Posted by polarbear206 on May 30, 2002, at 16:20:32
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal Soon Thanks to this Thread » BarbaraCat, posted by Cece on May 30, 2002, at 2:42:26
> Hi Barbara-
>
> I think that there's another Cece on this board (or something similar). I've just started posting again after 'resting' for several months. It feels good to be back.
>
> I'm BPII, with a long history of depression. I take:
> Lamictal 300 mg in the morning, Neurontin 300mg/3xday, Trimipramine (TCA) 25mg at night, Depakote 250mg at night.
> I'm weaning off of xanax- it was helpful to me for awhile, but I don't think that I need it anymore, and it seems to give me 'brain clog'. I wasn't on a real high dose- total 1.25mg/day, but feel better already now that I'm down to .75.
>
> I also take hormone replacement therapy which I started in peri-menopause (40's, I'm now early 50's). I got real unstable in my mid-40's and learned that for bi-polar women it is common for symptoms to flare at that time of life.
>
> And, whew, I am also doing thyroid supplement therapy (Levothroid, same as Synthroid but cheaper)- pretty new. One approach to treating mood disorders (championed by Peter Whybrow at UCLA) is with thyroid supplement, even for people who don't test low. I always was borderline low, am supplementing now to reach high normal. I feel more alert and am not (so) slow to wake up in the morning- never was a morning person. My pdoc tells me that thyroid imbalance can mimic every psych disorder in the book!
>
> My goal is to pare my meds, slowly over time, down to the bare essentials- which means finding out what is essential by trying phasing things out and seeing if I still need them. It is hard enough now to run my own personal pharmacy, and I can't imagine being able to do it when I am older.
>
> Oh yeah, I've been trying out a special omega fatty acid formula developed by a Harvard pdoc especially to promote mood stability. My pdoc is impressed with it and suggested I try it. It's more subtle than a 'med', but I think it may be contributing to my growing stability. It's called Omega-Brite and is only available on the internet.
>
> Thanks for your interest,
> Cece
>
>
> > Thanks for the update, Cece. What is your dx again and other meds you're taking? - Barbara
Cece,
Cese,
Tell me about your symptoms of perimenapause.
I swear I'm having this and I'm only 41. On day 3 of my cycle I get very fatiged and foggy. This is the time estrogen is at it's lowest. I gradually feel better as my levels rise. Is it the seretonin thing or estrogen??? Tried low dose birth control pills and that just exacerbated my depression pms.
I'm a soft cycling bipolar. Am on Lamictal and Imipramine. Thanks. Laura.
poster:polarbear206
thread:106786
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020525/msgs/108089.html