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Pinkhorse

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Had to go off of bupropion when seizures started. Very sad - that I had to stop it and since I stopped it and why I stopped it.... I tried escitalopram (Celexa) and paroxetine (Paxil). Also on lamotratigine and had terrible side effects: dizziness, lack of appetite, headache, chills, generally felt awful. Both of them about the same. Paxil also seems to have kick off a return to partial seizures after a total of only 25 mg over the course of 3 days.
Has anyone else had problems with a mix of lamotragine and any of the serotonin related antidepressants?
 
I've actually had really good experiences with SSRIs (fluoxetine/prozac and sertraline/zoloft) and lamotrigine. I was really concerned at first that they would lower seizure threshold but both my psychiatrist and neurologist reassured me that the risk was minimal.
I know that people can have such differing reactions though, I'm sorry yours have been so negative.
Don't give up though, there are still other options for you if the paxil partials don't settle down.
The lamotrigine too can have an anti-depressant effect so I hope that can buffer some of it while you're having to try different things.

Edited just to add - I'm drowsy/sleepy most of the time, so I definitely have side effects - just not sure what to attribute them to!
 
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Hi pinkhorse,

I know that everyone is different but my Epileptologist told me to stay away from antidepressants because they would just reverse the seizure meds and in turn I would
have seizures. What I have found works the best for me is listening to serotonin music on YouTube along using the medical marijuana. Since I've been using medical marijuana my seizures have decreased a lot and I'm much more relaxed. I wish you the best of luck and May God Bless You!

Sue
 
What are you using for cannabis? I have a THCA tincture that works well for me when I'm feeling like I'm getting in trouble/going into a troublesome situation - for rescue. But the store just quadrupled its price (doubled the price and cut the amount in half)!!! I tried making the tincture that I found on line but I couldn't deal with the alcohol content in my mouth. stings. Added some oil but impossible. We grew some that I use for sleep - we never know what we might get with unknown seeds but it was just what I needed. Still, I had a little last night and woke out of a dream with a focal/partial. It happened yesterday too so.... I'm blaming it all on the paxil. I know it has a lower seizure threshold problem than the bupropion that I loved so much but there is that 1%. Lucky me.
 
Just looked up serotonin music and the picture freaked me out! But I'll listen a while. If it works too well it'll decrease my seizure threshold!!
 
Hi Pinkhorse,

I use the healthy hemp oil with extra strength that comes in a mouth spray. Check out healthyhempoil.com and check it out if you want to. I get a 2 oz. bottle for $131.00and it lasts me about 3 months. I just squirt it in my mouth 2 times a day and it works great. If you are interested check out Charolettes web they charge more but they have a some good products also. What I like about health hemp oil is if the product doesn't work they will send you back your money within 90 days.

In regards to serotonin music the picture is weird but it's the frequency that the music is played in that makes the difference. I listen to the serotonin music that has a picture a similar to the sun. Wishing you the best of luck and May God Bless You!

Sue
 
Thanks.
I use a CBD pill daily. Don't know if it does anything for seizures but I know if I miss it for a couple of days in terms of anxiety and depression. There's a store near me and I also just heard about Bluebird Botanicals.
The THCA is working well for me and I hear that a new dispensary is opening nearby so maybe the one that's around now will be forced to lower their prices. Or, I'll see what the price is at the new one. Just put in my application for my card so, hopefully that won't take too long. (Though everyone says they hate the current dispensary.)
I did like the music. Just this morning I was thinking about how to get it on my phone for when I'm doing notes at work. Drown out the other talking and just calming down at the end of a session of seeing patients.
(I had used very loud music to drown out a particularly LOUD orthpedic surgeon sitting behind me and doing his dictation out into the open space. When he asked me to turn down my music I asked him to turn into the cubical to dictate and I would turn down the music. He said, "I am" (bullshit) and that it was a dictation space. I said, "No, it's a workspace and we all need to work together." The last thing I remember is turning down the music and the next thing I remember is my memory coming back in the ED. I now have a cube as far away as possible from this guy and his voice still is so loud that it's like someone who speaks in a normal voice is sitting right next to me. Plus he's just a self-centered doc and all the girls play into him. I ignore him and he ignores me. Sometimes he has a look on his face when he sees me like, "Why don't you treat me deferentially like everyone else does."
 
Paxil

I stopped the Paxil a few days ago and had a bad day yesterday. I looked up seratonin syndrome because I'd always learned about it as happening when you stop an SSRI/SNRI. Now I see that it can happen on the drug. That 1%. I had many of the symptoms including an increase in seizures. I think I had the symptoms both on and off the drug. Sent a message to my neuro yesterday. Hopefully I'll hear from him today.
I'm soooo frustrated. I actually feel pretty good this morning, but I've only been up a couple of hours.
I don't like to say that I "hate" anything but I most definitely "hate" epilepsy. Maybe I just need to work on accepting and loving whatever it is that it's about. It's been a very very very hard couple of years for many reasons. Including the death of a loved one. I'm going to put up a post about that.
 
For sound "therapy", folks might want to check out noisli.com. Lots of different sounds available as an app and also as a browser extension. Along with several kinds of white noise, there are like ocean or rain or wind or babbling brook or even "coffee shop" complete with background murmuring. The babbling brook is supposed to be the kind of sound that's good for the epileptic brain -- calming but with enough variation so the brain doesn't zone out. You can also mix and match sounds (coffeeshop with thunderstorm for example), program how long they last, and save your favorite combos and settings.
 
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