Community Forum Archive
The Epilepsy Community Forums are closed, and the information is archived. The content in this section may not be current or apply to all situations. In addition, forum questions and responses include information and content that has been generated by epilepsy community members. This content is not moderated. The information on these pages should not be substituted for medical advice from a healthcare provider. Experiences with epilepsy can vary greatly on an individual basis. Please contact your doctor or medical team if you have any questions about your situation. For more information, learn about epilepsy or visit our resources section.
mood swings
Mon, 01/22/2007 - 01:28Topic: Women With Epilepsy
Does anyone out there have mood swings like incredibly happy one moment and then you snap at what might seem important at the time but was very trivial? Please don't tell me i have bipolar disorder, like i need to tack on another issue... :(
Re: Re: Re: mood swings
Submitted by destiny1 on Tue, 2007-01-23 - 13:47
A lot of the antiseizure meds also are used for bipolar (I know this is true of at least depakote, tegretol, trileptal, and many psychiatrist will also use zonegran, neurontin and topamax along with a few others). However that doesn't mean that your mood swings might be bipolar. Sorry if my wording came across wrong, but there's so many neurological and neurological med possible reasons for mood swings, that I'd just want to rule those out first (if for no other reason than there's still so much stigma for having a mental health issue). As to mood side effects, often unless there's something serious that's a possibility (like psychosis or suicidal thoughts/behaviors) those often hide on the full side effect list (which rarely is what's on the pharmacy handout) way down in a category with a name like "CNS" or "nervous system". So you might want to double check your info with a copy of the full prescribing info or by a talk with your pharmacist (they should have access to the full prescribing info with the complete list of side effects even if it's not what's on their handouts). If you do talk to the pharmacist, might also want to ask them if there are any interactions between your meds - I've had docs forget (or flat out not know about) an interaction before...and that can lead to all sorts of interesting problems.