 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Epilepsy / December 2003Well I saw my neurologist...
Interesting appointment. I walked in there with a chip a yard-wide on my shoulder and not much smaller when I walked out. I am switching from Topamx to Zonegran, hopefully it is less mental fog making. I took my first 100-mg dose last night at bedtime and had some truely bizarre dreams. Makes me wonder exactly what is bouncing around that psyche of mine, also makes me realize I'm probably better off not knowing. Apparently I have some unresolved issues with my landlord's cat. He also suggested having some Ativan on hand to take if a cluster of partials started up. I have Xanax already, which is very similar. Do you guys think Ativan vs Xanax would make much of a difference? I'm hoping someone here has had some experience in derailing a cluster of seizures while they were getting med dosages up with benzos. That thing was horrible, and I will do just about anything not to go through that again. I haven't used the top 2 meds. Supposedly we only remember our Dreams if we are having a restless sleep or awaken in Mid-Dream. So the bizarreness may not be so much with the cat, as with the restlessness. BTW, do you still have unresolved issues with the cat?? :-< Perhaps if you got him some treats for Christmas, he'd stop 'stalking you'.... On more Serious stuff -- is the Xanax used as a Quick fix pill? or one that you swallow? If the ativan in like mine, it's a Sublingual type (mine is 1mg). They're about the size of saccharine (sp?), but goes Direct under the tongue and dissolves into bloodstream or glands there. AS I got closer to full control of my Complex Partial (Temporal Lobe) Seizures, that little pill was worth its weight in Gold to me, since I'd get an Aura about 5-10 minutes ahead of a stronger szr. and the Ativan would put a Lid on it in about the same amount of time. They're potentially habit-forming, but I was always careful to Only use it when I was afraid that a stronger seizure was on the way (from the aura I was having), usually in large crowds. I never had any symptoms that would suggest (for ME), that I was having any Withdrawal problems, and when we reached my Last dose level of pills (about 1996), I've probably used about *6 tablets since then (7 years). G.R. > Interesting appointment. I walked in there with a chip a yard-wide on > my shoulder and not much smaller when I walked out. [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > thing was horrible, and I will do just about anything not to go > through that again. watch out, my tolerance for tranquillizers is increasing, whereas i was good with just 1 clonzepam a day, and an ativian if needed. i'm now up to 4 clonazepams a day, and a guaranteed ativan daily. i figure that the withdrawl from not having tranqs gives me stress which triggers a seizure.... round and round..... -phil > I haven't used the top 2 meds. Supposedly we only remember our Dreams if we > are having a restless sleep or awaken in Mid-Dream. So the bizarreness may [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > > thing was horrible, and I will do just about anything not to go > > through that again. It may depend on particular case. I haven't had a change to my primary AEDs (2x200mg Tegretol CR = carbamazepine + 1x10mg Clobazam (Frisium) in Morning, and 1x10mg Frisium at night) since 1996, when I reached peak of Frisium w. the morning dose. That's ~8 years. As I said on earlier post (below) I have used a *total of 6 tablets of Ativan (the under the tongue relaxant) since 1997 (almost 7 years). And without a Pharmacist's Directory, I don't know if *clonzepam below, is the Same as *clobazam which is what ativan is listed as in Canada, that I use for C.P. Seizures. > watch out, my tolerance for tranquillizers is increasing, whereas i was > good with just 1 clonzepam** a day, and an ativian if needed. i'm now up to 4 > clonazepams a day, and a guaranteed ativan daily. i figure that the > withdrawl from not having tranqs gives me stress which triggers a [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > "gaross" <> wrote in message > > I haven't used the top 2 meds. Supposedly we only remember our Dreams if we > > are having a restless sleep or awaken in Mid-Dream. So the bizarreness may > > not be so much with the cat, as with the restlessness. BTW, do you still > > have unresolved issues with the cat?? :-< Perhaps if you got him some > > treats for Christmas, he'd stop 'stalking you'.... > > > > On more Serious stuff -- is the Xanax used as a Quick fix pill? or one > > that you swallow? If