Posted by JohnL on September 10, 2001, at 3:08:30
In reply to Re: Doc's Experience with Zyprexa, Lamictal, more., posted by bob on September 9, 2001, at 15:14:03
> John:
>
> Are you the same John that has been promoting Adrafanil and Amisulpride on this board? If you are, then as I read this, do I detect a shift in your strategies? It seems that you now are promoting the atypical APs, along with Lamictal, and possibly concomitan treatment with an SSRI? What happened to the Adrafanil and Amisulpride, just out of curiosity?
>
> BTW, the science and logic behind the Zyprexa addition seems very sound. My concern is the often reported significant weight gain on Zyprexa. Also, I took Lamicatal for awhile last year, and developed a rash. I don't think I went as slowly as some... but I followed the package insert instructions. Do you think it would be worth another try with an extremely slow dosage titration?
>
> BobBob,
Yes, I am the same John who likes to suggest Adrafinil and Amisulpride as alternatives for people who have been disappointed with other more common meds. They are still two of my favorites for a lot of reasons. It's just that Zyprexa and Lamictal are proving to be unusually good medicines, so I don't want to ignore them. I tend to go more with what works a lot in the real world, regardless of what literature says. With that in mind, some of the all time top drugs have to be Adrafinil, Amisulpride, Zyprexa, Lamictal, and good ole Prozac, in my opinion. Obviously the doc in this thread seems to really like Zyprexa, and he seems to like Lamictal and Neurontin too. Zyprexa has been a wonderful medicine for me. Lamictal helped me some, but not a whole lot, but then again I never got higher than 100mg dose. The doc in this thread thinks 200mg is the target to shoot for, so if that is true then I fell short and didn't give it a good enough trial. At least one thing is for sure, that is, I did not get worse on Lamictal. So many other meds actually made me worse instead of better. Lamictal was one of the good ones that did not do that to me.Mileage varies of course. But in this trial and error game, I like to go with things that have the highest odds for success. These meds fit that description. Just my opinion though.
If you were to try Lamictal again, it might be a good idea to start at 12.5mg and work your way up. Increase the dose by 12.5mg every four days or so. The rash would be unlikely at that pace.
Weight gain on Zyprexa is indeed a common problem. It can be dealt with however. Careful snacking habits and such can make a difference. I gained weight when I first started Zyprexa, but have now lost it all simply by cutting back on snacks and not eating so much at meal time.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:78359
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010907/msgs/78444.html