Trileptol

klmno

Active Member
psychiatrist just added this to the mix- he said lower the lithobid a little (which we just tried and went back up on), keep depakote as is (already a low dose) and add this. Is this an anti-psychotic? I think I've seen it listed in some members' posts.

Does anyone know about it- side effects, etc?

psychiatrist has mentioned a couple of times he thinks difficult child might also be adhd and starts to right prescription for something to address it- I always jump in to stop in and say just because he tests borderline on it doesn't mean he needs a sstim- which I'm afraid to give him due to his history with the prozac. And because I think what little signs there are af attention problems are more of a result of the mood disorder because they also come and go. Maybe I'm wrong- psychiatrist and I were both frazzled at the end of this appointment.

:bag:
 

Jena

New Member
hi

i don't know what the exact classification is on this one, yet i know it's also given to children who have epilipsy.

side effects can run from initial sleepiness, anxiety, or opposite insomnia weight gain stomach aches and nightmares. knew someone who had nightmares for two mos. on it.

yet as you know better than i everyone reacts differently

i'll see if i can find out classification. friend of mine sells drugs.....ok that didn't come out right he's a drug rep. LOL
 

klmno

Active Member
LOL- the LAST thing my difficult child needs is more trouble sleeping at night, more weight gain, nightmares, and sleepiness in school- are there any medications that don;'t casuse as many problems as they solve?:confused:
 

Jena

New Member
Trileptal
Trileptal is a medicine to treat partial seizures in adults. It is taken alone or with other seizure medicines. Trileptal is also used to help treat partial seizures in children 2-16 years old when added to other seizure medicines, or in children 4-16 years old when used alone.

Precautions for Trileptal
Some people taking Trileptal can get serious reactions, including:

Dizziness
Drowsiness
Abnormal thinking
Difficulty concentrating
Speech or language problems
Difficulty with coordination and walking
Trileptal can cause drowsiness. Do not drive a car or operate complex machinery until you know how Trileptal affects you.

Do not drink alcohol while you are taking Trileptal. Alcohol can increase the side effects of Trileptal.

Side Effects of Trileptal
Common side effects include:

Dizziness or vertigo
Drowsiness
Double vision or other vision problems
Feeling tired
Nausea
Vomiting
Coordination problems
Stomach pain
Tremor
Upset stomach
Headache
Problems with balance or walking



ok here's the info. he sent me link so i copied and pasted.

good luck
Jen :)
 

Steely

Active Member
Trileptal is a Mood Stabilizer and anti-seizure medication, similar to Depakote. He now would be on three mood stabilizers???? I would think psychiatrist would want to d/c one of them.

Trileptal is not an anti-psychotic..........that would be something like Seroquel, Zyprexa, Abilify, or Risperdal.

I think you did the right thing with refusing the stims, or SSRIs............but I would talk to psychiatrist again and get some clarification about adding a third mood stab unless you feel really confident about it. I would ask psychiatrist why would he is not adding an anti-psychiatric medication if he felt like he needed something else rather than a third mood stab.


by the way - What is going on with his mood? How is he doing?
 

Jena

New Member
i also asked him because he talks to doctor's when selling stuff. that's alot of medication's and usually this isn't thrown into the cocktail he has going on now.

id say be careful with it. clinical trials overall seems to be well tolerated once hits theraputic level but some have also experienced tics, etc. and the weight gain seems to be big even though not listed.

doctor's ummm.........what's the magic word for today stink?? LOL

jen
 

Steely

Active Member
OH yea...........and FWIW...........this medication, although maybe unusual, caused my kiddo to have the worst manic break, ever! He was out of his little mind with over the top violence. My psychiatrist at the time told me that was highly unusual - none the less - it happened, and I thought I would share.

Good luck.
 

klmno

Active Member
Thanks, Jennifer- I appreciate the info!

