Posted by worrier on January 20, 2004, at 20:51:06
In reply to Re: Anxiety and Lamactil, posted by Basia on January 19, 2004, at 12:17:05
> I have been on Lamictal (with Sulpiride and Carbamazepine) for seven weeks and ,as I have been titrating , have found that the first few days of an increase caused massive activation and panic, particularly in the early days. Now I've increased up to 200mg and most of the irritability and agitation have gone. It is an activating drug, I have found,and it really has got rid of most symptoms of my depression (at last!) but I reckon it takes a while to get over the panicky effects. I found the worst was when I went from 25mg to 50mg - felt like killing people!
>
> I also find it less panic-inducing than SSRIs, which are killers as far as my illness is concerned (bipolar with psychosis when high but mostly depressed). Hang in there if you can bear it - maybe add a benzo.
>
> Good luck anyway - I hope you find the right med combination soon..
>
> Lyn> After much discussion with my pdoc....frantic "oh my god what am I going to do?" type calls we've decided to stop the lamactil for a couple of weeks and then start with a really small dose (12.5mg) and work slowly up from there, since it did seem to help with the depression more than anything else I've tried. I do take xanax, the extended release suplemented with the regular stuff, but its taking alot to keep the anxiety the lam. caused at bay. He thinks due to my extreme sensitivity to virtually all drugs(with the exception of benzos which I seem to metabolize at the speed of light) I need at least 2 weeks off the lam. to make sure its really all cycled out before we try again. I really appreciate everyones' input and am GREATLY RELIEVED to know I am not the only one who has had this happen. Gives me a bit more hope. Thanks again to everyone. Luck to all. Worrier.
poster:worrier
thread:302444
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040118/msgs/303469.html