[~Christina]

OK heres my Dilema ...

Im Bipolar I and have tried a boat load of medications .. Caused a weight gain of 40lbs very quickly .. Yes I watched what I ate but regardless the weight piled on .. I have been trying very hard to lose this weight but the scale refuses to budge. IM getting very depressed over the weight gain I cant just say " im fat and stable and the tradeoff is worth it"

Im currently on Lamectal and Haldol and Inderal to counteract the extreme restlessness caused by the haldol. The haldol is causing my fibro to flare up so bad im in tears every day ..

I recently stopped taking my haldol daily now I take it maybe twice a week so I know for a fact haldol is causing my increase in pain.

I have been researching medications to bring up to my Pdoc and Topamax is one Im interested in due to its weight loss properties ... I have no Health insurance and have no idea what the cost of this medication would be .

Does anyone have an idea about this med good or bad ? cost of med? any info would be greatly appreciated .

Thanks

[bipolarmedstudent]

Originally Posted by morethingswrong

OK heres my Dilema ...

Im Bipolar I and have tried a boat load of medications .. Caused a weight gain of 40lbs very quickly .. Yes I watched what I ate but regardless the weight piled on .. I have been trying very hard to lose this weight but the scale refuses to budge. IM getting very depressed over the weight gain I cant just say " im fat and stable and the tradeoff is worth it"

Im currently on Lamectal and Haldol and Inderal to counteract the extreme restlessness caused by the haldol. The haldol is causing my fibro to flare up so bad im in tears every day ..

I recently stopped taking my haldol daily now I take it maybe twice a week so I know for a fact haldol is causing my increase in pain.

I have been researching medications to bring up to my Pdoc and Topamax is one Im interested in due to its weight loss properties ... I have no Health insurance and have no idea what the cost of this medication would be .

Does anyone have an idea about this med good or bad ? cost of med? any info would be greatly appreciated .

Thanks

I believe I suggested topamax to you a while back. It makes most people lose about 10-15% of their body weight, and works better (as a weight loss drug) for heavier people.

The thing with topamax is that it really isn't a good drug for bipolar. It helps with certain atypical bipolar presentations (like ultradrian rapid cycling -- people who have mutiple episodes PER DAY). It's also great for migraines. But it really shouldn't be used by iteself for bipolar. And lamictal isn't going to be good enough for Bipolar I. I really think you need to take lithium or an antipsychotic with it. You need a strong anti-manic agent on board, since you're bipolar I.

Have you ever tried geodon or abilify? They are both fairly weight-neutral, and would give you the anit-manic effect you need. You could switch from haldol to geodon or abilify, and add topamax.

The other problem with topamax is that it can have a lot of side effects. It can cause parasthesias (pins and needles) which since you already have fibro maybe isn't the best thing. Also, it can cause kidney stones. And it makes you stooooooooooooopid. Seriously stupid. I have a friend who took topamax for migraines and it made her so dumb she actually had to stop taking it!

On the plus side, it MAY help you with the restlessness feeling. Topamax is being studied recently for things like tics, OCD, hair-pulling and other movement disorders so it *may* help with the restlessness feeling. Or it could make it worse.

Personally I think you are probably better off taking tramadol if possible. Treats your fibro and helps you lose weight.

But I'm interested in your replies. I'm looking into taking topamax myself to treat my tics/hair-pulling/OCD. What's holding me back is the cognitive side-effects. I can't afford to be stooooooooooopid.

[~Christina]

Thanks Bipolarmed ...

I have researched alot based on your suggestions from an earlier post ,,, thank you alot you sent me in the right direction..

I think my most difficult issue is finacial ... Im unable to work and my husband is on work related disability to a workers comp injury .. so I know my doctor is trying all he can to find me loooooow cost options . So finacially we can barley afford the meds i do take.

We discussed geodon months ago before it went generic ... Abilify made me sick as a dog ,, Nausea and the whole mess .. I stuck it out for 2 weeks hoping things would improve never did so i had to come off it .

