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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2004 >> Verap/ Lithium Combo???'s
        
(Message started by: Damon on Mar 26^th, 2004, 12:44am)

Title: Verap/ Lithium Combo???'s
Post by Damon on Mar 26^th, 2004, 12:44am

I have seen a few of you post about the verap/ lith combo and the wonders it has worked. I am a chronic and have been for 3 yrs & have tried several different treatments. Currently am on 480mg Verap and 1500mg of Depakote daily, O2 is only about 65% effective and I go through 20+ Trex NS a month. Lithium scares the hell out of me especially after the Topomax episodes. With the verap/ lith combo are you still able to function as a semi-productive human beings. ( those of you that ever were to begin with :) ) One of my biggest concerns is becoming more of an idiot than I am now and only being qualified to make sure the couch doesn' t fly away.

Thanks for all of your support, I don't write in much but I do read after the beast kicks my ass for a while.
PFDAN's to you all,
Damon

Title: Re: Verap/ Lithium Combo???'s
Post by Kevin_M on Mar 26^th, 2004, 1:03am

on 03/26/04 at 00:44:07, Damon wrote:

With the verap/ lith combo are you still able to function as a semi-productive human beings. Damon

jonny and jayne are super productive. I hear kev has gotten on board with the combo too. And yes they are human beings.
I am quite sure they're functioning all right. Of course doctor supervision involved.

Kevin M

Title: Re: Verap/ Lithium Combo???'s
Post by Alan on Mar 26^th, 2004, 1:25am

Damon,

I'm cronic also, and do take both Verapamil (720 mg/day) and Lithium (900 mg/day). They both indeed have some theraputic effect on me (evidence is when I cut back on either of them - WHAMMO). I also take Oxycontin daily. All of these have proven effective for me, but I am still intractable.

The Lithium will leave you feeling like a zombie for a couple of weeks, then you get used to it. Oh, and make sure you are near a bathroom. Lithium makes you wanna go pee... like NOW :o

Alan

Title: Re: Verap/ Lithium Combo???'s
Post by forgetfulnot on Mar 26^th, 2004, 11:39am

Lithium is like baby asprin compared to topomax, the effective dose 6-900mg is quite low for c/h compared to bi-polar disorder and that is where most of the side effect stories come from. Like someone said above 1-2 weeks of strange feelings then your in the clear.

Lee

Title: Re: Verap/ Lithium Combo???'s
Post by Eb on Mar 26^th, 2004, 11:46am

Damon,

I started lithium only (900mg daily) in October of last year and I've been very fortunate that it's worked as well as it has. I had tried verapamil and depakote separately before with absolutely no success.

I would definitely recommend it! The only thing I noticed by way of a side effect was a little shakiness in the hands and legs at first...

Good luck and PFDAN!

Eb

Title: Re: Verap/ Lithium Combo???'s
Post by rbmb on Mar 26^th, 2004, 11:47am

Agreed...having taken both lithium and topomax, I didn't notice too many side effects with lithium but with topomax (at first anyway) I couldn't remember what I was doing from one minute to the next.
Rich

Title: Re: Verap/ Lithium Combo???'s
Post by MarkV2 on Mar 26^th, 2004, 10:14pm

agree with forgetfulnot 1000000% :)

Title: Re: Verap/ Lithium Combo???'s
Post by Damon on Mar 27^th, 2004, 12:13am

Thank you all for your feedback, I have a neuro appt early in April and will see if I can give it a try. I'm so tired of this crap day after day, night after night. Topomax not only made me forget things ( still have trouble ) but also ripped away my emotions and made me semi-phsycotic untill I was taken off of that shit.

Thanks again for the info
Damon

Title: Re: Verap/ Lithium Combo???'s
Post by kissmyglass on Mar 27^th, 2004, 4:50pm

I'm chronic too...Take 480mg Verap & 600 mg Lithium a day & I'm good to go. Only need a few shots of trex a month instead of 2-4 a day.
I have zero side affects, no problems at all. Like Lee said we need less than the bi-polar people who you hear the side effect storys from.
Tell you doc you want to try it. Let us know how you make out,
Good Luck,

Kev

Title: Re: Verap/ Lithium Combo???'s
Post by forgetfulnot on Mar 27^th, 2004, 5:32pm

Quote:

Topomax not only made me forget things ( still have trouble ) but also ripped away my emotions

Damon, there is no doubt that I am less emotional after 10 years on the lithium/verapamil combo. This can be seen by others as apathy or a non-caring attitude particularly if they knew you before hand. Or it could be my age and chilling out due to that, I’m not sure.

Title: Re: Verap/ Lithium Combo???'s
Post by wsnyder on Mar 27^th, 2004, 9:06pm

I am episodic. I have taken verapamil for quite some time and added lithium when my current cycle began last November. In January, in addition to the shakes I had been experiencing, I started to develop peripheral edema. Firsst my right foot began to swell and spread to my right ankle and then my left foot and ankle tried to play catch-up, which never did fully. By early February my feet were too big for shoes. Labs and other tests showed nothing wrong so the Neuro suggested we wean from the Lithium. I am still taking the verap, there is still some edema, but I am back in footware.

This was not my first experience with Lithium but it was my first negative one. It did help the CH attacks but the swollen appendages, this time, were very scary.

Bill

Title: Re: Verap/ Lithium Combo???'s
Post by jonny on Mar 28^th, 2004, 10:31am

Lith, Verap everyday for over a decade.....Dont know about others but Lithium never did anything to me but slight hand tremors (Mix some beer in there and it gets intresting ;;D) and many PF WEEKS!!!....in a row

I dont post about shit I dont believe in....after nearly 30 years chronic this is one combo I will back, it has saved my life if you know what I mean!

Good luck, if it works half as good for you you will be glad you made the move.

.....................jonny

Title: Re: Verap/ Lithium Combo???'s
Post by deacon on Mar 29^th, 2004, 10:01am

I have been on Lithium 900 mg for a little over 2 weeks now and it has helped me get more sleep that I have had in five months. I could not do without it.