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Written by Fred McConnell
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Understanding Serotonin SyndromeSerotonin syndrome is a relatively rare disease that affects thousands of people each year around the country. Serotonin is a chemical that is produced by your body naturally. People with this syndrome have an unusually high amount of the chemical in their bodies, which causes a number of health concerns for them. While medications and treatment options are available to those who are suffering from this condition, untreated cases can be life threatening. If you believe you could be facing this syndrome, or something similar, talk to your doctor as soon as possible. There are health options available to help.
Symptoms Of The SyndromeUnderstanding the symptoms of serotonin illness can help you to better understand what is happening and will be encouragement to seek out a medical professional for help. Those who are affected by this illness usually are so because of the combinations of medications they are taking which all affect the amount of serotonin production in the body. If you take medications that lead to this condition, the symptoms of the condition will present themselves within a few hours after taking medications. Some of those symptoms include the following:
- Restlessness, the inability to relax, extreme agitation in normal circumstances
- Confusion, loss of train of thought, inability to remember what they were doing
- Hallucinations, loss of coordination and other mind controlling problems
- A fast heartbeat, often caused by anxiety or from the medication mixture
- Fever that spikes a few hours after exposure, often without any other known reason
- Overactive reflexes such as twitching even though you are trying to hold the body still
- Heavy sweating, often due to the over working of the glands and hormones in the body
- Seizures, especially when any of the above symptoms have not been treated quickly
- Coma, especially in patients that do not seek out medical help for the illness as soon as possible
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