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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by katia on December 17, 2003, at 15:02:09
In reply to Re: Lamictal and dizziness? » boonie, posted by headachequeen on December 17, 2003, at 14:16:33
Hi Kat,
A good book to read to clear up some confusion about all these diagnoses is "Why Your Depression Isn't Getting Better". It goes into the bipolar spectrum disorders.
katia
Posted by bridgey1128 on December 17, 2003, at 15:06:58
In reply to Re: Lamictal and dizziness? Atkins Diet? » jtevers, posted by headachequeen on December 17, 2003, at 14:22:12
Girl you definitely sound some kind of depressed to me. Why would you be SO sad if you weren't depressed? Topamax is used for bipolar II which is a rapid cycling bipolar. In other words...you go from happy to irritable and back again fairly quickly as compared to Manic Depressive (bipolar I I do believe) which is the traditional one. Periods of mania in which you feel SO good you are like a superman(or woman!)..go out, spend money you don't have and I don't mean one pair of shoes..I mean hundreds or thousands...feelings of grandeur or that you can do anything and everything. The depression is deep and disparing and can last a long time. I am bipolar II and I can switch from laughing one minute to biting someone's head off the next. I am currently TRYING to get my Dr to give me Topamax because I just cannot gain anymore weight.Effexor was HORRID! And the withdrawl for me was so bad I almost went back on it to keep from feeling so bad. I took Zyprexa for 3 days...gained 5lbs..had a major breakdown (it also made me feel like a zombie)and proceeded to call my Dr Monday morning and say..."Ok ready to try the topamax". He didn't want to try that first because he said it was not a "first line" drug. I feel like saying..."I TOLD YOU SO!!" I am a redhead and we have just WEIRD problems medically. We are just in a category all our own. *sigh* If the Dr you have now won't help you or explain anything, I suggest you find one that will. Being that sad is not just being sad! I suggest also that you go online and search for "bipolar spectrum". I am also a singer and I was sick for a month and a half and couldn't sing.(With bronchitis not because of any meds) and I know how depressing it is to not be able to do the one thing you know you are good at. You feel like a total failure. Whether or not the things that are making you depressed are real or imagined is just not relevant. It's real and depressing to you and any Dr that would not address the real problem, which is the depression, shouldn't be practicing.Some people just don't understand that it's not something we can HELP. You can't just MAKE yourself feel better! If it was that easy what would we need all these meds for??? I think the topamax is used for controlling the mania in bipolar. I am not sure if it helps the depression. Ativan worked well for me. Maybe you can ask about that. Hope this helps!
Posted by headachequeen on December 17, 2003, at 15:28:03
In reply to Re: Lamictal and dizziness? Atkins Diet?, posted by bridgey1128 on December 17, 2003, at 15:06:58
I just cannot gain anymore weight.Effexor was HORRID! And the withdrawl for me was so bad I almost went back on it to keep from feeling so bad. I took Zyprexa for 3 days...gained 5lbs..had a major breakdown (it also made me feel like a zombie)and proceeded to call my Dr Monday morning and say..."Ok ready to try the topamax". He didn't want to try that first because he said it was not a "first line" drug. I feel like saying..."I TOLD YOU SO!!" I am a redhead and we have just WEIRD problems medically. We are just in a category all our own. *sigh* If the Dr you have now won't help you or explain anything, I suggest you find one that will. Being that sad is not just being sad! I suggest also that you go online and search for "bipolar spectrum". I am also a singer and I was sick for a month and a half and couldn't sing.(With bronchitis not because of any meds) and I know how depressing it is to not be able to do the one thing you know you are good at. You feel like a total failure. Whether or not the things that are making you depressed are real or imagined is just not relevant. It's real and depressing to you and any Dr that would not address the real problem, which is the depression, shouldn't be practicing.Some people just don't understand that it's not something we can HELP. You can't just MAKE yourself feel better! If it was that easy what would we need all these meds for??? I think the topamax is used for controlling the mania in bipolar. I am not sure if it helps the depression. Ativan worked well for me. Maybe you can ask about that. Hope this helps!
>Another Redhead !!! We are indeed in a class of our own!!! a WORLD of our own...
Effexor and Zyprexa and Imovane were the drugs I was on when my doctor was trying to deal with what he believed was depression and it kept escalating until a psychiatrist he consulted admitted me and increased the zyprexa and the effexor...
the head of the service at the hospital took me on his caseload because I had such odd symptoms.. guess that was a redhead thing too???
and he increased the zyprexa further... now I know how the voodoo people managed to get the zombies, they invented zyprexa.
