Fear of Meds / Bi-polar & Epilepsy

[bamboon420]

I joined this forum because I've had epilepsy, due to AVM surgery, for ~5 years and recently have been told by neurologists and psychologist that I am bi-polar and that I need to see a psychiatrist. I'm so confused... are the two related?

I can't believe this is happening... I'm still not able to cope with my epilepsy in an open manner and teeter too much on the hopeless side along with embarrassment....

There is also an overwhelming fear to take more meds or switch around my meds to find that "balance"..... 2 weeks after my son was born over a year ago I experienced an overdose of Lamictal. Scared the living daylights out of me. For one... I was awake during the seizure... never happened before... and my limbs were flinging everywhere... I was screaming for help and a slew of obscenities... I was slumped over for 3 hours in waiting rooms for tests and such... I thought my luck had finally run out, but then I woke up out of that as if you would never have guessed I went through the whole ordeal. My doctor was out of town and the neurologist I went to see while this was all happening told me that I was extremely lucky that I was still alive. He immediately cut my meds down dramatically.

SO... although I have other issues in regards to self-esteem my largest problem is FEAR. Fear of taking extra meds. I realize that with a trained professional my fears should not be as intense. I just can't help it.

Is there anyone out there who is just too scared to take more meds and end up making up all sorts of excuses so that they can skip appointments? If so, how do you psych yourself into following through with treatment?

[Bernard]

Hi bamboon420, welcome to the forum.

Have a look at the Connection-Bipolar/Epilepsy thread.

As far as a fear of meds, my wife has never liked taking meds, but I'm not sure the reason could be ascribed to fear. She had rational objections to the damage they do to her liver and to side effects as well as an irrational objection rooted in non-acceptance of her epilepsy (in my opinion).

Lately, she has overcome the irrational - accepting that she has epilepsy and needs to be proactive in handling it versus burying her head in the sand. She also has accepted that any long term liver damage is way more preferable to near term disabilities/death due to seizures.

[bdkelly]

Hi. I'm new around here, but I have experience taking lots of meds. I have depression. OCD, cirrhosis and frontal lobe seizures. I take meds for them all. My liver doctor wasn't happy about me taking Lamictal (it's processed through the liver), but said if necessary to go ahead and take it. When you go see your psychiatrist and he/she puts you on meds, go to crazymeds.org or .com. The guy who runs the site has bipolar and some sort of seizure disease. All the meds are listed there, even anti-convulsants. He gives a lot of really good information on there. You should check it out.

Denise

[POSITIVEPERSON]

Hi Bamboon and Welcome to the board ,Nice Meeting You. I am the alternative med guru here and to protect my liver I did two things for the past 26 yrs . I regualry went for acupuncture to tune up my liver and kidneys from the meds I took and I took herbs to heal my liver.
You can also try a naturpath Dr who will suggest a mud pack to cleanse your liver ,along with other herbs.

If your more daring you can see a homeopathy Dr for the epilepsy and bipolar disease.
If you would like infor on homeopathy or the Gard diet feel free to PM .
Wishing you a life free of szs and depression and fear!!!!!!!

Riva

[brain]

Bamboon!

Glad to have you here!

You might want to read my posting
to Connie here:


Dealing With Fear

This will give you some peace of mind!

[Zoe]

Hi Bamboon,
I had an AVM too, along with drug resistant seizures and a long ago misdiagnosis of bipolar-thrown out more than twenty years ago. Your fears may not be misplaced. High homocysteine levels can lead to the symptoms labeled bipolar. One very good resource on the web is Safe Harbor:
http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/
There you may also get help locating a doctor in your area who can help you who is not into pushing drugs. You may also want to check out Peter Breggin's book, "Your Drug may be Your Problem," and his web site. http:
//www.breggin.com
Seizures can cause "psyche symptoms" and all kinds of metabolic imbalances can lead to both. So you may want to look at some other possible causes of your symptoms rather than think it is "in your head".
Did your seizures start after you had your AVM removed? I got spinal meningitis a few weeks later, complication of the my first brain surgery (1982) and then the seizures became intractable. I have been seizure free without drugs since July of 1998. Mood fluctuationws including panic, and depression are well recognized symptoms of partial seizures, so do consider this as well. These can also result from nutritional deficiencies and metabolic disturbances. So there may be a lot you can do for yourself and there's a lot of support for you hear and at the web sites mentioned. You are not alone!