Posted by MB on January 6, 2002, at 9:44:45
In reply to Re: How long until Trileptal sleepiness goes away? » MB, posted by Elizabeth on January 5, 2002, at 3:56:20
> > I'm taking Trileptal 300mg/day and will be working up to 450mg day. I'm tolorating it a lot better than the Gabitril that I tried a couple of weeks ago, but I'm noticing that the Trileptal is making me sleepy and sometimes spacy. Can anyone with experience with this drug tell me how long these side effects take to go away (if they do go away)?
>
> You're feeling tired on Trileptal? Jeez, I'd say you're lucky -- I'd love it if this stuff helped me sleep. What are you taking it for, and do you find it helpful?
Well, things have changed since I've been on it a while. It seems that about two hours after a dose, I get really agitated and restless. For a while there, I was only sleeping 4-5 hrs a night. It seems that the sleepiness hits as my blood levels of the Trileptal start to go *down*. This is all I can figure since the sleepiness hits right before my next dose, and the anxiety and agitation return if I take more.
> Unfortunately, I can't answer your question. I'm taking 600 mg of Trileptal and haven't noticed any side effects.
I find this stuff hard to tolorate. My pdoc wanted me to work up to 450mg/day (which I did, yuck) but it looks like I'm going to have to drop down to 300mg/day, and maybe to 225mg/day if I can't get used to the 300mg.
> I wonder if you could take it just once a day (at bedtime) and if so, whether that would help with the drowsiness. When are you taking it, and how much? (I take 300 in the morning and 300 at bedtime.)
He wants me to take it later at night because it makes me fatigued (flu-like symptoms) but I don't think he really heard me when I said that along with the fatigue is insomnia...
I'm taking it for rage attacks. I'm supposed to start Prozac for OCD and Adderall for ADD. Unfortunately, SSRIs make my anxiety and rage worse, and stimulants make my thoughts race so fast I "lose it" (and the anxiety on stims is absolutely, maddeningly unbearable). The Trileptal is supposed to help with these side effects. So far, the Trileptal has made the anxiety worse and I am scared to add an SSRI (and DEATHLY afraid to add a pstim!). One good thing about the Trileptal is that my rage attacks have gotten better. Also, I can no longer tolorate caffeine on the Trileptal, and I an willing to give it up (where before I wasn't)...sort of aversion therapy for my caffeine addiction which undoubtedly contributes to my anxiety. So, in the long run, in a round about way, the Trileptal might help my anxiety by forcing me off caffeine.
> Good luck to you.
>
> -elizabeth
Thanks, I'll need it...LOLMB
poster:MB
thread:88575
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020103/msgs/89030.html