After I was released I was still on the high doses of everything but they said I was not depressed, just suffering from personality disorder... go figure... and this hypomanicdepressive bit... and let us not forget the confusion that went with it.
The psychiatrist said that neither he nor any other psychiatrist could help me and said it in such a tone of voice that made me feel as if I were so beyond help that I should jump off the planet, then handed me prescriptions for the increase in dosages and sent me on my way... told me I could go home in two days...
as long as I were hooked up with a psychologist that is...right now failure is the key word in my life. I feel as if I have failed at everything I have set out to do and these doctors don't seem to understand that, other than my GP who is trying his darnedest to help.
I am going to ask him about the Ativan... when he is back in the office in January sigh...My psychologist said something odd on Monday,he told me that what I need to do is live straight... and that will help me ...
and if that doesn't work, then ask my GP to prescribe anti-depressants... then he made an appointment for me in late January...
oh, he said that if things build up and I think I am really depressed and unable to cope, to call him and he will fit me in before then...
I felt like telling him not to bother and to give my 22 Jan appointment to someone he thought really needed it...
I still feel like telling him that... it would make me feel better to tell him off...
if he doesn't think I really feel as down as I do, then why waste his time and mine?
see, I am in the midst of the world's biggest temper tantrum... but somehow there has to be a way to deal with this and make it stop ...
I cannot go on running away from myself because I am not having any luck; I keep catching up to me...
So much of what you said is helpful and solid...
now to find a doctor who is as helpful and solid...
thanks hugely
kat
Posted by bridgey1128 on December 17, 2003, at 20:39:15
In reply to headachequeen » bridgey1128, posted by headachequeen on December 17, 2003, at 15:28:03
Kat if you want to talk one on one just to have someone who knows what you are going through...I am on yahoo chat as bridgey1128 and the same on AIM. Feel free to msg me! I can't cure you but I can listen and sympathize! :)
Posted by mags on December 17, 2003, at 22:04:55
In reply to Re: Lamictal and dizziness? Atkins Diet?, posted by bridgey1128 on December 17, 2003, at 15:06:58
Hi all, Just something I thought I should point out...Ativan is NOT an antidepresant but rather a depressant used to calm people down help with sleep etc. This would NOT be a good med to try and help with your depression....anxiety yes, depression no.....
Maggie
Posted by bridgey1128 on December 18, 2003, at 9:40:30
In reply to Re: Lamictal and dizziness? Atkins Diet?, posted by mags on December 17, 2003, at 22:04:55
Thanks Maggie! I didn't think it was a depressant but yes it's for anti anxiety. I thought she said she had been ancy and anxious as well as symptoms of depression. DIdn't mean to mislead! Sorry!
Posted by mags on December 18, 2003, at 17:46:49
In reply to Re: Lamictal and dizziness? Atkins Diet?, posted by bridgey1128 on December 18, 2003, at 9:40:30
> Thanks Maggie! I didn't think it was a depressant but yes it's for anti anxiety. I thought she said she had been ancy and anxious as well as symptoms of depression. DIdn't mean to mislead! Sorry!
>No probs Bridgey...just thought I'd point that out....Ativan has helped many depressed people, me included, as long as they know what it is for...it helped me many times get thru some anxious times and sleepless nights ;o)
maggie
Posted by bridgey1128 on December 23, 2003, at 11:40:28
In reply to Re: Lamictal and dizziness? » headachequeen, posted by katia on December 17, 2003, at 15:02:09
Ok I just started the Topomax and so far so good. My Dr has be on 25mg for the first week and then 50 for the second. I dunno if he will raise me up more after that or not. The PA I went to (I have been sick as a dog with everything BUT the flu)said that weight loss starts with the 150mg and up dosage. Anyone have weight loss with a lesser dosage? Just curious!
Thanks!
Posted by boonie on December 23, 2003, at 12:26:30
In reply to Re: Lamictal and dizziness?, posted by bridgey1128 on December 23, 2003, at 11:40:28
I lost 30ish lbs in about 3 months (too fast) while taking 50 mgs of topomax. But, I did stop taking valproic acid and start taking topomax. I gained unwanted weight with the valproic acid - I don't know if it would have come off without the topomax. ?????
> Ok I just started the Topomax and so far so good. My Dr has be on 25mg for the first week and then 50 for the second. I dunno if he will raise me up more after that or not. The PA I went to (I have been sick as a dog with everything BUT the flu)said that weight loss starts with the 150mg and up dosage. Anyone have weight loss with a lesser dosage? Just curious!
> Thanks!
