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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 19 of 19. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by becksA on October 6, 2004, at 12:43:00
I'm seeing a new pdoc and we've agreed upon a diagnosis of bipolar depression and are tapering off my Risperdal that hasn't seemed to help, and he wants to start me on Lamictal. I also take Xanax XR for anxiety, but we believe much of this anxiety is induced by the depression.
Anybody have similar cases as this? Has Lamictal helped? If so, what were your symptoms...how quickly did it help you, at what dose, and specifically what did it do? Thanks a lot.
Posted by henryO on October 6, 2004, at 13:55:45
In reply to Lamictal for bipolar depression experiences please, posted by becksA on October 6, 2004, at 12:43:00
Lamictal has been the best I have ever been on. No side effects that I can see and it works, if you can imagine that. It took far too long to reach the 200mg a day mark. That was a painful time. Going slow because of the rash thing. But it has been working great for me for nearly two yeasrs now. I junked my cocktail when they suggested a fifth med. I went with the Lamictal and now I sound like a salesman for it. I know everybodies milage may vary, but that my experience with it. Good luck.
Posted by SLS on October 6, 2004, at 13:58:52
In reply to Re: Lamictal for bipolar depression experiences pl, posted by henryO on October 6, 2004, at 13:55:45
Hi.
> I junked my cocktail when they suggested a fifth med. I went with the Lamictal and now I sound like a salesman for it. I know everybodies milage may vary, but that my experience with it. Good luck.
Are you currently taking any other medication?
Thanks.
- Scott
Posted by tendency on October 6, 2004, at 14:09:42
In reply to Lamictal for bipolar depression experiences please, posted by becksA on October 6, 2004, at 12:43:00
Jury is still out for me on lamictal. im up to 200mg per day (taking at night) and I've had very mixed results. Everytime I'd make a significat dosage increase (from 25mg to 50mg, and from 150mg to 200mg) I've had 2-3 days where I felt great; no anxiety, good stable mood. That has never lasted. After a few days my symptoms start to reappear. Good news is that there have been 0 side effects. I reckon I'll keep upping the dose till I get relief of die. Good luck.
Posted by becksA on October 6, 2004, at 14:14:35
In reply to Re: Lamictal for bipolar depression experiences pl, posted by SLS on October 6, 2004, at 13:58:52
Scott,
I also take Dexadrine Spansules 30mg 2x daily (switching to adderal but shoudlnt make much of a difference), AND Xanax XR 2mg throughout the day. That has helped quite a bit with the anxiety but it stil lingers because the depression is holding me back...I feel comfortable in serious situations, but when the social situation becomes non-serious, jovial...etc, I become tense again. that's why we think the Lamictal will help everythign fall into place. Your thoughts?thanks
Posted by SLS on October 6, 2004, at 14:17:32
In reply to Re: Lamictal for bipolar depression experiences pl » becksA, posted by tendency on October 6, 2004, at 14:09:42
> Jury is still out for me on lamictal. im up to 200mg per day (taking at night) and I've had very mixed results. Everytime I'd make a significat dosage increase (from 25mg to 50mg, and from 150mg to 200mg) I've had 2-3 days where I felt great; no anxiety, good stable mood. That has never lasted. After a few days my symptoms start to reappear. Good news is that there have been 0 side effects. I reckon I'll keep upping the dose till I get relief of die. Good luck.
I think you'll find that many people don't get significant relief until they reach 300mg.
Good luck.
- Scott
Posted by SLS on October 6, 2004, at 14:21:42
In reply to Re: Lamictal for bipolar depression experienceSLS, posted by becksA on October 6, 2004, at 14:14:35
> That has helped quite a bit with the anxiety but it stil lingers because the depression is holding me back...
Have you considered adding Neurontin?
- Scott
Posted by becksA on October 6, 2004, at 14:42:47
In reply to Re: Lamictal for bipolar depression experienceSLS, posted by SLS on October 6, 2004, at 14:21:42
Already tried neurontin....got up to quite a high dose (2400mg daily), only slightly alleviated generalized anxiety, not social, made me very drowsy, and did not affect mood.
Posted by woolav on October 6, 2004, at 14:50:51
In reply to Re: Lamictal for bipolar depression experienceSLS, posted by becksA on October 6, 2004, at 14:42:47
I dont know exactly what bipolar depression is. But I have depression and panic disorder. And I take 200mg daily of lamictal along with prozac and klonopin for anxiety. So far so good. And I agree that there are no side effects from the lamictal. So, I am sticking with it...
Good Luck,
S
Posted by henryO on October 8, 2004, at 3:55:12
In reply to Re: Lamictal for bipolar depression experiences pl, posted by SLS on October 6, 2004, at 13:58:52
Sometimes Klonipin at night, but I'm very weary of Benzos. Very rarely a small amount of Ritalin for concentration. It helps with ADD, but I find it less and less comfortable. It helps me clean up at poker games. I am just starting to try Buspar for anxiety. I am not too impressed. If that sounds like a lot or even a three med cocktail, it's not. I only take those others when I feel the need. I'm always sort of casting about for a magic bullet. The Lamictal is my steady staple. I have tried various other things like these others all along. Mostly I give up on them for different reasons. But Lamictal is here to stay.
