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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 801 to 825 of 1838. Go back in thread:
Posted by iris2 on October 17, 2004, at 18:46:58
In reply to Re:dogs and Prozac, posted by rainy on October 17, 2004, at 12:32:56
Are you going off of Topamax because it is not helping your mood?
I cannot remember how much I was on when I first took it. I took it for several months and it did not help me. In fact I thought I felt more depressed. I am bulimic and with that many times binge eat. I took it for a mood stabilizer. I am, after 30 years of being bulimic, not symptomatic with it much of the time anymore. Baring that in mind I am saying that I do not think it had any effect on my eating disorder good or bad. I also did not loose any weight on it, in fact I believe I might have gained a little.HOWEVER when I went off of it, which I tapered slowly, I gained about 30 pounds. I do not remember how much exactly I was on but I do recall knowing that I had to taper off of it slowly so I most likely adjusted the dose every few days. That would have been what I would have done, I do not need to remember that specifically. I went off of it without my doctor’s knowledge. When I told him of my weight gain he asked if I was still taking it and I told him no. He told me then that it has or could have an effect on weight and no doubt that is why I gained so much weight so quickly. I generally do not gain or loose more than 10 pounds ever because of my intense problem with too much thought about weight and body image. I was hysterical. He told me to go back on the Topamax. I went back on a small amount. Please forgive me for not remembering (I keep telling myself to keep a journal of this stuff). It was probably 50 to 100mg a day. I lost the 30 pounds immediately but not more. Once on it for a couple of months I then tapered off of it again. I probably took at least two months or longer to go off of it this time. I recall in the end after getting to the lowest dose of 25mg or perhaps I even cut it in half I started taking it every other day, then every two day then three. I took each successive dose for about two weeks. I was very worried about gaining all that weight again.
I did not gain any weight this time. From my experience I would say unless you are having a very bad time with taking it to taper off of it very very slowly. If you are going too fast you will most likely start to see a gain in weight so I would keep track of my weight over every few days. As long as you are not gaining weight then I would continue to slowly taper off of it. Thing is I gained probably most of it after I was off of it. So if you taper very gradually then you might not have the same problem as me.
Of course everyone is different, but given that you lost weight on it I would think it even more likely than I was that you might at the very least gain what you had lost. According to my pdoc it is common to gain weight when going off of it.That is my story at least what I remember of it. I hope it helps. I would not want you to go through what I did.
Irene
Posted by iris2 on October 17, 2004, at 18:52:35
In reply to Re:dogs and Prozac, posted by rainy on October 17, 2004, at 12:32:56
I am writing again only because after reading the next post I thought perhaps I misunderstood you. I understood you to be inquiring as to going off of the Topamax and that it is what you wanted to do. I hope I grasped what you were saying correctly. If not please forgive me.
irene
Posted by headachequeen on October 17, 2004, at 19:28:06
In reply to Re:dogs and Prozac, posted by rainy on October 17, 2004, at 14:33:29
> Thanks, Kat. (I hope it's you who responded--I csan't remembere for sure.) I've been on Topamax for about three years. At 400mgs the Stupids were terrible.
Oh, dear, I have days when I have no wish to do things, and it is always things I hate doing...
laundry is easy... I like throwing things into the washer and I like hanging it out on the line...
now, bringing it inside, even taking it out of the dryer and folding it and putting it away....
now that is another thing entirely and there is no drug on which I can blame it...
it is something I do not like to do...
I do not like to vacuum... I loather shampooing the rugs and cleaning bathrooms...
that is why they have people who are paid to do these things, is it not?
I even hate to load and unload the dishwasher...
until the situation is desperate I do not bother with these things...
and again it is not something I can blame on any drug...
it is simply something beneath my notice or will to do...as for Topomax...
the loss of cognitive skills comes in the early stages of larger doses, often because the climb was too fast... and often because one needs to adjust...
once the adjustment is made it goes away...
I wish I could blame it on Topomax...
at the moment I am having problems with vocabulary; once I remember a word or a name it is locked in, but right now I am recovering after the sudden spate of seizures that followed that wretched telemetry test...
and the spate of seizures that followed my gp's decision that my meds were much too high... hey, as the new neurologist said the other day, he is not a neurologist and the neurologist as emerg is not a gp... as long as the neuro at emerg does not try to set my broken arm the gp should not try to fix my epilepsy...