Posted by bridgey1128 on December 23, 2003, at 13:09:54
In reply to Lamictal and dizziness?, posted by boonie on December 23, 2003, at 12:26:30
Shoot! I'd love to lose 30lbs in 3 months!! I am taking so many vitamins I doubt it would matter much!Actually if I went back on the Atkins diet I could do it in a month and a half probably. Right now I am sick as a dog so I am not going to attempt it. That and I just got cast as Bloody Mary in our Community Theatre production of South Pacific. Just thought I thought throw that in! That has been a great mental boost lemme tell ya.
Posted by boonie on December 23, 2003, at 13:21:20
In reply to Re: Lamictal and dizziness?, posted by bridgey1128 on December 23, 2003, at 13:09:54
I completely lost my appetite, so make sure you stick with the vitamins. I had to make a protien shake every day and I had to make myself drink it. I started doing some weird, dizzy stuff cuz I would literally forget to eat, that's why the protien shake. But, the weight just fell off - So did my pants. ;-) Congrats on the Bloody Mary part!!!!!
> Shoot! I'd love to lose 30lbs in 3 months!! I am taking so many vitamins I doubt it would matter much!Actually if I went back on the Atkins diet I could do it in a month and a half probably. Right now I am sick as a dog so I am not going to attempt it. That and I just got cast as Bloody Mary in our Community Theatre production of South Pacific. Just thought I thought throw that in! That has been a great mental boost lemme tell ya.
Posted by bridgey1128 on December 27, 2003, at 15:15:47
In reply to Re: Lamictal and dizziness? Atkins Diet?, posted by mags on December 18, 2003, at 17:46:49
Anyone else have a problem with blurred vision? I just started the 50mg two days ago of the Topomax and all of a sudden I can't see far off distances. I am thinking I had better call my Dr because this has come on pretty sudden. Anyone else have this problem?
Posted by headachequeen on December 27, 2003, at 15:52:10
In reply to Re: Lamictal and dizziness? Atkins Diet?, posted by bridgey1128 on December 27, 2003, at 15:15:47
Bridgey, I remember my neuro telling me that blurred vision, more specifically double vision was often a side effect of meds used to overcome seizures...
amd this, in my experience is a very short term problem with topomax...
it came and it went...kat
P.S. my aim id is tegreine if it will work for me and I would love to talk with you...
Posted by bridgey1128 on December 27, 2003, at 17:44:09
In reply to bridgey » bridgey1128, posted by headachequeen on December 27, 2003, at 15:52:10
This isn't just run of the mill blurred vision..This is I can't hardly see the TV in front of my face blurred vision. I laid down to take a nap and now there are these rainbow halos all over! If this is temporary I can live through it. But so far it's just getting worse! HELP!
Posted by boonie on December 28, 2003, at 9:42:47
In reply to Re: bridgey, posted by bridgey1128 on December 27, 2003, at 17:44:09
I've been on 50 mg of topomax for a year now and have never experienced any vision problems. I would call my doctor. I think in the information that I received, it said if you had any vision problems to contact your doctor.
> This isn't just run of the mill blurred vision..This is I can't hardly see the TV in front of my face blurred vision. I laid down to take a nap and now there are these rainbow halos all over! If this is temporary I can live through it. But so far it's just getting worse! HELP!
Posted by Sooshi on December 28, 2003, at 10:51:17
In reply to Re: bridgey, posted by bridgey1128 on December 27, 2003, at 17:44:09
When I first started Topa, I had terrible eye pain, went to the eye doc, and everything turned out to be fine (it was due to dryness) but I have had blurriness ever since starting Topa, and have had to use 1.25 reading glasses to read. I'm 40 years old, and have 20/20 vision, (even now with the blurry vision), so it is definately the Topa causing it. The eye doc checked my eyes thoroughly, and said to just use the reading glasses if the blurriness got bad. Since my vision is so good to begin with, my blurriness isn't that bad...maybe one's blurriness has something to do with how bad one's vision is to begin with?
Posted by TropicalGirl12 on January 10, 2004, at 16:41:09
In reply to starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by audrey on February 14, 2003, at 18:04:25
Hey-
I started the birth control patch a month ago, and i found out on my own that topamax interferes with it. I take 100mg of topamax 2x a day, and i asked my psychiatrist if she knew anything about topamax effecting it-she said that they havent really proved anything, and that the reason it becomes less effective is because the birth control and topamax are both digested in the liver, and they are both looking for the same enzymes. I am now switching off the patch and going on the pill, due to the side effects of the patch. It made me really hungry, and gave me acne. But what i wanted to know is if anyone knows if maybe the patch would be safer than the pill while taking topamax? It just makes me curious because the patch isnt really digested, it just goes through your blood stream. So if anyone knows anything, could you let me know, thanks!
