Posted: 09/12/06 - 23:00 Post subject: epilepsy & antidepressants
My mom is epileptic and in past two years she severely depressed. She refuses to take therapy for depression. I talked with her doctor and he said that depression is the most common psychiatric illness in epilepsy. I was wondering are there antidepressants that can be taken along with epilepsy meds.
Yes, I know what you are dealing with. One of my friends has both epilepsy and depression. It can lead to greater seizure frequency and less seizure control through sleep deprivation and a failure to comply with medication or due to its role as an emotional stressor. Antidepressants are reportedly successful in treating epilepsy-related depression. Discus this with her doc but it has been reported the effectiveness of older tricyclic and heterocyclic agents, monoamine oxidase inhibitors inhibitors and newer serotonin reuptake inhibitors in the treatment of depression in epilepsy. Specific agents include are amitriptyline, nortriptyline, desipramine, doxepin, trazodone, amoxapine, iproniazid, tranylcypromine and fluvoxamine.
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