Bipolar Type II Support Group

I have been taking 300mg of Trileptal for a few months now. At first I went as high as 450mg - 600mg to get my anger and mood stable. Now I am stable, and have gotten depressed on the Trileptal.

My doc suggested adding in Wellbutrin xl 150. In the past Wellbutrin has made me super anxious.

I'm beginning to wonder if I should just cut back on the Trileptal if that is what is causing me to be depressed?

In order to use Wellbutrin I would have to be on a full dose of Trileptal in order to control the anxiety.

Would I just turn into a robot?

Even though Geodon caused me some heart palpatations, I am wondering if I shouldn't have just looked the other way on the heart issues. BUT, for me Geodon was a weird drug. But it seemed like I was happier on it.

I think you should ask your psychiatrist. Messing with your medications can be dangerous. We aren't educated enough to make that kind of decision. Maybe with you being on the Trileptal you won't get anxious with Wellbutrin. Can you try a different antidepressant instead? These are some questions to ask your psychiatrist and see what he says. I hope you can get some answers soon. Let us know how it goes.

I would talk to your doctor before changing anything. I'm going to have to do that myself, since I've noticed that I tend to crash very hard most evenings. I'm on 900 mg/day. For the most part, I'm stable and my anxiety is being controlled by my Klonopin, but it seems like everyday now that my mood takes a fast and furious nose dive at certain times of the day. I don't know if it's the meds affecting me or if it's just that I get tired then or what.

I agree that you need to consult with your md before you alter your meds, no matter how tempted you may be to go ahead and tinker.... it can be dangerous.

My personal experience with Trileptal wasn't good - but for different reasons. No matter what I did, it gave me horrible headaches every single day while I was on it, so I had to stop =(

Good luck - and don't give up hope!

I was diagnosed Bipolar-NOS in September 2009 and have taken 300mg Trileptal twice per day and 50mg of Trazadone at bedtime. I believe I lean towards Bipolar 2, especially with a history of loving alcohol and sweets. August 2012, I found I was sleeping too much, approximately 12 hours. Figuring I was depressed, I had to figure out a way to be able to get out of bed in the morning so I could get to work on time. So, I cut my Trazadone by 25% at bedtime and had not problem getting out of bed anymore. From August 2012 to January 2013, I still felt a little down but figure it was due to my environment. Two days ago, I read online that Trileptal may cause depression in SOME people. I realized I hadn't listened to music or smiled or laughed in a very long time. My libido was also dead. So, I decided to cut my Trileptal by 25$. It's easy to do for me because I take such a low dose and have a pill cutter. I feel much better. My body doesn't ache. My headaches have gone away. My limbs don't feel heavy. I think I was over-medicated and sedated by the Trileptal. I simply feel "brighter" and feel like my personality is coming back. Plus, my libido kicked in. So...my advice is to listen to your gut instinct, which is hard to do when you're over-medicated. Don't do anything drastic. (I have no issues with mania, so that wasn't a concern) *Can you update us on your progress????

Yea, I think the 600mg of Trileptal is what is causing the depression. I'm thinking of cutting back to 450mg.

Is this what you did? How long before you noticed a difference?

What dose do you take now and do you take any other meds?

GiGi3, if you are asking me then here is my answer: Since I cut back my Trazadone by 25% back in the Fall, I simply cut back my 300mg dose by 25%. Since I'm prescribed to take it twice a day, I took 225mg twice a day and felt sooooo much better. I did this for 2 weeks with no negative side effects. I posted on January 28th, as seen above. On February 9th, I accidentally forgot my daytime dose and felt a DRAMATIC lift in my mood. I decided then and there to see if I functioned better on only 225mg Trileptal at bedtime. My mood and energy have been then same since February 9th. For about 10 days, I had a headache everyday at 2pm and felt some strange side-effects: pain in the bones around my eye sockets and strained eyeballs--as if I'd been reading without my glasses. Today is March 7th and I'm still feeling very normal and a not at all depressed. In fact, I have totally given up caffeine, whereas before, I chugged it all day. I have enough energy to work out--nothing drastic--just 30 min of cardio nearly every day which is the first time since August 2011 that I've had enough energy to work out.

I'm going to keep my medication regime like this and just wait and see how I function and feel. I will say that given my personal history, when I went on this drug in 2009, I had no frame of reference, as I'd been using Adderall to self-medicate for 2 years and then got in a horrendous car crash days before taking a cab to the hospital due to suicidal thoughts. That's when I was put on Trileptal. Now that I've down dosed from 300mg twice a day to 225mg at bedtime, I've realized that I was suffering a lot of side-effects. I just didn't realize it. They are as follows: back, shoulder, and neck stiffness; headaches; vision changes (my prescription jumped after going on Trileptal and I can feel that is has fallen since reducing it); cloudy irises; bone-weary exhaustion; heavy limbs; shallow breathing; no balance; dizziness if I stood up fast; emotional sedation with, ironically, depression and grumpiness; constipation; extra dry skin and eyes; and, therefore, extra sensitive skin & eyes; and STUPIDITY. Seriously, I couldn't remember things and had trouble with critical thinking, especially if it was relate to "common sense."

I'm sensitive to medication, so if I jumped from 600mg to 450mg I'd have major withdrawal symptoms--whether I felt better or not. You have to keep in mind that withdrawal symptoms include mood swings. I can't give you any medical advice, but you know yourself better than anyone. I've read that reducing by 10% and seeing how you react is about as safe as you can get when it comes to psyc drugs. I've been keeping a food/mood/exercise journal every day since January 26th to keep a record of my health. Don't do anything drastic. Listen to your body. It knows best often times--especially if we have broken brains!

PS

I felt the difference IMMEDIATELY--like I do with all medication and alcohol. I ONLY take Trileptal and Trazadone. I take a tong of vitamins and Omega 3's.

Everything you described as far as side effects go are exactly what I've been experiencing. My vision is getting worse, I have terrible memory problems, I have no motivation and don't work out anymore and I feel really stupid and too numb from 600mg of Trileptal. I'm very sensitive to meds. A little goes a long way for me.

Thanks for the info. I'm glad I'm not the only one!

Hey, I get it. I tried 300mg of Trilept at bedtime (with the 37.5mg Trazadone) and I couldn't get out of bed the next day. I had to sleep about 10 hours on it. CRAZY! Do you take 600mg per day or twice a day?