The Trileptal is working!

JKF

Well-Known Member
easy child/difficult child has been on Trileptal for 3 weeks now bc the psychiatrist suspects he has a mood disorder and not ADHD. Everyone around him can see a clear difference in his demeanor lately since he started this medication. He seems.....happy. And he isn't arguing back nearly as much as he was. The focus and organization are still iffy at best but he's really trying. He's actually making an effort to bring home homework and keep track of things. And that alone makes me want to drop to my knees and praise the lord! lol

We saw the psychiatrist yesterday and she decided to increase the Trileptal from 150 mg to 300 mg and decrease the Vyvanse from 70 mg to 40 mg. I'm a little nervous about the decrease in Vyvanse because he's been on it so long and I don't want him to get worse with the focus and organization. She's convinced though that at this point the Vyvanse is doing him more harm than good. We shall see. The good thing is that he can go right back on a stimulant if needed so I guess it's worth a try.
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Yaaaayyyy!
I know the feeling!
Unfortunately, our saving grace, lithium, turned out to be something that difficult child couldn't tolerate long-term. We are hoping for a new scrip Monday. MaybeI should suggest trileptal? We got so many compliments on difficult child at Christmastime; they said he was like a new person. Conversational, happy. Or at least, not obviously moody. :)
I like that the dr is cutting down your difficult child's other medication. Any time you can do that, it's better long term, at the very least for liver and kidney function, but also for neurological issues and appetite. I hope it works out for you!
Fingers crossed.
 

JKF

Well-Known Member
Thanks Terry! The doctor said that the Trileptal has less side effects then some of the classic bipolar medications so that's why she started him with that one. So far easy child/difficult child is adjusting to it beautifully! He's a little tired but I'll take tired over a hyper, surly difficult child any day! lol

Like I said I'm a little nervous about her decreasing the stimulant but we'll deal with that when and if a problem arises.

I would definitely at least ask your son's psychiatrist about the Trileptal. It's worth a shot. I hope everything works out!!!
 

JKF

Well-Known Member
Thanks HaoZi! There is definitely a huge difference in his behavior. He's much more pleasant to be around. He's still annoying but he IS 12 so I don't think there's anything I can do about that. I'm just glad that for once something seems to be making a difference!
 

HaoZi

CD Hall of Fame
Storm hit 1800mgs a day when she was 10 and that was just too big a dose for her little body to handle, it was making her sick, so she had to switch to tegretol instead at that point. It's similar though it takes less and has a little higher side effect profile. If he outgrows trileptal that would be the next medication to try I think.
 

lmf64

New Member
Trileptal worked for difficult child. The only thing I see is changing more than one medication/dosage at a time, it's hard to tell what is doing what.
 
I'm glad to hear trileptal is helping your easy child/difficult child! difficult child 1 had excellent results while on trileptal. The psychiatrist gradually increased the dosage and added an antipsych to the mix. However, the psychiatrist waited awhile before adding the antipsych. I don't remember how long he waited before adding it - My memory is foggy this morning.

Keeping my fingers crossed you continue to notice positive changes in your easy child/difficult child.... SFR

P.S. difficult child 1 had an excellent psychiatrist and husband and I totally trusted him. He also told us that trileptal has less side effects then other bipolar drugs.
 

IT1967

Member
I am curious - can you tell me if the Trileptal has the horrible weight gain SE's as Risperdal and those types of medications? Thx
 

IT1967

Member
Thanks HaoZi. At least I have a different medication to ask my psychiatrist about because I am really hating the weight gain stuff from the Risperdal. Storm seems to have some similar issues to mine, so maybe that's a medication to consider. I appreciate the response.
 

HaoZi

CD Hall of Fame
Yes, she used trileptal, and she's on tegretol now, which also doesn't have weight gain issues. The Abilify can, but the Topamax she's on for anxiety counteracts that.
 

buddy

New Member
So happy to hear you are having success. I usually ask to make one change at a time so you know what works or doesn't work but you can sort it out if something seems worse. We went down on Q's stimulant this year and he really is (in general) less irritated all of the time. Does get more impulsive but people seem to be able to deal with that more than the crabby, easy to set off stuff.
 

PTSDmama

New Member
trileptal and wellbutrin were my daughter's saving graces after her suicide attempt. not only did they work without dulling her mind, but neither drug caused weight gain (a BIG deal for a teen girl!). combined with twice-weekly therapy sessions and a monthly psychiatrist visit to monitor the medications, she was almost back to normal.

there is no relief like seeing your kid come back from the edge. so glad you found something that works. =)
 

JKF

Well-Known Member
So it's been about a week since the Trileptal increased and the Vyvanse decreased and easy child/difficult child is doing wonderfully. He was a little hyper the first couple of days after the Vyvanse decrease but he's definitely more pleasant to be around and believe it or not his memory is better now. He's remembering homework and remembering to write down assignments, etc. Hmmmm. I'm scared to get tooo excited but YAY!
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Ohhh, that's so good to hear/read!!!! I hope it continues. It makes everyone so hopeful and even joyful. Fingers crossed.
 

Californiablonde

Well-Known Member
So glad to hear the Trileptal is working. It was difficult child's wonder drug too. We had to add a little Geodon to the mix to make her completely stable, but the Trileptal definitely did it's part to stabilize her too. Hoping it continues to work. Way To Go!
 
Top