This will end, right?

March 14, 2008 5:51 AM

I believe I'm reacting badly to the pseudoephedrine in some cold medicine, mostly through an anxiety attack. Has this happened to anyone else? How long is this going to last? What can I do?

It's been 5 hours since I took the medicine; I'm jittery, exhausted but unable to sleep, dizzy, getting waves of nausea, and extremely worried about something even though I don't know what it is. I've never had an anxiety attack before, which is why I suspect the med. Also lethargic, and I can't seem to drink enough water.

How long does something take to work through the system? At what point should I seek medical attention? And iIs there anything I can do to cope with the anxiety, or make it go away more quickly?

posted by Slam I Am to Health & Fitness (21 answers total)

If I take a pseudoephedrine pill in the morning, it can keep me from sleeping in the evening. Although I've never had anything like an anxiety attack, or your other severe symptoms, from it. Here's what the BNF says:

Systemic decongestants should be used with caution in diabetes, hypertension, hyperthyroidism, susceptibility to angle-closure glaucoma, prostatic hypertrophy, renal impairment (Appendix 3), pregnancy (Appendix 4), and ischaemic heart disease, and should be avoided in patients taking monoamine oxidase inhibitors; interactions: Appendix 1 (sympathomimetics)

Side-effects: tachycardia, anxiety, restlessness, insomnia; rarely hallucinations, rash; very rarely angle-closure glaucoma; urinary retention also reported

Looks like anxiety is not unheard of. Call your poison control center for advice.
posted by grouse at 6:07 AM on March 14, 2008

The best I can offer is to take a long, warm shower. It's often helped me ward off a panic attack. Breathe deeply. Remember that these anxious feelings are temporary and that you are already most of the way through them.
posted by kamikazegopher at 6:12 AM on March 14, 2008

This happens to me when I take cold medication (especially Contac C) which is why I generally don't take it anymore. It usually takes about 8 hours or so before my system starts returning to normal.

I can't offer any advice about making yourself feel better (unless you have an ativan you can take) other than going home if you aren't there already and lying prone until the dizziness passes (I've had a couple loss of balance and fainting moments after taking cold medication, so it's something to watch out for).

Hope this passes soon. I'm feeling a little anxious just remembering these symptoms, so you have all my sympathy.
posted by Felicity Rilke at 6:14 AM on March 14, 2008

You can also call your doctor or local health network and ask if you can take some gravol. It may help with the nausea and might make you drowsy enough to sleep the rest of this off.
posted by Felicity Rilke at 6:16 AM on March 14, 2008

IANAD, but I get jittery and anxious like that when I take pseudoephedrine, too. That's why I don't take it anymore.

Watch how much water you're trying to drink; you don't want to over-do it. The effects of that stuff shouldn't last too much longer, and if they haven't done you in by now they probably won't. Don't take any other drugs to counter-act the effects of this one without calling the poison control center first.

If you are really concerned, get yourself to the hospital. Usually, though, you don't need to worry too much about adverse drug effects until you start having trouble breathing or your brain starts to fog up. Keep yourself near the phone in case you want to dial 911, try to remain calm and occupy yourself with something that'll take your mind off of your worrying. Maybe call someone close-by to come over and hang out with you until this clears up if you can, just for your own piece of mind.
posted by Pecinpah at 6:18 AM on March 14, 2008

Pseudoephedrine works on the adrenergic system. If I were trying to modulate the anxiety effects, I would seek out and take a beta blocker, as it's one of the very few things that will modulate the adrenergic effects (in fact everything I can think of is a prescription-only drug). Otherwise I would definitely try some kava tea (some health food stores will have this); there the mode is on the GABA receptors and not directly where the pseudoephedrine is working, but kava tea has such a calming effect that your body will be able to bring down the adrenergic levels.
posted by chips ahoy at 6:23 AM on March 14, 2008

This stuff is definitely off-limits to people with anxiety/panic disorders. Throw away the box and remember that it will wear off. You'll be ok soon.
posted by tom_g at 6:30 AM on March 14, 2008

I can get jittery if I take it on an empty stomach. Have a muffin.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:31 AM on March 14, 2008

N'thing the pseodoephedrine jitters. It takes about 8 hours for it to wear off for me. Hang in there!
posted by Quietgal at 7:15 AM on March 14, 2008

I took a couple this morning, too. I'm not susceptible to anxiety/panic disorders, but this question reminds me that, when I last had a cold, cycling home was weird.
The lights on all the cars were just a bit overwhelming, having to process all of that information at once.
posted by Flashman at 7:15 AM on March 14, 2008

I remember the very first time I took Contact I had a similar reaction. I remember feeling very anxious and panicky. Of course, feeling anxiety caused me to feel more anxiety. The circle continued. I think I've never taken Contact again, but I probably would if I didn't have alternatives.

