Drugs, anxiety attacks, doctors and am I crazy?

[Jackiehend]

When I came home from the hospital after my first seizures I was on Dilantin. Within a day I became very agitated, started to have a racing heart and wanted to crawl into a closet and not come out. We called the dr who said I must have been like this before and it wasn't related to the seizures. (Absolutely never happened in my life). We switched dr's who changed me to Lamictal. I still had the panic attacks along with terrible fits of temper and suicidal thoughts. Again I told the dr and was blown off. After a year this eventually stopped.
The dr retired so I found a new one. I had an increase in seizures so the dosage was raised twice in four months. I started to have strange things happen like stabbing pains and the feelings of facial numbness and swelling. (They decided no stroke). The medicine was raised two more times and the symptoms got worse
I decided it was time to find a new dr. I did a lot of research and picked the top rated one in the city. It took 10 weeks to get an appt. I was seen 2 weeks ago. After I went thru my history she felt my problems were the Lamictal so she was going to gradually replace it with Topomax. 7 days into it per her instructions my dosage was already cut from 500mg per day to 400 mg per day.
I started having anxiety attacks. They are getting worse so I called yesterday. I finally got a call back today and was told it had nothing to do with the one fifth reduction in the medication in 7 days and I should go to the emergency room because it was an anxiety attack.
I am to the point where I am starting to believe I am the crazy one. Has anyone else had these types of problems with the Medes and the dosage changes?

 

[walkerjm3]

So you're saying you've never had any problems with anxiety in the past?

 

[Cint]

Hi Jackiehend,

Since you sought out the top dr. in your city, is this a neurologist or an epileptologist (a dr. specializing in seizures)? Either way the dr. should know that anxiety often times does accompany epilepsy, either from the meds or the seizures themselves. This website explains it more: http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/impact/moods-and-behavior/mood-and-behavior-advanced/anxiety-disorders

You are not crazy. Many that suffer from E also have anxiety and mood disorders. I've had some bad depressive episodes due to changes in meds over the years, so NO, you are not the only one who suffers from this. Keep searching for a dr. if this one does not hear you. Good luck.

 

[Belinda5000]

I've found out just because a doc is an epileptologist doesn't mean squat!
Epileptologist aren't so great and I'm proof and I've been to some of the supposed best.
Some still weren't able to determine what was going on with me, but my neuro did know right away when some of these specialist didn't.

 

[Jackiehend]

No, I never had any sort of anxiety problem. It started the day after I came home from the hospital. The switch from Dilantin to Lamictal helped to control those but then I started with thoughts of hurting myself. It took over a year for everything to stop so I assume my body adjusted. Between July and January my meds were raised fron 200 mg per day to 500 mg per day. The first adjustment was fine but after the second I started having strange things happen. I would get 4 or 5 sharp pains in my head(never the same place) and that area would start to tingle. For example if I had them in forehead my cheek would go numb and my eye would feel swollen and I would blink until it stopped. ( I did go to the emergency room once and it was not a stroke ). I would go back to the dr and he would increase the meds and it would get worse. I didn't realize the episodes increased with the meds until my husband pointed it out. In discussions with the last dr and my brief talk with the new dr yesterday both quickly said u r having anxiety attacks let me give u something. I have started to doubt myself and my feelings that it can't be a coincidence that when the meds change so does something in me. I joined hoping to find someone else who might have had reactions to the drugs similar to mine.

 

[Jackiehend]

I also called 4 different pharmacists and gave the starting dosages, reduction amounts, and my panic attack feelings and all four said I should call my dr immediately. When I told them I called twice and was blown off none could believe it. They all said that was a huge drop and some people can't handle it.
I decided to take it back up to 450mg for another week or 2 then drop it to 400mg and see what happens. Each time I lower the dosage I will add in the 25mg of Topomax she prescribed and hopefully that will solve the problem and I can get off of Lamictal permanently

 

[Penny]

Have any done blood workup to find your seizure med levels? I had never had this done either until April this year when admitted to the hospital. My levels were to high. They immediately lowered them and put me on a VERY low dose of klonopin. Talk about feeling better than the last couple years! Oh, my meds that they lowered were trileptal and lamictal (I had been on 300mgs 2xs daily, now on 100 mgs 2xs daily). Hope all goes well for you soon!