Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 238887

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lamictal updates??

Posted by ruby on July 2, 2003, at 22:45:48

hi all--i'm new here and have been looking for info on lamictal; it seems the most recent i could find through the index was about a year ago. i'm wondering how folks are doing on it.

my background, briefly: i've been fighting depression since 9/11; have a background of sexual abuse, live in NYC, was too close to the towers when they were hit, have depression in the family.

been trying a variety of anit-depressants since november last year...prozac for 8 weeks, lexapro for eight weeks. then tried trazadone (for sleep) and effexor for about 6 weeks with no improvement (well, i was sleeping, thank GOD, but no improvement in mood. in fact i was feeling worse). so the psych added wellbutrin but after about 4 weeks i was getting confused, forgetful, tremors, and lots of anxiety. she took me off the effexor, lowered the wellbutrin and added zoloft. 6 weeks later, i'm still very depressed, having a tough time getting things done, crying all the time, having trouble with self-abuse too.

soooo...the psych is adding lamictal tomorrow, starting at 12.5 for a week, then going up. i've read lots about it, talked lots with her and my therapist and going along with it with reservations. so how are folks tolerating it? any of you on it with any of these other meds? i think her plan is to take me off those if the lamictal works.

thanks in advance for any words you might be able to give me. ruby

 

Re: lamictal updates?? » ruby

Posted by Penny on July 3, 2003, at 8:44:35

In reply to lamictal updates??, posted by ruby on July 2, 2003, at 22:45:48

I take lamictal and have had no problems with it. In fact, it has been a good drug for me. I actually found out about it when a person from this board recommended it after reading my symptoms and saying I sounded a lot like her. I went to my doc and he agreed that while it wasn't the first mood stabilizer he usually tried, he was willing, especially since it has good antidepressant qualities.

However, I take Lamictal with other meds:
Lamictal: 200mgs 2x/day
Zoloft: 75mgs 2x/day
Geodon: 20mgs a.m.
Wellbutrin SR: 150mgs a.m.
Levoxyl (thyroid): .025mgs every other day

As my depression is treatment resistant, it has taken a complex combo of drugs to be even somewhat effective. Fortunately my pdoc is highly skilled in this area.

As I said, Lamictal can have good AD properties, so it's definitely worth a try, but keep your mind open to it not working effectively enough on it's own - it may need continued augmentation with other meds. Also, Geodon, an antipsychotic, has good AD properties also, so something to keep in mind. There are so many drugs out there and possible combinations of them - you have lots of options left. Try to stay hopeful - I know it's hard.

And PB has been a great source of support for me. Check out the other boards if you get a chance.

Welcome!

 

Re: lamictal updates?? » Penny

Posted by ruby on July 3, 2003, at 12:43:41

In reply to Re: lamictal updates?? » ruby, posted by Penny on July 3, 2003, at 8:44:35

penny--

thanks so much for your message; it really does give me a sense of relief. i do believe i have a good psychiatrist; she is so thorough.
i just took my first lamictal--gees cutting those tiny pills in half is a real trick. so for this week i'm on:

lamictal: 12.5mg
zoloft: 50mg
wellbutrin: 100mg 2x a day
trazadone: 75 mg. at night

i guess i find it hard to believe i need all these meds...but on the other hand i've been struggling so much for what seems like so long. and i've been worried about being able to go back to work in september (i teach at a college, so i'm lucky to be on a long break right now). it really feels like a physical illness these days, and i guess it is just that, a chemical imbalance.

anyway, thanks for your words and your welcome.

 

Re: lamictal updates??

Posted by Henryo on July 4, 2003, at 1:59:57

In reply to Re: lamictal updates?? » Penny, posted by ruby on July 3, 2003, at 12:43:41

I hated wellbutrin it made me forgetfull and I had night terrors. I stopped it after 6 weeks. I felt too weird. I love Lamictal it has been the best thing I've ever tried and I've tried a lot.