My GP gave me tramadol for my fibro didnt have any effect on my pain at all

I am concerned with the " stupids" I already feel like I lost a Lot of my IQ due to bipolar and chronic pain.....

Im just not sure how to approach my pdoc I have been thru sooooo many meds in the past year its flat out ridiculous....

Im just miserable to be honest .

Thank you for your great advice and support

[bipolarmedstudent]

hmnnn....well maybe geodon is worth a try now that it's gone generic?? you could do geodon + topamax for your bipolar...you should definitely lose weight on that combo, and the geodon should control your bipolar well.

But I don't know what you can take for your fibro. you said you get manic on SSRIs/SNRIs so they're out. What about TCA's -- do you get manic on those? There's gabapentin/pregabalin, but those both cause a bit of weight gain. I thought I had come up with the perfect solution when I thought of tramadol, but that doesn't work either. Has anything ever worked for your fibro pain?? I feel so frustrated for you. I want to think of something that will take your pain away, but I can't think of anything else!

As for how to bring it up to your doctor....say something like "hey, remember that time we talked about trying geodon? Well, I read that it has gone generic now. Do you think it could be an option for me? I would really like to try it, because I have a lot of side effects on haldol. I'd like to see if I can switch from haldol to geodon." Start with that. If your doctor seems receptive to that, then bring up how unhappy you are with your weight gain and ask about topamax.

Don't be afraid to talk to your doctor. Your doctor's JOB is to be there for you, and to listen to you. It makes me so sad to see how patients are afraid to bring things up with their doctor. I hope when I'm a doctor, my patients never feel that way with me.

[bluematador]

I take Topamax with risperdal, depakote, and cymbalta. The Topamax was added three months ago. I take 50 mgs. I've lost weight but I was thin to begin with so now I am too thin. I was really disoriented the first two weeks but now my IQ is fine. I am a student and I have to write research papers. I don't really notice any side effects from it.

[~Christina]

Bipolar ,, I take neurontin for the fibro I honestly dont think it helps any ..

I see my Tdoc on the 12th and I plan to talk to him about my meds and issues ... in the past he has emailed my pdoc and helped me try other meds so im going to see if he can help me out again.. Im tired of being so miserable .. every lb im overweight makes my fibropain that much worse .
Thanks

Blue good to know your able to tolerate the meds well

[bipolarmedstudent]

Originally Posted by bluematador

I take Topamax with risperdal, depakote, and cymbalta. The Topamax was added three months ago. I take 50 mgs. I've lost weight but I was thin to begin with so now I am too thin. I was really disoriented the first two weeks but now my IQ is fine. I am a student and I have to write research papers. I don't really notice any side effects from it.

That's great to hear. I want to go on topamax too, but I'm so worried about the cognitive effects. I'm a student as well, and I need my brain, lol.

Can I ask what you're taking the topamax for?

[unaluna]

100 mg topiramate (topamax) is generic and pretty inexpensive, probably some other doses are too. at a lower dose (200 mg) I no longer have the tingling and stupidity problems I was getting at 400 mg.

[bipolarmedstudent]

Originally Posted by morethingswrong

Bipolar ,, I take neurontin for the fibro I honestly dont think it helps any ..

I see my Tdoc on the 12th and I plan to talk to him about my meds and issues ... in the past he has emailed my pdoc and helped me try other meds so im going to see if he can help me out again.. Im tired of being so miserable .. every lb im overweight makes my fibropain that much worse .
Thanks

Blue good to know your able to tolerate the meds well

if the neurontin really isn't helping you with the fibro at all, then I would consider stopping it, because it can cause weight gain, too.

One more question -- you said that antidepressants caused you to go manic...when you were on the antidepressants, were you on a mood-stabilizer (like lithium or depakote) or an anti-psychotic? Or were you JUST on the antidepressant alone? Because you could try taking an anti-depressant WITH an anti-psychotic (like the geodon) or mood-stabilizer, and the anti-psychotic may be enough to keep you from going manic.

