Posted by msanjelpie on October 20, 2003, at 3:01:10
In reply to Re: lamictal questions » linnette, posted by JohnR on October 19, 2003, at 22:40:30
I started on Lamictal in 1999. The prozac just wasn't quite fixing everything... I upped the dose every week until I was at 200mg per day. I had the same side effects during each dose increase... muscles in my eyes hurt, blurred vision, leg cramps, spaciness etc...
Once I got to 200mg it seemed like the world was absolutely perfect. The problem with this was, of course it's not perfect, but my perception that it was made me very unwilling to change anything even if it needed changing...
Another problem is that it is very motivational and wants to make you do every little thing that pops into your head... So I'd have a pot on the stove cooking and all of a sudden I'd want to fold laundry while the pot is overflowing, and in the process of fixing the food with the laundry half done, then I decide that the fridge needs to be scrubbed etc... Hard to get anything done at first... Now that I've been on it 4 years, those problems have pretty much evened out as I 'force' myself to complete a task before starting a new one...
Somehow in my lamictal induced happy haze, I convinced myself that I should have another baby. I actually took the lamictal during the pregnancy up until the 5th month when I went off of it cold turkey.
When ever I skip a dose I get neck muscle tightening and a bad headache... That was multiplied during the withdrawal...
After the baby was born, and the resulting post partum suicidal depression, I started back on the same cocktail, 40mg prozac and 200mg lamictal.
Everything was the same.. Felt like doing those things that I didn't care about before, it's a very motivating drug, I don't want to sit still for a minute...
I wouldn't want to be off of either drug. I think they work great in combination. Definitely need the Prozac for the serotonin and the lamictal for the mood stabilizer... Also take Ativan for the anxiety associated with the Prozac...
I've probably never felt more 'normal' in my life on this cocktail...
poster:msanjelpie
thread:269540
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031015/msgs/271013.html