the ativan in like mine, it's a Sublingual type (mine > > is 1mg). They're about the size of saccharine (sp?), but goes Direct under > > the tongue and dissolves into bloodstream or glands there. > > AS I got closer to full control of my Complex Partial (Temporal Lobe) > > Seizures, that little pill was worth its weight in Gold to me, since I'd get > > an Aura about 5-10 minutes ahead of a stronger szr. and the Ativan would put > > a Lid on it in about the same amount of time. > > They're potentially habit-forming, but I was always careful to Only use > > it when I was afraid that a stronger seizure was on the way (from the aura I > > was having), usually in large crowds. > > I never had any symptoms that would suggest (for ME), that I was having > > any Withdrawal problems, and when we reached my Last dose level of pills [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > > thing was horrible, and I will do just about anything not to go > > > through that again. no, clonazepam and clobazam are different. clonazepam is a longer lasting ativan, but takes longer to kick in. so i take them pre-emptively during the day. clobozam, which i once was on, is a tranq but i think it is tailored much towards controlling complex partials too. its like an AED and a tranq rolled up in one. maybe i should switch back............hmmmm... > It may depend on particular case. I haven't had a change to my primary AEDs > (2x200mg Tegretol CR = carbamazepine + 1x10mg Clobazam (Frisium) in Morning, [quoted text clipped - 68 lines] > > > > thing was horrible, and I will do just about anything not to go > > > > through that again. That might be worth discussing with the MD. I *liked the clobazam, since before that I'd get a C.P. Aura and Knew unless I got a cool drink or outside into a cool breeze in under ~5-10 minutes that I'd wake up on the Floor or in an Ambulance. It was a preferred case of capping the szr. onset, and in spite of what a few others have said about them being addictive, etc. (there IS a warning to that effect on the bottle with mine), I was careful to Only use it when I knew my aura was from an approaching Complex Partial, usually in a crowd at a party or shopping centre, and I could continue my day in less than 10-15 minutes. Since there's also an advisory about operating heavy equipment, driving etc. when using mine until I know how I'd react, I'd expect that a period like that would be Longer with the longer starting version. (I don't drive anyway, so it doesn't matter to me, but others who might use it and drive might want to know that.) Usually after I got home from wherever I was, I could sit down and drift into a 40 minute nap right away, so I knew there was a tranquillizer or relaxant of some kind in it. But as I said, it sure worked as I was getting closer to Full Control. And those dates were the last szrs. I had. G.R. > no, clonazepam and clobazam are different. clonazepam is a longer lasting > ativan, but takes longer to kick in. so i take them pre-emptively during the [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > "gaross" <> wrote in message > > It may depend on particular case. I haven't had a change to my primary AEDs > > (2x200mg Tegretol CR = carbamazepine + 1x10mg Clobazam (Frisium) in Morning, > > and 1x10mg Frisium at night) since 1996, when I reached peak of Frisium w. > > the morning dose. That's ~8 years. > > As I said on earlier post (below) I have used a *total of 6 tablets of > > Ativan (the under the tongue relaxant) since 1997 (almost 7 years). > > > > And without a Pharmacist's Directory, I don't know if *clonzepam below, > > is the Same as *clobazam which is what ativan is listed as in Canada, that I > > use for C.P. Seizures. > > > > > watch out, my tolerance for tranquillizers is increasing, whereas i was > > > good with just 1 clonzepam** a day, and an ativian if needed. i'm now up to 4 > > > clonazepams a day, and a guaranteed ativan daily. i figure that the > > > withdrawl from not having tranqs gives me stress which triggers a > > > seizure.... round and round..... > > > -phil > > > > > > > > Interesting appointment. I walked in there with a chip a yard-wide on > > > > > my shoulder and not much smaller when I walked out. > > > > > > > > > > I am switching from Topamx to Zonegran, hopefully it is less mental > > > > > fog making. I took my first 100-mg dose last night at bedtime and had > > > > > some truely bizarre dreams. Makes me wonder exactly what is bouncing > > > > > around that psyche of mine, also makes me realize I'm probably better > > > > > off not knowing. Apparently I have some unresolved issues with my > > > > > landlord's cat. