Posted by indivmed on June 15, 2003, at 17:45:31
In reply to Re: Lamictal and/or Neurontin » avid abulia, posted by mmcasey on June 15, 2003, at 17:34:39
I took Lamictal for a few months but had to stop due to some immune system issues. Actually, Lamictal worked too well as an anti-depressant--I became hypomanic on it. Also, I don't remember it doing anything for anxiety.
Neurontin, on the other hand, immediately helped with anxiety from the very first dose, but has lost its "oomph." An interesting medication to try, but I would almost take it prn as it seems that taking it daily either makes it stop working altogether or an increased dose is needed to get the same level of effectiveness. This may be an issue when it comes to cost.
You already have one mood-stabilizer on board--again, I would throw on Neurontin as an adjunct...but know that the chances it will lose effectiveness are quite high. Furthermore, it REALLY affected my memory and coordination and made me quite sleepy about an hour after my dose. If you have "lethargic depression," this can cause some issues. I recently started Parnate and had to add Wellbutrin because I was so exhausted all of the time--which makes me feel more depressed.
As for weight gain, I don't remember it going up or down--then again, I'm 25 and a triathlete, so that helps. The only medication I ever took that just threw on the pounds was Zyprexa, which was utterly insane when it came to hunger and weight gain. It should be outlawed in my opinion--I'd rather be fucking crazy that haul around an extra 50, 100 pounds--talk about being depressed, that would really make me want to end it.
Hope the neurontin info helped.
Rick
poster:indivmed
thread:234140
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030614/msgs/234168.html