Posted by papillon on January 21, 2012, at 8:40:21
In reply to Re: Total SSRI intolerance after many years?, posted by Phillipa on January 20, 2012, at 9:42:25
Lamictal is indicated for bipolar disorder, but it doesn't mean your psych necessarily thinks you have bipolar II. It can be prescribed off label for a number of illnesses including treatment resistant depression. Though in this instance it's usually prescribed to augment an anti-depressant (perhaps your sub-therapeutic SSRI dose?).
You could try anti-depressants from other classes - SNRIs, TeCAs, TCAs, MAOIs - but the side effects are generally worse than SSRIs, which means your intolerance may be greater. Your psychiatrist might foresee the same problem, hence recommending Lamictal.
I know someone who is very sensitive to medication, it doesn't change her diagnosis, it just means her psychiatrist has to work harder and think more creatively to find medication to which her body is not going to have some weird reaction. I think prescribing psychoactive medication can be as much of an art as it is a science.
Why not ask your psychiatrist what his/her thoughts are about your diagnosis and why s/he has prescribed Lamictal? If you're happy with the reasoning, give it a shot. The med-go-round sucks, but perhaps this is the last turn you'll have to make for a while. You'll only know if you give it a try.
poster:papillon
thread:1007842
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20120120/msgs/1007955.html