![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1233 to 1257 of 1838. Go back in thread:
Posted by rainy on November 27, 2004, at 18:32:27
In reply to Does Topomax help with weight??? » headachequeen, posted by headachequeen on November 21, 2004, at 19:19:54
This sounds like whining and complaing right after Thanksgiving probably because it is. I'm on 300 mgs of Topamax, 100 t.i.d without missing a beat. Also 100 mgs trazodone at bedtime and theoretically 400 wellbutrin SR but I keep messing up on that last dose. I'm hesitant to take it just before bed because I get jittery as hell about a half hour after taking the little dear. Here's the complaint.
For the last three or four days I've been ravenously hungry upon waking and throughout the day. When I eat, food has no taste and I'm not over eating, but I'm seriously hungry between meals. Also more thirsty than usual, although today my thirst seems back to normal. I usually drink at least 8 10 oz glasses of water a day.
I'm also shakey around 3 or 4 PM and feel as though I'm "flying to pieces." Any thoughts? Nothing much has changed in my life except for going off provigil 10 days ago. And beginning acupuncture on Wednesday. One session so far, second tomorrow. Is this Topamax poop out?
rainy
Posted by kotsunega on November 27, 2004, at 20:17:42
In reply to change of subject, posted by rainy on November 27, 2004, at 18:32:27
What's your dx? Any chance your symptoms are breaking through the meds?
Posted by stresser on November 27, 2004, at 20:20:45
In reply to change of subject, posted by rainy on November 27, 2004, at 18:32:27
Do any of you find it easy to eat right through the topamax appetite depressent? My daughter is still not having any luck with the topamax at all. We are dropping her back in dosage as well, because she is have a small problem with her memory......not good. What to do now? I actually don't think there is anything out there for binge eating.....at all. Therapy is starting to look like it's a farce, just like the topamax....sorry to be so negative, it's just that this has been a negative experience for us up to this point. Any suggestions? -L
Posted by bridgey1128 on November 27, 2004, at 20:54:24
In reply to Re: change of subject, posted by stresser on November 27, 2004, at 20:20:45
the memory thing is just a side effect. It will just pass with time. If you drop back it won't likely help. It will just be harder to make the meds work. If you had stuck it out with the higher dose it would have eventually went away. I go through the same thing every time I go up on mine. You get the "stupids". I would say if you don't feel like this psych doc is helping her, go find another one. After 2 years and you feel like you are spinning your wheels and getting nowhere, being nice just isn't enough. They have to be actually helping! And she has to want to change. And since you can't get in her head and see what is actually going on, that makes it all the more hard. :( Teenagers! Glad I have a few more years to go! Hang in there hon!
Posted by headachequeen on November 27, 2004, at 23:03:06
In reply to Re: change of subject, posted by stresser on November 27, 2004, at 20:20:45
> Do any of you find it easy to eat right through the topamax appetite depressent? My daughter is still not having any luck with the topamax at all. We are dropping her back in dosage as well, because she is have a small problem with her memory......not good. What to do now? I actually don't think there is anything out there for binge eating.....at all. Therapy is starting to look like it's a farce, just like the topamax....sorry to be so negative, it's just that this has been a negative experience for us up to this point. Any suggestions? -L
Don't drop back on the dose
the memory drop will stop in a few days... or sooner even... it happens with an increase and then things return to normal...
it is part of the whole routine with the increments... a reason to do the increments slowly....
and it is so hard to know what is happening inside her head...
heaven knows I wish I knew what was happening in my own...rainy, check out the interaction of these meds with each other...
trying to remember trazodone and its effects...if the food doesn't really have appeal you are not eating from hunger but from emotional reaction...
shall post properly tomorrow...
getting my head back on and have some research info on that topic but it is downstairs.. the emotional hunger not turning heads around properly :(
kat
Posted by rainy on November 28, 2004, at 7:44:21
In reply to Re: change of subject, posted by kotsunega on November 27, 2004, at 20:17:42
Kotsunega, my dx is bipolar II. I thought about medication interaction but I've been on all of these meds for a longish time. I began to mention that I also thought of adult onset diabetes since many psycotropic medications can screw with our blood sugar levels, but got a message to stop writing as soon as I mentioned my upcoming loss of insurance on 12/31.
