Re: It's been a while

[Guest guest]

Pat,

just wanted to pass off a warning. If you are prone to seizures, stay

away from Demerol. It lowers te seizure threshold and if taken for a

long period of time (about 1-3 weeks) at high dosages (by injection). I

had this happen to my during my last hospital stay and I ended up

falling and crushing a disc in my back. I am also looking into if I

sue. The doctor and nurses new I was having seizures and didn't require

that someone always be present when I left the bed, so I fell while

walking to the bathroom. Grrr.

Kimber

--

Kimber

Vallejo, CA

hominid2@...

Note: All advice given is personal opinion, not equal to that of a licensed

physician or health care professional.

[Guest guest]

Patty,

I'm so sorry you had such a bad experience in the hospital. I was on wellbutrin

two different times and stopped it cold turkey with no problems. However,

wellbutrin does have a risk of causing seizures so it is important to always be

aware of that risk. My sister has been on wellbutrin for several years and has

not had a problem with stopping it for a few days but she is very careful about

making sure she doesn't take any other meds that might also lead to seizures.

She was given ultracet for pain but refused to take it because it also has a

risk of causing seizures.

My niece was put on wellbutrin for only a short period of time. When she told

my sister they had put her on it, my sis asked if she had told the doctor she'd

had a head injury in the past. She was in a car wreck when she was 18 and

fractured her skull in 4 places, in addition to other injuries. She had a

pretty serious head injury, but with no lasting effects as far as we know.

However, the doctors told her she would always be at a higher risk for seizures

and should stay away from anything that might cause seizures. She didn't know

that wellbutrin could cause seizures and she said the doctor didn't ask her

anything about whether she'd ever had a seizure or head injury so she didn't

think to tell him (it was 10 years ago). My sis told her to absolutely not take

another wellbutrin ever again and call the doctor and tell him to prescribe

something different.

Did I misunderstand or were you taking dilantin because you've had seizures in

the past? I'm glad the doctors have taken you off the wellbutrin. At the

healthsquare prescription web site, they have the following info on wellbutrin

Since Wellbutrin causes seizures in some people, do not take it if you have any

type of seizure disorder or if you are taking another medication containing

bupropion, such as Zyban, the quit smoking aid. If you have a seizure while

taking Wellbutrin, stop taking the drug and never take it again.

Do not take Wellbutrin while abruptly giving up alcohol or sedatives, including

tranquilizers such as Librium, Valium, and Xanax. Rapid withdrawal increases the

risk of seizures.

If you take Wellbutrin, you may be vulnerable to seizures if your dosage is too

high or if you ever suffered brain damage or experienced seizures in the past.

Wellbutrin can be a very good antidepressant, but it's certainly not for

everyone. As for the hospital not giving you your routine meds, that is always

a problem for me when I am in the hospital. Sometimes the problem is that the

doctor didn't order the meds and the nurses can't give you anything without a

doctor's order. However, I've had times that I know the doctor wrote an order

for the meds and I'm still not given them. It is really hard to keep up with it

yourself if you are not totally coherent because of pain, nausea, anesthesia,

etc.

I hope you recover and don't have any lasting effects from your horrible

experience.

takecare,

W

[Guest guest]

Patty,

I'm glad you are doing well enough to eliminate and/or reduce a lot of your

meds. That would be nice. for me it seems I rarely get to eliminate any of my

ever growing list of meds. I told my daughter that I have to take so many

friggin' pills that I could easily make a meal or two out of just my pills!

Glad you got rid of the cause for your depression! It's amazing how much impact

(positive or negative) a spouse can have on our lives.

I was doing fine with no antidepressants until the panc attacks started back

again in July 2002 after about an 18 month reprieve. By the end of August, I'd

been in the hospital about 4 or 5 times and I saw myself just feeling hopeless.

I went back on Wellbutrin at that time. It helped me deal with the realization

that I was going to have to end my career 20 years earlier than I had planned,

as well as dealing with several months of no real answers from my doctors. The

wellbutrin helped a lot but then after I was diagnosed with autoimmune liver

disease in January 2003 and had to go on prednisone for the liver disease, I

found I wasn't handling things as well as I wanted to. Of course, prednisone

really does a number on your emotions. It was absolutely vital that I take it

for over 18 months in order to save my liver and avoid a liver transplant.

However, I hope I never have to take steroids long term again. Anyway, when I

saw that I was really having a hard time dealing with the reality that I have

liver disease along with the other health problems, I asked to be put on a

different anti-depressant. I have always had a tendency to have an obsessive

personality. Sometimes that is a really good thing. That's part of the reason

I was so successful on my job and in college. I tackled any project, problem,

or task with absolute focus until optimal results were achieved. There are a

lot of other times that my tendency to obsess has been helpful. However, as you

can imagine, it can also be a negative. While it was important for me to learn

about my liver disease, which I'd never even heard of until I was diagnosed with

it, I saw I was having a hard time accepting that my health issues were only one

part of me and I needed to educate myself, do what I needed to do to be as

healthy as I could be in spite of my challenges, and then get on with my life.

My doctors, counselor, and I decided that zoloft would probably be the best

choice for me of the antidepressants available. Also, zoloft is probably the

least likely to cause liver problems. I think I started taking the zoloft

around April or May 2003. It made such a difference in my ability to 'let

things go' that I don't think I will ever quit taking it, unless I absolutely

have to. It would be great if I didn't need to take the zoloft, but, in my

case, I really do think I need it. I still sometimes have to work on not

obsessing over various things in my life, but I find it much easier with the

help of zoloft.

I hope you continue to do well. It's a little scary knowing that we have to

always be on our toes in regard to our medical care. It's often hard to do that

when you are so sick or in so much pain that your brain just doesn't function as

well as it should.

take care,

W

[Guest guest]

Hi , I am Deb with pancreatitis and cystic fibrosis. Your email

interested me to touch base with you. I am a nurse witha 30 year history of

working until June of this year. I had to go on disability too. It has been

devastating to me and they put me on zoloft also. I am definately by clinical

definition OCD. I have been treated for it for years without meds. I am

severely constipated with colonic dysmotility and Pittsburgh UPMC GI specialist

wants to do an ileostomy now. The colon is a megacolon-severe situation. I was

wondering how much zoloft you are on. Just let me know and maybe we can

converse more in the future. I wish the best for you and hang in there, believe

you me I know it is not easy. Take care, thinkin of you. Deb