http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:15:26 +0000 60 http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/36727-trileptal-wean/ Hi. I am currently weaning off of trileptal. I take this drug for seizures and am transitioning to Lamictal. Titrating up the lamictal was Ok until the end. The combined doses (400mg/lamictal and 1950mg/Trileptal) has been awful. I have weaned down from 1950 mg trileptal to 1350 mg trileptal over the past four weeks. But things seem to be getting worse, not better. I have been taking Trileptal for almost 8 years. I have been feeling overly sedated and tired with constant head numbness now. Could this be a result from my body adjusting to coming off the med, especially after my body has been used to it? I thought things would have gotten better! Trileptal withdrawl? Experiences with trileptal w/d? Thanks. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:15:26 +0000 http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/36727-trileptal-wean/ http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/36685-wellbrutin-lithium-trileptal/ And i know evverybody asks about lithium so its a tad boring and i should go through all old posts.

But if anybody of you know me, i have had terrible eating disorders, I got a new doc today apparently brilliant and he is nice and open to my sugggestions! Which i thought cool. Even went through ALL the meds.
But he was keen to give me lithium, I don't want it cause of side effects and weight gain! NO no i won't take it? Is it really that bad with weight gain? (he is super keen). there is such a bad stigma to it, is the stigma right? Any supportes?

Then i started taking trileptal last year and my liver enzymes have gone up? Little concerning so getting them redone, anybody have bad bad reactions to trileptal and your liver?

Thirdly I'm ADHD, and untill last year I was taking concerta, and when i stopped i turned back into a kid with a concentration span of a five year old.
So we came to a conclusion of Welbrutin as it helps with ADHD, and its weight neutral and i dont want to put on weight! (he also joked if i loose weight he will through both lithuim and zyprexa at me he he) So no lithium. But was thinking welbrutin is mainly for depression right? Tad different to lithium?
Little confused?
Anybody with expierence of welbrutin????

love Ash]]> Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:17:13 +0000 http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/36685-wellbrutin-lithium-trileptal/ http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/36643-itchy-and-rashy-w-lamicatal/
I got the pdoc to retry it recently. This time I'm on the generic Mylan lamitrogine version. I started w/ Dr. Phelps' suggestions and got the pdoc to write the scrip so that I was only going up 12.5mg/wk-- super slow titration schedule. It seems to have helped in that I've only had very mild (I don't think I would even call them) headaches that have only lasted for a day or so when going up in dosage. No real side effects at all. I thought things were going great

Sat. I went up from 50mg to 67.5mg (I know, still a small dose). That afternoon I was REALLY ITCHY! And by that evening I had a lot of small bumps under the skin, really noticeable all over my thighs and around my waist,. but even on my back and calves, and some on my arms . Nothing red, nothing coming up pus filled or pimple like. Nothing in the mucous membranes, no fever, and my lymph nodes don't appear to be swollen. The bumps appear to be down under the immediate surface layer (not breaks in the surface)..... but itch like hell! Benadryl doesn't seem to relieve the itching much and does nothing in getting the bumps to go down. Hydocortisone cream didn't seem to help much either (b/c the skin isn't broken open???). I've been itchy all over, even on the neck and scalp too, back of the hands (and on the genitals).

From the pictures that I've seen on this site and elsewhere and from the descriptions, I am thinking (and maybe delusionally) that this doesn't appear to be THE RASH......? Do I just back the dosage off for a while, and see if it will calm down and go away? Has this worked for you-- Or did you need to come off completely to make it subside (and not titrate back down)? Have you been successful in re-titrating back up without a re-occurrence?
I went back down in dose to 50mg on Sunday, and the bumps still seemed to be unchanged or maybe a little worse, but at least no better. (but this was only 1 day) So, I held off on my dose this morning until I can try to get a hold of the pdoc today. I'm due to see him next week Mon., and I was going to try to move my appt. up. The problem is that he is only in 1day/wk and for a limited time even that day and gets booked up months in advance.....so will probably have no openings. I'm just worred in that my pdoc pulled me off the lamictal pretty quickly the 1st time just for the headaches. For rashes, he will probably yank me off it w/o a 2nd thought....

I also have to wait for the gdoc's office so that I could get a referral to the dermatologist (with the insurance), but she will probably want me to get in and see her 1st... and I do have an appt already for this week to go over my blood pressure medication adjustments, and would have to move it up.

And all of these sudden Dr's appts are really going to screw with work as they don't seem to be able to be scheduled after hours......


Update-- I did manage to get a quick return phone call from the pdoc. He indicated that I was to come off of it right away, and NOT TO TAKE ANYMORE! And that it can never be started again, that the sheets for Lamictal are very clear on this.... any rash- quit, and not to be tried again, too much risk of a real problem. He cannot see me until next week (as expected) but indicated that I will have to wait for it to get out of my system anyway..... Damn, Damn, Damn! I'm glad it doesn't appear to be full blown SJS, and its only a big irritation, but Now what to try next???]]> Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:48:23 +0000 http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/36643-itchy-and-rashy-w-lamicatal/ http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/36609-tell-me-about-depakote/
I'm on 300 mg Seroquel and 50 mg Zoloft at the moment, and I just came out of being horribly depressed for months and am back to being hypomanic. I don't have over-the-top destructive manic phases (I have bipolar II), but my hypomanias do tend to get me into a bit of trouble - I overspend, tend to interrupt people, can have a very high sex drive, and stay up until obscene hours of the night.

My big concern here is that the combo I'm on now isn't enough to keep me from cycling. I like Zoloft because it keeps my anxiety in check - I just feel like maybe seroquel isn't strong enough as my only stabilizer.

I'm basically on seroquel because another doctor who was convinced I had borderline personality disorder (and nothing else) put me on it, and my new doctor just decided to raise the dose instead of starting me on new meds altogether. He mentioned that it "wasn't his first choice", so I asked him what his first choice was. He said probably Epival/Depakote.

I do like some of the effects of Seroquel - it makes me less paranoid, helps me sleep, and keeps me a bit more stable than I was - but I'm worried it's not strong enough.

I'm seeing him on Monday. I know I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here, but I do feel like I need a stronger stabilizer. I'm worried about Lamictal having too much of an anti-depressant effect, because the last thing I need is more hypomania.

So, who here has been on Depakote/Epival? What was it like?

Also, how should I talk to my doctor about this?]]> Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:11:15 +0000 http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/36609-tell-me-about-depakote/ http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/36438-trileptal-to-lamictal/
I have partial complex seizures with secondary generalization and have been on Trileptal since 2001. I recently had a seizure in August 2009 and my doc increased my dose from 1500mg/day to 1950mg/day. Well, it has just been awful! Zombie-like, drowsiness, cognition problems, dizziness, mental fog... you name it. In November I decided to switch to generic Lamictal. I slowly titrated up to 400mg/day lamotrigine and I am slowly tapering off Trileptal. Since taking both medications my side effects have even been worse. I am sure they will improve as I get off the Trileptal.

Has anyone made this switch? I recently had a lamotrigine trough level and I was only 2.5 (funny because I was 2.2 at 200mg/day). I know my level will go up as I decrease the Trileptal.

Any advice???

I could really use some input!]]> Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:18:43 +0000 http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/36438-trileptal-to-lamictal/