Long time'a lurkin, first time showing my face

[Tylervr6]

Hey y'all,

I have been lurkin on for the past few months and finally created a name, mainly was waiting for all my brain studies to come back. Breif history about myself- Going into the law enforcement community as a career, but most importantly find myself here as I suffered a loss to one of my twin nephews and negleted to do anything about the anxiety/depression. Nearly a year later when the symptoms brought me so far down daily I had to see my doctor. March I was prescribed Lexapro, and in May Effexor.....The downside is both SSRI and SNRI meds have brought seizures into my life, Tonic Clonic, and have had 6-7 of them known for sure. My neurologist says I do not have epilepsy, but some type or brain disorder.
Other then that, I am an Ulcerative Collitis and Anxiety carrier but try to focus myself on helping others and being an assistance to my family through the tradgedy above- Just being the shoulder someone can use to lean on. Thanks for reading, looking forward to chatting eith other members

[epileric]

The people here are great as far as getting good information & good support goes. Others should be by soon as well.


Sorry to hear that your meds caused you seizures. Is there any way to replace them with other types of therapies? You might want to look around the site & see what other therapies there are for seizures since it'd probably be best for you to keep them to a minimum (if possible). http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/...ive-treatments
You might want to talk to RobinN (or check her posts) as she has experience with Neurofeedback, something I'd love to try when (if) ever I can afford it.

Meanwhile get comfy, have your complimentary cup of coffee & check out all the corners of the site.

[Tylervr6]

Hey Jackie,

I wanted to thank you for the welcoming to the site, warmful greetin's help a bunch. I am off the SSRI/SNRI meds for good, and should be out of my system by now. I will definitely look around and see what I can find to help, I am on Keppra currently but it flares my Collitis. Anyone else on here have anxiety or depression symptoms too? Just curious if anyone does and what helps them as a side note

-Tyler

PS- I'll definitely be cruising around here with my Chamomile teas

[epileric]

I was on Keppra but I found I got a lot of side-effects, many of them emotional ones that did contribute to anxiety. I"m not on it anymore but A lot of people here use vitamine B6 specifically for the anger (kepprage) that it can cause.

I've never handled anxiety well & am prone to depression. I did try cognitive behavioural therapy which seemed like a good way of making one aware of their emotions & dealing with them. Problem for me was after falling into a bit of a depression I forgot all that we did & kept procrastinating (as I always do when depressed) at looking at the CBT notes. It still might be worth looking into & seeing if you feel it would help you.

Anti-Epileptic drugs are known to cause depression, there are a few discussions re. that here http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/...epression.html

Hope that helps.
By the way........ who's Jackie?

[BuckeyeFan]

Welcome to CWE -



Epileric - Jackie Mason on your quote line.

[epileric]

Epileric - Jackie Mason on your quote line.

Ooooohhhhh, IC now , some things aren't that obvious to me at 3 AM

[Cornczech]

your mention of taking SSRI/SSNI drugs and seizure activity struck a note with me. Aged 42, female...been on a myriad of those kinds of drugs in my life...and I am a non-compliant patient as I HATE to take medications.....so far, since March, I have had 3 tonic clonic seizures....failed at 3 anti-seizure meds...and as all seizures have been at or near full moon, (at that point as I type....just past a full moon) I am a little nervous right now as I am medication free except for my estrogen, (hyster 44 years ago)

good luck to you

[horsehead]

I have anxiety too. I'm taking lexapro and keppra as well. I also take meds for high blood pressure,asthma,and a bladder problem. I'm only 33 and falling apart it seems. If I dont take the meds i cant even function , though i dont know how well i function with them either. Just letting you know you are not alone but i dont know how to help.