I'm more inclined to suspect acupuncture as the culprit--that or not enough Topamax and/or Trazodone since neither seem to be doing their job. Maybe the Topamax does keep me from falling deeper into the pit.
You may be right, Kat about emotional hunger, I've been missing our family terribly, but even cayenne pepper and hot, hot Dijon mustard taste like nothing. Coffe has no flavor. This is
acute.
The flying to pieces, shakey bit is the most unpleasant.
Thanks for your comments.
Kat, I'll look up stuff myself today, please don't exert yourself.
rainy
Posted by iris2 on November 28, 2004, at 9:17:14
In reply to change of subject, posted by rainy on November 27, 2004, at 18:32:27
I would suspect that going off the provigil is having the effect of increasing your hunger. Since it is such a strong stimulant perhaps even if it did not decrease your hunger when you were on it it is having the effect of increasing it when you go off of it. I would think this is a very transient affect and will go away soon. I had that problem with Topamax but the drug is so different I do not think you will have such a big problem as I did. I wonder if the reason you are not tasting the food so much has more to do with the other medications you are taking and you are just noticing it more because you are hungrier and thinking more about the food?
Just a thought or two.
Irene
Posted by iris2 on November 28, 2004, at 9:27:11
In reply to Re: change of subject, posted by stresser on November 27, 2004, at 20:20:45
Topamax does not always suppress appetite so she might not be eating through anything at all. From what you have said in thte past it would appear at least at times that the drug is helping her mood and perhaps her binge eating. Drugs most of the time are not the entire answer. Sometimes it takes going through several different therapists to find the one that will be helpful to someone. I do not meen to say that you or her need to be totally impatient and not give a therapist a good trial but I think it can be apparent that a therapist is not a good fit for someone withing several visits. That does not meen that a therapist who you do not agree with or have differences of oppinion is the wrong one but personalities do come into play here as does each therapists ability to deal with certain illnesses better or not. I personally have gone through several different therapists several times to find one who I could communicate effectively with and one who seemed competent and helpful to me. That does not meen that a particular therapist might not be a good one but it might not be the right fit for her.
Remember that a teen is fickle and you need to evaluate her progress on a longer time scale and not these ups and downs she is having daily Perhaps if you keep a log yourself of her habits and moods you will be able to ascertain if the medication is doing what it should in a time interval of several weeks instead of taking one day at a time.
irene
Posted by rainy on November 28, 2004, at 9:38:35
In reply to Re: change of subject » stresser, posted by iris2 on November 28, 2004, at 9:27:11
Of course you don't have to answer, but I'm interested. Are you taking Topamax, and if so, what been your experience with this tricky drug?
rainy
Posted by headachequeen on November 28, 2004, at 17:49:29
In reply to Re: change of subject, posted by rainy on November 28, 2004, at 7:44:21
>
> I'm more inclined to suspect acupuncture as the culprit--that or not enough Topamax and/or Trazodone since neither seem to be doing their job. Maybe the Topamax does keep me from falling deeper into the pit.
> You may be right, Kat about emotional hunger, I've been missing our family terribly, but even cayenne pepper and hot, hot Dijon mustard taste like nothing. Coffe has no flavor. This is
> acute.
>Rainy, what dosage of topomax are you at now?
as for the emotional thing...
for lack of a better adjective, I use emotional, dietitians are now getting into the discussion, telling us that people are turning to food to get them through bad times and emotionally stressful times...it is a case of eating not from physical hunger but from emotional hunger, because you are stressed, anxious, angry, upset, even because you are happy or in a celebratory mood...
of course the eating disorders are at the extreme of this, where the normal eating routines are so disrupted that a person binges or starves and feels completely helpless to control his or her own dietary patterns.
Emotional eating is less debilitating than these extremes (the disorders) and more widespread. In fact it is believed that everyone succumbs to some extent, however food they say won't solve things in the long term (no kidding, sez I)The food eaten in these instances is numbing, the person doesn't even taste it. Then the person feels worse, eats more and the problem spirals.
