Posted by Peter on August 26, 2003, at 5:32:19
In reply to Starting 50mg Lamictal tonight..., posted by galkeepinon on August 26, 2003, at 0:41:39
> Hiya, saw my psychiatrist today and am going up on the Lamictal slowly but surely to 50mg at night now. Can anyone shed some light on experience with depression with this med and taking it with Lexapro or any other SSRI for that matter please? I also take 50mg of Topamax.
> I am bipolar and am on week 4 of Lex and so far so good~~looks promising, however I *know* I need the mood stabilizer. I have such a hard time sleeping and still feel *not right* in a way.
> Thanks,
> galkeepinon
>>Hi galkeepinon:
I've taken Lamictal with 2 different SSRI's (on 2 different occasions) - zoloft and prozac. The combo in both cases was fine. Of course it depends on the individual. I, for instance, can't tolerate more than a very low dose of SSRI's, as they tend to cause undesirable SE's in me - emotional numbness, hypomanic switching, etc. Others can tolerate higher doses.
I also very slowly titrated the lamictal. I found that its anti-depressant effects began to become noticeable at about the 50 mg dose, but the antimanic effects are not as present until the dose is further raised. I only got up to 100mg lamictal an had to stop it just because I was on so many meds that even my pdoc lost track of what med was helping or harming me! So we had to wean me off of everything to re-assess. But I've heard nothing but wonderful things about lamictal as a mood-stabilizer, especially effective for those with mixed-moods and leaqning toward more depressive, cyclothymic symptoms. I found it not to have the heavy, 'wet blanket' effect that I got from depakote and even neurontin.
Good luck! Sounds like your on a good path.
Peter
poster:Peter
thread:254177
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030823/msgs/254244.html