[Tylervr6]

Well, in a weird way I feel positive emotionally to know that I am not the only one with the combination of seizures and depression or anxiety. I wish both the best for the above posted though, as for now I go to have my blood drawn for a Keppra level check tomorrow and am going to get a referral for a spych assistance, and find an anti-depress med to help me out.....because I am rock bottom right now

-Tyler

[Nakamova]

There have been studies that show that folks with epilepsy have a higher rate of depression than the general population. They don't know whether one causes the other, or they reinforce each other. Probably a little of both. Epilepsy can be depressing, and epilepsy medications can cause depression too, so I guess the deck is stacked against us that way.

[jimijimenez]

it can take sometime for diagnosis, and then for proper treatment., and this takes persistence. Im actually in a study now on anxiety and epilepsy. One thing Id have to say is gabapentin has been a godsend as an add on, my anxiety it much more manageable, I feel more social and less bi-polar and have fewer fits. Also anxiety and epilepsy or often correlated, and fixing the epilepsy can often help the anxiety.I know the feeling.. thinking of you.
Jim.

[Tylervr6]

Hmmm, sounds promising! Now that is a non SSRI type med correct? Just curious, I have appointments to my neurologist and Primairy Doc here in the next week, want to get my money's worth when i get in

[RobinN]

Be careful to jump onto something that works for one person. That same drug cause suididal tendencies in my daughter at the age of 14. She had not behaved this way before or since off that drug. The top 11 drugs have a warning for this.

Choosing alternatives has been the best course of action for us.

[Eve]

Sorry to hear about your problems.

I took Lexpro once and it gave me panic attacks. I just started on Zoloft.Wish me luck. I have partial sezures in my sleep and I am thinking that this whole mess has caused me to need an anti depressant

Sorry for your problems Tyler and good luck with your Law enforcment Career. I am trying to go back to work as a Bookkeeper but I need to get these head problems straight ed out first.

[Tylervr6]

From what the neurologist and my primary doc has said, the Keppra will be the best on my body, main side effect is it seems to kick in my anxiety/depression to another level, and without meds other then Clonazepam to help....It's tough :/

[Tylervr6]

Ahhh I haven't updated this well, fealt that it was time. Finally have a few referrals to see a psych doctor, as I definitely feel really depressed on a daily basis now, and have no tools or meds to really deal with it.....Nothing seems to make me happy anymore, and need to start seeing professional help asap :/

-Tyler

[BuckeyeFan]

Hey Tyler,

First, don't take anything you hear on CWE as professional advice, always get that from your doctors. However, we can pass on some pointers from our own experiences.

Take this all one day at a time and if that is too hard some days break it down to getting through the morning, then the afternoon, and so on. Don't look at it as an overwhelming task to face the rest of your life. You will get through this stage.

Depression is not easy and the cure seems to be different for everyone. The fact that you recognize it so well is a plus. You know what you are fighting.

Take care of yourself physically as well. Exercise and physical labor relieve a lot of stress in the body. I myself play a lot of BB and work in the garden.

Later,
Buckeye

[Bernard]

... the Keppra will be the best on my body, main side effect is it seems to kick in my anxiety/depression to another level, ...

... I definitely feel really depressed on a daily basis now, and have no tools or meds to really deal with it...

You might try some Vitamin B6 supplements. Talk to your doctors about it.

[Eve]

Bernard: thanks for the link to vitamin B.

I think I will increase my Vitamin B complex to 200.

I think it's a good thing I started on the zoloft too, just today after 3 weeks I can finally feeling it start to help me. The keppra was making me feel edgy and I even called the Dr about it but they didn't seem to care. I am not really that crazy about my DR.

But at least the keppra is stopping the seizures and i think it is actually doing a better job stopping the seizures than the Cabatrol did.

[Bernard]

Be aware that too much B6 can interfere (or reduce the effectiveness) of the Keppra (and potentially any other anti-epileptic drugs you are taking). I'd suggest finding a B6 specific supplement instead of a complex if you are taking it for this purpose. Too much of some of the other B vitamins could cause other problems. Talk to your doctors and keep a journal/diary of what you are doing to track how it's working (or not - as the case may be).