Posted by Laree on December 30, 2003, at 22:53:13
In reply to too many meds/side effects, posted by jayb on December 30, 2003, at 19:18:26
I think you should talk to your pdoc. do you get all of your meds from him/her? it does sound as if some of these meds are overlapping, but I am not a doctor. Lithium & Lamictal are both mood stabilizers, correct? and Remeron, Klonopin, and Trazadone I know are all sometimes used for sleep- Klonopin anxiety/sleep, etc., Remeron I was offered at a low dose for sleep probs. by my pdoc, but had heard it can make one gain weight so I declined--it is an anti-dep.I guess? I know Trazadone is used for sleep & depression as well, and Zyprexa for bi-polar?/schizophrenia, etc...
Well I can imagine that you WOULD experience a great amount of fatigue on these meds!! A lot of them are used as sleep aids for people with insomnia! In fact, I was prescribed a low dose of zyprexa for sleep as well (but never took it once I found out about the effects it has on weight) and took seroquel instead at a low dose for a period of time for sleep--they are in the same class of drugs, i believe. I took Klonopin to help me sleep last year. I've also tried trazadone for insomnia. I would talk to your pdoc about the tremors, coordination, etc...there is a risk of TD (tardive dyskensia-sp?) a neurological disorder that can result from taking anti-psychotics such as zyprexa. And as for the weight gain...Zyprexa is notorious for causing weight gain, i've heard lithium can do the same, as well as lamictal. Not exactly sure about Remeron, but maybe someone else can vouch for it? Anyway, it's not surprising you feel like you do! If you don't feel good, then this combo is not working for you, and that's that, you know? I'd discuss all of this with your pdoc--let him really know how you feel-- mentally, emotionally, & physically. Best of luck!!> Hi all, currently i'm on zyprexa, lithium, limictal, remeron, klonopin and trazadone. I'm experiencing great tiredness and weakness. I'm working on developing a career as a visual artist. I also experience hand tremors, poor coordination, cognition problems (can't follow a thought or read much)and some difficulty in forming words, slurred speech- these are all difficult/ to impossible for the kind of work I want to do. Also I have had 30# weight gain.
>
> diagnoses include: bpII (heavy on depression), panic, ocd (pure obsessional) or gad, bpd or ptsd.
>
> Questions:
> 1)Does this seem like an extreme number of meds?
> 2)How do I talk to the pdoc about reducing # of meds - I want to lose the lithium, remeron and lamictal (I do not think they are really helping)
> I seem to be stablizing some in the past six weeks. I feel the depressive episode is ending on its own, not from adding lithium (600mg)
> 3) What kind of wholistic treatments have been useful for people. Exercise has helped me in the past, but it is very difficult to start and keep at it with all the side effects.
> Thanks!
poster:Laree
thread:294849
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031225/msgs/294930.html