Posted by med_empowered on August 15, 2005, at 18:30:18
In reply to Trileptal for mania?, posted by TrishP on August 15, 2005, at 15:51:55
hey! From what I understand, Trileptal isn't all that well for studied for mood-disorders (bipolar, severe depression, etc.) *in general*--the data on lithium, depakote, zyprexa, etc. is much stronger. But...the research that has been done, and the record thats developed over the years of its use (it was used in Europe for 10 years or so before it hit the US market) seems to suggest its a lot like Tegretol, just without as many side-effects. Some docs seem to think that its also less potent that Tegretol...from my experience, it just seems to be a lot better tolerated, but pretty much just as strong. Anyway, Tegretol is useful for mania treatment, although it isn't a front-line med for acute mania--lithium, depakote, zyprexa, and seroquel are really the front-runners in that department. That said...if you're not delusional or floridly psychotic or posing a definite risk to yourself and/or others, there's really no reason *not* to try Trileptal if you're having (hypo)manic "issues." Like I said, its pretty well tolerated, no blood tests, etc. etc., so its good stuff. In your case though, I'm kind of curious as to why your doctor keeps medicating (hypo)mania that seems to be Wellbutrin-induced. Has your doc explained this to you? Anyway, Trileptal will probably help you...I think its usually started at 300mgs, bumped to 600 pretty quickly, and then titrated upwards as necessary...my own dosage ranged from 600-1200mgs. 600-900 was ideal for me; 1200 certainly worked, at least against (hypo)manic-symptoms and mixed-episodes, but I felt like I had low-grade drug-induced depression, and it made me talk slower and feel stupid all around. For me, Klonopin helped boost the Trileptal when necessary...maybe something like that could work for you? Also, once you're at a steady Trileptal dose, tapering the Wellbutrin might reduce your (hypo)manic symptoms, so then you might be able to reduce the Trileptal significantly, which would be nice. Good luck, and please keep all of us here posted.
poster:med_empowered
thread:541994
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050811/msgs/542090.html