Posted by S. Howard on December 4, 2000, at 20:11:44
Friends-
Presently I'm taking 500 mg depakote, 100 mg seroquel and cutting back on 30 mg paxil to 0, since it's turning me into an asexual balloon with no visible improvement in social skills. These meds were prescribed by my pdoc.
I also take Norvasc for hypertension, prescribed by my family doctor. He doesn't prescribe or advise on psych
meds.
I spent Thanksgiving week in the hospital after a possible seizure, although I have no history of seizure. I believe it was an overdose of painkillers
and psych drugs (unintentional, just carelessness)although I was never treated as anything but a seizure patient, even after several blood tests. Also, I was perfectly honest about my psych history and occassional
substance abuse. Thank God I was spared the charcoal routine, but it wasn't necessary anyway- after bouncing around in the ambulance, I threw up everything I had eaten in the last week or more once I got to the ER. (Forgive me if it's time for your dinner.)I was referred to the hospital neurologist.My tests were all normal; EKG, EEG, CT of the skull. I
was given Dilantin in the hospital and it always knocked me out cold, which is okay in the hospital but not in real life. I was given an Rx for Dilantin before I left but I didn't want to take it, because I still don't believe I had a seizure. The neurologist told me it was just a precaution. He said, "What if you have a seizure while you're driving?"This really scared me. Immediately before my (possible)
seizure, I felt fine. I wasn't sick or dizzy at all, there was no warning. If I had been driving, it's almost certain that I would have killed or seriously injured myself and other people. Since leaving the hospital, I've been home from my job and haven't driven myself anywhere. But now I have to go back to work and I'm afraid to NOT take the dilantin.The trouble is, the depakote and seroquel already have me sedated for most of the day, and I'm worried I won't be able to function on all three drugs. I asked the pharmacist if she thought it would be safe to quit taking the depakote and she said, absolutely not, not without my doctor's advice. My family doctor won't advise (that chicken-head)and my pdoc is, like usual,
unavailable. I'm not supposed to take any kind of stimulant to "wake myself up" because of my blood pressure, which is borderline even with the medication I take for it (Norvasc).Incidentally, I'm clean right now. No painkillers and no meds beyond what's prescribed. I haven't taken any dilantin yet. If anybody has any information or even an opinion I would surely appreciate it, and I realize that it's not a substitute for an MD's advise, but right now I'm flying blind.
Thanks-
Gracie
poster:S. Howard
thread:49925
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001130/msgs/49925.html