Posted by CareBear04 on January 10, 2005, at 22:27:11
hi, i'm a relative new lamictal user. i started really low at 25mg in oct and made it up to 200mg about a month ago. what is the standard maintenance dose of lamictal for BP II? the drs keep me at 200mg, but i think i need more because i'm not feeling mood stabilization. they say that it should be enough because i am small, 100lbs or maybe less, but small or not, on lithium, i needed between 1350 and 1800mg. i can't tell whether lamictal does anything or not. my "mini-manias" have calmed down since i reached 200mg, but depressions are my bigger problem. i'm starting to crash now and pull myself down, and lamictal doesn't seem strong enough as lithium was to stop it. i was ok for awhile on lamictal, but i think my mood was better from circumstances and such and not the drug. i was in africa for the holidays and it's not a great place to take lithium, but i was supposed to restart at a supplemental low dose when i got back. i don't even want a low dose right now; i want the full dose that will numb me and keep me at a stable baseline, however dulled down i may be. i don't know if it's medically safe for me to restart it, though. i kept getting toxic, even at low doses, in the fall, and one dr said that once toxic, the body gravitates back towards toxicity. also, my electrolytes are a little messed up with sodium too low and potassium high. i don't understand why the drs can't just correct this problem, at least temporarily, but they just tell me to eat more protein and salt, which i think i'm doing without seeing results. i went into the hospital in november to try to restart lithium safely, but the drs there wouldn't give it to me. is it necessary, do you think, to be in the hospital to restart lithium in this case? if so, can i be admitted to a medicine ward and not a psychiatric one since the concerns aren't that i'll freak out psychiatrically but that my body will get messed up? in short, i'm on lamictal now, but i'm not a believer in it, and i'm scared that it won't support me and keep me from falling. any advice please? thanks so much.
poster:CareBear04
thread:440408
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050108/msgs/440408.html