You should click on some of the previous periods (dates) at the top of the board, Work your way back through three weeks or more you will find tons of posts on Lamictal. Many by me. You'd think I was a drug rep. But it has worked so well with so few side effects. The draw back is you have to build up the dose so slowly. I went through hell waiting for it to get to a theraputic dose.

I am no doctor but as that Lamictal gets up around 100mg and higher per day you might want to re-examine your cocktail, that's a lot of meds. I bet you'll be able to lose the zoloft and the wellbutrin, even the trazadone, That said, if it works why fix it.

 

Question for Penny RE: lamictal updates??

Posted by Henryo on July 4, 2003, at 2:21:06

In reply to Re: lamictal updates?? » ruby, posted by Penny on July 3, 2003, at 8:44:35

Are you taking 400mg of Lamictal daily? Have you noticed any side effects at that dose? I ask because that is twice the dose I am on now and I wonder if more is better. Thanks

 

Re: Question for Penny RE: lamictal updates?? » Henryo

Posted by Penny on July 4, 2003, at 10:45:09

In reply to Question for Penny RE: lamictal updates??, posted by Henryo on July 4, 2003, at 2:21:06

> Are you taking 400mg of Lamictal daily? Have you noticed any side effects at that dose? I ask because that is twice the dose I am on now and I wonder if more is better. Thanks

Yep, 400 mgs a day (200 twice a day). Haven't noticed any side effects, but my doc does keep a pretty close check on the level of Lamictal in my system. He said that based on those levels, I still have room to move up if needed, and it may be needed based on my mood lately.

It has been a good drug for me though, and to think I may have never thought about it if it hadn't been for this board!

 

Re: lamictal updates?? » Henryo

Posted by ruby on July 4, 2003, at 11:29:14

In reply to Re: lamictal updates??, posted by Henryo on July 4, 2003, at 1:59:57

thanks so much for your encouraging words. i've been so nervous about starting on the lamictal...today i took my second dose. yesterday i felt weird after i took my first dose but i'm thinking it was mostly my nervousness...as well as the fact that i had two unrelated minor out-patient procedures yesterday.

when i went up to 300 on wellbutrin i got real forgetful and confused--not a good thing for a college professor...my students began to laugh at me and i had to laugh at myself...what else could i do? when i went back down to 200 i've been mostly okay...though i have my moments when it is hard to remember even where my wallet is. but that could be the ptsd too and my tendency towards dissociation.

how long have you been on lamictal? did you experience any of the rash? my hope is that the lamictal will kick in before the fall semester starts in a bit over 8 weeks.

thanks again for your response...and i did find those other posts too.

 

Re: lamictal updates??

Posted by Henryo on July 5, 2003, at 4:08:51

In reply to Re: lamictal updates?? » Henryo, posted by ruby on July 4, 2003, at 11:29:14

I have been on Lamictal for nearly 6 months. I an very pleased with it. It is hands down the best med I've ever tried. It does give me gas cramps if I don't take it mid meal. Lovely side effect eh? Otherwise no problems at all.

No rash, I went up nice and slow like they say to, somewhere near 100mg it started working. But I kept going to 200mg. I was in some real pain before it kicked in. I had abandoned my cocktail of several years because of libido non-existence.

When I was on wellbutrin I would forget what I was saying in the middle of a sentence. It's not for me. Have you had any night terrors with it? Those are awful.

 

Re: lamictal updates?? » Henryo

Posted by ruby on July 5, 2003, at 9:17:37

In reply to Re: lamictal updates??, posted by Henryo on July 5, 2003, at 4:08:51

thankfully, no night terrors--though i've had my share of them in the past w/o meds and i know how awful they can be. i've had a couple of dreams, however, that seem to be telling my the wellbutrin is no good for me--it may just be my deep discomfort about being on medications at all. i even hate to take anti-biotics. in one dream wellbutrin was a spaceship i was being urged to take to another land, but when i got on board i couldn't believe how shoddy the construction was, lots of loose wires, etc. pretty funny.

anyway, thanks again.


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