Thank you so much for checking in Peter. I'm sorry that life is so difficult for you and you suffer so much. Everyday must be such a challenge

I have gone through neuropsych testing twice myself (mainly for MS). It can give you a lot of insight, but it has it's limitations. Expect to find out about your strengths and weaknesses, the areas of the brain and functions that are impacted, and the neuropsychologist's idea of what cause(s) are contributing to your limitations. They will make recommendations to help you capitalize on your strengths and adapt to or work on your limitations. Your doctor may or may not find the report useful in your treatment. Mine did not, either time, but that is my individual experience. They continue to do neuropsych testing because it is beneficial to so many people.

I hope that the testing proves useful to you in finding successful treatment and a happier life. You deserve it.

You are a strong man, keep fighting

Kay

welcome peter and thank you for sharing your story with us.
((((HUGS)))))
bizi

Wondering how you are feeling Sam
Have any of your seizure activity come to a stop
Are they less
The same
My daughter Saraeve has been on the medicines
you are taking
When I think of her
And that is everyday several times in the day
I think of you
And how you are coming along
Hope you can smile in your day
Love
Me

Hi everyone,

Sorry for not updating or posting anything for a while. I've just been "busy" I guess. School just finished, and I had to stress over making sure I don't fail my finals. And I've also been exercising a LOT more, but we'll get to that later in this post .



First for Peter, I'm sorry to hear that you are suffering similarly to me. No one deserves to go through this and I don't understand why all this is happening to us but I hope you end up feeling better. Don't give up, and keep striving forward. Even though the symptoms are there, this world was given to us to enjoy, so enjoy it by any means necessary.


For me,

I'm still taking the lexapro and trileptal, but both have been increased in dosage. I'm now taking 10 mg lexapro and 300 mg of trileptal twice a day. Also, I've been living my life normal again. Even though I don't feel good, I have plans in life and I know exactly where I want to go and what I want to do. I'm not going to let feeling like this stop me and I am trying to enjoy life again. I've been going to the gym 3 times a week (trying to get big and stronger lol!) and have been running 2 miles every other day. And when I'm not doing that I'm either swimming in my pool or playing basketball.


I still don't have friends but I still am enjoying the summer with my family and myself.



Now for my symptoms...

My symptoms are still there, but I think there slowly fading. I used to get weird emotions at times and dejavu from the Temporal lobe epilepsy (A feeling that you already been somewhere) but now I think they are gone. I used to be tired all the time but now I'm more active.


The only thing that is still there is the depersonalization, but some days It feels like its not even there. But other days it's really bad (today is one of those days that it's really bad, everything feels dreamy) . I've just learned to deal with it.


So something i think is helping, whether its the exercise, the medicine, I'm not gonna stop what I'm doing and hopefully I will 100% recover.

Sam you have made my day

So aware of yourself
You describe the DÉJÀVU exactly like my eldest daughter
explains
Remember
She is my epileptic baby
You are on your way
It is helping
Just in your expression of where you are today
I am so happy for you
You are fighting the fight
Enjoy life to the fullest
Love
Me

hi sam!
wow! What a positive report!
You are living life and that is great...
take it a day at a time and I am so happy for you that you are feeling better and in more control of your life.
yes!
bizi

I am going to have to step in here with information about the use of Lexapro with Trileptal:

Here is an explanation of this combination. Both drugs affect the liver metabolism of each other:

Drug Interaction Report - Drugs.com
This interaction should have been brought to your attention at your pharmacy.

Also using SSRIs in teens is not recommended as it seems to raise the risk of suicide. Lexapro has a warning black box about this risk:
I think you should discuss a possible change in medications.
There are antiseizure drugs that do not have the same risks as Trileptal.

Rxlist.com and drugs.com are good resources to study before you start any treatment.

Patients can not really rely on doctors 100% to know all the drug interactions. Many really do not understand the metabolic interactions of drugs and the liver enzymes that metabolize them. They rely on pharmacists to warn. And if that does not happen because of lack of time or attention, then the patient may suffer a consequence.

Please be careful and study up with the links I have given.

Thanks mrsD,


I have not yet to experience any of those side effects, do you think I should change the medicines anyway?

First do your homework. Then go to the pharmacy with your
printouts, and ask them to print out THEIR information sheet on both drugs. Armed with that, you will be able to discuss more effectively any changes you make with your drugs with your doctors.

The Lexapro over time will increase in your blood to levels exceeding your 10mg. Then if something happens to you like getting a stomach bug and becoming dehydrated, the cardiac effects of Lexapro will become more possible. If you have an inherited genetic condition called long QT syndrome (this affects the heart) then the drug interaction is more likely to affect your heart rhythm and in some sensitive people, it can stop it.

There is one antidepressant that does not affect serotonin, and that is called Wellbutrin. But it does come with a seizure warning and may not be a good idea for you either.

Eating food high in magnesium and potassium will help prevent cardiac events.
This website will help you choose foods useful for you:
SELF Nutrition Data | Food Facts, Information & Calorie Calculator
low levels of magnesium and potassium in the body are additive to the risk of heart rhythm potential.

We occasionally get posters here who had serotonin syndrome from their meds. You can search that in our search engine (serotonin syndrome)

This is an easy to read wiki on Trileptal. In the interactions,
there is an explanation about the liver enzymes. If you click on the blue links, you will find a chart of other drugs in the specific category as trileptal, and those are the ones to avoid.
Oxcarbazepine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a complicated subject, and one that doctors really don't attend to often. So I do bring it up when I see a potential for harm existing here. You might have to read this stuff in segments and over a few times before becoming familiar with it.

I am so happy to hear that you are doing so well Sam!

I applaud your positive attitude and your efforts to stay active I'm so glad that you are able to deal with your symptoms better now, are setting goals and are determined to enjoy a normal life again. You have really come a long way in a short period of time. I am so proud of you, and couldn't be happier for you!

There's a chance that med issue was overlooked because you have two prescribers. The possible interaction between these drugs is considered "moderate" not "severe" and also may be uncommon, and that may be why it didn't raise alarm bells at the pharmacy. Your pharmacist can confirm that there is a possible interaction, but you should discuss the significance of it with your doctor. If your MD thinks the benefits outweigh the risks, he/she may order blood tests to monitor you if it's even necessary. Ultimately, you make the choice to take meds or not based upon discussions with your doctor. I wouldn't worry until you have that discussion.