I think that is a good arrangement... and now I am waiting for the new arrangement of meds to kick in... have had seizures for the past three or four DAYS and I am not happy...
as for going off Topomax, the tech who did the test that set me into daytime seizures that have been absolute Hades was involved in the tests that outlined the protocol for weight loss...
she works with this new neuro by the way and he is the guy who discovered the weight loss stuff...
at any rate, going off the stuff at any rate of speed means the weight is going to come back on and stay on, so there is no way around it...
she told me that during my awake part of that test ordeal...
believe me, I am staying on it forever....now if someone could point me to a board like this for tegretol as I am apparently going to be on it for life too...
have been doing more research and have found no place like this for Tegretol...
Hey, Dr. Bob, there is an idea for you <g>
...
but I have learned a lot about the alternatives that scare the daylights out of me...
doesn't seem to scare the daylight seizures out of me though...
decided to pop downtown this afternoon on my own... my first mistake... as my husband was watching football and I felt really well... and pick up a couple of new fish for my main display tank.
I want to try a couple of cichlids I can't pronounce let alone spell and I wanted some crushed coral and some other stuff. It is only three blocks from our house... has to be safe right?
I made it to the shop, talked to the owner and got the advice I needed, chose the two fish I wanted and thought about some fish for the community tank in the dining room, but decided to go back for them tomorrow... and maybe a couple of baby clown loaches...
for once I was thinking straight <s>
made to withing ten feet of the porch and went into seizure...
walked the last few feet sort of on auto-pilot... in the front door and put the packages down on the floor and went into the living room and sat on the floor and did not have a clue...
dead stare and coma-like according to my husband who wisely settled the two fish into the right tank (he can be so clever at times) and then took me to emerg.... again....
by now they know me on sight over there...
it is getting to be a habit...
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and today....
not to mention last week's episodes and Monday...
they dealt with it and were going to keep me this time.. not a chance of it... I am so afraid of more tests and more negative results of the tests...
Instead they called the new neurologist who upped the tegretol -- it was to increase on Tuesday -- and told them to give me a shot of something...
I am so tired of this...
I used to wonder how the people with tonic clonic epilepsy managed to cope; I still wonder how they cope. But this is getting to be really annoying to put it mildly. For days afterward there is this semblance of not being here, as if I am on another planet. I don't have a chance to return to earth so to speak and it happens again...
my head feels as if it were stuffed with cotton wool and I have to fight through it all the time...
Make it go away, someone...
kat
Posted by rainy on October 17, 2004, at 19:37:26
In reply to Re:dogs and Prozac » rainy, posted by iris2 on October 17, 2004, at 18:52:35
I'm thinking about going off topamax because I'm wondering if it's behind the apparent increase in number and significance of foot in mouth incidents I'm experiencing. I was started on it three years ago as a mood stabilizer and at 250 mgs began to lose weight. Of course I also broke my rib and it was beastly hot so I was eating very little at that time anyway, and then we moved and I was diagnosed with BP II and moved up to 350 and then 400 and then couldn't remember my own name. I lost about 20 pounds.
The pdoc suggested that I stop topamax cold turkey because of the cognitive problems, which I didn't do--I tapered. I gained a little weight and had severe mood swings; it was not a good time. Lamictal increased my appitite.
This isn't answering your question. You've helped me with mine, which is to do things slowly, slowly. Has the Topamax messed with your mind, Iris?
Rainy
Posted by Stressee on October 17, 2004, at 20:06:12
In reply to Re:dogs and Prozac » Stressee, posted by Larry Hoover on October 17, 2004, at 9:56:43
Larry, thanks so much for the dosage. I will start with 1/2 of the 10mg. pill, and gradually go up the next week. If that isn't a good idea, please let me know. Thank heavens for you. -L
Posted by Stressee on October 17, 2004, at 20:11:38
In reply to Re:dogs and Prozac » rainy, posted by headachequeen on October 17, 2004, at 19:28:06
I also have the same dreadful disease of not wanting to do housework. I'm still waiting for my laundry to fold itself, my dishwasher to unload and my vaccum to sweep the house!!! A glass of wine may make it seem like it's not as boring as it really is?...Anyway, I am so sorry to hear about your seizures the past four days. I really cannot emagine how it must be for you, but I know others can. You must be a very strong person. Will you be going up on your Topamax? I'll be thinking about you until I read a posting from you agian. -L
Posted by iris2 on October 17, 2004, at 21:52:38
In reply to Re:going off topamax » iris2, posted by rainy on October 17, 2004, at 19:37:26
The only thing I noticed is that I felt sluggish and foggy and more depressed. It would be hard for my mind to feel more messed than it already is. I forget words, I cannot read a book very well if at all. I block memory sometimes a particular incident or person other times I cannot remember an entire year or so. In other words if the Topamax messed with my head I probably would not have realised it was anything different than my normal on again off again problems.
