Reprieve symptoms and conditions

Just read posts. Will think how to make experience better.

I have taken my three doses within two days, as prescribed so far.
(100mg twice a day).
I may just take one dose today to give my system a reprieve and then think I will stock up on things to help, and go again and try to do the week prescribed.
I AM NOT A DR. so don't take what I Say, as Your authority...but remember that doctors are "practicing" experts at their work" and drug companies like money. Some prescriptions save lives, and others, well...one needs to research and work with or change the method or part of the method. I go herbal whenever possible and hardly take any medications.

My adverse symptoms during this prescription are: Feeling a bit depressed anxious, and withdrawn, almost toward paranoid, Almost. But still ok,"riding the rim" so to speak.
1. "I have heard"... alpha lipoic acid crosses blood brain barrier so that ought to help with brain talking to itself re:
low heavy mood.
Also amino acids, thanks for that too!
2. WATER.
3. Exercise.
4. I think nettle tea as general tonic:
(must boil first for 25 minutes for fresh nettles)
5. I'll get some dandelion root if I don't have milk thistle on hand, or maybe even if I do!
6. I know Omega 3's help with mood
and more so I hope that won't interfere
(does it have minerals???),
I will likely take it anyway between pills.
7. Stay out of sun for now.
8. Vitamin D3.
9. Eat good size meal first.
10. Some Vit. C seems good and also B Vit for stress.
11. Rescue Remedy is a Bach flower remedy for stress. Take as directed, but AGAIN, go slowly if you are listening here, as EVERYONE is different.I take no responsibility for how these things
may effect YOU...but i hope it helps.
One needs to think and trust...
"How do I really feel?" and do the research and look for YOUR options. What works for one doesn't always work for another. I am going to think: what is an immune booster and what is a mood stabilizer, with foods and vitamins, and see if I can keep the prescription going for the week. Coffee~caffeine causes me anxiety. But Turkey has tryptophan in it, that calms.
This is how I NEED,
to THINK...very carefully.
Will call Dr. NOW and let him know what's up for me, and meanwhile, I will try to manage it from info I can muster.
Will see...I don't know outcomes yet, but I do feel, depressed right now.
Stay alert, be gentle and pampering where possible, with my day, calming music, meditate on PEACE...call a friend for temporary support, and do my best.
Here I go....water, big meal, pay attn. to what I need.
CHANGE prescription if too hard!
But...try this way first.
Some people generally absorb meds well and some don't.

My 7 year old son has been on Singulair since this spring for a dry hacking cough and allergies. The Singulair worked great clearing up his symptoms. We have not seen any behavioral changes. Our doctor said he only needs to take it during fall and spring when his allergy induced asthma is the worst. Both times that I have taken him off of it for a seasonal reprieve he has developed a VERY PAINFUL STOMACH ACHE. He doesn't vomit, but he rolls around complaining that his tummy hurts. I have seen other posts concerning stomach aches when on the medication, but I am wondering if anyone else has had this experience when they went off of it. Even if he forgot his medication a couple of days, the stomach ache will present.

