Posted by Cindylou on March 28, 2002, at 6:42:36
In reply to Re: that light switch? MAOIs etc- CindyLou, posted by Lia Mason on March 28, 2002, at 0:17:46
Hi Lia,
Thanks for the response ... I hope that Lamictal works well for you! I think there is a lot of good about it -- although I have reached a stand-still on my dose of 75 mg. For awhile, it really seemed to help with my anxiety ... a lot of people noticed the difference. I think for it to help with my depression I need to increase it, or find an antidepressant I can tolerate to add to it.I am considering SAM-e -- I bought a bottle at GNC, but haven't had the guts to try it yet. Did you have any side effects with it? Do you take it with sublingual Vitamin B, like I read from someone else in an earlier post? I'm curious about this new option.
Thanks, and keep me posted on how the Lamictal works for you. One thing you probably already know about it -- it takes PATIENCE. I had a difficult time with it every time I titrated up -- agitation coupled with fatigue -- it almost seemed to make things worse until I stabilized at that dose, and then I had to go through it all over again. But when I finally settled at a dose for a few weeks, things evened out for me.
I got up to 125 mg at one point, but began to have severe bloating, and even had to go out and buy new pants! I also felt extremely fatigued. I am going to try again, more slowly -- Emme suggested trying the 5 mg tablets.
Good luck! And take care,
cindy> Hi Cindylou,
>
> I'm sorry. I was out of town for a few days. Hope you find this.
>
> I've been on everything. Literally. I did all the MAO's which were fantastic antidepressants--truly "light switches" with terrible side effects. I also respond very well to SSRI's, but... there's the Prozac poop out which, as I've said, is heartbreaking.
>
> One important thing I will tell you... Prozac pooped out on me for years. Awful. I'd get 6 months and then crash. Then, in 1994, I started taking Depakote with it and it made all the difference. I really believe--in my case--that Depakote kept the Prozac working--for years. I took the Prozac/Depakote combo until 2000 and depression-wise I was fine. But the sexual side effects continued to bother me, so... I started looking around. I tried Sam-e and did really well with that for a year (at a high, expensive dose--1200). Then, after this good year, I had some health problems (unrelated to Sam-e) that stressed me A LOT and I got depressed again. I'm now on Sam-e and Effexor and about to start Lamictal.
>
> I don't know how much we have in common, but... I feel strongly that the addition of the mood stabilizer boosted my antidepressant a lot. I simply never got that kind of mileage out of Prozac alone.
>
> My situation now is that I'm trying to find an antidepressant that doesn't numb me out sexually. I'm hoping Lamictal will help.
>
> I hope this is somewhat useful. Good luck.
>
> Lia
poster:Cindylou
thread:99229
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020327/msgs/100697.html