Psycho-Babble Medication | about biological treatments | Framed
This thread | Show all | Post follow-up | Start new thread | List of forums | Search | FAQ

Re: Lamictal combo for everything? » Sheilac

Posted by SLS on September 22, 2012, at 9:13:15

In reply to Re: Lamictal combo for everything?, posted by Sheilac on September 22, 2012, at 7:50:02

> I will keep an eye on my itchy gums. Today I reduced my dose from 75mg to 50mg.

Can you describe what your sores look like? Where are they located? How big are they? What color are they? You could go to a dermatologist to have your mouth sores evaluated for SJS (Stevens-Johnson Syndrome). Your psychiatrist might not have enough experience with examining SJS to properly diagnose it. You wouldn't want to discontinue Lamictal for the wrong reasons. Of course, you wouldn't want to risk a more global SJS reaction. It is entirely possible that you will be okay at 50 mg of Lamictal. If you need to increase the dosage, I would suggest that you go to 75 mg rather than 100 mg. Sometimes, a rash can be avoided by titrating more gradually. It might not be how much you take, but how fast you get there that makes the difference. Often, someone who experiences a reaction with an aggressive titration schedule must discontinue it and restart it more gradually. It works.

I think you should stay on Trileptal, even if you feel more depressed on it temporarily.

How do you know that the depression you report with Trileptal isn't actually your baseline (unmedicated) depression? If you experience a mixed-state hypomania, you would expect to feel the depression that remains once the hypomania is eliminated. This is what you want Trileptal to do. Then, you can experiment with Lamictal or other drugs that have antidepressant properties. You need to take things one step at a time in a logical order if you are going to arrive at an optimal treatment. You might find it helpful to try minocycline if you must discontinue Lamictal.

Which antipsychotics have you tried, and what were your reactions to them? If you abandon Trileptal, you might have to go with one of them. The other mood stabilizer that might work is Depakote. If you do try Depakote, you would need to reduce your dosage of Lamictal by half. There is a pharmacokinetic interaction between these two drugs. It is my observation that more people report depression with Depakote than with Trileptal. However, I don't doubt that it would treat the hypomania successfully.


- Scott


Some see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.

- George Bernard Shaw

 

Thread

 

Post a new follow-up

Your message only Include above post


Notify the administrators

They will then review this post with the posting guidelines in mind.

To contact them about something other than this post, please use this form instead.

 

Start a new thread

 
Google
dr-bob.org www
Search options and examples
[amazon] for
in

This thread | Show all | Post follow-up | Start new thread | FAQ
Psycho-Babble Medication | Framed

poster:SLS thread:1026102
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120922/msgs/1026354.html