Posted by sarita0001 on January 10, 2004, at 20:57:44
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by TropicalGirl12 on January 10, 2004, at 16:41:09
Hi,
I just wanted to reply about the acne. It's possible the Topamax is causing the acne too- that happened to me and a few others here. I was on the pill while on Tmax for about a month and was fine. The acne I had started before I started the pill.
Sara
Posted by bridgey1128 on January 10, 2004, at 21:18:28
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by TropicalGirl12 on January 10, 2004, at 16:41:09
The regular dose BC pill makes me crazy. I take Loestrin Fe 1/20. It's about the lowest dose you can take that has both hormones in it. I am on Topomax 50mg (my eyes are MUCH BETTER NOW THANKS!) and it hasn't interfered with my pills at all. If you switch to a lower dosage BC pill it probably will clear up. I was worried about it interfering with my BC too until I read that only over 1200mg a day does it do so and I don't know anyone that would take that much! The patch also doesn't work in women over 200lbs (I'm not sure how much you weigh), so if you weigh more than that, weight might be an issue too. Hope this helps!
Posted by Karen_kay on January 10, 2004, at 22:05:07
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by bridgey1128 on January 10, 2004, at 21:18:28
Wait, can you say this one more time please? I'm taking demulen 1/50 and now have acne like crazy due to the demulen. I had it mildly due to topamax (oh, yes the joys of meds!) and also the high dose of estrogen has caused me to get a nasty yeast infection (OH, the horror!), but I'm just not satisfied with this particular brand of BC. What were you saying again about 1200 mgs??? 1200 mgs of what?? Topamax? I really don't want to get pregnant, but I really don't want another yeast infection and I really don't want to deal with this acne anymore. And I really think that the dermatologist is just going to tell me it's the BC, I know for a fact that's what it is!!! HELP me..... (oh, I'm not over 200 lbs, so at this point anything is an option, short of the pull-out-and pray-method...My sister tried that and now I have a beautiful niece, who I wouldn't trade for anythign in the world, but still I don't want a child right now!!)
Posted by bridgey1128 on January 10, 2004, at 22:15:41
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills?? » bridgey1128, posted by Karen_kay on January 10, 2004, at 22:05:07
I read that taking 1200mg of Topomax or GREATER MIGHT affect your BC pills effectiveness. The Loestrin Fe 1/20 is a low dose BC pill. I take it because the normal dose ones make me nuts. I don't know about your other meds. The Topomax hasn't broken out my face but then again I use my Jafra stuff so it keeps bad skin at bay. Ask a dermatologist about the other meds, I don't know anything about them. Hope this helps!
Posted by Sooshi on January 10, 2004, at 22:27:06
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by bridgey1128 on January 10, 2004, at 22:15:41
I don't take birth control pills, but I do take Topamax, and it has REALLY made my skin break out, even up on my scalp! I had pretty bad acne as a teen, so that may be why I'm more prone to it now, but I just thought I'd mention it...
Posted by sarita0001 on January 11, 2004, at 9:31:32
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by bridgey1128 on January 10, 2004, at 22:15:41
Hi,
There's more specific information about Topamax and bc pills on the package insert that you can find on the website- www.topamax.com.
Other than that, I felt a lot better using condoms too along with the bc.
Sara
Posted by headachequeen on January 11, 2004, at 11:07:24
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by bridgey1128 on January 10, 2004, at 21:18:28
> The regular dose BC pill makes me crazy. I take Loestrin Fe 1/20. It's about the lowest dose you can take that has both hormones in it. I am on Topomax 50mg (my eyes are MUCH BETTER NOW THANKS!)
oh Bridgey I am so glad that your eyes are better... the increments were too fast... hang in there !!!
btw had my first eye surgery... and found out it is a temporary thing to find out if it works... if it does then he will do a permanent one ... oh joy, twice around the block... then they will work on the problem with the right eye... but that is under full anaesthetic he tells me LOL
kat
Posted by TropicalGirl12 on January 11, 2004, at 18:42:13
In reply to Re: starting topamax -- bc pills??, posted by bridgey1128 on January 10, 2004, at 21:18:28
I just checked out topamax.com, and all i sort of understood it, but im still a little confused. I asked my psychiatrist a couple weeks about it and all she said was that they havent really proved anything yet, and she really didnt seem to know much. So is there a better birth control to be taking with it, beacuse im gonna be switching from the birth control patch, to ortho tri cyclen lo. What a pain meds can be huh?! :)
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