I have a big fear of taking meds at least new ones, I have bipolar 1 and the doctors don't want to give me SSRI anti depressants, Which is fine with me they make me go manic, I am on 3,000 MLG of Depakote and I take klonopin, But the Depakote has made me gain loads of weight, I want off of it, Is any one on Tegratal and does it work for Bipolar 1, My doctor is always trying to put me on latuda, I absolutely refuse, I will not take drugs new on the market, I have been a guinea pig for all kinds of drugs and I am sick and tired of it

Tegratol any one, Please give me your advice on this drug, Do you like it or hate it

[jenniy122]

Tegratol and it's "cousin" triliptal did nothing for me (bipolar, OCD, bpd, ptsd). Depakote is the first thing in 5? years that's done anything stabilizing for me, but I haven't had weight gain and completely understand not being able to tolerate that.

For 2 years I had my meds changed every single week, definitely feel ya on the guinea pig syndrome.

Other semi-success for me was Geodon, but I ruined my run with that. However it caused me to develop (as far as we can tell, I've been off it for 6 months after 6 years on) permanent tremors.

[pirilin]

I got the same reaction from the doctors.
There are plenty of ADs, non SSRIs.
My first AD will be Remeron. And only to sleep.
I'm in two mood stabilizers. Lithium and Lamotrigine.

It will be better for you to start a new thread with Tegretol in the heading.
I'm sure there are plenty of member on it.

[jules77]

I take tegretol among others (see in my signature below)...i had taken depakote and it was so horrible. i am stable now. it definitely is different for each person, it is good though that you're straightforward with all the docs. tegretol does work for me, but it took a while, no side effects really except it can make birth control less effective for women
good luck.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Originally Posted by Rainne

I have a big fear of taking meds at least new ones, I have bipolar 1 and the doctors don't want to give me SSRI anti depressants, Which is fine with me they make me go manic, I am on 3,000 MLG of Depakote and I take klonopin, But the Depakote has made me gain loads of weight, I want off of it, Is any one on Tegratal and does it work for Bipolar 1, My doctor is always trying to put me on latuda, I absolutely refuse, I will not take drugs new on the market, I have been a guinea pig for all kinds of drugs and I am sick and tired of it

I take trileptal 1200mgs (as another stated, tegritals cousin, sister, brother, mother lol). At first it did help then my old pdoc put me on a stimulant and I got hypo. I'm working on quitting it. I now want a med change but my next appointment isn't until the 14th. I also tried lamictal and it made me very dysphoric. It was quite a mess! I'm pretty sensitive to anything activating. I also was on lithium a few years ago with good stabilizing effects but I got toxicity and had to stop it. I've thought about depakote but my pdoc cringed when I brought it up. Now that I think of it, I've been on mostly "old school" meds. I guess I trust them more because they've been around longer. Being a guinea pig is not fun! With all my trials I've been up, down, and sideways many of times. Who wants to live not knowing if you'll wake up a monster or not?! I would like a bipolar pdoc for once so they had personal experience! Wouldn't that be nice? Good luck with whatever step you take next. We all deserve some relief through this storm.

Edit: forgot to mention that I'm BPD too. I find it makes finding the right med harder. It really sucks!

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RxQueen875, I agree with you, I am old school when it comes to meds, I want drugs that have been around for years, I refuse to take these new drugs on the market, You never know what is going to happen later on down the road with them

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Originally Posted by Rainne

RxQueen875, I agree with you, I am old school when it comes to meds, I want drugs that have been around for years, I refuse to take these new drugs on the market, You never know what is going to happen later on down the road with them

Yea I know what you mean. The ONLY one I'm considering right now is geodon for sleep. And that's just because I'm desperate for a new sleep med and I can't find anything that works now.

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[amadan7]

hi I have taken tegretol in the past and many others and found the weight gain impossible to deal with along with other side effects like tardive dyskinesia (tremours, uncontrollable movements, facial tics etc) but have had some success with topamax and prozac which are both known to cause weight loss (only if you don't stop and start topamax). studies have shown that an antidepressant with a moodstabiliser or antipsychotic can be helpful with BP. maybe it would be helpful to talk to your pdoc about this. i too have tried so many meds in the search for the right combo over the years i couldn't even list them all. I have been on saphris/asenipine since just before christmas and that seems to be working well with topamax/prozac/eltroxin.vitamind3 and xanax as needed. keep trying. hopefully you will find the med combo that works for you. I have found reading and listening to classical music to be very helpful also. I can't do much exercise because of fibromyalgia but relaxation exercises help too. hope this helps.