irene
Posted by rainy on October 18, 2004, at 8:58:55
In reply to Re:dogs and Prozac » rainy, posted by headachequeen on October 17, 2004, at 19:28:06
Kat, it sounds like you're going through hell. I'm sorry. I surely do hope that somebody, somehow, can make it stop or at least tone it down to a richly livable level without tegretol.
The lethargy that I'm talking about isn't so much about housework as it is about zombieism--I can't make myself move. It's an enormous act of will to do anything that requires physical effort. That's why the pdoc wants to try provigil, which is used in treating narcolepsy.
So I'll be taking meds to calm me down and perk me up, to keep my moods stable (topamax) and to keep me from getting more depressed (desreyl). Pill-woman. Real-woman?
Iris, I can read, although I know a lot of adult women who can't anymore. I sometimes wonder if the decades of anorexia and bulemia has had an effect on my brain. Hello? I'm having trouble with Spanish, which I'm learning. It's much more difficult than Russian was 12 years ago, which is now very passive.
Your messages, all of you, make me think it's more me than the meds. Life is just one long learning experience, isn't it? I'm tired of learning. I just wanna have fun.
Stressee, I also wonder how we women, at all ages, have gotten trapped into the weight thing. I know 80 year olds who refuse to eat a half bagel because they might gain weight. And I'll probably stay on Topamax, even if it means lying to my doctor, because I don't, at 5'5", want to weigh 135. I might not look as old, though. Hmmmm.
linda
Posted by headachequeen on October 18, 2004, at 13:59:15
In reply to Re:dogs and Prozac » headachequeen, posted by Stressee on October 17, 2004, at 20:11:38
> I also have the same dreadful disease of not wanting to do housework. I'm still waiting for my laundry to fold itself, my dishwasher to unload and my vaccum to sweep the house!!! A glass of wine may make it seem like it's not as boring as it really is?...Anyway, I am so sorry to hear about your seizures the past four days. I really cannot emagine how it must be for you, but I know others can. You must be a very strong person. Will you be going up on your Topamax? I'll be thinking about you until I read a posting from you agian. -L
L, I thank you for your thoughts... and I appreciate them immensely... support is something I value greatly right now... and always for that matter...as for the housework thing, I think a whole bottle of wine would be needed, except that alcohol and topomax and tegretol are not a good mixture ...
there is just something about unpleasant tasks that do not appeal to me...
then some days I have these sudden flare-ups of thinking that putting away laundry and tidying dresser drawers and linen closets and clothes closets is something I desperately want to do... those are the days when I think I am desperately in need of a psychiatrist LOLas for the seizures, the new neurologist is increasing both the tegretol and the topomax to control the seizures, he is also trying to learn the cause of the seizures...
so perhaps we can get to the cause and stop it entirely????
what a concept
kat
Posted by headachequeen on October 18, 2004, at 14:28:41
In reply to Re:laundry and fish, posted by rainy on October 18, 2004, at 8:58:55
> Kat, it sounds like you're going through hell. I'm sorry. I surely do hope that somebody, somehow, can make it stop or at least tone it down to a richly livable level without tegretol.
>
> The lethargy that I'm talking about isn't so much about housework as it is about zombieism--I can't make myself move. It's an enormous act of will to do anything that requires physical effort. That's why the pdoc wants to try provigil, which is used in treating narcolepsy.
>
> So I'll be taking meds to calm me down and perk me up, to keep my moods stable (topamax) and to keep me from getting more depressed (desreyl). Pill-woman. Real-woman?
>
> Iris, I can read, although I know a lot of adult women who can't anymore. I sometimes wonder if the decades of anorexia and bulemia has had an effect on my brain. Hello? I'm having trouble with Spanish, which I'm learning. It's much more difficult than Russian was 12 years ago, which is now very passive.
>
> Your messages, all of you, make me think it's more me than the meds. Life is just one long learning experience, isn't it? I'm tired of learning. I just wanna have fun.
