Posted by JohnL on August 30, 2000, at 4:04:01
In reply to Re: Adderall, posted by AndrewB on August 29, 2000, at 12:03:57
> John,
>
> Tried the adrafinil for 3 or 4 days. I had a big headache and inner tension. Will try again sometime in the near future at a lower dose, half a pill. How about lamotrigine as an arousal agent?
>
> AndrewBDid you try Adrafinil alone, or in combination with Amisulpride? Was Reboxetine involved at that time?
Lamictal...to me it was a non-sedating med that definitely made life 'smoother'. Good mood stabilizer, and a good med to quiet my tinnitus. It wasn't really alerting or stimulating in anyway. It's hard to say. On a scale with 0 being neutral, -5 being very sedated, and +5 being very stimulated, I would rate Lamictal about a +1. But who knows. Some people don't feel much effect from it, while others experience magic.
I kind of miss the smoothness and the quiet ears, so I sometimes think about starting it again. But since I'm already taking an antipsychotic (Amisulpride) and a stimulant/antidepressant (Adrafinil), I'm hesitant to add another med. There have been times in the past where I was taking 5 or 7 meds at the same time. It feels good to be doing pretty good with just two.
One more thing about Lamictal...I had a pdoc at the time who was a wiz with drugs. I mean, he knew every little intricacy about everything. He knew astounding details that I couldn't find in literature or on the net anywhere. Concerning Lamictal, he said it has some boosting effect on dopamine. He explained that is why I had a boost in sex drive, slight insomnia, and a boost in work productivity at the time. So, since you are focusing on dopamine, Lamictal might be the link in the chain you're looking for. But is it an arousal agent? I would call Adrafinil, Amisulpride, Ritalin, and Adderall arousal agents. I wouldn't put Lamictal on that same level, though I have to say it was in no way dulling or sedating. It could be a slightly arousing agent. I think its best potential may be in combination with other dopinergic drugs, so they work on dopamine in synergy from different angles.
The bummer about it is the time it takes to give it a trial. Since you can only increase dose by 25mg a week to be on the safe side, it takes a while to get up into the 100mg to 200mg range to see what the effect is. But overall, I liked it much better than a whole lot of other drugs. If I had to choose my favorite Top 5 drugs out of say 20 or 30, Lamictal would be one of them. I liked Lamictal. Hhmmmm....
But in your shoes, I think I would do like you said...try 1/2 Adrafinil with Amisulpride. After much tweaking, I've found my best level is 25mg Amisulpride + 600 Adrafinil. This is definitely an arousal combination. But I had to work up to that level. I couldn't have started at 600mg Adrafinil. Too much too soon for me. 300mg Adrafinil isn't quite enough, while 600mg is almost to the point of inner tension, but just shy of it.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:43648
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000822/msgs/44046.html