Posted by fluffy on December 4, 2003, at 11:23:48
In reply to Re: Lamictal side effects + arsenic for anxiety, posted by blancale on December 3, 2003, at 19:00:59
Hi Blancale--
Hmm. I'm not sure about this arsenic stuff, as it seems to be rather middle ages...Maybe i'm just being overly squeemish. I'm pale enough as it is. The only thing i know about it is that Victorian women took it to look as pale as ghosts, basically poisoning themselves. It would explain the fainting as well as the tightly drawn corsets. Why not try good old fashioned cognitive therapy. It's been shown as effective as the SSRI's to quell something that's not largely chemical. If it is chemical, then I've heard that Neurontin does a bang up job for anxiety. My aunt swears by it. It's better than the benzo alternative. But Klonopin is also very effective, and is classified as an anti-siezure drug as well.
I also had the itching bugs crawling thing when starting another anti-epileptic...trileptal. When I first started Lamictal, I had a lot of tingling, and some twitching which went away, too. I think it's more common with Topomax, but you know, anything dealing with nerve endings can cause this stuff. As long as it's transient, it probably is no cause for alarm. You body is adjusting to your central nervous system adjusting.
I'd like to field another question, if I may...a bit off the subject. I think my sodium levels are dropping on Trileptal. It can be a side effect, serious if left untreated. I've been nauseous, weak, tired, and I have numbness in my face that comes and goes. This is probably working my kidneys pretty hard, and it would explain the kidney pain as well. I went to get a blood check yesterday. I hope this is easily solved, (maybe a pretzel a day?) as the 600mg of Trileptal (added to the 200mg of Lamictal) seems to have quelled my rapid cycling. But this nausea , weakness thing is just awful.
Blancale--I'm rapid cycling bipolar II, and I take 100mg of Lamictal at night, and 100mg in the day. I've been taking it for 8 months now, so I think it's ok (my doctor says) to just take all 200mg in the morning. I'm just used to the twice a day dosing, so I continue to do it. I think if you have enough in your system, the half life is long enough that it doesn't matter...once or twice a day. Whichever is convenient for you. I've also heard that epileptics can take higher doses of Lamictal depending on effectiveness. The clinical studies for BP depression show that there is little more effectiveness beyond 200mg.
Katia--What's going on with you, my friend? Long time, no post!
poster:fluffy
thread:238206
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031202/msgs/286533.html