Posted by banga on January 29, 2005, at 12:31:09
In reply to Re: Bipolar II: Started Lamictal; What should I ex » MoparFan91, posted by tensor on January 29, 2005, at 4:06:36
Hi,
I am diagnosed with Major Depression, although with the more flexible interpretations of Bipolar II I may have bipolar disorder. I have a large anxiety component, a mix of social/generalized anxiety. the depression keeps me from enjoying life, the anxiety keeps me from even trying.
I am taking Lamictal 200mg. When I began Lamictal even on a small dose my anxiety dissipated. I felt my moods stop swingin into times of despair. It did not life my depression completely, but truly seemed to "stabilize" my mood, true to its label.
Unfortunately this effect faded. In reading posts here this seems to be common. For some, upping the dose more and more will do the trick; for some, the effect just never seems to stick.
It is worth a try, esp. in combination with other drugs.
Another thing some said is that they did better when they split the dose 1/2 in am 1/2 in pm--otherwise there seemed to be an energy crash in the afternoon. this seemed to be true for me..
The anxiety/depression combo you speak of, similar to mine, is so hard to deal with. On the one hand you need activation out of the lethargy and apathy, but on the other hand you can't take things that may exascerbate anxiety/bring on hypomania.
Search under Lamictal on this site and you will hit a lot of interesting discussions, or simply browse previous pages.
poster:banga
thread:449653
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050128/msgs/449738.html