Posted by djmmm on February 9, 2002, at 4:07:17
In reply to Lamictal as anti-depressant- how? what doses?, posted by 3 Beer Effect on February 8, 2002, at 17:43:08
> I am starting with 25 mg of lamictal/day as a mood-stablizer/antidepressant & my dose is to be increased by 25 mg each week. I am quite depressed & was wondering at what dose range does Lamictal work as an anti-depressant. Is Lamictal as strong of an antidepressant as the SSRIs (which I can't tolerate-mania/insomnia). I take the lamictal once at night because it seems to cause nausea for me- Why do some people take it twice a day if the half life is 32.8 hours?
>
> Why does Lamictal have anti-depressant properties? It only has a "weak inhibitory effect on the serotonin 5HT3 receptor & weak effects at sigma opoid receptors." "Lamictal did not inhibit the uptake of serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, or aspartic acid."Lamictal *does* inhibit the reuptake of serotonin *and* norepinephrine *and* dopamine
(Eur J Pharmacol. 1998 Sep 25;358(1):19-24.)most mood stabilizers have some serotonin activity:
Tegretol: stimulates strotonin
Neurontin: increases serotonin concentrations in human whole blood
lithium: may increase density and sensitivity of 5ht2 receptors
depakote: may increase serotonin activity via 5ht1a autoreceptors
etc, etc
poster:djmmm
thread:93340
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020208/msgs/93397.html