Posted by JohnX2 on April 8, 2002, at 17:24:41
In reply to Re: I've been scared into quitting! » 2sense, posted by JohnX2 on April 8, 2002, at 17:04:44
http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic2/topiram_ad.htmLook under "side effects drug interactions"
John
> > John --
> >
> > Thanks for answering so quickly. I am not certain I fully understood whether you think that I have a seizure disorder and therefore had the grand mal due to the tolerance issue or not. Can you clarify for me?
> >
> > EVERYTHING and EVERY medical professional except this psychiatrist who wrote the script, and also believes that bipolar is a type of seizure or whatever, believes unequivocally that the rapid withdrawal from 4 mg. of Klonopin to 0 mg. PLUS my becoming lax with making sure my Wellbutrin doses (2 150 SR's a day) are a minimum of 6 hours apart (if not this lowers seizure tolerance), plus my 3 kids and husband had the flu and I wasn't sleeping well (and the night before the grand mal I didn't sleep a single wink) -- collectively along with an electrical re-entry anode heart problem needing to be fixed and I had a hysterectomy (TAH) and had been hemorrhaging since last May and my electrolytes were whacked out, plus I am anemic, plus my blood sugar was low. Still another's interpretation and input is always of interest to me. The EEG went fine but will not know the results until end of the week; MRI (w/ contrast) is tomorrow at 11 AM and will not know those results either until?? Even though I own 'The Pill Book' and the Nurses PDR manual and the slip from the pharmacist states not to withdraw suddenly because grand mal seizures can result -- I think it was negligent of the psychiatrist not to state so very clearly to me. I think he is juggling too many balls and it is my own humble opinion that mistakes can be made when one does not recognize and rectify situations that indicate they are overbooked, so to speak; it is still just my opinion!
> >
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> I think it is *very bad* for anyone to abuptly stop taking a strong dose of a benzodizepine.
>
> > As to the other medication you mentioned, Topiramate -- do you take this for seizures, bipolar, anxiety? I did a search on this medication (and the Depakote he is pushing also) and along with some pretty scary side effects (ex. grand mal seizures) -- the internet search comes up with attorneys who are taking cases of people who use the drug and have developed other health problems, some fatal. All drugs have side effects and at least to me, it is both a very pharmaceutical and litigious world we know live in.
> >
>
> This is what I would do in term of looking at side effects. Find the PDR that did the actual clinical studies and look at the incidence of side effects compared to those who took a placebo. If the placebo caused 20% of the patients to have headaches, and the medicine caused 20% of the patients to have headaches, then the medicine probably doesn't cause headaches. Regardless of what medicatin you are looking at , whatever it is treating, it is going to be reported as a side effect, correct? What if I have epilepsy and Depakote doesn't work for me and I have a seizure, do I report that depakote has a seizure side effect? Every antidepressant will list depression as a side effect too. This is where looking for *statistical significance* is important. The placebo will also have seizure as a side effect. So usually in the actual physicians PDR they list side effects that were much more common than those listed on the placebo pill. These are the ones to look out for. If the medicine did not cause a side effect more often than the placebo pill, then probably the medicine was not the culprit. And yes, topamax has a reputation for causing cognitive decline.
>
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> > My biggest issue is I do not believe I am bipolar, and since I have atypical anorexia (in times of mega stress I don't eat very well -- but dealing with this in therapy and it has been effective) I am a searcher, a reader, a learner -- I don't believe every problem one has can be given a label and a pill to fix. Now there are other "problems" <-- I don't like using that term -- issues; I had AD/HD and Ritalin not only stabilized my weight but made a great difference for me in many ways. It was not until I was in my early 30's that I even knew about it; it is very genetic (we are an entire family of it -- my immediate and both sides -- his and mine --> it isn't all bad; like anything there is good and bad). Thanks for reading, I type very fast and being a stay at home mom for 6 1/2 years has proved to be the most difficult and stressful time of my life. Just my ... 2sense :-)
> >
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> FYI, Topamax may not be good for anorexia. It kills the apetite pretty bad.
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> Take care,
> John
>
> > PS I found this web page on the Topiramate – (http://www.nursespdr.com/members/database/ndrhtml/topiramate.html). I am including it ONLY for the 'FYI category' – obviously side effects are VERY individual, and the Nurse’s PDR, I suspect, lists everyone under the sun that anyone, anywhere has EVER experienced even a single time.
poster:JohnX2
thread:91010
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020408/msgs/102409.html