Posted by Elizabeth on January 10, 2002, at 21:33:49
In reply to Re: How long until Trileptal sleepiness goes away? » Elizabeth, posted by MB on January 7, 2002, at 0:18:50
> I don't know what the pharmacokinetics are but what I know is that it's making my depression worse.
Uh-oh. It sounds like it's pretty bad. I think that if you're pretty sure that the Trileptal is to blame, getting off it makes sense (although it's important not to stop anticonvulsants abruptly -- you should really talk to your doctor about that). Anhedonia is a big part of my (major) depression, and it's really hard to treat -- buprenorphine is the only thing I've found that helps. A lot of people do feel more depressed on mood stabilizers, although they can have antidepressant effects on others.
> > Have you ever tried benzos (Klonopin maybe?), and if so, what effect did they have?
>
> They relax me with no side effects (unless I drink with them, then I dissociate). When I take them as prescribed they're great. Unfortunately, I'm in alcohol recovery (sober 2 years) so I'll have to try everything on the market before I'll be allowed to try a benzo. You know how it is.Yeah. *sigh* If you ask me, a history of alcoholism is a reason to consider a benzo, not a reason to rule them out. I think a lot of people who get in trouble with drugs are self-medicating, and what they need is a drug that acts similarly but that they can take under a doctor's supervision.
> When I heard that the doc wanted to try SSRIs (*again*) I was mortified (I hate them) but he assured me the AE would mitigate the agitation/rage/anxiety induced by the SSRI (which Im supposed to start after getting on the AE).
Wait -- do SSRIs have any positive effect on you that justifies exacerbating the anger/agitation symptoms?
> All I know is that I have OCD symptoms and I'm told SSRIs are the only way to go with OCD.
Well, sometimes the atypical antipsychotics, benzos, and Buspar are used. Also, I think that other things may often resemble OCD. What kind of symptoms do you have that are supposed to be indicative of OCD?
Best of luck to you. It looks like you're in a twisted situation that needs to get untangled!
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:88575
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020110/msgs/89667.html