>
> Stressee, I also wonder how we women, at all ages, have gotten trapped into the weight thing. I know 80 year olds who refuse to eat a half bagel because they might gain weight. And I'll probably stay on Topamax, even if it means lying to my doctor, because I don't, at 5'5", want to weigh 135. I might not look as old, though. Hmmmm.
> linda
>
>
Linda, when you say you can't read, what do you mean?
Please tell me.I have been really angry about being left on tegretol and keep thinking that perhaps the topomax alone can deal with the seizures. It certainly toned them down when I was started on it. Before topomax I was having several breakthrough seiures in a week, some times two a night that I knew of, but the topomax stopped that until after the latest test and cut back on the number of breakthrough seizures in a week and I keep wondering why it cannot be given in a large enough dose to be a primary medication for epilepsy but get no answers.
It is always a secondary or back-up medication...
then I read about the others and have really frightening reactions to what I read and think that tegretol is not so bad after all...
Still wish there were a board like this for tegretol or at least one that I could find....after a seizure I am a zombie unable to be myself at all... people who know me simply don't know me... I can't read or write or use the keyboard even...walking is impossible as I am unable to focus on a direction ... the list goes on...
I am the walking waking sort of collapsed...
I am awake I guess but to look at me it is like looking at a comatose person... and I am certain that people think I am in a drug-induced state...
my eyes look strange and feel streeg -- that was meant to be 'strange' but is an example of what has to be corrected --- my hands are constantly in need of guidance for lack of better word, as there is this thing between a strong tick and a tremor in my arm and hand... it is so annoying...
and frustrating...
there is a pain in my forehead over my left eye and my speech is not the usual clear and precised speech... the sharp and clearly enunciated speech that is mine... it can be slurred and at times words are substituted for the words I mean to use...
I break into tears of frustration or outright anger... here you see the edited and corrected version, people with whom I speak do not have that benefit as I do not have the ability to backspace and delete...
I am one of the rare ones of my generation, never experimented with drugs and that always gets the raised eyebrows and the 'oh yeah' reaction... and I am sure that people think I am making up for lost time ...
can't wait until the right combination and dosage is found that eliminates seizures and aftermaths... can't remember the word for the post-episodic period... and I don't have to go through this any longer...
till I can read and write and no longer walk around like a zombie...
it will be such a wonder
kat
Posted by bridgey1128 on October 18, 2004, at 15:03:18
In reply to Re:laundry and fish » rainy, posted by headachequeen on October 18, 2004, at 14:28:41
I decided to go up on my Topomax without my Dr's permission. He didn't say he wouldn't, I just don't have the time right now to make an appointment to go see him and to wait any longer, I just don't think I can stand myself. I have been in SUCH a bad mood lately. I know it's because I need to go up on my meds. When last I went to the Dr I was really depressed and I made the mistake of telling him the last time I was depressed I was suicidal. I think that made him uncomfortable and he said he didn't feel comfortable going up anymore until I went to a shrink. I DON'T HAVE THE FREAKING MONEY TO GO! I thought they were going to make me an appointment with the county shrink but they never called me to tell me when the appointment was. Oh well, they dropped the ball on that one. I don't want to go anyway. Once I figured out what my depression trigger was, I haven't been depressed. This anger I have had has stemmed from my mania. This is the other side of it. It turns to irritability when I need to go up. THANK GOD NO HALLUCINATIONS! I guess I am over that one. Made the mistake of telling him about that too. I guess I will keep all that pertinant info to myself from now on. I REALLY don't want to get the stupids!!! I had them at a low dose. I can't imagine getting them at a higher dosage and that scares me since I am going to audition for Into The Woods in Dec for a lead! I guess I will try 175mg and see where this takes me. So far I actually have felt better. A little less edgy this morning. This is a good sign. The tinglies have come back but I was expecting that. That is my usual side effect. I was starting to get the stupids again because I NEEDED to go up and I just felt retarded. I couldn't think of the most simple word. That is like a catch-22 because that is how I am sometimes when I am NOT on medication. Sheesh! I don't need that to be a withdrawl symptom!! It's strange, when I need to go up on medication, I start going through withdrawl. It's like my body is not giving me any other choice but to go up on my medication. I guess I will comply. I think my husband is about ready to divorce me. I have been all over his back with my teeth and claws beared for, I don't know how long. The tiniest thing drives me over the edge with rage and I am sick of it. I really think, screw it, I am going up whether or not I have the Dr's blessing at this point. THis is the point of no return. I can't go off this med at this point. I can only go up, because I know what the alternative is, and frankly, I DON'T LIKE IT!
