After 6 years of heavy melarill usage for treatment of Mom's Bi-Polar disorder she switched over to a mixture of Lithium and melarill for the next 30 years. Since August (6 months) she has been melarill free. Her new Dr dropped her Lithium dosage from 1200 mg per day to 600 and replaced the 25 mg melarill with Topamax 50 mg and Seroquel 50 mg.

In many respects this has made her a new person at the age of 66. She is much more aware of her surroundings. She sleeps well at night and can stay up during the day. She no longer falls asleep whenever she gets still during the day. She is much more seady on her feet and can actual walk several times a day for exercise. She has lost 25 lbs of fat and gained strength and muscle tone.

She does have some new health problems that I fear may be negative effects of her new meds in conjunction with lowering her lithium and discontinuing her usage of melarill.

1) Bladder & Urinary tract spasms. She always feels like she had to go and cannot put the urge aside. This leads to her trying to void every 15 to 20 minutes. By the end of the day she is completely worn out and feels that her bladder is completely full and about to burst. Several trips to the ER have shown that her bladder is not completely empty but may only have 30, 100 or 300 CC's of fluid. After several scans and various tests she is being treated for bladder spasms. She is also being urged to only try to void every 2 hours. She finds this nearly impossible.

2) Digestive tract problems. With the melarill she was constantly constipated and depended heavily on a variety of products to keep her regular. Now her bowls seem to also be having spasms. She has tremendous gas pain and constantly feels the need to relieve herself of gas and solid waste. (Hey I made it without using "fart" or "poop"!) We've also had a few scans and tests for this looking for some blockage and they all came back negative (good).

Can any of you verify if her medical issues are tied to her medication changes based on your personal experiences?

Thanks! I'd like Mom to be able to enjoy her new mental well being and for our family to enjoy it with her. Unfortunately these problems are making her miserable.

It's always something isn't it?

Thanks in advance for any insight you can lend!

Now I'm thinking these are some of the side effects of both the Topamax and Seroquel. Making a call to her psych today. Her stomach and digestion is just making her miserable.

Thanks to all that read even if you didn't post. Knowing someone is at least reading is a comfort.

Don't be shy though, It's just a message board.

After trying to adjust the dosages for about a week, the last three nights my Mom has quit using her Topamax and Seroquel. She is now only taking her 600 Mg of Lithium nightly.

So far she is sleeping fine and feels much better. Her stomach issues have gone away. At 1st the Topamax and Seroquel seemed to be the perfect drugs to replace the Melarill. Lately the Topamax and Seroquel seemed to be giving her painful muscle spasms that caused her to have odd movement of her arms, legs and neck. When she did fall asleep she would wake up with her arms and legs painfully asleep with a feeling they were almost paralyzed. She would have to get up and walk off the numbness before returning to bed.

I think it would be great if she could manage without the Topamax and Seroquel by only taking the Lithium. Remember before this it was 30 years of 1200 mg of Lithium and 50 mg of Melarill to sleep. That made her a zombie most of the time.

Her previous Psych tried to take her off the Melarill cold turkey without a replacement and that didn't work. She didn't sleep for 3 days. Hopefully the 4 months of Topamax and Seroquel helped to wean her off 1/2 of her Lithium and the Melarill. After 3 days she now seems very calm but alert during the day and she swears she is sleeping well at night.

We see her psych on Monday. Today is Thursday. I'm going to call his office today to say she seems to be doing fine but here is what she is taking and not taking.

I'm really hoping the 600mg of Lithium daily will be the only real Psych drugs she will need with maybe a non psych sleep aid to assure she is getting her rest.

Stay tuned. I'm sure it will be a day by day, week by week, month by month process. It's been a nice 3 days after a rough 2 weeks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Hello,
I'm delighted to hear your mom is doing better. I guess no one on the board felt qualified to comment on your mom's problems. I personally had never heard of melarill. But there have been so many new drug developments while your mom has been taking it and lithium for 36 years!! I would think one of the newer ones should be able to help her if the lithium turns out to not be quite enough.

Please don't be discouraged by the fact that no one responded to your first post...and keep posting with your questions and comments. Usually people on this board are very helpful.

Kind regards,
Tsohl

Thanks! The hit count let me know that people were at least reading. That's a comfort in itself. Thanks for your thoughtful reply.

I agree with Tsohl, I just didn't feel qualified to answer...odd thing, tho, I take 100 mgs of Topomax for prevention of Migraines and I take Seroquel anywhere from 25 mgs to 50, for sleep, occasionally (and it DOES make me sleep). I find it so interesting how docs will make thse combos and not inform US the patients of the side effects--my daughter was the one who told me about Topomax having the weight loss side effect (also, we refer to it as Dopomax as for the first little while you do feel pretty stupid on it, forgetting nouns and why you went downstairs--also a tingling of the extremities, but those abate pretty quickly. But your mom has been on some heavy duty stuff over the years and who knows what lasting effects they have had. You have obviously been a really involved son and a good one to help your mom through this for so many years. In reality, everyone reacts to any given drug in a different fashion than any other person. My SIL will fall asleep on one ibuprofen like it was anesthesia. Youi have to hit me over the head with a hammer, practically, to put me out. Hope you've found a good mix for your mom and that she continues well.

