Posted by BarbaraCat on October 24, 2003, at 22:41:04
In reply to Lamictal , posted by St. John on October 24, 2003, at 11:05:41
Hi St. John,
Interesting. I've only talked to people on this board who have used lamictal because of bipolar depression. I was originally dx'd with severe unipolar but responded fitfully to ADs, finally decompensating alltogether with constant panic disorder. It all turned out later to be bipolar mixed states depression. It was a hard recognition because I didn't think I ever had a manic episode. My idea of mania was the gleeful mad-hatter Hollywood version and it didn't ever mesh with what I was experiencing. Looking back I now recognize many classic episodes of hypomania and mania, but it mainly blurred together as an agitated mixed states depression that was getting worse with the years.The reason I metion this is to wonder if there might be another dx besides unipolar depression. This might explain alot about your treatment resistance. Not the ECT part, but the medications. Have you ever read "Why your depression isn't getting better", M. Bartos? Anyhow, just a thought since bipolar isn't always obvious.
As for lamictal, it's been very helpful for the depression but I have to use it with lithium. Each alone doesn't work and I either get very agitated (no lithium) or very depressed (no lamictal). The only side effect I've had is a bit of activation with each increase and now anytime I attempt to go past my current 125mg dose I start to get intense itching that is not the rash. I'd encourage you to give it a try. It's very different from any AD and might just work for you. But like Dalilah said, the slow ramp up can be frustrating. One other consideration is that if indeed you might be BP, lamictal without another mood stabilizer (lithium for me) can be quite agitating. But perhaps with unipolar that won't be a problem. Good luck and let us know. - BarbaraCat
poster:BarbaraCat
thread:238206
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031021/msgs/272956.html