Posted by rainy on October 18, 2004, at 15:19:13
In reply to Re:laundry and fish » rainy, posted by headachequeen on October 18, 2004, at 14:28:41
I can read, Kat, thank goodness. I love to read--it's always been a form of escape for me. I think I wrote that I knew several adults who couldn't anymore because of meds they'd been on, or for unexplained reasons. "I used to read alot, but now I can't concentrate..." and so on. I do have trouble remembering stuff, especially facts or grammar, which makes learning a language really hard for me, or retelling a plot.
What you are describing sounds a little like what I experienced when I first began
topamax although no one ever diagnosed seizures-
-just "horrendous" depresions, mood swings and
a year ago July, bipolar II.
This medication--disease process is so physical and mental and spiritual that I think it truly brings home the concept of the whole person spinning around and crashing into things. Your entire neuro system seems to be jumping up and down--I can't help but think that some of this bi polar disorder that I eat breakfast with is a function of the guillain-barre and subsequent autoimmune polyneuropathy I had 30 to 40 years ago.
I'm not answering you clearly. I'll send this now and respond more appropriately later, after I've re-read your response--thanks alot for your description of your experience. I appreciate it.
rainy
Posted by headachequeen on October 18, 2004, at 15:21:22
In reply to Re:laundry and fish, posted by bridgey1128 on October 18, 2004, at 15:03:18
> I decided to go up on my Topomax without my Dr's permission. He didn't say he wouldn't, I just don't have the time right now to make an appointment to go see him and to wait any longer, I just don't think I can stand myself. I have been in SUCH a bad mood lately. I know it's because I need to go up on my meds. When last I went to the Dr I was really depressed and I made the mistake of telling him the last time I was depressed I was suicidal. I think that made him uncomfortable and he said he didn't feel comfortable going up anymore until I went to a shrink. I DON'T HAVE THE FREAKING MONEY TO GO! I thought they were going to make me an appointment with the county shrink but they never called me to tell me when the appointment was. Oh well, they dropped the ball on that one. I don't want to go anyway. Once I figured out what my depression trigger was, I haven't been depressed. This anger I have had has stemmed from my mania. This is the other side of it. It turns to irritability when I need to go up. THANK GOD NO HALLUCINATIONS! I guess I am over that one. Made the mistake of telling him about that too. I guess I will keep all that pertinant info to myself from now on. I REALLY don't want to get the stupids!!! I had them at a low dose. I can't imagine getting them at a higher dosage and that scares me since I am going to audition for Into The Woods in Dec for a lead! I guess I will try 175mg and see where this takes me. So far I actually have felt better. A little less edgy this morning. This is a good sign. The tinglies have come back but I was expecting that. That is my usual side effect. I was starting to get the stupids again because I NEEDED to go up and I just felt retarded. I couldn't think of the most simple word. That is like a catch-22 because that is how I am sometimes when I am NOT on medication. Sheesh! I don't need that to be a withdrawl symptom!! It's strange, when I need to go up on medication, I start going through withdrawl. It's like my body is not giving me any other choice but to go up on my medication. I guess I will comply. I think my husband is about ready to divorce me. I have been all over his back with my teeth and claws beared for, I don't know how long. The tiniest thing drives me over the edge with rage and I am sick of it. I really think, screw it, I am going up whether or not I have the Dr's blessing at this point. THis is the point of no return. I can't go off this med at this point. I can only go up, because I know what the alternative is, and frankly, I DON'T LIKE IT!
Bridgey, go up at slow increments please... if it is the only alternative remember to increase slowly and increase first in the evenings...
no morning increases until you are finished increasing in the evenings otherwise you will feel nauseasted and simply awful... remember how awful I felt by increasing in the mornings...good luck
kat
Posted by headachequeen on October 18, 2004, at 15:24:30
In reply to Re:laundry and fish, posted by rainy on October 18, 2004, at 15:19:13
> I can read, Kat, thank goodness. I love to read--it's always been a form of escape for me. I think I wrote that I knew several adults who couldn't anymore because of meds they'd been on, or for unexplained reasons. "I used to read alot, but now I can't concentrate..." and so on. I do have trouble remembering stuff, especially facts or grammar, which makes learning a language really hard for me, or retelling a plot.
