Posted by Wendy B. on June 28, 2001, at 14:53:14
In reply to Re: topamax and a feminine question » Autumn Despotis, posted by AKC on June 27, 2001, at 21:14:53
> I talked to my pdoc today and she really doubts that it has anything to do with the topamax. I am on seroquel which she would rather suspect, though I have been on it for some time and this is not quite the typical side effect for it. At least for me, and hopefully for you, Autumn, this is just some fluke thing that can happen from time to time with us women. Heck, for me it could just be the stress that I have put on myself from worries over just starting this med.
Hi there Women!
(Sal, I always thought you were a guy! No offense, and it's always amazing to see your med-citations - just hope you're not embarassing AKC or anybody else...)I think anything can cause our systems to get out of whack. Worries and stress definitely do. Personally, I'm like Tina, I have been on a low-dose anti-contraceptive for years to control heavy bleeding. It works well, I always know when I'm going to get my period, the flow is always light and lasts only 3 days, etc. Very predictible (sp??) predictable (?). So I recommend it highly, if you don't mind taking hormones. Mine is very low-dose, it's called Mircette. Others are Tri-Phasil and Ortho-Tri-Cyclen (something like that).
AKC, you might want to keep track for a few months, and then go on the pill if you don't like not knowing when you're going to bleed... I hate that. 'Cause you always have to wear a pad or tuck 2 or 3 kleenex into your panties (look out Sal, we're getting really descriptive, here!). It's uncomfortable, feels like a diaper, pads with 'wings' are a pain in the butt, so to speak...
The Mircette has never not worked, through the med changes: ADs alone, ADs plus mood-stabilizers. I've never been on Topamax, so I don't know.
Also, if you are anywhere between the ages of 35 and 50, there is a lot of info out there on PERI-MENOPAUSE (books, probably a web site or two, find out more, the info is there). It's the stage we go through in the years leading up to menopause, the cessation of bleeding altogether. Our periods don't just *stop* at 50, they become more and more irregular over time. The body's response to such fluctuations in estrogen are: hot flashes (yes, even before 50!), night sweats, anger, irritability (irritibility?), forgetfulness, mood swings, depression... Any of this sound familiar? So add this to an already depressed or bipolar woman, and you've got some recipe for distress. Then add the psych-meds, which we don't know all that much about in terms of how they affect menstruation. It's a mess!
It's amazing what we have to go through as women. My hat is off to all of you who wrote in on this thread about your experiences. Also, even Sal!
Wendy
poster:Wendy B.
thread:67789
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010625/msgs/68270.html