Posted by dragonblack on August 4, 2010, at 1:06:06
Hi All! Been several years since I posted here. I'll spare you a retelling of the intervening drama.
Anyhoo, I am Dx'ed as BP2, co-morbid anxiety disorder.
Currently take Lamictal 200 mg, Wellbutrin XL 450 mg, and Klonopin .5-.75 mg.
Lamictal is the first and only mood stabilizer I have tried; it was supposed to be my magic bullet! At this point, I am forced to admit that it isn't working, at least enough, I still cycle, rapidly, still have rage/irritability, and am still not functional enough to work. Also have headaches nearly daily, enough that it's become a deal-breaker in it's own right. The plan is to try a new mood stabilizer asap (1st choice is Trileptal, 2nd is Depakote, 3rd is Tegretol...[tmi]).
BUT...researching antidepressants tonight (I've long wanted to try a 2nd as an adjunct, can't get a Dr., or now my PA, to Rx one (impersonal, statistic-based fear of manic switch), I'm now thinking that maybe I've failed to give Lamictal a fair trial merely by virtue of being on an antidepressant. Normally, I wouldn't consider going off Wellbutrin unless I desperately wanted to have a horrible crash, but since things aren't working, and I'm ready to give up on Lamictal, which was supposed to spare me years of trying mood stabilizers with awful side effects and weight gain, maybe it's worth a try? I don't think Wellbutrin is causing me to become hypomanic per se, but there's an excellent chance that it is involved in mood instability, insomnia, irritability, and maybe even the headaches (even though lamictal causes headaches, the combo of wellbutrin and lamictal also causes headaches, even when lamictal alone may not...this from some secret manual only ur Pdoc has).
Would love some feedback on this - am I just walking into a giant crash by going of Wellbutrin when I'm on a max dose and still having depression, or is this a good idea as a last ditch effort to give Lamictal a fair shake, as some would argue that I should have started on Lamictal alone before trying to add an AD?
sorry so long - thanks for reading!
P.S. Much love to everyone here : ) - forgot to mention, managed to quit drinking about 14 months ago, I was pretty much a raging alcoholic and used to post here when wasted, lol.
poster:dragonblack
thread:957141
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100731/msgs/957141.html