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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Trish44 on May 22, 2005, at 7:48:31
After battling depression/anxiety for years and trying every antidepressant out there (SSRI's, Wellbutrin, etc.) and feeling tired and agitated on them, (at the same time)and suffering side effects from them I would try to go off them and get hypomanic and then drop into depression again. I finally went to a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with Bipolar II. He started me on Lamictal and am now taking 100-150 mg at night. It has really helped me with the anxiety and social phobia but I still feel depressed. I don't know if this is due to the extreme fatigue I feel that hits me around 7:00 PM and sleeping so much. Has anyone else suffered fatigue and memory problems with this med?
Posted by partlycloudy on May 22, 2005, at 7:48:32
In reply to Depression-Bipolar II, posted by Trish44 on May 21, 2005, at 11:47:51
Hi, Trish - welcome to Babble! I think there are plenty of others on Lamictal here. I'm bipolarII as well, and on Cymbalta. You might find more responses to your question on the main medication board, and mention the Lamictal in the subject heading, too.
This can be a busy place so don't feel badly if your post doesn't get an immediate response!
take care and welcome again,
partlycloudy
Posted by woolav on May 22, 2005, at 8:14:46
In reply to Re: Depression-Bipolar II » Trish44, posted by partlycloudy on May 22, 2005, at 6:22:51
Hi, i take lamictal also. It didnt help me with anxiety (but its good if it does for you) I take 300mg and also have bp2. Are you taking anything else? I take prozac and klonopin. I know that lamictal alone doesnt help me* with depression at all. And i dont think 20 mg of prozac does either. My pdoc just added trileptal (i will go up to 600mg) to stop my cycling. I guess the theory would be if you are on enough mood stabelizers you wont get the depressive episodes of bp.
Thanks
S
Posted by SLS on May 22, 2005, at 8:19:16
In reply to Re: Depression-Bipolar II, posted by woolav on May 22, 2005, at 8:14:46
> Hi, i take lamictal also. It didnt help me with anxiety (but its good if it does for you) I take 300mg and also have bp2. Are you taking anything else? I take prozac and klonopin. I know that lamictal alone doesnt help me* with depression at all. And i dont think 20 mg of prozac does either. My pdoc just added trileptal (i will go up to 600mg) to stop my cycling. I guess the theory would be if you are on enough mood stabelizers you wont get the depressive episodes of bp.
> Thanks
> SYes. If you can prevent the mania, you very often prevent the depression as a result.
- Scott
Posted by SLS on May 22, 2005, at 8:26:11
In reply to Depression-Bipolar II, posted by Trish44 on May 21, 2005, at 11:47:51
> After battling depression/anxiety for years and trying every antidepressant out there (SSRI's, Wellbutrin, etc.) and feeling tired and agitated on them, (at the same time)and suffering side effects from them I would try to go off them and get hypomanic and then drop into depression again. I finally went to a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with Bipolar II. He started me on Lamictal and am now taking 100-150 mg at night. It has really helped me with the anxiety and social phobia but I still feel depressed. I don't know if this is due to the extreme fatigue I feel that hits me around 7:00 PM and sleeping so much. Has anyone else suffered fatigue and memory problems with this med?
Memory problems is one of the more common side effects of Lamictal. It tends to get better with time, though.
It is possible that you are not taking enough Lamictal. The average dosage of Lamictal that doctors use for bipolar depression is 200mg. Since you are taking it at night, it is possible that it wears off by the following late afternoon. However, it is often necessary to combine Lamictal with an antidepressant to glean the most robust response. Which antidepressants have you and your doctor discussed using?
I like to split my dosage of Lamictal into morning and evening doses.
- Scott
Posted by Trish44 on May 22, 2005, at 15:41:54
In reply to Re: Depression-Bipolar II » Trish44, posted by partlycloudy on May 22, 2005, at 6:22:51
> Hi, Trish - welcome to Babble! I think there are plenty of others on Lamictal here. I'm bipolarII as well, and on Cymbalta. You might find more responses to your question on the main medication board, and mention the Lamictal in the subject heading, too.
> This can be a busy place so don't feel badly if your post doesn't get an immediate response!
> take care and welcome again,
> partlycloudyThank you partlycloudy for your welcome and also to Dinah for redirecting my post. I'm kinda new to using the internet (although I could ask any one of our five teens who are pros at it) so please bear with me if I don't do this correctly.
