something I wrote about Prozac Horror Stories.