Posted by Elizabeth on April 11, 2002, at 8:37:29
In reply to Re: high-dose Lamictal: why not? » Elizabeth, posted by Zo on April 8, 2002, at 21:45:10
> Yes-- but I think the inability to tolerate is, unfortunately, quite confusing. One must sort out, while in a confused and confusing state, whether this is due to drug or dose, whether these side effets will or will not go away.
What I mean by "as tolerated" is that one should increase the dose only if:
1) you haven't yet reached the target dose (or an effective dose)
2) the side effects are at worst mild and easily tolerated.
I *don't* mean that you should just put up with any side effect you get and hope that it will go away!
Anyway, I think that a month or so is enough time to reach a highish dose of Lamictal, assuming that the side effects don't get bad (i.e., that you tolerate the dose you're at). If you do have trouble with side effects, of course, you can and should drop back to a dose that is tolerated.
For example, the first time I went from 300 to 375 mg/day of Effexor, I got jittery, so I dropped back to 337.5 mg, where the jitters were at worst mild. I took the 337.5 for a few days, then increased to 375 again, this time without difficulty.
> n general, I think that creeping up on doses is the only rational way to get on a med and be also capable of making these crucial decisions as symptoms occur.
The question is, how slow do you have to creep if you're tolerating the drug? I think that, up to the target dose, it's usually fine to increase every few days (obviously there's some variation depending on the specifics of the drug).
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:100086
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020408/msgs/102734.html