Background info - I was diagnosed around the age of 13 with TLE, absences and photosensitive (those darn commodore 64's!) Was put on tegretol it made things worse (no surprise there) then switched to depakote. I struggled with depression throughout my teenage years, it was only when I switched meds when the subject of children came up that I realised that it was the depakote that was doing it. Went back to tegretol for the pregnancies and dealt with the absences/petit mal, switched back to depakote afterwards, then put my foot down and demanded a change.
I was put on to Lamictal. It worked great! no major depression, was controlling things, I wasn't too great on details like what day of the week it was, but hey, I wasn't sitting in a corner crying so that was good! Then after about 6 yrs migraines kicked in big style and the lamictal began to stop working. 2 Grand Mal's later and it's time for a med change again. The doctor suggested keppra starting at 2x500 per day. I've been through enough titrations of various meds (AED and AD's) so I told him no and that I wanted to go slower.
At the start it was weird, almost like being high! I felt good, was giggling over silly stuff. Boy did that soon disappear. As I lowered my lamictal things got worse and worse.
It's been 2 months now since I first started keppra, I've been off lamictal since New Years Eve. Epilepsy wise, things seem good, no seizures. Mentally I'm a train wreck. The anger, the spitefulness, the depression, the tiredness, everything. I'm only on 1000 per day and I'm a monster.
I started B6 vitamins (100mg twice a day) which seemed to help at first, but then my period hit and I descended into another big black hole that I can't seem to get out of. I'm waiting on a delivery of a B complex and a couple of other vitamins I'm hoping might help, but I feel genuinely awful, I hate myself and everyone around me.
Is there any hope with this drug? Will my body adjust? or is this it...? If this is it I need to change, and I'm not entirely sure what to. I'm almost tempted to suggest adding lamictal again in the hope it will lift me a little.
I was put on to Lamictal. It worked great! no major depression, was controlling things, I wasn't too great on details like what day of the week it was, but hey, I wasn't sitting in a corner crying so that was good! Then after about 6 yrs migraines kicked in big style and the lamictal began to stop working. 2 Grand Mal's later and it's time for a med change again. The doctor suggested keppra starting at 2x500 per day. I've been through enough titrations of various meds (AED and AD's) so I told him no and that I wanted to go slower.
At the start it was weird, almost like being high! I felt good, was giggling over silly stuff. Boy did that soon disappear. As I lowered my lamictal things got worse and worse.
It's been 2 months now since I first started keppra, I've been off lamictal since New Years Eve. Epilepsy wise, things seem good, no seizures. Mentally I'm a train wreck. The anger, the spitefulness, the depression, the tiredness, everything. I'm only on 1000 per day and I'm a monster.
I started B6 vitamins (100mg twice a day) which seemed to help at first, but then my period hit and I descended into another big black hole that I can't seem to get out of. I'm waiting on a delivery of a B complex and a couple of other vitamins I'm hoping might help, but I feel genuinely awful, I hate myself and everyone around me.
Is there any hope with this drug? Will my body adjust? or is this it...? If this is it I need to change, and I'm not entirely sure what to. I'm almost tempted to suggest adding lamictal again in the hope it will lift me a little.