Posted by Racer on May 27, 2006, at 16:56:18
In reply to Racer - Doesn't bode well then., posted by denise1966 on May 27, 2006, at 15:24:38
> Hi Racer,
>
> Did the lamictal help your depression even though it made you lethargic?
>
> DeniseI had an atypically bad reaction to it, and shouldn't have posted that this morning. (I haven't been doing very well just recently.)
Yes, I had a bad reaction to it. It made me lethargic -- but also made me constipated and severely increased my depression. That reaction was pretty bad from about 50mg onwards, although my pdoc at the time suggested that raising the dose would improve things. I wasn't willing to try, and my T thought I was right about it. It's possible, though, that it would have gotten better had I been willing to try it.
In case you're wondering, though, even though it wasn't pleasant and I had a hard time getting through it, I stuck it out to the 200mg level, where I stayed for about a month. It was only after that that I was convinced that it wasn't worth continuing. (And that was through SEVERELY increased depression -- sitting in one spot all day, staring at walls, and crying for no apparent reason.)
I would strongly recommend that you titrate up according to your doctor's orders, rather than the "inconsistent" manner -- yes, Scott does have such a sweet way with words -- and give it time. I know it's hard, but what helped me was repeating to myself, "I'll never know unless I give it an honest trial. If I don't manage to give this an honest trial, I will never know if it might have been the right one for me." Maybe you can find something similar to get you through it. I'd say four to six weeks at 200mg will be enough, so you'll know that if it doesn't work, it's not forever, and you'll be able to stop it knowing that you did all you could to allow it to be your friend.
Good luck.
poster:Racer
thread:649233
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060525/msgs/649435.html