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Re: And how was the lamictal alone scott » Wallabee

Posted by SLS on July 8, 2000, at 10:24:00

In reply to And how was the lamictal alone scott, posted by Wallabee on July 7, 2000, at 17:51:38

Dear Wallabee,


> And how was the lamictal on its own scott (or were u on other stuff)?

Lamictal alone provides me with a small antidepressant effect. It has allowed me to function well enough to participate on Psycho-Babble.

> I found it got me out of the general lethargy that characterized my twelve years on lithium, and my rapid cycles are gone, even on this low dose (150mg/day). Nevertheless I feel a bit more vulnerable to and nervous about an upswing (what the lithium seemed to take the edge off of) which is why I'm nervous to take anymore of the lamictal. I also had, just last night, some really nasty anxiety laden "dreams" as I was falling asleep (meeting a strange creature attacking me in the bushes, feeling trapped under a large unidentified heavy object that was falling on me) only ever had that happen to me before years ago on Melleril, and I came off of it right away.

I saw for the first time on this board that a few people (two) have had Lamictal induce both mania and a worsening of rapid-cyclicity. I feel pretty sure now that Lamictal is capable of doing this. If you are sure that this is the case with you, and Lamictal is the only drug you have found that provides relief from depression, I think it makes sense to remain on it and add lithium.

> Was wondering if those had to do with the clonazepam I had taken (for fear of not sleeping at all) but resisted for a bit too long because I was here going through postings = )

For me, Lamictal has produced more vivid dreams.

> I did find I could get by on a much much lower dose of lithium - 300mg (yes, the blood levels were low - .4 - but it still felt like it made big a diff, and aren't our feelings what its all about = ) when I was taking both.

This is not surprising. I recently read an abstract that indicated that 0.4 - 0.6 was sometimes enough. I guess you can figure out what works for you clinically.

At 0.4, do you have any hand tremors at all?

> The only side effect I've noticed with the lamictal was coordination - or to be more specific, a dulling of my proprioception and ability to orient myself spatially - I have a much harder time tying a tie now, and not because my fingers are clumsy; and I find it a bit harder to park a car straight.

These things are definitely side effects of Lamictal and are known as ataxia. At dosages higher than 300mg, I experience these same things, along with a significant impairment of memory. When I first raised the dosage to 300mg, these things appeared, but were small in magnitude. Within a few months, they disappeared completely. I didn't stay at the higher dosages to see if the side effects would disappear, as it wasn't helping anyway.


- Scott

 

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