Posted by BarbaraCat on September 28, 2003, at 13:28:10
In reply to Hey Fluffy, posted by Dalilah on September 28, 2003, at 12:55:57
Hi Dahlila,
BarbaraCat here. Are you taking Lam right now? I know you were going through alot of uncertainty around meds. Are you feeling OK, better at least? I was going to give Fluff and Katia this bit of advice as well and hope they get the thread.You're probably shooting for some target with Lam based on a 'therapeutic dose' which is somewhere between 200-250mg for the majority of folks. I read here quite frequently that the real magical effect kicks in at that level and there's rarely an increase thereafter.
It's been almost 2 years for me and I'm still at 135mg and feel fine (along with the very necessary 600mg lithium). I'll probably aim for that 'magic' 200mg of Lam just to see what all the excitement is about, but I'll gradually titrate up and carefully monitor how I'm feeling.
I felt great for a few months at 25mg and for almost a year at 50mg. That was my therapeutic level for that point in time and anything more felt jittery and not even necessary. I'd encourage anyone to stay at the level they feel good at and not increase until they start feeling like they need it. You don't need to push it even though someone recommends you reach that therapeutic dose no matter what.
You know, Dahlila, here we all are, taking meds because it's the only way we know how to keep the black beast away. You might as well do it right and take the dose that works for you. Just going part way because of concerns about tolerance, escalating doses, etc., is like being in Limbo. The worry and anxiety is very stressful to your body and probably causing more stress and grief than just going for it with the meds.
Once you're at a point where you're feeling better, you get clearer and can make better judgements about where you want to go with it. You have the motivation to start exercising, the clarity to follow a healthy lifestyle, and all these things help to support a healthier biochemistry.
Once you get all systems working well and supporting each other then you can decide if you want to decrease, go higher still, whatever. But I'd strongly suggest that if you're in a weakened state emotionally and/or physically, don't decrease anything that seems likely to help. Decreasing a med and leaving yourself deficient is destabilizing and depleting. Go for the gold, get strong and healthy, and then you may find you can do with much less. - Barbara
> Hey Fluffy,
> How much Lamictal are you up to? And how often do you go up? This frightens me. I don't want to have to keep going up and up. I felt this way with Effexor before, until I topped out at the maximum does and eventually went to the psyche ward for depression.
> Dalilah
poster:BarbaraCat
thread:238206
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030928/msgs/263948.html