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Location: New Hope, PA
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#1
I have decreased my Geodon b/c of nasty akasthesia and trouble breathing (scary side effects). I am seeing my doctor on Wednesday and want to discuss adding or replacing the low of Geodon with a mood stabilizer. I want to stay away from antipsychotics if possible. I tried Lamictal several years ago and it improved my mood but I stopped due to extreme hair loss. I am wondering about Trileptal. Does anyone here take it and has it helped you? Thanks!
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Anonymous46341, Wild Coyote
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Wild Coyote
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#2
I took it for a while but saw no noticeable difference no side effects though
__________________ Bipolar 1 w/psychotic features or schizoaffective bipolar type PTSD generalized anxiety OCD celexa, prazosin, Lybalvi and prn zyprexa and klonopin |
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Wild Coyote
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Wild Coyote
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#3
I was put on it while IP once, I was on about day 7-8 ? And I brushed my teeth and my gums started bleeding horribly, as I was rinsing my mouth my lip just split open , so it was early SJS ( Stevens Johnson Syndrome) It effects mucus membranes and especially mouth , so I stopped immediately of course , I got lucky it didn’t progress.
Although other than IV fluids there is no official treatment for it, it will usually resolve its self.. A fellow IP patient was also on it and it was a miracle drug for her. I had zero side effects otherwise and had high hopes for it. I never had a problem with SJS while on Lamictal and that’s the one that most Doctors are quick to remind of the possible risk. I have always had the odd side effects on things. Have you ever tried Invega? I took that before and it was one of the truly weight neutral meds for me. It brought me quickly out of a horrible mixed episode and my mind was very quiet for a change. __________________ Helping others gets me out of my own head ~ |
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Anonymous46341, Wild Coyote
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#4
I take 1200mg of it, I switched over from Depakote several years ago, works better for me and it also is weight neutral so I lost the weight I gained on Depakote
__________________ R.I.P mom 8/6/55-1/15/16 “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” -St. Francis of Assisi
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Anonymous46341, Wild Coyote
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Amy3boys, Wild Coyote
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#5
Quote:
__________________ R.I.P mom 8/6/55-1/15/16 “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” -St. Francis of Assisi
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Anonymous46341, Wild Coyote
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Amy3boys, Wild Coyote, ~Christina
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#6
I’m on Trileptal now. Works fine for me.
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Blue_Bird, Wild Coyote, ~Christina
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#7
I will look into Invega and may ask about it. I have had severe depressions and just occasional hypomanic symptoms when meds aren't right (I don't get manic). Thank you!
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Anonymous46341, Wild Coyote
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#8
I have taken Trileptal in the past. I never felt okay on it. I like lamotrigine much better.
We are each different. You might be fine on it. If you have severe depressions which are difficult or impossible to treat, please see the treatments section and look for "Mirapex." I wish you well. __________________ May we each fully claim the courage to live from our hearts, to allow Love, Faith and Hope to enLighten our paths. |
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Anonymous46341
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Amy3boys
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#9
I took trileptal a couple of different times. Never did much for me. Felt no different on it. And something happened with my sodium levels, I think they got low. So my doc took me off. A few people here have had success with trileptal though so you never know.
__________________ Of course it is happening inside your head. But why on earth should that mean that it is not real? -Albus Dumbledore That’s life. If nothing else, that is life. It’s real. Sometimes it f—-ing hurts. But it’s sort of all we have. -Garden State |
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#10
I was only on Trileptal briefly. They started me in the hospital, then I continued briefly in an Intensive outpatient program where they switched me.
I don't recall much of anything about Trileptal. I know there are fewer drug interactions with Trileptal than there are on Tegretol (its related older medication). Also, I know that there is less (or no) need for blood levels to be done, unlike Tegretol. I need my Tegretol, but likely for reasons not typical to most. I have read that Tegretol's efficacy seems to be higher for more people than Trileptal, but obviously Trileptal can be great for some. Note: Invega is an antipsychotic. Trileptal is an anticonvulsant moodstabilizer. Different class of bipolar meds. |
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Blue_Bird
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#11
I have been on Trileptal for several years. It's been much better for me than lamictal was. It's weight neutral and I haven't had side effects other than when I majorly upped it quickly once when I got mixed, but it only lasted a couple days.
As another person has I think mentioned, it can lower your sodium. I used to take 1500mg but had to cut it down to 750mg due to this issue. So if you take a fair amount of it, consider salting your food more. |
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Amy3boys, Anonymous46341
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#12
I couldn't tolerate it. My pdoc ordered the lowest dose pills to start with and I was cutting them to 32nds, which is really just crumbling the pill. I could not wake up on it. I could have slept for 3 weeks solid just on that tiny whiff. So after a couple weeks we stopped it and did something else.
__________________ Bipolar 1, PTSD, GAD, OCD. Clozapine 250 mg, Emsam 12 mg/day patch, topamax 25 mg, ,Gabapentin 1700 mg & 100-2 PRN,. 1.5 mg clonazepam., 50 mg Seroquel |
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#13
It would be great if this thread was moved to the new "Bipolar Treatments" sub forum. It more than qualifies for being there, and there is great sharing here that many would appreciate. Trileptal experiences are not present there.
This thread will eventually get lost in this general forum. It wouldn't in the "Bipolar Treatments" sub forum, which seems to be rather popular. Way to go, fern! Last edited by Anonymous46341; Sep 09, 2019 at 08:06 AM.. |
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Blue_Bird, fern46
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#14
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#15
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There was a time in the past (maybe 10 years ago) when I was on 300 mg of Lamictal with some dose of Abilify. It was very activating, and over a number of weeks I became manic and hospitalized with psychosis. I recall on 300 mg having mild memory issues, but not hair loss. The only other side effect I remember was sweating, but that may have actually been from my growing mania, and not Lamictal itself. I have had a period of hair loss on a bipolar medication, but it wasn't on Lamictal. It was on Lithium ER. That period started a couple years in to taking 900 mg Lithium ER, then it sort of stopped gradually after a year. I'm not sure why it was just temporary, but I was grateful. Luckily, I have always had a huge mop of hair, so though I lost a lot, I still had plenty enough that the loss wasn't noticeable to others. To my knowledge, in addition to Lithium, Depakote is also notorious for causing some hair loss. However, I took Depakote for a year, about 9 years ago, and did not have that side effect. Who knows if any new side effects would have ever developed, or any that I had, would have faded away. I can't know if Lamictal would cause you hair loss during a second trial. I can say that a few medications I tried a second time, didn't give me all the side effects I had the first time I tried them. The opposite was also true. I hope that you find a good medication cocktail that serves you well, with the fewest side effects (if any). |
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Amy3boys
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#16
Trileptal did nothing for me, no mood stabilization, no side effects, I was convinced I was taking a sugar pill.
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Amy3boys
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#17
Thank you!!
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