Posted by Sebastian on October 9, 2004, at 17:50:26
In reply to Re: Lamictal for bipolar depression experiences pl, posted by henryO on October 8, 2004, at 3:55:12
I'm on lamictal for the first day today, and so far its prety good!
Posted by CraigD on October 9, 2004, at 17:57:32
In reply to Re: Lamictal for bipolar depression experiences pl, posted by Sebastian on October 9, 2004, at 17:50:26
I haven't been officially diagnosed BPII, but it is so prevalent in my family and I have mostly depressive (almost psychotic depression) and anxiety mixed with an occasional manic meanness and a tendancy to self medicate.
So I've added Lamictal (175 mgs currently) and lowered my Celexa to 20 mgs and feel great. It eliminating parts of the depression/anxiety that SSRIs never touched and at the same time quelled my urge to self-medicate.
Only downsides: it make me feel a little flu-ish and headachey at times (like right now)
At least for now, this combo is my silver bullet!
Posted by theo on October 10, 2004, at 7:27:48
In reply to Loving Lamictal here!, posted by CraigD on October 9, 2004, at 17:57:32
What's your target dose? You mentioned 175mg. I'm currently on 125mg Lamictal but will probably go up to 150mg just so I don't have to get a prescription for 100mg and 25mg tablets.
To bad they don't make single tablets to help with flexible dosing, especially with Lamictals demanding titration schedule.
Posted by cache-monkey on October 10, 2004, at 9:58:05
In reply to Re: Lamictal for bipolar depression experiences pl, posted by henryO on October 8, 2004, at 3:55:12
Hey,
I'm not entirely sure, but is BuSpar one of the meds that you take "as needed?" If so, this might explain why it's not seeming to do very much. It really needs to build up in your system for it to be effective in the same way as an SSRI.
I think that you were looking for BuSpar experiences in a seperate thread, but I might as well give mine here. I've found BuSpar actually to be most of what I needed to deal with my chronic anxiety and dysthymia. BuSpar is currently the only med I take daily.
It isn't a "magic bullet," in the sense that I feel great all the time. I definitely have break-through anxiety once in a while and some days I still have trouble getting going. But for the most part it seems to level me out and allows me to focus on other things than my anxiety. Xanax as needed helps the rest of the time.
Also, for me there wasn't a sudden, or even very quick, "I feel better feeling." I just woke up one day, looked over the last week, and realized that I'd just had a lot less anxiety. This was like after 5 or 6 weeks at my current dose, which is acutally relatively low dose -- 10 mg/day. I'm thinking about raising it to see if I can't smooth over the occasional rough patch. I'm also thinking about selegiline (the rough patches have tend to be characterized by social phobia and low drive).
Anyway, reactions and benefits vary from person to person, but you might want to consider taking the BuSpar regularly for a while and seeing what it does for you.
Hope this helps,
cache-monkey
<< Sometimes Klonipin at night, but I'm very weary of Benzos. Very rarely a small amount of Ritalin for concentration. It helps with ADD, but I find it less and less comfortable. It helps me clean up at poker games. I am just starting to try Buspar for anxiety. I am not too impressed. If that sounds like a lot or even a three med cocktail, it's not. I only take those others when I feel the need. I'm always sort of casting about for a magic bullet. The Lamictal is my steady staple. I have tried various other things like these others all along. Mostly I give up on them for different reasons. But Lamictal is here to stay. >>
Posted by CraigD on October 10, 2004, at 10:52:24
In reply to Re: Loving Lamictal here!, posted by theo on October 10, 2004, at 7:27:48
> What's your target dose? You mentioned 175mg. I'm currently on 125mg Lamictal but will probably go up to 150mg just so I don't have to get a prescription for 100mg and 25mg tablets.
>
> To bad they don't make single tablets to help with flexible dosing, especially with Lamictals demanding titration schedule.doc says to keep heading up to 200, but i only move up when i feel it is needed. he said nobody knows what the target dose will be for L. it changes person to person
Posted by Sebastian on October 10, 2004, at 11:09:59
In reply to Loving Lamictal here!, posted by CraigD on October 9, 2004, at 17:57:32
Try taking a large asperin in the morning with your Lamictal dose. No flu and no headack!
Posted by Sebastian on October 10, 2004, at 11:11:37
In reply to Re: Loving Lamictal here!, posted by theo on October 10, 2004, at 7:27:48
The lamictal free sample helps with that.
Posted by tendency on October 11, 2004, at 14:36:54
In reply to Loving Lamictal here!, posted by CraigD on October 9, 2004, at 17:57:32
I'm up to 175mg lamictal am and 200mg pm. no side effects and noticeble improvement in mood and anxiety. also allows me to take 30mg adderall with no side effects whereas before I couldn't even take 20mg with horrible sides.
Posted by CraigD on October 14, 2004, at 14:26:43
In reply to Re: Loving Lamictal here! » CraigD, posted by tendency on October 11, 2004, at 14:36:54
> I'm up to 175mg lamictal am and 200mg pm. no side effects and noticeble improvement in mood and anxiety. also allows me to take 30mg adderall with no side effects whereas before I couldn't even take 20mg with horrible sides.
Wow T, that seems like a lot. What are you taking it for and did you get initial benefits at a low dose?
I stopped taking it at night because of vivid dreams and trouble sleeping.
Did you experience benefit and then Poop out after a week or two each time you titrated up? I don't want to keep chasing the dragon on this.
Cheers and thanks,
C
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