Posted by SLS on November 6, 2003, at 19:37:58
In reply to Lamictal vs. Depakote, posted by Dinah on November 6, 2003, at 12:21:13
Hi Dinah.
I'm really not familiar with the usage of Lamictal for headache, however, I can attest the antidepressant properties of this drug. Unfortunately for me, it has provided only a mild improvement. I have observed that a great many people experience improvement of their depression early in treatment and at low dosages, only to find it necessary to increase the dosage, whereupon there is a plateauing of effect. I'm not sure how it might benefit someone with dysthymia, but I think it would be worth a try. Depakote can most definitely be depressogenic. That has been my own experience with it. There is a caveat regarding the combination of Depakote and Lamictal. Depakote causes blood levels of Lamictal to increase by a factor of at least two. The rule of thumb is to cut the daily dosage of Lamictal by half to compensate for this, and titrate more gradually to help prevent Stevens-Johnson's Syndrome and the development of serious rash. I have tried this combination and did not suffer any untoward reactions. It seems to me that you will increase your chances of receiving benefit to either condition by throwing both drugs at them.
I wish you luck. I hope this has helped.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:277175
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031105/msgs/277279.html