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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by bipolarspectrum on April 12, 2006, at 15:31:54
Hello,
I'm currently taking trileptal along with seroquel and lithium for bipolar disorder.. I'm really confused as to what the therapeutic dose range of trileptal should be for bipolar? I read on the box its like from 600-2400... what dose have people had success or experience with??
bps
Posted by SLS on April 12, 2006, at 15:49:05
In reply to Whats a good dose of TRILEPTAL??????????????, posted by bipolarspectrum on April 12, 2006, at 15:31:54
> Hello,
> I'm currently taking trileptal along with seroquel and lithium for bipolar disorder.. I'm really confused as to what the therapeutic dose range of trileptal should be for bipolar? I read on the box its like from 600-2400... what dose have people had success or experience with??
> bps
Hi.I found 900mg to be the sweet spot to bring me some relief from depression. Since I do not cycle into mania, I can't attest to at what dosage Trileptal becomes effective as an antimanic or mood stabilizer.
The only side effect I experienced was the appearance of excematous lesions on my hands and fingers. Otherwise, it was a remarkably clean drug, and did not produce any cognitive side effects.
Trileptal should be administered in divided doses, as it has a relatively short half-life, which is 2 hours for the parent molecule and 9 hours for the active metabolite.
Good luck.
- Scott
Posted by Phillipa on April 12, 2006, at 22:04:42
In reply to Re: Whats a good dose of TRILEPTAL??????????????, posted by SLS on April 12, 2006, at 15:49:05
Scott does trileptal only have a short half life in bipolar? As when I was prescribed it it was only supposed to help me sleep better. Love Phillipa
Posted by bipolarspectrum on April 12, 2006, at 22:41:43
In reply to Re: Whats a good dose of TRILEPTAL??????????????, posted by SLS on April 12, 2006, at 15:49:05
SLS,
THanx for the reply... I'm currently on 1200mg and its going well... but it seems that I get a feelin from it for a week or so (as happened on 600mg) then I have to increase the dose... but the feelin i get is great! pure stability! just wondering if u've seen that before??
bps
Posted by SLS on April 13, 2006, at 7:06:29
In reply to Re: Whats a good dose of TRILEPTAL??????????????, posted by bipolarspectrum on April 12, 2006, at 22:41:43
> THanx for the reply... I'm currently on 1200mg and its going well... but it seems that I get a feelin from it for a week or so (as happened on 600mg) then I have to increase the dose... but the feelin i get is great! pure stability! just wondering if u've seen that before??
It is only recently that I have seen Trileptal being used regularly for mood illness, despite its being available for a number of years. I don't remember seeing posts describing the need for dosage escalation in a way similar to Lamictal.
I think we sometimes get a bit too impatient when we assess the effectiveness of drugs, especially when it comes to mood stabilizers with bipolar disorder. It is not uncommon to see a sort of brief improvement early in treatment that disappears only to see it reemerge later. I guess one could be more patient waiting for a drug to work if they were to know in advance that they were on the right drugs at the right dosages. But it doesn't work that way. 1200mg sounds pretty good to me.
Have you noticed any side effects?
- Scott
Posted by bipolarspectrum on April 13, 2006, at 13:19:53
In reply to Re: Whats a good dose of TRILEPTAL??????????????, posted by SLS on April 13, 2006, at 7:06:29
Hey Scott,
Once again, thanx for the reply... I havent noticed much in terms of side effects from trileptal... but it seems that I can't maintain the early benefits I experienced... Its only been a week and a half though... ur post helped me alot, it made me think of being patient and giving this drug more time... its hard though because I just want the suffering to stop... but your words of wisdom are correct I believe...
bps> It is only recently that I have seen Trileptal being used regularly for mood illness, despite its being available for a number of years. I don't remember seeing posts describing the need for dosage escalation in a way similar to Lamictal.
>
> I think we sometimes get a bit too impatient when we assess the effectiveness of drugs, especially when it comes to mood stabilizers with bipolar disorder. It is not uncommon to see a sort of brief improvement early in treatment that disappears only to see it reemerge later. I guess one could be more patient waiting for a drug to work if they were to know in advance that they were on the right drugs at the right dosages. But it doesn't work that way. 1200mg sounds pretty good to me.
>
> Have you noticed any side effects?
>
>
> - Scott
Posted by mattw84 on April 14, 2006, at 0:08:52
In reply to Re: Whats a good dose of TRILEPTAL??????????????, posted by bipolarspectrum on April 13, 2006, at 13:19:53
BPS,
The typical route is to increase the dose 600mg per week to the "target" dose of 2400mg QD.
Hope this helps,
Matt
Posted by med_empowered on April 14, 2006, at 16:50:03
In reply to Re: Whats a good dose of TRILEPTAL??????????????, posted by mattw84 on April 14, 2006, at 0:08:52
It seems to vary wildly--usually, though, it seems like 600-1200mgs is the range for bipolars and moody depressives...I imagine higher doses could be used for "loading" (to kill of mania quickly) or in mania-prone people, or in schizoaffective disorder. Personally, I think 900 is good.
This is the end of the thread.
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