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Re: Help! - Lamictal not working?

Posted by Ritch on September 16, 2002, at 23:42:20

In reply to Help! - Lamictal not working, posted by Peter S. on September 16, 2002, at 18:06:30

> Hey all,
>
> The last 5 days I've fallen into a hole. The blackness has returned big time and I'm kind of freaking out. I'm in the middle of a job search and this is not helping
>
> My Regimen:
>
> 600mg Lamictal
> 900mg Neurontin
> Prozac- variable
>
> When I started Lamictal a couple of months ago it worked great. It was really the first thing that worked consistantly. At the time I was taking prozac (40mg). I noticed that the effect was fading so I increased Lamictal to 600 mg. I was still having a pattern where I would feel good for 4 days or so and then crash for 1 to 2 days. I added Neurontin which seemed to make me much calmer. I then eliminated the Prozac because I thought it was contributing to the cycling. I'm not sure if cycling by the week is rapid cycling? I still noticed cycling and so I started taking Prozac only when I felt my mood drop because I thought it was helping to some degree. I went out of town for the last week and did not bring the Prozac. I felt wonderful for first 4 days- then I crashed and have been that way since (5 days).
>
> Lately I've started thinking of myself as Bipolar 3 or 4 because I have had good responses to certain drugs. The episodes last maybe one day and then I have 4 to 5 days of depression- then back up. Lamictal was the only drug that seemed to act consistently.
>
> One very interesting phenomenom I've noticed with prozac is that when I stop taking it, within a week or so I notice a "rebound effect" where I feel really good for a couple of days- then back down.
>
> Psychobabble has been such a great resource over the years. There are so many great wise people here. Any and all suggestions/ideas welcome!
>
>
>

Hi,

Rapid-cycling is four or more remarkable mood cycles in one *year*. I think there are a LOT of rapid-cyclers posting here, just a hunch. I have got three different levels of cycling--two hypomanic spells, with two major depressions every year, chronic three week cycling in a DME pattern (depression-a few days,hypomania- a few days, euthymia-a few days) throughout the year, and intraday cycling (which is mildest), where I feel sparky and alert through midday, and then I get tired and groggy through the evenings, and then sometimes have trouble getting to sleep near bedtime, with broken sleep later on. In my experience-SSRi's particularly seem to aggravate cycling. You could try withdrawing from Prozac first to see if you get better over the long-run. You may need to reduce the Prozac dose to a minimum maintenance for a while first, however.

good luck,

Mitch


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