Posted by Mitch on June 14, 2001, at 23:47:56
In reply to Gabitril, posted by Snowie on June 14, 2001, at 21:04:03
> Anybody try Gabitril or know anything about it? Not much in the archives. My new pdoc has switched me temporarily from Neurontin to Gabritril to see how it works as an augment to Xanax. I'm the first patient he's tried this on, so I'm a little nervous. He has me on a patient sample of 2 mg., which I understand is a very low dose. According to him, you only take this medication once a day, at night. Weight gain or sexual side effects? Any comments are appreciated.
>
> SnowieSnowie,
I tried Gabitril (interestingly as a switch from Neurontin) for a while. I was seeing a neuro at the time and he was pushing me to escalate the dose up pretty quick. I found that it is a pretty good mood stabilizer. It caused a little agitation+mood elevation for me at first (unlike Neurontin) until I got used to it and the dose went up. I started at 4mg at bedtime and increased the doage by 4mg per week until I got up to 12mg twice daily (24mg/day) and then I got depersonalization/derealization from it and numbness in my face. It was like I was having a panic attack without the autonomic (body) symptoms. I *felt* panicky in my head, but my body was like a piece of clay. I liken it a little to Topamax in the sense that it can "blank you out" (cognitively). The trouble with many of these AC meds is that many folks could benefit from lower doses. I didn't get any nausea from it (like Trileptal and Depakote). If you are getting depressed from Topamax you might give Gabitril a try, but I would suggest VERY SLOW TITRATION to see how you react to it. You said you are starting out at 2mg. Well, your doc is probably going about it the right way. Just make him increase your dosage VERY slowly. Say, 4mg twice daily works FINE, then just STAY THERE.
Hope this helps some,
Mitch
poster:Mitch
thread:66523
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010612/msgs/66529.html