I've been on 200 mg Lamictal for 2 months now, after 4 month titration up from 25mg; Going off Lithium 900mg titration to 450mg this week. Since 1st day of lower Lithium, all the common Lamictal symptoms went from mild to extreme. Whole body muscle aches (like 24 hours after a heavy weightlifting workout) worse in neck & back/shoulders/calves, bad headaches, swelling in hands & feet, extreme blurred vision, loss of memory, halted speech while trying to figure out what to say, fuzzy. I called the Clinic to simply ask which NSAID (aspirin? ibuprofen? Excedrin? naproxin?) to use to manage the pain. They all freaked and made me come in for a blood test to check Lithium levels. I explained I wasn't "overly" concerned about it at this point, but just looking for a recommendation, and that they may be over-reacting (even though I did appreciate their concern). I also reminded them that I had just **decreased** Lithium when it happened, so I wasn't having a Lithium Toxic attack (I'm well-versed in that, having been on Lithium for 7 years). It didn't do much good to tell them I thought their diagnosis was a little off. I'll find out the blood test results today, but I'm pretty sure I know what they'll be. They also wanted me to see my PCP since it could be something else. Again, the problem was a ramp-up of existing symptoms the next morning after I lowered Lithium (the only change), so I'm conviced everything centers around that. I think they're a little inexperienced with this med. (Lamictal/Lamotrigine) and if they'd just read this blog they'd probably learn a lot. They had never heard of the muscle ache side effect. Pretty hard to believe after reading all of your comments! My theory is that Lithium was somehow holding back the side-effects of Lamictal and now they're expressing themselves more fully. I haven't read anything like this on any internet discussion, so maybe my body is very different. But maybe my experience will give someone else some insight in a similar situation.
I might also mention something that happened to me I have only seen (kinda) in one other "blog" about follicle (sweat gland) cysts. Yeah, I definitely got the jawline acne starting at the Lamictal 50mg level & increasing at 100mg. But I also got my first ever "cyst" that concerned me and sent me to my dermatologist for the first time in 30 years (I'm 47 and saw the old guy when I had acne at 17!). It started as a blind pimple on my chest the week I increased Lamictal to 200mg (final dose), but didn't go away. It continued to grow (not diminish) over 4 weeks to 3/8 inch round/pink/solid/itchy/burn-when-rubbed. So off to the "Doctor" like my father used to do on a regular basis (I know I'm getting old now) and scalpel/pop/stitch it was out. But it was real, not my imagination or hypocondria, and the timing of its appearance was right when Lamictal changed to full steam. Since acne appears to be a common effect with so many, it seems it's not unreasonable that this occurs occasionally as well to others. Let me be the 2nd to mention it. No "official" verification, but....
I'm not bagging on Lamictal, and have been very hopeful that this would be better than Lithium. It has eliminated the GastroIntestinal problems I had on Lithium, but I am getting discouraged that it has all the brand new symptoms that are discussed in this blog. Your "stuff" is real. I wish the Docs/Nurses/Case Workers would spend 5 minutes checking your comments out. It might bring about a better informed conversation than the shiny Glaxo flyers provide. That is all.

Just an update about the class action suit discussed previously, and Aamaya had provided us with the Florida attorney, Justin Wikin: I got a letter in the mail yesterday stating that they would not be pursuing suit against them. They said that they deal mainly with wrongful death cases and it does not mean that the case does not have merit, just that it is not their specialty. I will be doing some research here locally in Ohio to see if I can locate a practice to pursue this. If anyone comes up with something, please let us all know.

Our son started taking Singulair when he was 2 for severe allergic rhinitis and cough variant asthma (in addition to Zyrtec, which didn’t control all of his symptoms). He is 5 now. For the last three years, he has been an increasingly violent, difficult, defiant, argumentative, volatile child who has intense mood swings--one minute he’s laughing uncontrollably, the next he’s weeping over nothing. His doctor and therapist recommended that we see a psychiatrist to have him evaluated for bipolar disorder, which used to be unknown in children. Because he has such chronic sleep problems, the doctor also suggested we take him off Singulair (and increase his Zyrtec dose) to see if it improved his sleep issues. Within a week, he was sleeping much better and was a calmer, happier, gentler boy. He suddenly could take “no” for an answer without flipping out and trying to hurt me. We thought that we were just in an unusual, calm window that would shift either to mania or intense sadness or both, any minute. We also thought that his behavior change might be due to sleeping better. We were enjoying the rare reprieve. Over the last weekend, his springtime allergies really flared up. We gave him Singulair on Monday and by noon, he was completely out of control. I had to strap him into his car seat at one point to keep him from hurting either me or himself. It finally occurred to me that Singulair might be causing his “bipolar” disorder. Of course, we stopped the Singulair. After two days he was a new boy. Yesterday, I Googled “Singulair bipolar children” and got a few hits. I am stunned to read how similar other families’ experiences have been to ours and I feel sick that we gave this drug to our child for three years.

I was prescribed doxy as a precaution for a mole removal on Friday, started taking meds on Saturday. I am in day 5 and have noticed that since Day two I have had inexplicable joint and muscle ache and have been so tired for two days that I almost could not bring myself to return to work after lunch today. Normally I am a 4 hour a night sleeper who goes for a 3-4 mile run in the morning and works out with my trainer after a 14 hour work day without getting tired until about 11-11;30 at night. but something is wrong, I have never experienced the exhaustion of today and yesterday. Not even a grande Starbucks coffee, chased by a full shout of 5 hour energy brought reprieve. And I have been weepy and morbidly unhappy for absolutely no reason. Saturday night I heard a song that made me cry and I have never cried over a song. I have been moody and irritable since day one of the medication- without explanation and I took 3-4 hour naps this weekend. after reading other peoples comments I feel like its the meds. I am calling my doctor tomorrow to ask if I can get off the meds and I am not taking them tonight. d