Episode 8: Chris Paige, LCSW, MSW

Akathisia Stories

In this episode of “Akathisia Stories,” we hear from Chris Paige.

A licensed psychotherapist, Chris had maintained a successful private therapy practice, working face-to-face with hundreds of clients over the years, and taught multiple semesters of psychopathology to master’s-level students, teaching students how to diagnose disorders. In all that time, he writes, no one ever mentioned to be on the lookout for akathisia, or even once uttered the word.

When Chris started to take the antibiotic Cipro he experienced insomnia and agitation.

[Chris Paige] “So I call my primary and I said, look, if you could just give me 20 — or I actually asked for 10 1-milligram Klonopin tablets just so that I have some on hand if I needed to sleep. She gave me 20 because obviously she didn’t view it as a dangerous drug or anything that she needed to be cautious with. And then it was, you know, like I said, a few months into that, just taking it every three or four days, less than prescribed, when I started to get the really bad adverse effects.

"Chronic akathisia is unbearable. And what I really needed was my family and friends to step up, and they didn’t. I think I’m here for a reason and that reason is to make a difference and prevent this from happening.”