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Post by hopeful on Nov 13, 2003 17:38:38 GMT -5
I know you know quite a bit about the natural gaba. I was wondering if you knew anything about Gabatril? It's a rx. I was just wondering about possible bad side effects.
Thanks
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Post by AnneM on Nov 14, 2003 12:33:14 GMT -5
Hi Hopeful!! hopefully Catatonic will see this here and reply but ... just a thought ... you might be better to put this under "Natural Alternatives" where I know Catatonic visits and where it will certainly be relevant.. GOOD LUCK!!!
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Post by catatonic on Nov 15, 2003 15:16:49 GMT -5
Are you or your child epileptic? I don't know a whole lot about gabitril, since we don't deal with epilepsy and gabitril is used to treat seizures, both partial and clonic-tonic. There's also some growing use of it in treating bipolar or anxiety disorders. It's a bit different from gaba. Gabitril (or tiagabine) is supposed to enhance or stimulate the action of the neurotransmitter gaba, since underactivity of gaba is assumed to contribute to seizures. Usually gabitril is not a "stand-alone" medication, but is used in conjunction with other seizure-control medications, where it is effective in about 1/3 of cases. The most common side effects from its use are dizziness, drowsiness, muscle weakness, nausea or stomach ache, and nervousness. Less common are vomiting, diarrhea, confusion, rash, trouble remembering. Rarely, you may see depression, agitation, tremors, or trouble speaking. The extremely serious side-effects occured in about 6% of cases, with a third of those being bad enough to require hospitalization. At extremely high doses, gabitril may cause liver problems or testicular tumors. Its safety has NEVER been evaluated for children under the age of 12, so it's not recommended for use in younger children. (The above information comes from the Physician's Desk Reference.) Take a look at this link, where it lists potential drug interactions and some other basic information: www.drugs.com/xq/cfm/pageID_0/htm_203392/type_cons/bn_Gabitril/micr_medex/qx/index.htmf you'd like to read the Physician's Desk Reference entry on gabatril, it's here: www.drugs.com/xq/cfm/pageID_0/htm_14810120.htm/type_PDR/bn_Gabitril%20Tablets/qx/index.htm
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Post by hopeful on Nov 15, 2003 17:04:01 GMT -5
Catatonic:
Thanks so much for the wealth of information. I knew I asked the right person. We're using it for anixety and he's only on 2mgs per night. We may go to 4mgs in a few weeks (32 being the max for seizures). Our doc has had good success with it. So far, so good, but nothing obvious yet. I will say that mornings are wonderful, but they have been for a couple of months now that Wellbutrin is working. They just seem a little better. He's hoping that the benificial effects will eventually be covered durring the day.
Thanks again.
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Post by catatonic on Nov 17, 2003 9:23:04 GMT -5
Hi, glad I could be of some assistance. Honestly, I'd be even more concerned about the Wellbutrin than about the gabitril. Wellbutrin hasn't been researched for safety in children under 18 years of age and isn't recommended for pediatric use (although I know it's prescribed for children with increasing frequency). Wellbutrin causes seizures. Not every time, of course, but in enough cases (4 out of 1,000 cases...about 4 times as high as other anti-depressants) that seizure information is part of the physician's package insert as well as the patient information provided with each prescription. Gabitril's anti-seizure properties may be of benefit for this. One thing to be careful of... The Physician's Desk Reference on gabitril warns that stopping this medication abruptly may cause seizures. In conjunction with the Wellbutrin, your risk increases. If you start gabitril, be careful not to stop it suddenly. For Wellbutrin side effect info, see: www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/buprop_ad.htmFor Wellbutrin seizure warning information, see: www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/buprop_wcp.htm#W
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Post by hopeful on Nov 17, 2003 17:40:32 GMT -5
Yah, the seizure thing worries me too.... He's on the lowest amount of each medication, so if we did have to stop, how would you do it? every other day? Hopefully it won't come to that.
Also, unless you're having an ekg or eeg at the time of the seizure, isn't it sometimes impossible to tell if you are having a seizure? I can't really remember what I should look out for.
We did have a baseline ekg done, but not an eeg.
Back in August is when I did all my reseach on seizures. Now that we don't have the old web site, any suggestion on seizure symtoms? To be honest, I only have 2 minutes to write this and haven't had a chance to look up the seizure sites you listed. I don't recall that they DESCRIBE what a seizure may look like.
Gotto run and pick him up from school. All short days this week due to conferences...uhg!
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