Anyway, Poison Control Center is your best bet. Your doctor is not going to get back to you in time and the ER seems a bit much.

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by tcv at 7:31 AM on March 14, 2008

Pseodoephedrine is one of the "big lies" of over the counter medication -- for many people it's an enormously problematic drug and no one tells you about it. The biggest problem with it is that it works so damn well that it's in almost every cold medicine.

Anyway, I have many of the same things you are having when I take it, and I also have dissociative spells that are very similar to the auras I get when I'm about to have a seizure (I'm epileptic). (Or anyway I HAD those problems before I realized it was the damn cold medicine and stopped taking it.) I don't know if it will help your anxiety to know this, but try to understand that it's just the drug and it will pass in a few hours. That helped me, since once my neurologist told me that I realized I wasn't (a) going insane or (b) about to have a seizure.
posted by The Bellman at 7:45 AM on March 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

This has happened to me often enough that I no longer take decongestants. I would sometimes be awake for 20 hours after taking one. The medicine doesn't stay in your system for very long. At the most, I suffered for a day. Look for the Coricidin HB if you need a cold medicine without pseudoephedrine. If you're still stuffy, clear up the old-fashioned way: with a humidifier and some Vick's vapor rub.
posted by notjustfoxybrown at 8:20 AM on March 14, 2008

Pigging out on comfort food helps me in similar OTC-drug-addled panics. (I do NOT recommend taking Gravol, which does the same thing to me...) Got lasagna in the house?
posted by kmennie at 8:25 AM on March 14, 2008

Pseudoephedrine makes my heart race in a particularly horrible way. I remember being anxious that I might actually have a heart attack. I'm very careful to avoid the stuff now. I hope you'll feel better soon.
posted by Morrigan at 8:30 AM on March 14, 2008

Did you take one, or two? How many MG? I actually enjoy the jittery feeling, but I only ever take ONE 120 MG pill. I've known people who take 2 and I think they're crazy....no offense y'all...but it is one strong drug. It usually takes 12 hours for mine to wear off completely.
posted by drinkcoffee at 8:32 AM on March 14, 2008

Definitely not uncommon with the anxiety and worrying. I once took a half dose of Nyquil (not enough to knock me out, apparently) and my brain was racing half the night. It wears off for me in the about-8-hours time frame, and I seem to metabolize most drugs somewhat slowly (like the antibiotics I was taking that were making me feel like I had just been rolled down a hill in a barrel--took about three days after the last pill for me to feel mostly human again).

Eating something might help. Taking a bath might help. Baths and food are good anyway, and if you're not throwing up, probably won't hurt anything.

I think I would start worrying more if you did start throwing up--especially if it's still happening when there's nothing left to throw up.
posted by that girl at 8:35 AM on March 14, 2008

I can't take decongestants either, for this very reason -- I'll be up all night with my mind racing and heart pounding and pulling my hair out if I go anywhere near them. It can particularly be bad for people with high thyroid levels (which is my problem -- because I had thyroid cancer years ago, I have to be on a high dose of thyroid hormone, which reacts very badly with pseudoephedrine... as I found out the hard way!).

Soothe yourself with a warm shower or bath. Have some hot tea (decaffeinated!). Breathe deeply. It'll wear off soon.
posted by scody at 8:47 AM on March 14, 2008

Can you take an anti-histamine? Like Benadryl. I have a little allergy kit that has decongestants for AM and antihistamines for evening.
posted by peep at 10:07 AM on March 14, 2008

Pseudoephedrine totally makes me freak out too. Fortunately, it wears off in 1/2 a day to a day. If you can sleep, sleep, if you can't, find something absorbing to distract yourself with, like a video game, until it wears off. Avoid taking it in the future.
posted by Jacqueline at 12:34 PM on March 14, 2008

Ah, I have this too. Sucks. For me the only thing was being held by my mum and riding it out. Can't take it anymore, despite it being possibly the best thing for my colds!
posted by divabat at 5:38 AM on March 17, 2008