depression and Epilepsy

[aroundandaround]

Anyone out there.  I have been fighting clinical depression for about 10 years..have been on may different med's...The one where I had the best luck with (no side effects) felt great was the EMsam Patch--that was for maybe 6 months... then it just STOPPED working.. tried higher dosages- no luck...

Then most recently I had 3 seizures in the month of August and on top of being depressed I am now Epileptic.

I am taking Depakote 1000mg and 1 mg of clonazipin for the seizures and currently nothing for the depression.

Has anyone found success with a new anti-depressant maybe?  I have all my symptoms back ...sleeping in excess,,,crying all the time.. feeling hopeless..especially more so now that I have tried so many things and nothing seems to stick.

Thanks in advance!

[whodunnit]

Hi,

I know little about epilepsy but I was prescribed Lamictal for depression although it's primary purpose is epilepsy. So I'd suggest discussing that one with your doc, as Becky has sort of suggested. If it does do both then it's just right, yes? I hope so for you.

[becky808]

Do you have a neurologist and a psychiatrist? What types of Drs are perscribing your medications for you?

There's a difficult balance between epilepsy and depression. Increasing a SSRI can actually make you have seizures or can trigger seizures in sensitive individuals. Have you been taking Depakote for very long? When I took Depakote I did actually need to go on Prozac. Prozac worked for me with Depakote.

I now take Lamictal instead of Depakote along with Prozac. Lamictal also has some anti-depressant properties. Several other anti convulsants do too. Can you call your Neurologist? It would be good to find out if they think the seizures were caused by the emsam patch or if your depression is in any way increasing because Depakote isn't a good fit for you. Neurologists typically watch for mood changes when you start or increase a medicine. It is very common so they won't find your situation odd at all.

Take care.