I moved 700+ miles away to attend college after graduating from HS and stayed away after graduating from college. Mom had a tendency to be very dependent on me. That was very suffocating to a 19 year old. I needed my space and Mom needed to realize that she could fend for herself. I'm involved now but wasn't for a long time.

My Mom has dealt with this on her own for most of the last 30 years. She lived by herself and kept a job all of those years. He brother, my uncle, watched over her but Mom was on her own. When visiting her the last few years I often asked if her Dr had considered changing up her meds to ease her tremor, lack of balance and mobility, her falling asleep when not engaged in some activity etc. She always refused to even think about it. Living 700+ miles away I never got real invovled. Mom's old Psych had tried to take her off of her Melarill but never gave her a replacement to help ease the switch or allow her to sleep.

Once Mom retired she began to deteriorate physically and ended up in the hospital because of an injured back. My uncle is older than Mom and he was ready to put her into a nursing home. So I moved Mom to my new home town. She has her own apartment that is nicer than anywhere she has ever lived. We found her a new psych and he wanted her off of the old style drug melarill. So over weeks he cut her lithium in half and introduced the Topamax and Seroquel.

I thought she was doing great until she started having odd symptoms. Now we have removed the Topamax and Seroquel and after 3 days she seems to be doing even better on just half of her original lithium and nothing else. She thinks her lithium probably needs to be increased to keep her stable but I tried to explain that her metabolism isn't the same at 66 as it was 30 years ago and 600 mg may be all she needs to protect her from the symptoms of her Bi-polar disorder. We will see what her Psych thinks next Monday.

If nothing else the Topamax and Seroquel allowed her to adjust to using 1/2 as much lithium and allowed her to get off of the Melarill without losing precious stabilizing sleep.

I too apologize for not seeing your post. I think that by the time I came to the board following the weekend it may have slipped down to the bottom or perhaps the next page.

Anyway, glad to hear that your mom is doing so well on just the Lithium. That would be wonderful if she could just stay on the one drug. There was another boarder here who was on Lithium for more than 30 years and didn't need another med. It was her stability.:angel: And she didn't hesitate to share that with others.

I am also glad to hear that your mom is more alert than when she was on the Mellaril. Like Tsohl already said, there are so many newer drugs if your mom should need something else. I am hoping that she doesn't.

Your mom is very lucky to have a son like you who cares enough to post on a board to find out how to best help his mom.

Feel free to come here anytime if you have any more concerns. It's a wonderful place and has been a great source of comfort and support for me since my daughter was diagnosed with Bipolar.

The best of luck to you and your mom ~ Goody:angel: :wave:

Positive Update!

All of Mom's intestinal and bladder problems are now gone. It seems that 35 years of Melarill usage caused these withdrawal symptoms. In retrospect she had the same symptoms over a year ago when she had a hospital stay and they deprived her of her melarill.

After a few months of 600 MG Lithium as her only prescription psych meds and over the counter Sominex to help her sleep, Mom started getting a little too happy. Colors that were muted for years went from beautiful to just extraordinary. She started decorating her apartment with beautiful junk mail and empty cereal boxes that were just to pretty to throw away. Colorful dish towels and album covers were also spread through the house as decorations.

Mom had gotten to the point where she was only sleeping 4 or 5 hours a night. I spoke with my Mom's Dr. and he said to have her start taking 100 to 200 mg of Seroquel at bedtime to help her sleep. She could continue to take the Sominex if she wanted to.

He said he wasn't suprized that she took an emotional upswing in the spring and that in most cases more than Lithium is needed to assure Bi-polar people get enough sleep during their traditional high periods.

I hope this can help others that may go through the same thing. Thank you all for your help.

I am sooo glad to hear that your mom is doing so well!!! I just LOVE hearing the good news that people have to share around here.....thanks for doing so!!

I also have seen the effects of the spring in my daughter and have read lots of information saying how adjustments in meds are often necessary due to seasonal components that affect the Bipolarity allowing for some breakthrough symptoms to occur. Your mom's doctor is smart to make you and your mom aware of this and make the necessary adjustments in her meds.

Good for YOU!!! Your mom is sooo lucky to have you.

Many blessings and (((HUGS))) ~ Goody:angel: :wave:

I am glad that your mom is doing so well and that the side affects from the previous drug is now gone. She is lucky to have you in her life and one that is involved as much as you are. I too don't know anything about the particular drug in question. I don't much about many of the drugs really except for perhaps a handful of them so I hesitate in trying to help in that regard. I know others have much more experience in those areas and can provide better things based on them.

So hugs to you and your mom. It is refreshing to see those who aren't in a pit and doing well despite Bipolar being a part of their lives. There are others here on this board I think that of as well along with parents, partners, and friends who are there through the thick and the thin. I hope things keep improving so that your mom and you can enjoy each other's company and lives.

Eme:D