[Crook32]

Has anybody have balance problems as a side effect? I never had it but I’m walking into walls to hold me up. I still fall. Also I am having trouble thinking and concentrating. I have taken 2 days that should have only taken 4 hours. I am going crazy. Then a friend said I might have MS and that didn’t help at all.

[*Beth*]

Yep, sure do. I don't exercise as much as I'd like to because of balance issues. In my experience, most psych meds cause balance problems. Not only balance for me, but a weird feeling in my brain...not dizziness, not vertigo, but a sensation of being off-center...it's hard to describe, but maybe it's part of the imbalanced feeling. I hate it.

[Crook32]

I just feel drunk all the time but I don’t drink.

[isotrope010]

I've been in situations where it looked like I couldn't keep my balance. I'd hold onto walls and counters when people got close to me. I do a lot of walking and work out a little. Don't fall. I like background noise because it helps me think. You are not going crazy and your friend can't diagnose you, but maybe some of the symptoms are the same.

[Soupe du jour]

Actually yes. I went through a prolonged period of significant balance issues. I couldn't even stand on my toes or kneel, really. That was extremely odd for me having been serious into ballet and other dance, before it. I stopped riding my bike. At one point, I also wondered if I was developing MS. I wasn't.

Exactly what caused the above, I am not certain. My memory is fuzzy about those times. Whether it was one medication causing it or the combo of them, I am uncertain. Could brain injury from episodes also have played a part? I was definitely experiencing some strange s*** during that time.

If I must speculate, I think my huge dose of carbamazepine ER, at that time, might have played a part. Maybe Lithium, too, especially when I took 900 mg with 1,400 mg carbamazepine. I don't believe Lamictal would have been an issue, mostly because I recall taking ballroom dance classes while on 300 mg of that, with no balance problems. But I also took 100 mg Lamictal at the same time as both Lithium and carbamazepine. Overkill? I don't believe my antipsychotics were to blame, but who knows. I was on two of them at that time, too.

My past balance issues may have even dated back to Depakote ER. I was even at my heaviest on that med. Twenty pounds more than I am now. That likely wouldn't have helped. Come to think of it, I lost almost 40 lbs when I was taken off Depakote and Invega. I remember my balance improved a lot after the weight loss. Then gradually worsened a little on the Lithium/carbamazepine, etc. Nowadays I only take 600 mg carbamazepine ER, not 1,400 mg. I now also still take 100 mg Lamictal and 600 mg Seroquel XR. As said, my balance is good now and my legs much stronger.

Sorry for the long response. I had to think this through.

[*Beth*]

Sometimes (often) my balance is so off that I feel self conscious. I had a neighbor, rude woman, who accused be of being drunk one day. I told her I have a balance problem, but she refused to believe me. It made me feel really self-conscious.

[BipolaRNurse]

I have terrible balance and I’m sure it’s due to my meds. I’m on two antipsychotics as well as a crap-load of Lamictal, and sometimes I sway or stumble over nothing to the point that I appear drunk. It’s embarrassing, and I fall more often than I should. But other than quitting meds—which I’m not going to do—I don’t know what I can do about it. I’m too scared of falling even to try balance exercises.