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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by lxgina on August 9, 2003, at 15:01:09
Hi all. Hope you are finding your answers to all your psychological difficulties...
I neraly became comatose with a high lithium level recently (Meridia caused me to eat less, dose was too high, I was losing weight, level was nearing 2.0) Lithium toxicity is worse than Bipolarness (is that a word) any day. I became Ozzy Osbourne and I'm 23 years old. After stopping Lithium completely I was given a new cocktail....
15 mg Meridia am (5'1 170 lbs-was 120 before meds)
10 mg Abilify pm
300 mg Trileptal pm-Before these meds I was having psychotic episodes, they have disappeared. ( I blame Lithium for those)
I am doing well on my new meds. One problem - NIGHTMARES - VIVID DREAMS that leave me crying and scared and calling various friends/family at random hours in the late hours of the night to verify my dream was just a dream. This disrupts my sleep and makes me unable to get to work in the morning. These 'dreams' go on all night long. None are about me dying or anything, but they are just scary. It takes me an hour or so to calm down once I awake. I sweat like it's 100 degrees in my bed, and I keep my room about 69 degrees to try to stop it.
I've taken Seroquel to sleep and stop the dreams.. dont work.
I've tried Xanax too.. nothing.
I tried Sonata - nothing there either.I occasionally take Vicodin for my knee (painful athritis from earlier injury) but I've found that even for the days I don't take them I still dream these terrible episodes.
Any help is appreciated.
Peace
Gina
Posted by Ame Sans Vie on August 9, 2003, at 22:07:38
In reply to Nightmares/Vivid dreams trileptal or abilify, posted by lxgina on August 9, 2003, at 15:01:09
Posted by zero on August 10, 2003, at 12:33:33
In reply to Nightmares/Vivid dreams trileptal or abilify, posted by lxgina on August 9, 2003, at 15:01:09
I had "vivid dreams" when I switched from Tegretol to Trileptal. They faded somewhat over a couple of months time.
Stopped the Trileptal 'cause it was too "activating" and made me anxious + irritable. When I stopped the Trileptal the "vivid dreams" stopped completely.
Many people have success with Trileptal.
Wishing you success w. your new meds. combo.
z.
Posted by pianolady on August 10, 2003, at 23:11:36
In reply to Nightmares/Vivid dreams trileptal or abilify, posted by lxgina on August 9, 2003, at 15:01:09
Of course I can't say which one might be causing the nightmares, but I can say that I'm on Abilify right now and I am having some pretty frightening dreams too. Early this morning, I was dreaming that I was commiting suicide. Those are the kind of dreams I REALLY don't need to have!
Don't know if it means anything or not, just an anecdotal report about my experience.
p.s. I've only been on Abilify for about 1 1/2 weeks.
Posted by Sabina on August 11, 2003, at 0:23:48
In reply to Nightmares/Vivid dreams trileptal or abilify, posted by lxgina on August 9, 2003, at 15:01:09
i'm not surprised to hear that seroquel didn't help with the bad dreams. in my experience, seroquel not only makes me sleepy (which is better than insomnia) but causes extremely intense and often disturbing and exhausting dreams for me. however, it's benefits while awake make this SE acceptable to me. the insomnia i was experiencing before made me really nuts, so it's a trade off. i hope it will dissipate in time. i'm supposed to add a mood stabilizer within the next few weeks and trileptal was at the top of my list. considering what you've said, though, i'm thinking twice. do you have any idea if it's the trileptal or the abilify that's causing te problem? keep us posted and i hope it gets better for you. you're certainly not alone with this problem.
Posted by pianolady on August 12, 2003, at 2:23:33
In reply to Re: Nightmares/Vivid dreams trileptal or abilify, posted by Sabina on August 11, 2003, at 0:23:48
Sabina,
I am fairly certain that the Abilify was the problem. I haven't taken trileptil, and unfortunately, except for knowing that it is in the mood stabilizer class of drugs (also called anti-seizure or anti-manic).
I've been spending time here lately looking for other people's input on the subject and I have learned a good deal just listening to what the others on the board have to say about Abilify (since I just started it about 1 1/2 weeks ago.
Good luck finding the correct "medication salad" (as it is sometimes called when you have multiple meds)! Seriously, I have just spent a great deal of time studying Abilify in particular for a psychopharmacology class in college (I'm not college-aged, but I decided to back to school to give me something productive with my life SOME of the time, but hopefully not too much). If you want more info on the abilify, I can send you several medical journal links, a power point presentation I gave to my class on the use of Abilify. I also keep a pretty extensive set of medical books/pharmacology books so I can sort of these sorts of things.
I think I'm rambling...sorry.
Anyway, I don't know how it is done on this board, but I would be glad to get your email if you want more info. My computer is shutting down. SIX FATAL ERRORS IN 1 DAY!!! Virus time!
This is the end of the thread.
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