Posted by lizbeth on April 30, 2002, at 14:29:24
Hello,
I've been diagnosed BPII since March 2001. Was maintained on 625 of Depakote Sprinkle (regular Depakote had too many GI side effects). with 20-30 mg. of Prozac since then (concomitant depression). Am seeing a psychopharmacologist who I trust and who's been a good partner in making adjustments.
I decided to explore other anticonvulsants as I believe the Depakote was blunting me too much cognitively at work. I started Trileptal, the newer version of Tegretol, 7 days ago (no washout on Depakote). My prescription is 450, 300 at night, 150 in morning.
I had fairly significant side effects at the 450 mg. dose. I've done some research and it seems that Prozac raises the blood level of carbemapezine (tegretol) and I would intuit, Trileptal. I've been best when I skipped a day on the Prozac. I've gone down as low as 150 on the Trileptal last night but as soon as I took 30 mg. of Prozac this morning, the dizziness and yuckiness took over.
I want to give the Trileptal a chance, already feeling clearer cognitively, even with all the side effects. My fiance thinks I should try taking the Prozac at night. I'm going to try stopping the Prozac for a few days and see if I'm better. I'm open to staying with Trileptal and looking for a new AD if necessary (or maybe just Trileptal at 450 will be enough?). Effexor XR has worked o.k. for me in the past.
Compounding things, I think I may be one of those "poor metabolizers" with a funky P450 system because it always seems like need lower doses with meds that hit that site. Also on Claritin, Protonix (for heartburn), Singulair and Advair 250/50 (Asthma).
Thanks in advance for any insight.
Lizbeth
poster:lizbeth
thread:104533
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020425/msgs/104533.html