From Clonazepam to Lyrica

[nicholas:)]

I take 800mg of Tegretol - 600mg at night and 200mg am so my seizures remain at 5 a month. How do you get on with dilantin?

 

[Fedup]

Nicholas, You take care and be safe, keep letting us know how you are doing

 

[jyearta]

I take 800mg of Tegretol - 600mg at night and 200mg am so my seizures remain at 5 a month. How do you get on with dilantin?

I was put on dilantin and Phen. by the 1st. neur. I saw back in 1971, then in 2004 my FP said she would take care of my E. and that she wanted to put on a medic. that dilantin was a old medic.
I was still having seiz. and they were getting worse, so I agree--and that is when everything down hill.
I don't have my list in front me, but she tried several medic. that only caused me to have more seiz. and more sever.
I finally ASKED for a Neur. who put on Keppra, that was the worse medic. of all.
I then went back to my old Neur. and gave him my list of medic. and he put me back on dilantin along with the clonaze.
My new neur. said she too wanted to try new medic. and take me off dilantin, after the 4th medic. she put me back on dilantin.

Sorry, for this long reply.

I so hope the best for you and hope you get a good night sleep.

Keep us posted.

 

[nicholas:)]

Thank you - for a good reply. Yes, I will keep you updated

 

[Elsie]

How are you doing? I hate these meds. Mine works but I have side effects,I guess or maybe I am crazy a little. I hope the new combo works for you. Cyber hugs.

 

[nicholas:)]

Yes, we all seem to get the side effects. I'm half way there at the moment - not off of the Clonazepam and not on a 'good' dose of Pregabalin. I'm on meds three times a day and I was on meds four times a day - this has me clock watching because I become anxious during the day. I'm getting up late so I can take my morning pills lunch time, my afternoon pills tea time and my bed time pills as normal. I've only had one seizure during the change and it was so odd and different to my normal ones that I cannot begin to explain it.

See doctor 20th Aug for increase in Pregabalin and a further decrease in Clonazepam.

 

[julie wishes]

This thread has been incredibly helpful. Thanks to all for your honest and lengthy responses. Its never too much. Nick, hang in there. . You ARE so strong. You can do this.

 

[nicholas:)]

Thank you Juls.

Bad day I'm afraid. Little sleep last night so I napped this afternoon and had 3 (a cluster) of partials. I had a partial on the 7th so the meds change is effecting me at the end of the second week. The trouble is I'm coming off of a good dose of 'c' and starting a low dose of 'p'. I'm very anxious too. I don't see the doctor until 20th - not long one would think but I cannot wait that long, I'll be frantic by then. I'm going to add another 25mg of 'p' to my morning dose to take it to 50mg. That way I may manage until my afternoon dose of 25mg and evening dose of 50mg taken with 2mg of 'c'.

Should I keep all of this private? I don't know. The GP told me she can take me up to 300mg for my seizures and up to 600mg for my GAD (general anxiety disorder). She intends to do this slowly to see what is the best dosage for me. I guess I'm 'missing' my Clonazepam. I don't know how I am reacting to the low dose of Pregabalin because I'm feeling the withdrawal effects of the Clonazepam.

 

[julie wishes]

Ya, the med changes are not easy. Hard to say whether to keep it private or not. I know what you mean. Helps us if you keep us informed, but not following MD script is also not right... technically You know your body better than anyone. I'm sure your feeling some sort of withdrawal. If you stay strong you will get past that. How the new meds affect you is another question. Its either be uncomfortable and wait this out or adjust slightly so you can make it through this next week. Nick we are pulling for you. Take good care hun.

 

[Dolores]

Nicholas,
I'm thinking you should tell your doctor, based on my own experience. I recently had problems with Dilantin side-effects, finally realizing that I was overdosing when I started being seriously out of balance. So I first got a blood test for my Dilantin level then looked over my history of dosage levels to determine what dose I could lower myself to yet not put myself in danger of a seizure.

When I saw my doctor the next week I was afraid to tell him what I had done - sounds too much like self-medicating. But when I explained everything that had been happening to me and how i felt it was all due to Dilantin overdosing, he listened and understood and told me I had done the right thing. We then discussed what dosage I should be on. He has me a little lower than I would have gone but we are watching my blood tests and my levels are still fine. Best thing is that the side-effects have quieted down and some have gone away.

