New Alternative for Med Selection - rEEG

I am making this post to make people aware of an option for med selection, particularly for treatment resistant cases, like mine.  As a brief history, I have had several diagnoses including depression, GAD, bipolar and bipolar mixed.  I have, at different times, and in various combinations taken the following meds:  Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Paxil, Lamactil, Geodon, Xanax, Klonopin, Seroquel, Depakote and Lithium.  The only things that had a positive effect were Xanax, Klonopin and Seroquel; however they still left me with a lot of symptoms.  My pdoc eventually admitted he was stumped and told me about another alternative for med selection; rEEG.

The r stands for referenced, meaning they reference your brain EEG to a database of other brain EEGs.  rEEG uses an outcome database – patients who were treated successfully and unsuccessfully.  They compare your brain EEG to other brain EEGs contained in a database to find similar ones.  The database includes information on what meds work most of the time for people with EEGs similar to yours.  They also look for certain biomarkers that indicate what types of meds you are likely to respond to and those that you may have an adverse reaction to.

I just had my rEEG performed on Tuesday and the results take 2-3 weeks to come in.  I will update this thread after I receive my results with what meds were recommended.  I will also update it for the results of the meds (if any).  The worst part about getting the rEEG is that you have to have a "clean" brain for the test.  This means going off all meds (different periods of time for different meds), no over the counter drugs, no herbs or supplements and the worst part:  no caffeine or nicotine for 15 hours prior to the test.  However, after the test you can resume your meds.  The night before the test, I didn't sleep for one minute.  I ended up being awake for 40 hours straight until I got my Klonopin and Seroquel back.  Hope this information is helpful to someone.

Got the results back today.  Part of my brain (or my brain in general) is going too fast and causing anxiety and the first thing we need to do is slow it down.  Basically, I do not process one thought at a time, but rather think of everything at once.  The medication suggested for this is Neurontin ( a mood stabilizer).  My understanding is that Neurontin is not very effectvie as a mood stabilizer but my pdoc thought it would be effective for the purpose of slowing my brain down and alleviating my anxiety.  The second part of the analysis kind of threw me off.  While my brain in general is going too fast, the activity in the frontal lobes suggests ADD.  This was explained to me as the whole orchestra is there and playing, but the conductor is asleep.  Once we figure out the proper neurontin dose (calming yet I'm not asleep), we will add Adderall for the ADD.  I will keep you posted and let you know how I respond to the meds.

Thanks for your sharing and it is interesting. Please keep us posted.
I hope you get your meds working and life begins to feel better for you.