Posted by SLS on December 14, 2013, at 20:55:44
In reply to Re: Do Mood Stabilizers Work For Depression, posted by babbler20 on December 14, 2013, at 18:55:57
> > What about Lamictal (lamotrigine)? It works more like an antidepresant than an antimanic.
> >
> >
> > - Scott
>
> Hi, I tried Lamictal and Lithium a few years ago, but I didn't benefit from either, unfortunately.Are you an ultra-rapid cycler bipolar (four mood episodes within a month)? Is there anything about your case (including family history) that might indicate a bipolar-spectrum disorder? I've seen agomelatine help quite a bit with ultra-rapid cycling bipolar disorder.
If you can tolerate low dosages of lithium (150 - 450 mg/day), I would consider it - not so much for its acute therapeutic effects, but so as to protect the brain and optimize your chances of responding to treatment in the future. If your hands tremor from lithium, you are probably taking too much. This low-dosage strategy does not utilize blood tests. There is no established blood levels for lithium when used as an adjunct to antidepressants when treating unipolar depression. Lithium does a lots of good stuff. It might even reduce the risk of getting Alzheimers.
If there is any bipolarity going on, you might want to try combining minocycline + Lamictal + Abilify. I'm doing better with these drugs in my treatment regime.
I take:
Parnate 100 mg/day
nortriptyline 150 mg/day
Lamictal 200 mg/day
lithium 450 mg/day
Abilify 10 mg/day
prazosin 25 mg/day
minocycline 200 mg/day
- Scott
Some see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:1056031
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20131209/msgs/1056184.html