According to the dietitians and nutrition specialists involved in this latest study, an American one, Americans - I think they could say North Americans, though - ecpect to always feel happy, however irrational that may be, so when there is something wrong, they expect the quick fix, and food is everywhere. Reaching for food can be an attempt to recreate happier times in childhood, or other moments when the person was comfortable and content, often or most usually times when food was involved...
think of the happy times in our lives, they most often involve food, preparing food, or eating...
special meals, special foods, and so on.One of the suggestions that accompanied one of the interviews included alternatives for the person who turns to food...
instead of turning blindly to food have a glass of water; have a cup of tea or coffee; go for a walk, pet the dog; call a friend; do something you enjoy doing; go to another area of the office or house and do something that will occupy your thoughts and put the idea of eating aside.Physical activity helps people clear their minds and cope with stress stress, and excerise increases blood sugar making one less hungry physically.
another idea was that before eating anything, decide what it is you want to eat, not just the actual food, but the flavour, texture...
simply sticking food in one's mouth is not really satisfying, but if one takes the time to decide if one wants spicy or sweet, salty or chocolatey, soft or crunchy, chicken or peanut butter, and so on, weighing all the options, then the food when it is eaten is more satisfying leading to less binge eating and less constant eating...
also slow and careful preparation is supposed to help with lessening eating...
fast food and packaged foods tend to increase the frequent eating...Dividing a box or large bag of snack foods into one portion servings and packaging them and storing them that way helps as well...
if the box of crackers or cookies or whatever is divided into one-portion servings then one is less inclined to eat the whole thing...and parents who use food as rewards for behaviour set the pattern for food abuse as their children grow up...
Another suggestion is that instead of eating when one does not know why one is driven to the cupboard or refrigerator, sit down and write about the feelings that are at work at that time...
it may help you come to terms with your self and to better understand yourself....
that is it from the notes so far...eventually this may all come together into something that comes together...
or it may end up being trashed as something that I no longer wish to follow up
but it has been an interesting bit of work thus far and if it helps someone here then it has been worth the effort...the one thing that has been repeated and repeated is that we expect things to be fixed instantly...
our emotional selves were not damaged overnight and will not be fixed overnight....binge eating, anorexia, bulemia, and the other eating disorders including this milder but more pervasive one are symptoms of a greater problem and that problem needs to be addressed before the symptoms can disappear...
this takes time...I spent the afternoon interviewing a marvellous psycholgist... she works with women with various eating disorders and I will be sorting my notes...
and auditing the tapes for the next few days or longer... in between trying to decorate four trees, decorate the house, rearrange the living room, and see the neurologist and go for eegs and all that garbage...
and there is still work to be done on two almost overdue pieces of work that have to be in by the 12th of the month...
what idiot agreed to a December deadline...
and that was before I fried brain cells with high fever and all the rest of it...
at least now I would have an excuse for such a lamebrained thought...
however, as I go through all this material I shall sift out that which is useful for L and for you Rainy and for anyone else here...
eventually I hope to put it and the other interview material into something that is helpful and read-worthy and pitch it to someone who wants to publish it...but never again a December deadline LOL
kat
Posted by rainy on November 28, 2004, at 18:07:03
In reply to Re: change of subject » rainy, posted by headachequeen on November 28, 2004, at 17:49:29
300 mgs
Posted by merry on November 28, 2004, at 18:50:44
In reply to Re: change of subject, posted by rainy on November 28, 2004, at 18:07:03
I am on 400mgs of topomax as well as 300mgs of wellbutrin. I haven't been very hungry for a long while but this past week I've been feeling pretty down in the dumps and I've been binging. Even when I don't really feel hungry I just want to eat to make myself feel better. I hate it.
merry
Posted by merry on November 28, 2004, at 18:52:58
In reply to Re: change of subject, posted by merry on November 28, 2004, at 18:50:44
I just noticed there is a new subject board just for "eating".
Posted by redscarlet on November 28, 2004, at 19:04:05
In reply to Re: change of subject » rainy, posted by headachequeen on November 28, 2004, at 17:49:29
Kat ~ Thank You for writing all that up about emotional eating.
I have an eating disorder, I have dealt with anorexia for many, many years.
I all most died from it in fact.
I have been obsessed about my weight all my late teen to adult life.
Your post really spoke to me. I have been doing some binge eating for the last three weeks and I don't know why.
I have a lot of stress in my life right now so I guess it's coming from that, however that is usually when I STOP eating !
This binge eating has me so stressed out. I've never done this before and I want it to stop and stop NOW.
I'm really feeling out of control. I don't know if I should ask my pdoc to increase my Zonegran or not, he doesn't know about my eating disorder. I don't know how he would deal with that. Some pdoc's don't care about your weight issues, they only want to treat your mental disorder, .....even though I guess the eating disorder is a mental disorder !?!?!
