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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sac on February 1, 2004, at 20:42:01
I am having trouble with an aspect of Lamictal. It seems to have an AD effect after I initially take it in the morning, this seems to wear off and by early evening, I am anxious/depressed. The second dose is taken just before bedtime. I was wondering if anyone experiences this on Lamictal and if more frequent dosing (like 3 times a day) would relieve this feeling. Thanks.
Posted by lauram on February 2, 2004, at 19:50:18
In reply to Lamictal 3x daily dosing...ANYONE?, posted by sac on February 1, 2004, at 20:42:01
I was curious as to what your dosage of Lamictal is. I've been slowly increasing my dose per my Pdoc 25mg every two weeks and will be at the 150mg he wants me on this week. Are you bipolar? I take it once a day in the morning. I haven't noticed the AD effects as I am also decreasing my Depakote and together they tend to make me quite sedated. He has switched me over though as he wants to achieve the AD effects as well as the control of my bipolar episodes.
Posted by sac on February 2, 2004, at 21:27:33
In reply to Re: Lamictal 3x daily dosing...ANYONE? » sac, posted by lauram on February 2, 2004, at 19:50:18
I am re-trying Lamictal after a six months trial with Depakote, Lithium, and Trileptal which didn't work out. I previously was on Lamictal at 150 mgs. (75 mgs. morn/75 mgs. bedtime) I did well on the Lamictal, my only problem was a decrease in mood by early evening along with increasing anxiety. I don't have this particular feeling off the Lamictal so I suspect the Lamictal is causing this side effect. Right now I am just starting it again and at 50 mgs. once at night, I'm going to work up to 200 mgs. this time. Overall, I like the Lamictal out of the MS I've been on, it's just this one element that distresses me. I was wondering if tinkering with the dosing strategy would alleviate this.
> I was curious as to what your dosage of Lamictal is. I've been slowly increasing my dose per my Pdoc 25mg every two weeks and will be at the 150mg he wants me on this week. Are you bipolar? I take it once a day in the morning. I haven't noticed the AD effects as I am also decreasing my Depakote and together they tend to make me quite sedated. He has switched me over though as he wants to achieve the AD effects as well as the control of my bipolar episodes.
Posted by lauram on February 3, 2004, at 0:34:06
In reply to Re: Lamictal 3x daily dosing...ANYONE? » lauram, posted by sac on February 2, 2004, at 21:27:33
I hope this next trial on Lamictal will work out for you. After reading your post I did discover something I hadn't thought of. I've also experienced an increase in anxiety and depression later in the evening since I've been on Lamictal. I'm curious to know if this might be dose related or how we take this med. I will ask my Pdoc if he suggests a one time dose or whether it might be better to take in two dosages.
Did the Depakote not work for you? I have been on this med for six months but was experiencing too much hair loss and body tremor. He is slowly decreasing my Depakote while increasing my Lamictal. I am hoping this med will work for me. Often times bipolars need two meds, or even three to control symptoms. My job requires me to be very alert and the sedation of Depakote has proved to be too much for me.
Keep me posted as I am interested in how you are doing.
Posted by sac on February 5, 2004, at 20:55:40
In reply to Re: Lamictal 3x daily dosing...ANYONE?, posted by lauram on February 3, 2004, at 0:34:06
Actually, I liked the Depakote initially because it was calming for me, unfortunately, I was not able to go above 250 mgs. because my depression would worsen. I took 250ER for about 3 months but this was not a high enough dose to stop me from cycling between hypomania and severe depression. So I decided to discontinue the Depakote and give the Lamictal another try. It will take me a while to work up to the 200mgs. my doc wants me at so we will see how things go. I have to say my only real issue with the Lamictal from the last time I was on it, was this sort of anxiety/depression that would develop in the evening. Actually, because I am still dealing with an agitated depression right now, I have been taking Serax out of necessity. I have found that if I take the Serax I tend to feel better in the evening which is making me wonder if the feeling I was getting was anxiety/apprehension and not really depression. Sometimes, it's hard for me to distinguish between the feelings and they can be so overlapping as well.
> I hope this next trial on Lamictal will work out for you. After reading your post I did discover something I hadn't thought of. I've also experienced an increase in anxiety and depression later in the evening since I've been on Lamictal. I'm curious to know if this might be dose related or how we take this med. I will ask my Pdoc if he suggests a one time dose or whether it might be better to take in two dosages.
>
> Did the Depakote not work for you? I have been on this med for six months but was experiencing too much hair loss and body tremor. He is slowly decreasing my Depakote while increasing my Lamictal. I am hoping this med will work for me. Often times bipolars need two meds, or even three to control symptoms. My job requires me to be very alert and the sedation of Depakote has proved to be too much for me.
>
> Keep me posted as I am interested in how you are doing.
This is the end of the thread.
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