Also, here's an interesting paper on using growth hormone to treat fibro:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22465047
It's an experimental treatment, but as a bonus, Growth Hormone makes you lose weight.

[~Christina]

I was on Lithium and lexapro .. manic big time so my pdoc said no more Ad's

I plan on making calls to the 2 pharmacies I use to find out what the cost would be for geodon and topamax ... althought I dont know the exact doseage the pharmacist should be able to give me a rough idea on what the typical starting doses would be and a rough estimate on cost .

I dont want to go thru the whole " i have researched these medication and would like to try then and then find out I cant afford them at all ...

Life would much more simple if I still had health insurance

Thanks sooooooooooooooooo much

I have taken topamax for about 3 years now, Only side affects that I have had is tingling in fingers and feet, I have lost some weight too, I take it for migraine.

[bluematador]

I am taking it as a mood stabilizer and for migraines.

Originally Posted by bipolarmedstudent

That's great to hear. I want to go on topamax too, but I'm so worried about the cognitive effects. I'm a student as well, and I need my brain, lol.

Can I ask what you're taking the topamax for?

[xraydiva09]

I currently take Topamax, and dont seem to have much of a problem with it, plus it comes as a generic which is awesome!! I used to take Lamictal, but got that sexy, itchy rash and had to stop. I did get the Topamax stupids for about a month or so, but that has went away, and it makes soda taste like crap but other than that, it does well....Im not a PDoc or anything (wish I was sometimes lol) but I think you have to take it in combination with something else for it to work properly. I take it with Celexa right now, which makes me extremely sleepy, but thats a whole other story lol.....Best of luck to you!

[Moreta]

Originally Posted by morethingswrong

I plan on making calls to the 2 pharmacies I use to find out what the cost would be for geodon and topamax ... althought I dont know the exact doseage the pharmacist should be able to give me a rough idea on what the typical starting doses would be and a rough estimate on cost .

I went and picked up my generic geodon this month, and it said insurance paid over $600. I take 2 80 mg though, so it might not be that much for you.

[~Christina]

I have no Insurance and no means finacially to purchase any meds that are over about 10 dollars so I know im very limited .

At this point Im considering going med free .. Hell all the meds in the world might help but if i cant afford them they sure wont help me ,,

Sorry im in a lousy mood today I see my Tdoc later so im hopeful he can help me turn all this negative crap around .

thanks

[xraydiva09]

Originally Posted by morethingswrong

I have no Insurance and no means finacially to purchase any meds that are over about 10 dollars so I know im very limited .

At this point Im considering going med free .. Hell all the meds in the world might help but if i cant afford them they sure wont help me ,,

Sorry im in a lousy mood today I see my Tdoc later so im hopeful he can help me turn all this negative crap around .

thanks

Hi there!
I have no insurance as well....I take the generic of Topamax which is Topiramate....I take the 25mg of pills and get it filled at Walmart...it runs me around $40 a month...I dont know what state you live in, but I live in Illinois and we have a program through certain pharmacies that helps-all my PDoc has to do is stamp my script with this special stamp and I only pay a small amount....Best of luck to you though....I hope you day gets better!

[bowhunt72]

I have insurance but sometimes I wonder how much it's really helping. With no employer footing part of the bill since I retired, I get to pay the entire $1100 a month.

[~Christina]

Thanks Xraydiva.... I was hoping it would be a little cheaper but maybe once i get the first month filled my pdoc's office can help me get the med cheaper thru the pharmacutical company .. they do that for me for Lamectil ... *** fingers crossed***

Bowhunt ... Wow sorry to hear you have to pay so much .. we lost our insurance Jan 1st no way we could afford to cobra act it ... Sucks to have to decide food or meds or rent etc ... I hope things get better for you ((((HUGS))))