And just for the record, I have bipolar and OCD.
I have a good friend who also see my same pdoc and she has put on a lot of weight due to Lithium, and he want change her meds ! So I really don't feel like I can tell him what's going on with me for fear he would put me on some kind of weight gaining med, one of my biggest fears !
The Zonegran is a lot like Topamax and suppose to have the appetite suppressant side effect, however at the 200mg a day that I'm on I have not had that side effect, but it is a very good med for my bipolar. Next month makes a year that I've been on the Zonegran. I was on Topamax before the Zonegran for about two and half years.
Posted by redscarlet on November 28, 2004, at 19:09:07
In reply to Re: change of subject, posted by merry on November 28, 2004, at 18:52:58
Posted by headachequeen on November 28, 2004, at 21:17:25
In reply to Topamax/Zonegran eating disorder, posted by redscarlet on November 28, 2004, at 19:04:05
> Kat ~ Thank You for writing all that up about emotional eating.
> So I really don't feel like I can tell him what's going on with me for fear he would put me on some kind of weight gaining med, one of my biggest fears !
I am on three AEDs that they hope will eventually be balanced to control this chaos for a couple of years at which time the whole dance begins again ... and all three have an appetite suppressant side effect... one according to the warnings that accompany the first bottle of tablets "may" have appetite suppressant potential...
the other two, topomax being one of them of course, definitely are known to have suppressant capabilities.
Since I came home from hospital I have lost another five pounds...
and I am at a place where I really don't need to lose any more,and my husband and friends are at me constantly about my weight and about eating.
It is becoming an issue again, almost as great an issue as it was when I was an anorexic teen-ager and young adult...
most of the time I have no interest in food. Left to my own devices I can go a day or so and not realise that I have not eaten unless someone asks me if I have done so...
then Friday and Saturday of this week, I was hungry constantly... two meals each day and a sandwich around three a.m. Saturday morning; despite all these meds that suppress appetite and a disinterest in food, I was hungry...
actual hunger pangs in the case of early Saturday morning...
I don't know what it is... maybe the phase of the moon???
I do know that I have another seizure coming on, all the warnings are there for me, and now I wonder if that is connected...
you know, feed a fever and starve a cold or whatever that old adage was,
perhaps seizures need food to function too...but I think that we have to face the fact that these meds are not going to always be able to overcome our own drives 24 hours in ever seven days of the week....
One of my concerns here is the fear of being able to openly discuss a concern with a doctor for fear of being put on a med that will cause a problem be it weight gain or whatever...
we as patients should have a strong input into the situation...I remember being so relieved to know that my neurologist was not going to remove topomax from my protocol... I could not consider the possibility of a return to migraines or of weight gain that might ensue should I quit taking it...
then I remembered what I had read about so many other AEDs and the side effects they have...
and I would not consider taking them at all...followed by the thought that I have to have some consideration in all of this.
It is my body that has to deal with these chemicals, so I must have some say in what goes into my body...We are all too often in the position of feeling that we have to accept what ever is written on the prescription without question...
and I think that is wrong...
we have to be allowed input and we have to insist on some input. We may not have medical degrees and any great knowledge of pharmacology, but we have to live in these bodies and with the aftermath of these medications...
kat
Posted by stresser on November 28, 2004, at 22:28:22
In reply to Re: Topamax/Zonegran eating disorder » redscarlet, posted by headachequeen on November 28, 2004, at 21:17:25
Thanks everyone for the input on the topamax and therapist advice. After my daughter's seeing the same one for two years, we have decided to switch to another......I have to be an advocate for my childs mental health and will fight for her until I get what she deserves.
Kat....Thanks so much for the info you are gathering up for us....no hurry...we have time and will get it when you are ready. I'm sure it will help many of us.
It's really hard for me to reply to everything that has been posted because I can't seem to remember what everyone has said without looking back five or six times
Is 250mg on the topamax enough for appetite suppressant? I do know that empotional eating will not be stopped with that, but we are working on that with therapy.......Feel free to give advice....I always want your input. -L
Posted by HermanMunster on November 28, 2004, at 23:57:53
In reply to change of subject, posted by rainy on November 27, 2004, at 18:32:27
You need to reach an orgazam.
I prescribe you going out and getting a good lay.
