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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Nero on March 7, 2005, at 8:01:36
I was wondering if anyone is taking both Lamictal and Topamax at the same time? I'm currently on Lamictal and perhaps would like to try Topamax at night to sleep. I've gained so much weight by taking Seroquel for sleep and want to switch to Topamax at bedtime. Is the Lamictal-Topamax combo safe?
Posted by Spriggy on March 7, 2005, at 13:14:00
In reply to Are Lamical and Topamax a healthy med combo?, posted by Nero on March 7, 2005, at 4:24:07
Maybe I have misunderstood but for some reason, I was thinking that Topomax is more stimulating than sedating??
I'll have to check my sources and get back with you.
I do know it should help with weight loss but I don't know if it helps with sleep. I have always heard people claim insomnia on Topomax.
Does Lamictal make you tired at all? Do you take it in the morning??
Let me read up on Topomax and find out if I was right or not.
Posted by Spriggy on March 7, 2005, at 13:17:28
In reply to Re: Are Lamical and Topamax a healthy med combo?, posted by Spriggy on March 7, 2005, at 13:14:00
feeling sleepy/sedated is very COMMON with topomax. Sorry, I got mixed up.
I guess that explains why my friend who is on it calls is "dopamax." ha ha.
It might help- the weight loss thing is very common with it. so if you can sleep and lose weight, how much better does that get?
My friend is on it and she says one thing about it she hates is she feels like her IQ has dropped 20 points. She said she can't remember things anymore and feels like a 12 year old cheerleader.
I am sure everyone is different and you may not feel that way.. But hey, even if you did feel a little ditzy, you'd be thinner.
Good luck.
Posted by Maxime on March 7, 2005, at 14:41:24
In reply to Are Lamical and Topamax a healthy med combo?, posted by Nero on March 7, 2005, at 4:24:07
> I was wondering if anyone is taking both Lamictal and Topamax at the same time? I'm currently on Lamictal and perhaps would like to try Topamax at night to sleep. I've gained so much weight by taking Seroquel for sleep and want to switch to Topamax at bedtime. Is the Lamictal-Topamax combo safe?
Safe if you don't mind losing some cognitive abilities. There are few people who don't become topo-stupid. HOWEVER, maybe at a low dose of 25 mg you would be okay and it would be enough to help you lose the weight and it would also stabilise your mood.I think I titrated the med too quickly (I was following doctor's orders) and then all hell broke loose and I became psychotic. On a low dose I suffered from bad, bad acne. Yuck.
You will only know if you try.
Maxime
Posted by nero on March 8, 2005, at 4:25:47
In reply to Re: Are Lamical and Topamax a healthy med combo?, posted by Maxime on March 7, 2005, at 14:41:24
Thanks for all of your advice. I go to my doc this friday and will see what she thinks about Topamax. I'm already on a decent amount of Lamictal (split dosages morning and night) and think 25mg of Topamax at bedtime might be the trick for sleep. I'm not a big fan of sleeping pills or valium related meds as tolerance can occur. I'm hoping to try something not in that class of meds that are weight nuetral and sleep inducing....Thanks again for your responses.
Posted by MoparFan91 on March 10, 2005, at 0:35:12
In reply to Are Lamical and Topamax a healthy med combo?, posted by Nero on March 7, 2005, at 4:24:07
Topamax should most likely help with sleep. When I took Topamax, it made me kinda sleepy/tired. Everytime after I bumped up the dose when titrating upwards, I got really sleepy the next day but it wore off. I originally took it once a night but found I had to split the dose to twice a day to get maximum coverage for bipolar symptoms.
Some people get the Topo-Stupid effect (cognitive problems). Usually, this happens because they are taking too much Topamax too fast.
Also Lamictal and Topamax seems like great combo when you have ultra-ultra-ultra rapid cycling bipolar (5 mood swings a day). Lamictal helps with rapid cycling well too, but according to crazymeds.org, it doesn't seem to handle the Ultra3x-rapid cycling as well as Topamax. So in that case, the Topamax will help more with the tri-hourly mood swings. They don't effect each other's blood levels.
> I was wondering if anyone is taking both Lamictal and Topamax at the same time? I'm currently on Lamictal and perhaps would like to try Topamax at night to sleep. I've gained so much weight by taking Seroquel for sleep and want to switch to Topamax at bedtime. Is the Lamictal-Topamax combo safe?
Posted by nero on March 10, 2005, at 11:41:13
In reply to Re: Are Lamical and Topamax a healthy med combo? » Nero, posted by MoparFan91 on March 10, 2005, at 0:35:12
MoparFan91 and all who replied,
Thanks for all the info! I will hopefully be able to try Topamax tommorrow if my doc will prescribe it to me. I am a rapid cycler and hope that the med will not only help with sleep but also the cycling.
This is the end of the thread.
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