Lamictal - I'm a bit wary. Your experience?

[Billy]

Been taking Lamotrigine on its own for some months (plus something to help me sleep if I need it). Started it when depressed and I only got up to 75Mg per day before the mania came back (and it was more intense than normal, but very enjoyable; and I'm sure that was because of the Lamictal. People I know say I was being a real pain, more than normal, but I got a lot of creative work done!) I reduced it to 50Mg per day and that had a moderating effect. I'm still on that amount. I've essentially been very low these last three months, but even on such a low dose the Lamotrigine has kicked in quite frequently (like now - wouldn't be writing this if it hadn't), but not for long and not dramatically - for maybe a day at a time. What I have noticed is that if I wake at night I'm feeling quite good but that feeling has usually gone again by the morning.

I'm sure this is all because I'm taking such a low dose, but I'm wary of increasing it too much (under pdoc's directions of course) in case it sends me too high. I've very bad memories of Prozac and Seroxat sending me sky high then into suicidal despair, and I don't want a drug doing that to me again. I've always been very sensitive to drugs of all kinds and often an effective dose for me is way below what works for other people - many years ago had bad experiences with Lithium at what should apparently have been a therapeutic dose. I'm wary that too high a dose of Lamictal will make me go very high and then, as a consequence, very low.

Would be interested to hear what other people's experiences have been with Lamictal (Lamotrigine), and whether its anti-depressant effects have caused them problems.

In all the years I've been bipolar this is the first of so many drugs I've tried that I've felt hopeful about. All the others have had little or no effect on the depression, have sent me into the stratosphere or have completely killed my creativity (several mood stabilisers have done that), which is something I find intolerable.

I think it's worth me sticking with Lamictal in the hope that it'll be possible to get it sorted in the end. Moderating the emotional roller coaster would make so much difference to my life.

[Muddler]

I'm on 200mg Lamictal/ day. It works for me. I tend toward the depressive though. I haven't found that it nudges me into mania. I mean, hell, the stuff is supposed to stabilise moods. Your dose is very low BTW.

[Luna]

I'm on Lamital 200mg/day and also on Epilim (depakote) 600mg/day. The Lamictal is more anti-depressive, I'm told the Epilim is more anti-manic. Hopefully they balance each other from either side. Maybe the idea of adding a more anti-manic acting mood stabiliser might be worth discussing with your pdoc?

Then again my case is confounded by my also taking 2 ADs and 1 AP. I also tend towards depressive and I'm very low now. So who knows what is actually doing what - I can't tell.

[Midniteyez]

I have been taking lamictal for the past month or so. Started on a very low dose and am up to 100mg and in 2 more days will be at 200mg. I have had some break through mood episodes but I think it's because I was on such a low dose. I am also taking geodon. I too am hopeful that once I reach a theraputic level that it will help more and those pesky episodes will decrease.

[bonbonscott2000]

hello,new biploar from aussie.i took lamictal for a week and broke out in massive hives!!

[mrstami3]

So sorry that you got that horrible rash that can come with lamictal! I was up to 300mg a day and once I got out of the hospital and got a new doc he said that he doesnt like to use that drug and said that it was a high dose. When I was in the hospital that doctor took me off celexa and put me on prozac, I went nuts! When I got into see the new doc he said that wasnt a drug that BP should take and switched me that day. Another patient that I became friends with was also put on prozac and her doc said the same thing and switched her too. We tried lithium which made my speech all weird and I just in general felt not right, now I am on depoakote, 300mg I think . I also take lexapro, buspar and klonapin. Most of the time they work well together. I just switched off of celexa back to lexapro, I did well on it before but switched because of the cost. So Lamictal worked for a couple of years and then just kinda stopped working after the breakdown. My doc said that lamictal is known to do that, but I have a friend who takes 100mg and is stable. Gotta love the drug battle. Take care T

[Billy]

Yes, Prozac's definitely a bad drug for bp folk. I was prescribed it once and after a week or two it sent me to the lowest place I've ever been, then a couple of weeks after that I went up beyond the stratosphere and into outer space. Was all very weird and horrible. Needless to say, since then I steer well clear of SSRI drugs because it's likely any one of them would cause an exaggeration of my BP highs and lows. I think it's well recognised these days that those bad effects can happen, but in the past it wasn't.

[Luna]

Does anyone know what constitutes a "standard" or "maintenance" dose of Lamictin? I'm on 400mg which seems higher than most folks I've seen are on.

I really can't say what Lamictin does for me. It's always been in a combo, with the other drugs changing but not the Lamictin. I've still cycled, and come to think of it, last years Nov-Jun depression was severe and I was hospitalised for the mania preceding it.

I take it because the pdoc says to take it *chagrin*.

[Muddler]

My understanding is 100mg to 400mg is pretty standard. I also cycle on it but not too viciously.

[Luna]

I got a package insert from the pharmacy and yes Muddler, you're right. 100-400mg for BP Thanks.
Which means I'm at the max with this one.

[Smart Alex]

another hand up for the rash. my whole body felt like it was on fire.

[mrscott]

Hello All, Ive been on name brand Lamictal for about a month now. I currently take 100mg in the morning. My question is has anyone ever felt agitated or on egde or emotional spells etc?

Any feedback would be greatly aprecated. Thanks, Scott!!!

[Muddler]

I've been on Lamictal (200mg) since 2006 & have yet to experience a rash or feeling emotional etc. I found it helped for my depressive symptoms.