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > > > > you guys think Ativan vs Xanax would make much of a difference? I'm > > > > > hoping someone here has had some experience in derailing a cluster of > > > > > seizures while they were getting med dosages up with benzos. That > > > > > thing was horrible, and I will do just about anything not to go > > > > > through that again. To tell the truth, the tranqs do worry me a bit. I'm a single parent, my father is dying, it's Christmas, my health has always been something I've been able to take for granted and so far my seizures have been pretty piddly and I've come to assume they would always be so. I can already feel the take-a-pill-and-chill pull. yeah, dependance on tranqs scare me too. especially since my need for them is increasing. i really think stress can trigger a seizure. i once had a panic attack turned complex partial when i was freaking out that i couldn't find my pills. fun. phil > To tell the truth, the tranqs do worry me a bit. I'm a single parent, > my father is dying, it's Christmas, my health has always been > something I've been able to take for granted and so far my seizures > have been pretty piddly and I've come to assume they would always be > so. I can already feel the take-a-pill-and-chill pull. You're coming into a 'high stress season' for some of us, plus you have other things going on with your Dad, etc. at the same time. **If you only have auras or mild ones, and don't go into stronger szrs., you might be O.K. just stocking up on 'Sprite' (7 Up) or Apple Juice. If there's a risk or fear that you might have a stronger one, one of the 'instant pills' we discussed elsewhere (the sublingual type), you might want to have on reserve and *not use until you need one. I used one about 1996 at a Friend's funeral. I was starting to get a 'brain fog' like I once got ahead of an aura or stronger seizure. But I sure didn't want to have a seizure while the Minister was delivering the Eulogy, so that was one of the last times I used one. Then, like I said, I used *2 since then -Dec. 97, June 98. I haven't had a Strong Aura since then, so either 'things have changed inside' or my pill balance has controlled them. /G. > To tell the truth, the tranqs do worry me a bit. I'm a single parent, > my father is dying, it's Christmas, my health has always been > something I've been able to take for granted and so far my seizures > have been pretty piddly and I've come to assume they would always be > so. I can already feel the take-a-pill-and-chill pull. I use Kolonopin (sp) to head off any clusters I have. I have found that if I take two 5mg tabs and place them under my tongue for about two minutes or until they start to dissolve and then swallow them I get quicker help from them. > Interesting appointment. I walked in there with a chip a yard-wide on > my shoulder and not much smaller when I walked out. [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > thing was horrible, and I will do just about anything not to go > through that again. Yuck! I can't imagine letting the Xanax partially disolve. Serious bleck! But so far so good. After the big one, I was still having lots of the partials, probably about 10 or so, and after the first dose of Topamax and Xanax I stopped. I realize now it was probably the Xanax. I am having a little bit of trouble with word finding, but not a lot, and I have a household of teens who are more then happy to laugh at me so I can't take it too seriously. I have been sleeping wonderfully thought. And I really, really like these dreams. I haven't managed to be Brad Pitt in one yet, but I'm not up to a full dose yet, so there's still hope. Of course, with my luck it'll be Drew Carey. So how long does the Alice in Wonderland with the magic mushroom feeling last> You know, the "If I bite from this side, I get this big, and from this side I get this small?" Shouldn't after all this time the doctors just be able to just dose you up and send you on your way, just like with diabeties. This part is way OT, but my wonderfully blonde 16yo finally talked me into letting him lighten his already blonde hair (yes, I think it's prissy too) as a Christmas present. It turned this horrible, glow-in-the-dark light neon-orange that we won't be able to fix until tomorrow. And this poor kid has two little brothers, one of whom got a camera from Santa. Not be Brad Pitt. I meant to get Brad Pitt in one. But I did get to adopt a sad baby monkey in one last night.
|
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.