I recently tried to add Cymbalta to the Lamictal and know that I really need to add an antidepressant since the Lamictal is not helping with the depression but I get so agitated after being on any of them after a week that I give up cuz I feel so terrible. Maybe if I forced myself to stay on it longer I may level out. I don't know. It's just so frustrating.
I know this is kind of a weird question, but I wonder if anyone out there has had a problem with pushing their tongue against their bottom teeth whether sleeping or awake after trying these kind of meds? It feels like it is linked to anxiety but even taking a xanax doesn't relieve it. It's driving me crazy. My pdoc just looks at me in a perplexed way like he has no idea what would cause this. It gets worse in that first week of adding an antidepressant.
Posted by Trish44 on May 22, 2005, at 15:51:24
In reply to Re: Depression-Bipolar II » Trish44, posted by SLS on May 22, 2005, at 8:26:11
Hi Scott!
Thanks for your input. I have been hesitant to take more Lamictal because of how tired I was at night, thinking it would make it worse, but you may be right that I may not be taking enough. I have read that other people find Lamictal energizing, and I was like what? I think I'll try to take 100mg at night and 50 mg in morning. Thanks again! At least it is something to try and at this point I'll try anything.
Posted by anastasia56 on May 23, 2005, at 14:34:55
In reply to Re: Depression-Bipolar II, posted by Trish44 on May 22, 2005, at 15:51:24
i have the whole mouth clenching, tongue thing too but i'm on 100mg lamicatal and cymbalta combined.
ana
Posted by theo on May 23, 2005, at 23:00:14
In reply to Depression-Bipolar II, posted by Trish44 on May 21, 2005, at 11:47:51
> After battling depression/anxiety for years and trying every antidepressant out there (SSRI's, Wellbutrin, etc.) and feeling tired and agitated on them, (at the same time)and suffering side effects from them I would try to go off them and get hypomanic and then drop into depression again. I finally went to a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with Bipolar II. He started me on Lamictal and am now taking 100-150 mg at night. It has really helped me with the anxiety and social phobia but I still feel depressed. I don't know if this is due to the extreme fatigue I feel that hits me around 7:00 PM and sleeping so much. Has anyone else suffered fatigue and memory problems with this med?
Yes, I was let down with Lamictal because the side effects worsened after time rather than initially, even after 2 months at 150mg. I would have a hard time remembering what I did 5 minutes ago and when my daily dose would wear off, I would get this warm feeling in my brain, really weird. Talk about chasing a good feeling, Lamictal is a tease. I would feel good at a dose for about 1 1/2 weeks, then it would poop out. I finally stopped it.
Posted by theo on May 23, 2005, at 23:15:48
In reply to Re: Depression-Bipolar II, posted by SLS on May 22, 2005, at 8:19:16
Hey Scott,
I recently started a trial of Depakote ER 500mg, and no side effects, which suprised me.
I do wonder though, I never experienced such daily mood changes as I have on it, along with other anticonvulsants in the past. I've never "switched" back and forth in moods like this until starting meds in this class. Moods go from semi normal and back to depressed. I've never been manic. Have you ever read that anticonvulsants can cause switching??
I'm basically diagnosed as "Anxiety NOS 300.00" and am basically as I mentioned in earlier posts, restarting a few meds mono to get a true read. Also, how long is long enough for a Depakote trial?
Posted by Maxime on May 24, 2005, at 20:33:10
In reply to Depression-Bipolar II, posted by Trish44 on May 21, 2005, at 11:47:51
Lamictal made me more depressed and I had to stop the med. It does happen.
As for AD, MAOIs are good for people with bipolar 2 because they have a good track record of not triggering mania. I take Parnate, but it might too stimulating for you. Have you thought about Nardil?
MAxime
> After battling depression/anxiety for years and trying every antidepressant out there (SSRI's, Wellbutrin, etc.) and feeling tired and agitated on them, (at the same time)and suffering side effects from them I would try to go off them and get hypomanic and then drop into depression again. I finally went to a psychiatrist who diagnosed me with Bipolar II. He started me on Lamictal and am now taking 100-150 mg at night. It has really helped me with the anxiety and social phobia but I still feel depressed. I don't know if this is due to the extreme fatigue I feel that hits me around 7:00 PM and sleeping so much. Has anyone else suffered fatigue and memory problems with this med?
This is the end of the thread.
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