Lamictal didn't work out...

[Deja Q]

But am still trekking along with more "legal dope" and hope it'll straighten me out without ruining my ability to straighten it out... :rofl:

[DemExpat]

1. Keep on trekking, HT....

:hug:

DemEx

[Crunchy Frog]

2. I just recently weaned myself off of Lamictal

after being on it for several months. It seemed to be helping for awhile, but I got some really wierd side effects at the dosage I was at, and I seemed to stop feeling any positive effects at the lower dosage. It also seemed to produce a bit of a mental fog at a severe enough level to interfere with my ability to function.

So, I guess I'm back to the drawing board.

[Larissa238]

3. Just keep with it

It may take what feels like forever for you to get what works for you, but when you get there, it's all worth it. I tried lamictal, tegretol, and Im now on Lithium (as well as geodon and trazadone). It seems to be working better than anything else I have been on. I hope that you find something that works great for you. It's taken me years to get to this point. *hugs*

[MrMonk]

4. For a point of comparison,

lamictal gave me an observable boost after about the first week (though it has never quite gotten me out of the hole), but lithium made me ill. We all experience these palliatives in different ways.

[Kire]

5. my doctor today, suggested I start on Lamictal

as a substitute for Depakote, which I don't think is so bad for me right now, he said it will help with weight gain and somnolence

he told me to go home and look it up first, I just saw your post

what kind of side effects are involved with Lamictal?

[RedOnce]

6. I know someone who was on Lamictal for several years...

she reported that she had no side effects at all. Prior to that she did have quite a bit of weight gain on Depakote.

[depakid]

7. Lamictal has the best side effects profile of all

of the pharmaceutical treatments for bipolar disorder. Unlike depakote, it's not hepatoxic (bad for the liver) isn't associated with much weight gain (although, like depakote, you may get a sweet tooth or experience some increase in appetite as you titer up). It doesn't make you "stupid" like topomax can and if you respond well to it- it can be used as a monotherapy, because it has both mood stabilizing and anti-depressant qualities.

In fact, its anti-depressant qualities are known to treat refractory (stubborn) depression- that other drugs aren't all that effective with over time. That makes it ideal for BP II.

One catch- about 8-10% of people get "the rash" which can progress into a dangerous illness if ignored. The usual deal with that is to just stop taking lamictal and it goes away. Risk of this effect is why you have to ramp up the dosage very slowly- and if you're on depakote, there's a special protocol for dealing with that- as the two medications interact.

Your pdoc will tell you all about that.

[Larissa238]

8. I got the rash

Because my pdoc at the time was stupid and raised my dose to triple the ammount within 2 weeks. I was trying to get off tegretol and onto another mood stabilizer (Im on lithium now), and I had a bad doctor. If you do go on this medication, make sure your doctor doesnt rush it.