Posted by zefdie on June 13, 2006, at 18:41:57
In reply to Re: so many things to try, so lost! suggestions?, posted by Declan on June 13, 2006, at 18:30:20
> What does Lamictal do for or to you? I dunno anything about mood stabilizers (if that's what it is).
It's a mood stabilizer with antidepressant properties, and psychiatrists are prescribing it more and more for unipolar depression. The guy I'm seeing actually likes to try it first with his depressed patients rather than going the SSRI route. It's an energizing mood stabilizer and is best for people with bipolar II, largely depressed people like myself. It can launch bipolar I-diagnosed people into hypomania/mania.
It's often augmented with antidepressants. The combinations I see most often while endlessly, desperately researching on the internet are Lamictal + Wellbutrin or Lamictal + Lexapro. Many bp2-diagnosed people don't lift out of depression without an added antidepressant, but it smooths out the rockiness and keeps the antidepressant from having an adverse effect, either triggering anger/agitation or happy hypomania, which I wouldn't mind experiencing. Unfortunately I don't tend to swing that way. I just get pissed.
Like many mood stabilizers, nobody is sure of the exact mechanisms of this stuff. It invokes glutamate, which I believe piracetam inhibits (don't know if I'm right on this), so who knows about that combo. The best I've felt over the past few years was with a combo of 75 mg Lamictal (while titrating to a therapeutic dose), adderall, and piracetam.
I should look up the mechanisms of lamictal and actually learn about the stuff, sheesh.
It has a fairly small amount of side effects. It's given me horrendous acne, though, which isn't helping my depression.
poster:zefdie
thread:656325
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20060601/msgs/656555.html