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Newbie with a problem. Any help would be gr8!

Sat, 01/28/2006 - 13:20
Hello everybody, I'm new here. I see my Neurology Consultant in a couple of week and I may be changing my meds.I have temporal lobe epilepsy but have had the odd grand mal seizure. I've been on Tegretol since I was 11- I'm 30 now. I have to admit that I've been seizure free for several yrs; infact the only times I've had convulsions has been whenever I've vomited or forgotten to take my meds. The thing is I've been becoming increasingly more photosensitive. I'm having trouble right now just looking at my pc screen. Over the past few yrs my meds have been upped and upped. I'm on 1200 mgs now. I've also had more and more trouble with depression and when it takes over it makes the epilepsy worse and, well, it juat about brings my whole life to a stand still. Does anyone know if there are any antidepressants I could take for this depression. Should I change my meds to an AED that allows me to take them or one that may have antidepressant qualities? I heard that Lamictal is given to people with depression. Has anyone taken it along with other meds? I'm reluctant to go fof Tegretol since it's kept me seizure--free for so long but the depression is such a problem... ANy information anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated. Yours, Walker

Comments

Re: Re: Newbie with a problem. Any help would be gr8!

Submitted by walk3r on Fri, 2006-02-10 - 11:34
That's great news Angela. I heard that Tegretol was some sort of mood stabilizer-one doc yrs ago told me that if a patient has depression then tegretol is supposed to be the best drug to help that...that was before Lamictal though... Let me know how it works out for ye. I was to see my Neuro today but I got a letter earlier this week saying that, for some reason, they'd rescheduled my appointment for early March. Looks like I'm gonna have to wait a while yet to see where all this is going. I'm gonn look for more info on meds in the meantime...

Re: Re: Re: Newbie with a problem. Any help would be gr8!

Submitted by angelran on Wed, 2006-02-15 - 12:39
Well, I just wanted to give you a quick update. As of Monday, I am no longer on Tegretol. So far, I haven't had any seizures or focal seizures. I was scared because I have been both sick and on my period and either of those things on their own can increase seizure activity. But, even with the fever and the crazy hormones, I am doing great. I wanted to note that each time I decreased my Tegretol dosage, my moods would improve. I haven't had any noteworthy moodswings in over a week. It is weird because I have been in situations when I thought "Ya know, I should be flying off the handle right now. Why am I still calm. This is weird." I will let you know if anything changes.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Newbie with a problem. Any help would be gr8!

Submitted by CG on Wed, 2006-02-15 - 16:21
Exercise, diet, sleep and a less stressful lifestyle can help. I know that when I worked out at a gym on a daily basis and my weight went donw and my muscle increased, I equired less medication. I ate a lot of high good fat food before I got married, that also worked well. Good luck with your progress. CG

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