> What you are describing sounds a little like what I experienced when I first began
> topamax although no one ever diagnosed seizures-
> -just "horrendous" depresions, mood swings and
> a year ago July, bipolar II.
> This medication--disease process is so physical and mental and spiritual that I think it truly brings home the concept of the whole person spinning around and crashing into things. Your entire neuro system seems to be jumping up and down--I can't help but think that some of this bi polar disorder that I eat breakfast with is a function of the guillain-barre and subsequent autoimmune polyneuropathy I had 30 to 40 years ago.
> I'm not answering you clearly. I'll send this now and respond more appropriately later, after I've re-read your response--thanks alot for your description of your experience. I appreciate it.
> rainy
>
>
>
>Oh, When I cannot read it is because all the letters blur together, a reaction to the seizure.
Sometimes it lasts for a day and sometimes for several days and it drives me simply frantic...
kat
Posted by bridgey1128 on October 18, 2004, at 15:26:33
In reply to Re:laundry and fish » bridgey1128, posted by headachequeen on October 18, 2004, at 15:21:22
Well I really don't understand what that means Kat. I take 100mg at night and was taking 50mg in the morning since July 1st. So is that slowly enough? :) I think it's time to go up to 175mg. So should I take the extra 25mg in the morning or at night? I really don't understand how you explain that. I know why you should you it that way, but I don't know at what point you start spilling it over to the morning. I just started taking the extra 25mg in the morning, so I am taking 100mg at night and 75mg in the morning. Is this wrong? I have never had nausea with my Topomax, nor ever felt bad with it. Lemme know what you think. Thanks!
Posted by headachequeen on October 18, 2004, at 15:29:06
In reply to Re:laundry and fish, posted by bridgey1128 on October 18, 2004, at 15:26:33
> Well I really don't understand what that means Kat. I take 100mg at night and was taking 50mg in the morning since July 1st. So is that slowly enough? :) I think it's time to go up to 175mg. So should I take the extra 25mg in the morning or at night? I really don't understand how you explain that. I know why you should you it that way, but I don't know at what point you start spilling it over to the morning. I just started taking the extra 25mg in the morning, so I am taking 100mg at night and 75mg in the morning. Is this wrong? I have never had nausea with my Topomax, nor ever felt bad with it. Lemme know what you think. Thanks!
>Okay, if you are taking more at night than in the morning it would make sense to start taking 25mg in the morning and increase until the two balance according to the info they gave me...
then if there needs to be another increase it would start in the evening...
make sense????
kat
Posted by bridgey1128 on October 18, 2004, at 16:35:34
In reply to Re:laundry and fish » bridgey1128, posted by headachequeen on October 18, 2004, at 15:29:06
OK that's what I thought but I wasn't sure. If it increases past the nighttime dosage then I would need to increase THAT dosage. Like if I got up to 225mg I would take 125mg at night and 100mg in the morning to make sure the highest dosage is always at night, correct? I thought that is what you meant but I wasn't sure. I am taking the 100mg at night and now 75mg in the morning. I have an appointment with my Dr for next Monday. I don't plan on telling him I have started ahead of him. :P I just plan on telling him all has been well since my last appointment in August when I was so depressed. And he shouldn't have any worries about me going up since I know my triggers for the depression. He should be MORE worried about the withdrawl I have been having by NOT going up.
Posted by headachequeen on October 18, 2004, at 17:18:40
In reply to Re:laundry and fish, posted by bridgey1128 on October 18, 2004, at 16:35:34
> OK that's what I thought but I wasn't sure. If it increases past the nighttime dosage then I would need to increase THAT dosage. Like if I got up to 225mg I would take 125mg at night and 100mg in the morning to make sure the highest dosage is always at night, correct? I thought that is what you meant but I wasn't sure. I am taking the 100mg at night and now 75mg in the morning. I have an appointment with my Dr for next Monday. I don't plan on telling him I have started ahead of him. :P I just plan on telling him all has been well since my last appointment in August when I was so depressed. And he shouldn't have any worries about me going up since I know my triggers for the depression. He should be MORE worried about the withdrawl I have been having by NOT going up.
