I am going back to my Doc after the neurologist visit, and what was supposed to be my new remedy to my GAD and depression won't be after all....Neuro is stopping me weaning up on it. I cannot take SSRI and SNRI type meds, Lexapro and Effexor once tytrated up on kick in seizures and don't seem to like me. I am looking for what people use in long term use, no benzo drugs as I do not trust those and want to depend on them with their known affects on what they can do to your body. Any help would be super appreciated before I head to the doc, any help will definitely help! Thanks everyone-

-Tyler

Hi SSRISeizureMan, I'll list the alternatives that I am aware of. You might check out the alternative treatment room at the bottom of the list of medication rooms for other ideas. Talk therapy, hypnotherapy, accupuncture, homepathics, crystal healing, aromatherapy, essential oil therapy, and herbal remedies. The most beneficial that I have found was relaxation learned through hatha yoga and biofeedback. There are great workbooks on various illnesses and disorders. I really trust and like the ones from Harbinger Press (or is it publications?). If I were use, I'd use about every alternative that I could find and believed might help.
Oh, and another one is checking what vitamins and minerals are helpful for anxiety and depression. You can add more foods with those things or take suppliments.
I wish you luck with your struggle!
Iowa

SSRISeizureGuy ~ I recently was looking for alternatives to ADs, and the info on omega-3 fatty acids (fish oils) seems really promising....apparently they help repair and maintain optimum functioning of brain cell membranes, which is supposed to at least help your brain do the best it's able to do w/ neurotransmission, etc. (and of course they have other heart health benefits too).....the problem for me is finding a good way to take them to get the big dose you're supposed to in order to get antidepressant/brain function effects.

While I was researching omega 3s, I kept running across lots of new research on vitamin D and how vital it is for so many brain and body functions, many think it plays a big role in depression (and energy, sleeping problems, cognition) -- it's kind of a hot topic now, and apparently many people are deficient due to lack of natural sun exposure w/ modern lifestyle. Many people now are saying the RDA is not sufficient really.......then coincidentally, my psychiatrist ordered blood tests for me, and turns out I was super Vit. D deficient (like, off the charts low). So I am doing the big horse pill (50K mg) once a week for 8 weeks and then have to get blood retested (Vit. D is fat soluble, so you can't just megadose w/o monitoring; it could be toxic). I'm only 1.5 weeks into it, but I'm optimistic about it.

Not to be a salesperson, I don't know, but those were the 2 supplements that seemed most relevant for treating depression the non-AD way when I was looking into it.

Best of luck and share your results :)

What about MAOIs or Tri-cyclic ADs?

Anyone to put me in the direction of doing research or links on those? my doctor is going to keep me on the process of the Neurontin, and going towards 300mg/ 3 times daily. I guess really works well as a mood stabilizer and just keep things smooth. I really need that badly now, now knowing I have brain damage at age 22 from SSRI use most likely, I need all the help I can get overcoming this : /

As an update- I am changing neuro's due to my neuro not wanting to be a team player/communicate with my doctor even though they are both inside the Providence Network....I am taking Fish Oils now, been on them for a few weeks now taking 2 1000mg's when I wake up with my food and Vitamin B too. Also, the new neurologist is going to get me to see a neurospych, as my doctor says thats who I need to see and to get my depression under control and see what meds are best for me that will not bring my seizures back. We shall see! Thanks for the support everyone!

-Tyler

This post has been edited by DeeBear: Jul 23 2009, 03:27 PM

If you Google crazymeds you will find a website which gives a lot of information on different kinds of drugs and treatments, run by people like us - the mentally challenged

You also might want to try Googling Len Ochs - he created a type of neurofeedback which apparently is very helpful to people with brain injuries. I haven't tried it so I can't say.

I hope it's okay to describe websites like this, if not, PM me for the links.

(((SSRI)))

Definitely check out that site that downunder told you about. I checked it out and it's a great place!

Also, I'm glad that your going to a new neuro and a neuro pdoc. That sounds like a great idea. I wish my wife would do the same, but I think we may have gotten lucky with her. After she got off the Zoloft and on Lexapro, not only has she been seizure free for 4 months, but she is like a whole new person. I've not seen her this happy in some time, likely since before the seizures started over a year ago. It's nice to see her smile and laugh like she used to.

You're making good moves right now. Make sure you talk to your doctor about everything because it sounds like you could use some more information. The thing is, epilepsy is a very scary illness, but it doesn't have to mean the end of the world as you know it. Please do some research and get yourself informed. When it comes to epilepsy, education is paramount.

If you want a link to a great online epilepsy support forum, please PM me and I can send you the link. I'm a member there and it's a great forum for support and education on E.

Definitely will get at you about that info via PM. Also as a sidenote, my old neuro doc did not diagnose me as epileptic after all my test results, rather just an electrical response issue in the frontal lobe of my brain. Dang stuff confuses me. My new neuro doc is on child birth leave until September, earliest I can get in is October near the end of the month.
I called for a referral via their office to look into seeing a neuropsych......I cannot afford it, once I heard the pricing and being without insurance I cannot do it, as a newer Ford 6.0 diesel or Cummins became an affordable figure for me after the conversation, so I am going to see a spychiatrist first and hopefully soon. The depression has began to happen daily and for the entire day rather then just starting later into the night...I cant can't take it anymore with the Neurontin prescribed as a mood stabilizer along with Klonopin for anxiety/depression, to summarize it they are just not helping.

Tough nights. -Tyler

(((tyler)))

I understand how hard it can be, so I know how you're feeling. I went through the same thing with my wife. Zoloft seemed to really trigger her seizures and plus it wasn't doing anything for her. Luckily she's been seizure free and much happier since switching to Lexapro. I don't know if it's the different AD or the Depakote she is on that's keeping the seizures at bay, but certainly one of them, or both are working very well.

I think it's a good idea for you to see a pdoc. Also, I'm going to send you a PM right now with that link for the epilepsy forum.

Thanks again man, definitely feels a lot better to hear from someone feeling the same. Tomorrow I am going to see if I can run in with my father to his doc appointment and snag a pdoc referral, and get this going. I really need the help from one ASAP, and get this under control. I cant do SSRI or SNRI meds, so an anti depressant that doesnt cause seizures is what I need. Klonopin (clonazepam) and Neurontin just aint taking the "cloud over my head" feeling away :/

-Tyler

A tryclic anti-depressant might be just the thing. I didn't react well to SSRI's for some time and this med saved my life (Amitriptyline).

This post has been edited by kirkwuk: Jul 30 2009, 03:01 PM