Posted by linkadge on November 29, 2004, at 9:24:54
In reply to Re: change of subject, posted by HermanMunster on November 28, 2004, at 23:57:53
If sex=happiness then Americans would be some of the happiest people on earth.
Unfortunatley your logic is flawed
Linkadge
Posted by headachequeen on November 29, 2004, at 11:04:08
In reply to Re: Topamax/Zonegran eating disorder, posted by stresser on November 28, 2004, at 22:28:22
> Thanks everyone for the input on the topamax and therapist advice. After my daughter's seeing the same one for two years, we have decided to switch to another......I have to be an advocate for my childs mental health and will fight for her until I get what she deserves.
> Kat....Thanks so much for the info you are gathering up for us....no hurry...we have time and will get it when you are ready. I'm sure it will help many of us.
> It's really hard for me to reply to everything that has been posted because I can't seem to remember what everyone has said without looking back five or six times
> Is 250mg on the topamax enough for appetite suppressant? I do know that empotional eating will not be stopped with that, but we are working on that with therapy.......Feel free to give advice....I always want your input. -L
We have to be our own advocates for health, mental and physical... so this is the first and strongest step, L...
and 250 mg is a good step forward... but not enough from the information that is available...
400 mg is the usual dosage that seems to work for most people...
kat
Posted by rainy on November 29, 2004, at 13:18:57
In reply to Re: Topamax/Zonegran eating disorder » stresser, posted by headachequeen on November 29, 2004, at 11:04:08
Howcome the exact message that you posted last night shows up at the foot of these two last posts? Did you post it again, L ?
Posted by headachequeen on November 29, 2004, at 14:22:30
In reply to Re: Topamax/Zonegran eating disorder » headachequeen, posted by rainy on November 29, 2004, at 13:18:57
> Howcome the exact message that you posted last night shows up at the foot of these two last posts? Did you post it again, L ?
>Which two last posts???
I posted it only once that I know of...
kat
Posted by rainy on November 29, 2004, at 15:15:48
In reply to Re: Topamax/Zonegran eating disorder » rainy, posted by headachequeen on November 29, 2004, at 14:22:30
Sorry, I thought it was from Stresser. The posts from the guy from the Addams Family (sp?) and his responder.
L, I think I began losing weight at 225 mgs, but there were so many other variables in my life at that time that it's really hard to tell. I had broken my rib and was in pain and living on ice water so calories were already restricted.
I do gain weight when I eat more than I usually do, even on Topamax. Exercise and diet play a strong role in my experience of weight maintainence on this med. No free lunch for me.
rainy
Posted by stresser on November 29, 2004, at 17:06:52
In reply to Re: Topamax/Zonegran eating disorder, posted by rainy on November 29, 2004, at 15:15:48
I still don't understand the way these posting work half the time, and no, I didn't mean to post the same thing twice. I don't think I did? Who knows <ggggg>
Now...
Herman Munster:
I'm not trying to come off sounding rude or impolite, but I'm sure you were not refering to the topamax......I do think you may need to post your message on a different board. Dr. Bob may re-direct it that direction anyway.
As for the 400mg working best for most people, maybe the doc. will increase her dosage up higher in the future.....I just don't know if he knows how high she should go. -L
Posted by headachequeen on November 29, 2004, at 19:58:05
In reply to Re: Herman Munster and eating disorder/topamax/new, posted by stresser on November 29, 2004, at 17:06:52
> I still don't understand the way these posting work half the time, and no, I didn't mean to post the same thing twice. I don't think I did? Who knows <ggggg>
> Now...
> Herman Munster:
> I'm not trying to come off sounding rude or impolite, but I'm sure you were not refering to the topamax......I do think you may need to post your message on a different board. Dr. Bob may re-direct it that direction anyway.
> As for the 400mg working best for most people, maybe the doc. will increase her dosage up higher in the future.....I just don't know if he knows how high she should go. -Las for Herman munster, let's just ignore that whole issue... some people are better off ignored... they thrive on the attention their behaviour receives...
and if the only time they receive attention is when their behaviour is negative that suits them just fine...
better not to play into that game...
other times it is someone trying a blind test for a psych paper in college...
have seen that one a few times...
just ignore the child until it learns to behave properly --- recognise the proper behaviour and ignore the negative is the way they taught us to react back in child psych 101 <g>
kat
Go forward in thread:
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.