Posted by nmk on September 26, 2003, at 11:03:51
In reply to Re: How does lamictal feel and how much does it he » nmk, posted by BarbaraCat on September 24, 2003, at 15:35:11
Barbara,
And you are also my guardian angel. Thank you so much for your insight and always thoughtful responses.
To answer some of the points you brought up....I don't believe the discontinuation of the seroquel is causing this nagging anxiety since I experienced it every day when I was still taking it. Although my mood is up, the anxiety lingers and the only way to temper it is with benzos. As you mentioned, I don't want to build a tolerence to Ativan but I don't know what the alternative would be at this point.
I did see a holistic MD a few months ago, after waiting 5 months to get an appt. I guess he is pretty well respected and has written many books on thyroid conditions. Here is my experience with him. He asked alot of questions, did the physical exam, and took a million viles above. I met with him a few weeks later and the results indicated that everything was fine except for low progesterone, vitamin B, borderline low thyroid and extremely low B12. He threw multivitamins, mineral supplements, natural progesterone cream and B12 injections at me and promised I would feel better. The progesterone induced a mild depression and to be honest, I can't tell what the other's are doing although I am still taking them daily. Does your naturopath have a similar approach to treatment. Also, what supplements does he/she have you taking?
Regarding Barto's book, what I recall him saying is that AD's need to be used in moderation along with the Lamictal. From hearing from the folks on the board, the consensus seems to be that Lamictal as a stand alone AD does not seem to work. So my dilemma is finding a mood stabilizer that doesn't cause anxiety. I am hesitant to combine Lithium for fear of the pork-o-genic factor (I already take Remeron at night). I have never been formally diagnosed as BPII since my pdoc prefers "to treat symptoms, not to diagnos" but many of the factors pointed out in Bartos book suggest that I may have it (with a strong anxiety component). The characteristics you describe of your BPII are very similar to mine with more of the agitated depression dominating.
Also, he explains that those who suffer from SEVERE PPD are more likely to be BPII. Another fact he mentioned is that AD's at higher doses, or combined AD's induce cycling, which is exactly what happened in my case.I have read your recent threads and hear that you are considering Trileptal. I was on Trileptal for 4 months before giving Lamictal a trial. As with many of my med trials, it worked well in the beginning but pooped out on me and the depression returned. At first, I started at 600 mg and was stable for a month... little depression and no cycling of mood. This did not last for long and I titrated up to 1200 mg. Again, worked for a few months and then petered out on me. That is when we decided to give Lamictal a try. As far as SE's, there were none.
Please keep in touch with me and thanks again for your wonderful response. I have printed it and have read it quite a few times.
Sincerely,
Nicole
poster:nmk
thread:261445
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030923/msgs/263469.html