Posted by fluffy on June 13, 2003, at 11:45:37
In reply to Re: Ask Colin Wallace for his input » fluffy, posted by Ron Hill on June 12, 2003, at 19:17:21
> Hi Ms. Katy Fluffy,
Hi there Ron Hill--Thanks for your reply and concern...all this stuff is confusing to me (as I'm sure it is to new BP folks)
> This sounds very similar to Colin Wallace's experience with Lamictal. Flag Colin down and get his input. He also found it necessary to continually bump up the dose to retain its effectiveness.
Colin--Are you out there?
> I have a couple questions:
>
> Is this the first moodstabilizer prescribed for you?No--It's not the first mood stabilizer. I had a really stupid doctor before who wouldn't/couldn't recognize that I was having a full-blown mixed state after being put on Lexapro for depression (after 5 weeks) I didn't sleep for 5 days, and I was knashing my teeth, wouldn't leave the house, contemplating suicide, driving to West Texas (crying the whole 10 hours), having many thoughts at the same time, etc.
First he put me on a *tiny* dose of neurontin with a full dose of Zoloft. (I feel he was humoring me). I told him I just felt like an anxious, agitated zombie after trying it for 3 weeks.
So he put me on 100mg of Tegretol--only after I had to convince him that I thought I might be bipolar...Then he wouldn't answer my calls--even though I felt like poop on a shingle. I bumped up to 200mg Tegretol a month later...then fell back into depression. That's about the time I found the mood disorder clinic I'm going to now.
Before all this, I was on Paxil for a year (for MAJOR panic attacks and FULL on depression), went off a year later because I thought I was "better" but I didn't have a manic spell on it. It wasn't until the second prescription (Lexapro, for major depression again), one year after I went off Paxil that I went manic. Looking back, I had hypomania before each depressive episode..it was especially prominent this last full episode.
> How long ago did you get the BP II dx?
It's been since last October/November. The mood disorder clinic confirmed through their incessant question and answer process.
> How many years have you been taking psychotropic medications?Again--refer to long paragraph above
> Why did your pdoc select Lamictal instead of lithium or Depakote?
I think because Tegretol was at such a low dose that it was doing *nothing* and essentially they had a clean slate to try something else on me. Also, because I was having a depressive phase that wouldn't lift. I joined in a study that randomly chose Lithium or Lamictal for BPII patients who are currently
depressed. I fit that bill perfectly. I got the Lamictal--I'm in the 11th week of the study. Free appointments, free meds, and the option to drop out if things get worse. I'm a professional guinea pig!> Define "full relief". My short answer is yes (pretty much). You can certainly get closer than you are now with your cycling. However, it is a trial-and-error process to find a med combo that works best for you.
>
I guess I mean *NO CYCLING* by full relief. I definitely feel that I'm cycling more softly, but still cycling.> You mean increase your Lamictal dose, correct? What dosage are you currently taking? Any rash so far? What is your pdoc’s advice regarding dosage increases? As you know, small incremental increases are advised to avoid getting a rash.
>
I'm currently on 200mg. No rash, except for the beginning--I had a flaky eczema type rash and tingly fingers and toes. Since I'm in a study, the normal clinical practices are rigid--the point of the study is to get up to a dose of at least 200mg. They may raise me still. After the study, I may add other stuff.Hope this answered your questions! Please reply back with any other input/opinions/suggestions.
Thanks!
Katy
poster:fluffy
thread:99976
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030609/msgs/233690.html