WW: In Oct. difficult child was switched from 1200 mg og lithium to 900 mg of lithobid due to the other making him be sick at his stomach about all the time (vomiting/diareahea-sp) for 3 weeks. Depakote was also added. The psychiatrist oon the MDE team recommended adding prozac back to the lithobid, instead of a second mood stabilizer. We didn't go that route. difficult child was depressed at the time due to justifiable reasons and his grades went from A's and B's to D's and F's in Oct. Well, this medication change helped with some things, but grades are still as bad, and there are the side effects of weight gain, and bad acne. Along with that, it almost seems like the medication advantage is "wearing off" a little- it's not as effective as it was. The depakote - he's only on 500 mg a day and has a blood level of 69, but can't go up on it because when we tried 750 mg/day, difficult child looked like an absolute madman by the third day and I really beleived he had no control over anything he was saying or doing- it was worse than any rage I'd seen in him and I've never seen his eyes look that wild. So, I dropped that dose back down immediately.

psychiatrist told me to watch for the same thing in the trilptol and lower his dose immediately if I saw this reaction to it. I had asked him today, in desparation, if there was not another mood stabilizer that might be more effective without killing him academicly. That's when he mentioned ADHD again and I reponded to that negatively. When he wrote this prescription, he said go back down on the lithobid- so I tend to think the plan would be to increase trileptol and keep decreasing lithobid.

The lithobid takes the edge off his inability to control raging- in a very successful way (remember the trumpet incident?) and it keeps him from staying awake almost 24 hours. The depakote has been successful with the inability to sit still and EXCESSIVE talking, althoough he's been doing that the past 2 days. (That might be a result of getting to go to a hockey game with "guys" last night- which is rare for him- and not getting enough sleep last night)

Oh- one of his tell-tale signs for depression is bending paper clips. From holidays until spring break is his worst period- so I've watched for this. I haven't had to look hard- I don't find bent paper clips this time, but he is hoarding paper clips. He's never had signs of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), but when I do laundry and check his pockets, I pull out handfuls of paper clips from the pockets of pants he has worn to school. He's not bending them- so what does this mean?
 

Jena

New Member
hi

my daugther was diagnosed with BiPolar (BP), anxiety disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) adn something else i can't remeber. anyway she used to collect garbage in her closet. she liked certain things, her fascination was paper towel thingies and toilet paper roll things. orange juice containers if she couldnt get her hands on that stuff. they usually pick one thing and hoard that when they get stressed its an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) thing.

is he upset about germs at all, she has germ issues, expiration dates are constantly checked she makes lists of things, she circles spots on her bed at night when she goes to sleep i asked her why?? she said it makes me feel better don't know why but the circle gets dirty and then i start a new one again. just a few.......have you ever seen those behaviors??

yes and i do remember triumphant episode.....

jen
 

klmno

Active Member
No- he's had no Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) signs, exactly- he first started bending paper clips at school in 4th grade when teachers started embarressing him in front of clsss and saying hurtful things to him. I thought it was an anxiety thing- psychiatrists say they don't see signs of anxiety, but it runs in my family and I believe, and always will, that is how it started. Anyway, in certain cycles he goes on cleaning sprees, but he has no germ issue (trust me on this one- have to remind him to wash hands, hair, brush teeth, etc). No signs of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) so far- but the paper clip thing might be turning into it. He's heard me tell psychiatrist about me watching for signs of bending them (does when,. and only when, he's got depression issues- there are other signs that go with it but this is his first clue). Maybe he's trrying to make himself "not" bend them, so he's "collecting" them. He told me he asks for one or a few from each teacher he has in school.
 

klmno

Active Member
He never seems to be very intouch with what is going on with his moods- or at least he won't admit it and talk about it. Except, when he was not on any medications last summer for about 6 weeks, he told me and psychiatrist that he noticed he had periods where he didn't feel pain normally, he couldn't sit still, he talked a lot, he had to be moving- he also said he thought he was bipolar 1.
 

Jena

New Member
i'm not sure see rin my difficult child is more secretive she is embarrassed about collecting garbage. could it be also that he overheard you speak of it to the doctor like you said.

i dont' think i'd be overally concerned right now, watch his closets though or places he likes to hide stuff in for other objects. they usually are just fascinated with jsut one object and they collect it when their very stressed. he sounds so smart he actually said bipolar 1 wow....

ok i'll write more tmrw my little one fell asleep on me adn i'm starting to see double......lol

sleep well
jen
 
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