Yes, any increase should always start in the evening or at bedtime then when the evening max is reached the morning increase should start... and guess who forgot that and started to do the increases at both times...
no wonder I have been feeling rather nauseated the past few days...
oh if only I would read what I write...
arrgghhhh
and read what I thinnk and what I have been told soo often...
when the night time dosage is at max THEN I shall start the morning increase....I KNOW THIS so why don't I DO THIS????
sigh
kat
Posted by rainy on October 18, 2004, at 20:34:51
In reply to Re:laundry and fish » bridgey1128, posted by headachequeen on October 18, 2004, at 17:18:40
Iris, except for being unable to read, you sound like me most of the time. I'm sorry, I've forgotten, are you on medications? It's forgetting stuff that's terribly annoying and I'm casting about for things to blame it on. I don't think, that at 62, old age is one of them.Bridgey, I remember that awful, jagged irritation was a symtom of hypomania for me and that going up on topomax, usually by 25 mg increments was done so with great hostility. "You're so hostile!" my poor bloodied husband would remark, which is one of the reasons I don't want to go off Topamax now.
Having gone down on the wellbutrin in anticipation of provigil, I'm growling and hissing and mean and mostly defensive--awful. We've been married for 38 years and I don't understand why we're still married.
Maybe that's where some of my loss of self control is coming from...medication imbalance. Mouth wise. So good luck Bridgey, and be your own best friend re doctors, I think.
I have to think awhile, Kat, about what I'd do if I couldn't read for awhile, like a day or two--five days is unimaginable. I'm a cat person so I don't have walks with four legged people as an option.
It wouldn't be fun.
rainy
Posted by headachequeen on October 18, 2004, at 21:51:21
In reply to Re:laundry and fish » headachequeen, posted by rainy on October 18, 2004, at 20:34:51
>
> I have to think awhile, Kat, about what I'd do if I couldn't read for awhile, like a day or two--five days is unimaginable. I'm a cat person so I don't have walks with four legged people as an option.
> It wouldn't be fun.
> rainyRainy, for me, reading is the greatest entertainment next to singing... ask Bridgey about that one <g> ... and next to my dogs...
at the moment I am forbidden to sing... ask Bridgey about how that is affecting my mood too sigh... as they correct a problem with my vocal cords, somehow it never rains but it pours around here...
My husband and I have been married almost 38 years and celebrated -- well I celebrated, we are not sure how he reacted to the event -- the fact that this summer past marked 40 years since we began dating ...as for walking the four-legged critters, that is out for a while as my husband is afraid they might be at risk working with me while I am in this post ictic or whatever it is state...
note that he does not put my welfare first, but the dogs come at the head of the food chain LOLso the cats and I sit around and wonder when life will return to normal as they really thing the larger furry critters need to wear off the energy that is building up...
and I must admit that another problem is not being able to let off energy in writing. I can not bear to write when it is such a slow endeavour, takes an age to write a sentence when things are so slow. However I have learned that it is the epilepsy that is affecting my sight and not really a problem with my sight...
does that make sense? I do know what I mean and am no longer lying awake nights worrying that I am losing my sight... just my mind :)
I also learned that if taking Tegretol it is vital to have one's vision checked regularly by a specialist, not an optometrist...
so have booked the appointment...
sometimes we learn too much because then we worry too much???
kat
Posted by Stressee on October 19, 2004, at 8:50:07
In reply to Re:laundry and fish, posted by bridgey1128 on October 18, 2004, at 16:35:34
I am having a heck of a time with this computer today, my fingers just won't type correctly!! Anyway, Bridgey- I can't remember why you are taking topamax? I hope you don't mind my asking, I am trying to diagnose myself!! Kat, I should have know you are a writer, your posts are creative and a delight to read. I don't have a creative bone in my body, really. I have to ask my friends what to do when I want to decorate my house. I can't even pick out a color of paint. That's probably why I avoid it altogether. I have had some prints from Banff for two years, and not framed them yet. I can't decide on what type of frames I need. Pathetic huh? I'm going to take a leap and get them done this week!!!! -L
Posted by bridgey1128 on October 19, 2004, at 10:15:11
In reply to Re:laundry and fish, posted by Stressee on October 19, 2004, at 8:50:07
