Posted by fluffy on January 8, 2004, at 10:42:59
In reply to Re: What? Non-flexible talons??? Never!, posted by katia on January 7, 2004, at 15:15:45
Hi Katia--
Sorry about your Li troubles. It can be wonderful for some people...not for others. Actually, 1200mg is a pretty routine dose. Some people just don't have as much of a side effect problem with it. Unfortunately, the "stupid" side effect doesn't fade over time. Only with a slightly lower dose.
Have you decided to chuck the Li all together instead of just lowering the dose? You could try a lower dose as your doctor is suggesting, rather than going solo. When do you see your doctor next?
And i think it's wise to not make any, um, HUGE decisions (like buying a house) at this time in your life. Maybe give it another year or so when you are more stable, and your thesis is done, etc. One thing at a time. (what are you studying? I forget.)
Actually, Topomax is a bit further down on the decision tree than the atypical AP's for maintenence of BP. I know that Karen has had a good experience with it. But many people on this board have complained about it's even worse cognitive side effects. Probably not the drug you want to reach for next, if you want to avoid the brain-fog and get through thesis time. I don't know personally--just that according to statistics, a large number of people feel like they have deja-vu all of the time, and get very forgetful and confused for the first couple of months. (It hits the temporal lobe pretty hard). But like for Karen, it can be a wonderful drug for some. It's just a little further off down the tree, clinically speaking. Trileptal and Tegretol are next, I suppose, if you are indeed throwing the Li out the window and going the anticonvulsant route. What is your doctor suggesting?
I don't know what the solution is for you. But I also wish you luck in this shitty conquest.
Yeah--I was going to try depakote after the trileptal fiasco, but decided in favor of zyprexa. My doctor was doing the "shell game" thing with me... I think he really likes zyprexa, so we decided, what the heck--let's give it a spin. You just never really know what's going to hit the right buttons. He even says that it's just a crap-shoot (there are indicators of what may work for some people, but in general, it's hard to tell what will happen side effect wise).
I started my depakote at 250mg last night. I feel pretty drugged this morning. Ughh. I know it will fade, though. Not sure what my titration schedule is. My doctor is going low and slow. I'm still taking 25mg of Lamictal. If the rash shows again, then it goes bye bye.
Good luck,
Lots of hugs,
Katy
poster:fluffy
thread:287670
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040105/msgs/298079.html