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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 michelle_is_crazy on June 11, 2008, at 0:44:39
O.K. soooo
ill try to make this a long story short. I've had a past of depression / anorexia. The lows have been VERY low. Not kill myself low but the kind where you sit still and your brain is moveing at the speed of light about this and that and blaaa blaa bla. Only thing that helps it is nothing or makeing myself get up and do something which is as hard as pulling your own teeth. And even when im doing something i still wish i was doing nothing. Um lets see not eating and obsessing about being thin heelped my a)self image b) distracted me from the obvious b.s. = depression and c) gave me energy because starving yourself makes your body quite anxious.
Ive been to treatment it worked!! Then i had kids that helped distract me and then recently (last 2 yrs) sh*t has gone downhill. Stuff that im sick of thinking about but lets say would constitue anyone to go into a depression especially one whos prone to it.
Over all the years i spoke of above begining at age 21 i started taking paxil for 5 years. Theni was put on neurontin and some other anti anxiet plus paxil. Got sick of all the crap in my body. Took myself off for 1.5 yrs. Felt nutso went back on paxil hated it because of the withdrawl i would feel if i missed a day. Switched to zoloft, it didnt work AT ALL then i went to Wellbutrin in October 07 which i thought was a MIRACLE pill. I felt great i was doing good then bam 2 months ago some more b.s. happend in my life and in the shitter i was again needless to say wellbutrin wasnt working at all.
Thing is remember i said i HAD anorexia. Well im very careful about what i take being sure i ask the dr. and research myself if each pil im perscribed isnt prone to make you gain weight. Paxil did zoloft didnt wellbutrin made me lose NOT go back to anorexia just didnt make me crave food it was a great relief for me considering its something i always think about.
SO i went back to the dr. in bad shape because the Wellutrin wasnt working right and he perscribed me lamictal which is a bi-polar/ anti seizure med? Im so confused - have you ever heard of this before being prescribed an inti bi-polar med for someone thats never been diagnosed with bipolar?
Do you think he thinks i am and doesnt want me to stress about that? Dont they take your blood to measure evrything to confirm if your bi-polar before they 'go there'
Anyways my ? are what have you heard of lamictal ?
and have you heard it makes you gain weight?
Do you or can you think of a better one that you know wont make me gain (i know this is the ongoing ? But im feeling desperate)
Do you know of one that takes the food craveings away like wellbutrin?
And or do you suggest i take both wellb and lamictal?
Im goin on my second week of lamictal and im obsessed with food. Have to admit i feel better already (depressed wise) but ya ive probably gained 5 in 9 days not good for me because soon i know myself i will start going to drastic measures to lose the weight ive gained but i wont stop and ill have a BIGGER even HUGGGGGER problem on my hands.
this is my 1st time posting im really sorry its so long. I hope someone read this tho and wants to help me...........i dont want to go 'there' again. grrrrr.
Posted by SLS on June 11, 2008, at 4:56:40
In reply to WELLBUTRIN/LAMICTAL/DEPRESSION/ANOREXIA?? help, posted by michelle_is_crazy on June 11, 2008, at 0:44:39
I'm sure you know that you are not crazy. Self-deprecating humor can be a release of sorts. Personally, I indulge in this kind of humor, but, for me, mental illness is off-limits.
First of all, Wellbutrin and Lamictal work well together for many people to relieve depression. I would continue with it if I were you, especially since there is only a marginal increase in body weight possible when first beginning Lamictal. If you put on 10 pounds, that should be about the maximum. I have actually lost 30 pounds while taking Lamictal. Unfortunately, combining nortriptyline and Nardil has caused me to put it back on. I would suggest that you not forecast a continual increase in body weight with the drugs you are on. Perhaps this will allow you to keep your AN in check.
What you might expect from Lamictal is that you feel better during the second week at 25-50mg, only to see the improvement disappear quickly. This is really a positive "blip" antidepressant response that is often an indicator of a more stable response later - usually between 150-200mg. You might feel a blip every time you raise the dosage, only to watch it disappear again. Try to be patient and give 200mg at least 4 weeks.
- Scott
Posted by michelle_is_crazy on June 11, 2008, at 23:22:01
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin/Lamictal/Depression/Anorexia?? help, posted by SLS on June 11, 2008, at 4:56:40
Hello and thank you Scott!! I agree with the name. Its how i was feeling at the time im having some bad days really bad days but i should have chosen a better name for long term reasons! I dont know how to change it though.
As far as taking the two drugs together, im sorry i was not more specific. My doctor told me to go off of wellbutrin and start lamictal. But i would really like to take them together and was wondering if anyone had input. Since you told me it was a good idea i would like to try. I have plenty of wellbutrin left. Should i consult the doctor or just try it out. I dont see the harm. I really think that the well helped with my anorexia but i am feeling possitive results for depression from the lamictal?
with that said, thank you again and i will try to figure out how to change me posting name :0)
Sincerelly,
Michelle (not crazy)
Posted by SLS on June 13, 2008, at 6:32:22
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin/Lamictal/Depression/Anorexia?? help, posted by michelle_is_crazy on June 11, 2008, at 23:22:01
> Hello and thank you Scott!! I agree with the name. Its how i was feeling at the time im having some bad days really bad days but i should have chosen a better name for long term reasons! I dont know how to change it though.
>
> As far as taking the two drugs together, im sorry i was not more specific. My doctor told me to go off of wellbutrin and start lamictal. But i would really like to take them together and was wondering if anyone had input. Since you told me it was a good idea i would like to try. I have plenty of wellbutrin left. Should i consult the doctor or just try it out. I dont see the harm. I really think that the well helped with my anorexia but i am feeling possitive results for depression from the lamictal?