I take it because I am bipolar type II. I just recently upped it yesterday because I had just about had enough of my own self, nevermind what my friends and family has thought of me! That and I have had absolutely no desire to do anything really. Housework, never a favorite anyway!, but I can at least DO it. I just have let my house go to pot because I just can't make myself do it. THat and I have gained about 5lbs back. That doesn't seem like much but when I have worked so hard so lose this 20lbs that I gained coming off the Effexor it's upsetting. And I still have about 90 more to go in my book. Day two of the upped dosage has me feeling even better so I can't say I have regretted upping it without my Dr's permission. I knew it was time anyway. I have felt so cruddy. Plus I have been bad and have been off my diet, so I know that is why I have been so tired. Carbs make me so loagie. Yeah I know I know! Carbs supposedly give you energy! WRONG!!! That isn't what they do to me. They wear me out and make me very tired. When I am on Atkins I feel so good. My body was never meant to burn carbs. I guess that is why I do so well on that diet. I have tried everything under the sun and that is the ONLY diet that has ever worked for me. I had the lady at the gym gripe at me about it didn't work and I said, "Oh really? Is that why I lost 90lbs on it the last time? And my cholesterol went down? And my energy went up?" SHe said it has something to do with cutting calories...uh when you pig out of bacon and eggs..that isn't exactly cutting calories!!! When I exercise, I just gain muscle. I don't lose fat! It's stupid. So, I do it the easy way. I just diet and the fat comes off and I already have a lot of muscle under it anyway. That's why I am so heavy and don't look it. I saw a commercial for that new reality show The Biggest Loser and there was a lady standing on the scale who weighed 220lbs. I was like...um "Brian does she look heavier than I do?" and he said..."Yeah! By about 40lbs or more." I weigh 10lbs more than she does. I guess I am glad I have a healthy body image at this weight even though I am not HAPPY being this weight but I don't want to be thinking that I look GOOD in a tight shirt when I have fat hanging out all over like some of those chicks on Jerry SPringer.. hehe I don't want my kids taking me on some show saying..."MY momma wears tight clothes and embarrasses me!" I prefer to wear clothes that are fitting without showing TOO much. I have curves and I like to show them off. I think nothing is less flattering on a plus size woman than big bulky clothes that look like sacks. Unfortunately there are too many clothes out there that are shaped just like that. Makes it hard to find good shaped clothes that aren't too tight! Yay! Old Navy just put in a plus size line! Hmm I digress...such goes my mind....That's the curse of a creative mind I suppose...
Posted by Stressee on October 19, 2004, at 13:26:17
In reply to Re:laundry and fish, posted by bridgey1128 on October 19, 2004, at 10:15:11
What are the symptoms of Bipolar II? Remember, muscle weighs more than fat, and carbs do put fat on some people. Most people, in fact. I know they do me and my daughter. My husband lost weight on Atkins and swears by it. I pust a post on the Physcology board and am wondering if I need some sort of a mood stabilizer, because I am so physco up and down on a daily basis. -L
Posted by iris2 on October 19, 2004, at 13:50:53
In reply to Re:dogs and Prozac » Stressee, posted by headachequeen on October 18, 2004, at 13:59:15
Just a thought. I was looking at VNS (Vagus Nerve Stimulation) for depression. You might want to take a look at this for seizures when you find out what is causing them.
irene
Posted by iris2 on October 19, 2004, at 14:13:29
In reply to Re:laundry and fish » rainy, posted by headachequeen on October 18, 2004, at 14:28:41
This is Iris or Irene. I was the one that posted that I cannot read. Unless someone else did also.If the question was directed to me about what I meant by I cannot read it is because I cannot concentrate and focus on the material. If I read something I have trouble remembering it and so if I try to read a book I cannot remember enough of what I just read or read a day ago to continue reading it and have an understanding of what I am reading. I just do not concentrate because of my depression. I think part of the problem now is also fear that I will not be able to concentrate.
Who was it that has the years of anorexia and bulimia? I ask because I have had both. Bulimia for about 30 years.
I am lethargic all the time. I take ritalin and it helps some. I do not even get out of bed if I do not take the Ritalin. I tried Provigil but it made me so very nervous.
I have trouble doing anything. Laundry and the like only gets done when absolutely necessary and even then sometimes not. I have not vacuumed
my home in at least a month and I have a dog that sheds constantly. Then again I also have a difficult time doing anything that I might enjoy doing, something even that does not take much physical effort. I am thinking of trying Strattera for this instead of the Ritaliin.The weight thing is huge with me as I have had this eating disorder since I was 15 (now 45). My mother was alsays kind of obsessed with weight and body image. That is why I worry about you stresse and your daughter. You seem like you have a good head on your shoulders though. At first you talked so much about your daughters weight and not much about her mood problems or even the binge eating that I worried there was an over emphasis on the body image suff which would not be good for her.
There are several boards for epileptics if you are interested. Just Google it. There is a board about VNS if anyone is interested.
irene
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