Shown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by metalflipflop on December 3, 2003, at 20:39:10
hello all,
i have read the many postings re lamictal with much interest as i am in the early stages of taking the drug (right now on 75mg). my doc added it to my zoloft (150mg) and cytomel (6.25mcg) to hopefully knock out the rest of tough-to-treat depression with some soft bipolar features.
i am feeling a little better mood-wise, but i have been noticing worsening anxiety that leaves me tense, worried, and picking at myself. could this be from the lamictal? (my doc doesn't think so.)
i have neurontin to take as needed for anxiety, but i'm not convinced that it's worth much for me, or else i'm not taking enough. would upping my zoloft a bit provide a slight anxiolytic effect? it seems anymore that all the drugs beget more drugs, but i want to be depression-free however i can accomplish that.
all input appreciated, and support offered if anybody else out there is in this sort of situation.
~L.
Posted by Emme on December 3, 2003, at 22:43:06
In reply to lamictal and anxiety--what to add or lose?, posted by metalflipflop on December 3, 2003, at 20:39:10
Hi. I also have refractory depression with bipolar features. I haven't taken it with zoloft, so I can't comment on that. What I can tell you is that I had jitteriness when I was titrating up on Lamictal and was at about the dosage you are at. A lot of the jitteriness wore off, so try to be patient. I also take clonazepam and atenolol to control anxiety anyway, and those helped with the edginess from Lamictal. It still makes me wake up kind of early, but since I've always been a night person, I appreciate the extra help getting up in the morning.
About the neurontin, it does nothing for a lot of people but is good for some. I personally found it helpful for anxiety and oversensitivity to noise. I had no problems getting off of it, but there's a thread above about difficulties with neurontin discontinuation. Good luck deciding what to do about neurontin and zoloft.
Emme
> hello all,
> i have read the many postings re lamictal with much interest as i am in the early stages of taking the drug (right now on 75mg). my doc added it to my zoloft (150mg) and cytomel (6.25mcg) to hopefully knock out the rest of tough-to-treat depression with some soft bipolar features.
> i am feeling a little better mood-wise, but i have been noticing worsening anxiety that leaves me tense, worried, and picking at myself. could this be from the lamictal? (my doc doesn't think so.)
> i have neurontin to take as needed for anxiety, but i'm not convinced that it's worth much for me, or else i'm not taking enough. would upping my zoloft a bit provide a slight anxiolytic effect? it seems anymore that all the drugs beget more drugs, but i want to be depression-free however i can accomplish that.
> all input appreciated, and support offered if anybody else out there is in this sort of situation.
> ~L.
Posted by metalflipflop on December 4, 2003, at 14:35:48
In reply to Re: lamictal and anxiety--what to add or lose? » metalflipflop, posted by Emme on December 3, 2003, at 22:43:06
hi emme,
if you don't mind my asking, how much lamictal do you take? do you feel that it pulled you out of your depression, and at what point did you start to feel good effects? i hear such good things about it that i am willing to go slowly, wait, and be patient. the problem is that i am literally pulling my hair out, and it's hard to be in a good mood with so much anxiety.
thanks!
liz
Posted by Emme on December 4, 2003, at 15:17:03
In reply to Re: lamictal and anxiety--what to add or lose?, posted by metalflipflop on December 4, 2003, at 14:35:48
Hi Liz,
First of all, the therapeutic dose seems to vary enourmously from person to person. Some people do well parking it at 75 or 100 mg. Some need hundreds. So you'll be sort of feeling your way with it.
The first time I tried Lamictal, I hit pay dirt at 75 mg. It was great. Then I got a rash and we stopped it and decided to try it again at a super slow titration.
The second time I didn't have the same great results at 75 mg. We've kept inching it up and I'm now at 375 mg. The benefit is that when I hit about 300 mg, my therapist observed that I'm more consistent, less up and down. It's doing something, evening me out, and I'm tolerating it pretty well. The problem is that I'm still down. I still have hideous depression. So my hopes of Lamictal monotherapy aren't looking too good unless it kicks in after I hit 400 mg.
A lot of people seem to need augmentation. Right now I'm trying selegiline for AD effect and I have atenolol and clonazepam for anxiety. I also occasionally use a dash of seroquel for anxiety. I have found seroquel very helpful with lamictal-induced insomnia.
My pdoc has had such great results with Lamictal for a number of patients. I'd encourage you to stick it out if you can. If you're jumping out of your skin, it sounds like you need something to help with the anxiety/jitteriness. Are you taking anything now? Does your pdoc have any suggestions? Good luck.
Emme
> hi emme,
> if you don't mind my asking, how much lamictal do you take? do you feel that it pulled you out of your depression, and at what point did you start to feel good effects? i hear such good things about it that i am willing to go slowly, wait, and be patient. the problem is that i am literally pulling my hair out, and it's hard to be in a good mood with so much anxiety.
> thanks!
> liz
Posted by Flipsactown on December 5, 2003, at 14:06:30
In reply to lamictal and anxiety--what to add or lose?, posted by metalflipflop on December 3, 2003, at 20:39:10
I have been on lamictal (currently at 300mgs) almost 3 months and am depression free. I take it along with 100mgs prozac and 90mgs remeron. It was in the 6th week that I noticed a dramatic lifting of depression. I have been on ADs over 12 years. Just be patient and hopefully your treatment resistant depression will lift like mine.
Flipsactown
> hello all,
> i have read the many postings re lamictal with much interest as i am in the early stages of taking the drug (right now on 75mg). my doc added it to my zoloft (150mg) and cytomel (6.25mcg) to hopefully knock out the rest of tough-to-treat depression with some soft bipolar features.
> i am feeling a little better mood-wise, but i have been noticing worsening anxiety that leaves me tense, worried, and picking at myself. could this be from the lamictal? (my doc doesn't think so.)
> i have neurontin to take as needed for anxiety, but i'm not convinced that it's worth much for me, or else i'm not taking enough. would upping my zoloft a bit provide a slight anxiolytic effect? it seems anymore that all the drugs beget more drugs, but i want to be depression-free however i can accomplish that.
> all input appreciated, and support offered if anybody else out there is in this sort of situation.
> ~L.
Posted by Tony P on January 2, 2004, at 18:05:39
In reply to Re: lamictal and anxiety--what to add or lose? » metalflipflop, posted by Flipsactown on December 5, 2003, at 14:06:30
I have been titrating up on Lamictal for a bit over a month - a few days after reaching 100 mg/day, I experienced extreme anxiety - shaking, pacing, extreme fear. It may also have been partly delayed reaction to stopping the Serzone I was on for many years.
As I have just posted under "Risperdal for Anxiety", clonazepam (4mg/day) helped a lot with the emergency, and more recently - about 10 days later - Risperdal at a small dose (.25-.5 mg/day) has made me feel much more stable and "sane".
My pdoc says he expects good social and GAD anti-anxiety effects from the Lamictal, especially at higher doses - he was surprised by my extreme anxiety reaction. I am glad to know from ealier postings here I am not alone in experience initial nervousness - I hope the anxiety will indeed decrease with time so I won't need so many extra meds to cope.
Tony
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.