>
> with that said, thank you again and i will try to figure out how to change me posting name :0)
>
> Sincerelly,
> Michelle (not crazy)
My doctor and his colleagues have concluded that Wellbutrin + Lamictal is a particularly good combination.I don't know how to counsel you with regard to your asking your doctor first before taking action. What if he says no? Hopefully, you have a good "feel" for how your doctor works with you to be able to make a decisions. The last thing I would want for you to do is to undermine your relationship with your doctor. Then again, simply adding the Lamictal to the Wellbutrin is the logical next move.
- Scott
Posted by blueboy on June 13, 2008, at 9:55:29
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin/Lamictal/Depression/Anorexia?? help, posted by michelle_is_crazy on June 11, 2008, at 23:22:01
> As far as taking the two drugs together, im sorry i was not more specific. My doctor told me to go off of wellbutrin and start lamictal. But i would really like to take them together and was wondering if anyone had input. Since you told me it was a good idea i would like to try. I have plenty of wellbutrin left. Should i consult the doctor or just try it out. I dont see the harm. I really think that the well helped with my anorexia but i am feeling possitive results for depression from the lamictal?
Okay, I realize that this isn't what you want to hear. My advice is, under no circumstances start taking leftover meds that your doctor has told you not to take.
#1 If it works, you are eventually going to have to tell him about it. How else will you get more Wellbutrin? He will never trust you again.
#2 If it doesn't work, you will either have to tell him about it -- see #1 -- or else he is going to be treating you based on incorrect data.
#3 He may be right. If you don't think your doctor may know something you don't, I'd strongly suggest that you get a new doctor. I'm not saying he's right, but I would follow his advice before I'd follow the advice of my own diseased mind or the advice of a layperson I had never met on an internet forum.
#4 It certainly makes sense to me that you should take Lamictal and gauge its effects without other psychoactive drugs. Then you have a baseline and can add other drugs, knowing a lot better what the other drugs do.
Taking prescription medication that your doctor has told you to discontinue is equivalent to taking prescription medication without a prescription. Really, it's a bad idea.
Of course, you also mentioned consulting the doctor and urging him to okay the Wellbutrin. Nothing wrong with that. If he is a good doctor, unless you catch him at a bad time, he should explain his reasoning to you.
Posted by Phillipa on June 13, 2008, at 12:24:46
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin/Lamictal/Depression/Anorexia?? help, posted by blueboy on June 13, 2008, at 9:55:29
Also Michelle let me welcome you to babble great infor here. But always check with pdoc first. And to change your name go to registration and rechange your name then got to admintration and say you changed your name don't have to say who you were. Phillipa
Posted by michelle_is_crazy on June 13, 2008, at 20:58:51
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin/Lamictal/Depression/Anorexia?? help, posted by Phillipa on June 13, 2008, at 12:24:46
thank yu guys so much. you are all so right on all accounts. What i really originally wanted to know was do Wellb and Lamac work well together! Since you said yes i am happy to proceed in asking my Dr.
Last time i went to him he said "what do you want ill give you whatever you want!" And talking about my needs and dislikes he suggested a few - cyplexa or something like that? he offered to up the wellb. i declined because i figured it wasnt working anymore because of how i had been feeling but without it in my system i can tell the difference and do appriciate what it was doing for me. I also feel better with the limactil so hopefully he will let me mix the two. I should have called today but ill have to wait until monday.
I hope what you are saying about not gaining any more weight on lamactil is accurate. It seems commen sense that if you have a symptom from a drug , the more mg's you take the more of the symptom you get. And I am only at 25 mg's for the past week but going up to 50mg's next week following with 100 the week after. SCARY. I most certainly am freaking out about these 5 pounds in 2 weeks. Ive read many say that the extra weight is worth not feeling depressed but this is not the case for an anorexic. Even a recovered anorexic. I have to be careful still with things such as this. Since recovered ive relapsed several times and let me tell you depressed or not doesnt matter an A will make sure they are as thin as they need to be regardless of the consiquence let alone a trade off and im feelin the itch, sooo. Hopefully no more weight.
Posted by CassNOS on June 22, 2011, at 8:56:28
In reply to WELLBUTRIN/LAMICTAL/DEPRESSION/ANOREXIA?? help, posted by michelle_is_crazy on June 11, 2008, at 0:44:39
I am on Wellbutrin and Lamictal. I have been diagnosed with Bi-polar II, Eating disorder NOS, and Anxiety. I too check out EVERY MEDICATION before I am prescribed it. I was on all of the medications you stated earlier and at one point I was on depakote. That one made me gain 50lbs in 3 months...that did not help my depression AT ALL. The lamictal has been shown to cause weight loss (the majority of people who experience this are prescibed it for seizures) There is a VERY small amount of people who have reported weight gain (this is with people prescibed it for Bi-polar). Your doctor may have prescibed the Lamictal to you because he may be noticing swings in your mood. Bi-Polar is classified by periods of severe depression and periods of extreeme "happiness" so to speak. There is no blood test that can confirm Bi-polar just as there is no blood test to confirm depression. It's not like it's a disease or anything. Try it out for a while. My mind played tricks on me when I first started taking it cause I was afraid to gain weight and it caused me to binge and I gained a few pounds. Once I convinced myself it was all in my head I was able to get those pounds off and manage my eating habits. I hope this helps. Good luck to you!
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