I told my doctor what I did because I did not want to "act afraid" of my doctor.
I didn't change my dosage just because I wanted to; I had good reason and made the logical change based on my prior history.
I see you as being in a similar situation. As Julie says, you know you best. If your doctor wasn't on vacation you could talk to her sooner. But she is so you have to logically determine the best thing to do for you. As long as you track the changes and how it affects you then by the 20th you will be able to let her know your reactions. Add to all this the fact that she intends on increasing it anyway.

In the end you know your relationship with your doctor best so this is just my own :twocents: based on my experience.

Whatever you choose to do, I really do hope everything works out for you!

 

[nicholas:)]

Thank you both. I know technically I should not self medicate but she has been fine in the past re antidepressants. I think 25mg, in this instance, is such a small dose. I think I would benefit from this 'small' change. See how I feel tomorrow, I may have the willpower to wait till the 20th.

 

[Dolores]

I started wondering if the term "self medicate" actually applies in your case and mine so I tried to find the medical meaning of the term. Webster's dictionary has it as

Definition of SELF-MEDICATION: medication of oneself especially without the advice of a physician

More interesting was the information by the World Health Organization on self medication

Self-medication, despite its negative outlook by some, is regarded as an important component of primary health care. It is a common practice even in places where health professionals are easily accessible. Self medication gets enhanced with increasing literacy and it is even encouraged so as to have self-reliance for curative, preventive, promotive and rehabilitative care.1 If practiced correctly, it may save expenses of health care seekers.

They are talking about over the counter drugs but it is also relevant to both your situation and mine. Neither of us are choosing to take (or not take) a medicine not prescribed by our doctors. We are under physicians care yet find ourselves in situations where we can not contact our doctors. And so we do what we believe our doctors would have us do had we been able to contact them.
Therefor there is no reason to feel ashamed about it or hide it from our respective doctors. In fact I now even more strongly believe that I am an important part of my health care. I know what is happening to me. I understand Dilantin and it's effect on me. And armed with that knowledge I feel prepared to make a short term decision regarding the dosage and then discuss it with my doctor as soon as I can see him.

I believe that you are in a similar situation, Nicholas, and would not be self-medicating (in a negative sense of the term) if you decide to take the extra Pregabalin - especially since you've already discussed that with your doctor.

Not sure if that helps you but I know it helped me to get a better understanding of what self-medicating actually means from a medical point of view.

Now if I can only understand where the Scamp took Silat

 

[nicholas:)]

Thank you Dolores - some good research there. I was worried about the term 'drug abuse'. Clearly I would (and you) not abuse the medication. It's such a minor increase for eight more days, and it's my GP's intention to increase the dosage on the 20th. I'm sure the increase shall be beneficial as clearly I'm anxious and taking a step backwards instead of forwards.

Thank you

 

[jyearta]

I think you are handling this very well, I also think you are right in increaseing Pregebalin. Having said that, be careful going through withdrawals might make it hard to make the right decision.

Is someone with you? I hope you don't mind me asking.

How much clonaze. were you on to begin with?

Just from what I've gone through, I had to adjust meds. for my sake.
I told my Dr. the next day, and they said I did the right thing.

As someone early said no one knows your body more than you do.

Pulling for you.

 

[nicholas:)]

Thank you jyearta.

I took the extra 25mg of Pregabalin this morning and feel much less anxious today.
I have a lady friend who pops in most days so no worries there. I was on 4mg of Clonazepam at night and 0.5 three times a day - 5.5mg in total, I'm down to 3mg at night with 50mg of Prelgabalin at night (75mg during the day).

It's so strange what medication can do for you - yesterday I was in a right mess and here we are in the same world, a day later, and all seems well.

 

[jyearta]

I so glad today was better for you, and I thankful you have someone looking out for you.

You are on a heavy dose of clonaze. I take 0.5mg (1/2 tablet every 4 hours) and whole tablet at 10:00PM=total 3 1/2 tablets of the 0.5 mg.

Hope you will have a even better day tomorrow.

One day at time.

 

[LW6279]

You may need to go down slower and cut only a quarter or less out at a time. Listen to your body and go slow please!

 

[Fedup]

Nicholas

Whether or not you keep this private, mind yourself and I like to know your doing ok as well, this is not an easy time for you, so keep well,be safe and mind yourself.

 

[leoniedelt]

Clonaz is very hard to quit. I've quit it at least three times in the last decade for various reasons. When I lower mine I do it by 0.125 increments, or smaller even. Go slow, take your time.

 

[nicholas:)]

Three weeks in - 8 simple partials so far this month, usually I have 4 a month. See Doc tomorrow - Hope for an increase in Pregabalin and unfortunately a cut in Clonazepam.

I'm sharper but with some anxiety. My friend Karen is going with me - thank goodness for friends