to want to change medication

[listsandbudgets]

I've been on medication for a long term condition for a couple of years and in terms of managing my condidtion it works perfectly.

However it has a weird side effect of really bad and very realistic dreams that I wake up feeling quite disturbed from and sometimes unsure if tehy really happened. I also feel completely exhausted as if I've done all the things I've dreamt. I could manage if it was just a few times a month but its every night.

Last night I dreamt my best friend died. Went through her funeral, comforting her dd (who I would be guardian this happened) executing her will, awful grief.... then woke up to a text message from her asking me to lunch on saturday... she's not dead but I was so confused and sure she was.

These sort of dreams are normal for me now

My consultant refuses to change my medication because this is the second I've tried - first affected my mood to extent family threatend to move out :( I know there are others I could try but he's reluctant to change me as side effects of others could be worse also it takes a very long time to change because of the way the dose is increased / decreased - last time it took me 12 weeks to change from one to the other.

Feeling very stuck. AIBU to want to try changing?

I don't think you're being unreasonable. Just because something takes a long time doesn't mean it isn't worth trying, and you won't know what the side effects are unless you try.

Hope you don’t mind me asking, is it mirtazipine?

No - lamatrogine (aka lactimal) prescribed for epilepsy

I think it’s one of those where you need to balance things and realistically a bad dream (which may not even be caused by the medicine) is better than uncontrolled epilepsy so if the drug is working I can see why they don’t want to change it and risk creating many more problems than they solve

I know Sirzy.

Realistically it could be out of the frying pan and into the fire but its not very nice in the frying pan either if that makes sense.

A bit of me wants to stay as I am with controlled epilepsy... another part of me is falling apart because I'm terrified of what sleep may bring :(

Doubt I'm making much sense. A copule of nights ago I woke up around 3am convinced that we'd put our five year old ds on a 7 hour train journey by himself to go to boarding school and actually got really cross with poor dp before he convinced me to check DS's bed :(

"I know there are others I could try but he's reluctant to change me as side effects of others could be worse"

Sounds perfectly reasonable.

"Worse" could be illegal or devastating.

I think you're unreasonable because of your lack of training and education but belief you're right.

I had low dose lamotrigine for depression. I had totally forgotten the weird dreams till now. They wore off after a while, so if it’s possible to hold on a bit longer, it might be worth it.
But talk to the consultant about the alternatives. Understand the possible other side effects. Make sure you really feel you know you’re making the right choice for you.

"Worse" could be illegal or devastating.

What is an illegal side effect?

I think you're unreasonable because of your lack of training and education but belief you're right.

I'm sure the OP is capable of researching the possible side effects of potential medications.

Medical care should be patient centred. Doctors are not god and most patients are capable of making informed decisions about what is best for themselves.

You're not being unreasonable OP. If the dreams are having such a bad effect on you then you should have the opportunity to try another medication. Only you can decide whether the dreams are sufficiently severe as to outweigh the benefits of taking the drug.

Sorry, just realised it’s been a couple of years. So not realistic to expect that to wear off.

I guess an illegal side effect would be if the new meds fail to control the epilepsy, and the OP drives.

But from talking to a couple of friends with epilepsy, it did take a lot of trial and error to find the right combination of meds, but once they found them life became infinitely better.

But talk to the consultant about the alternatives. Understand the possible other side effects. Make sure you really feel you know you’re making the right choice for you.

Wise advice.

I am on same drug for moods and I walk around clumsy and falling over and really ditzy, my driving reactions are slower! And if I come off it I could have very bad depression - also on sodium valproate which I defo need to consider a different drug!