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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 18 of 18. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sleepygirl on March 1, 2007, at 23:45:40
anyone get results? positive/negative?
Posted by stargazer on March 2, 2007, at 0:47:04
In reply to does lamictal do diddly??, posted by sleepygirl on March 1, 2007, at 23:45:40
Negative, Nov 2005, made me fall and crack my front teeth (2 root canals), then fall again 2 or 3 additional times, thought I had MS, got worked up for that and the neurologist said it is probably your medication. Told my pdoc who had wanted me to increase it above 200 mg. I refused to go higher because I did feel worse but didn't associate it with the medication. DUH! My pdoc made no connection to Lamictal. Thank God the neurologist was on the ball. It also made me cognitively impaired, my memory failed horribly.
Sorry for such a negative report, but it is factual.
SG
Posted by alanjacobs on March 2, 2007, at 9:58:42
In reply to does lamictal do diddly??, posted by sleepygirl on March 1, 2007, at 23:45:40
I was on it for a while, It did nothing good or bad to me
Posted by Phillipa on March 2, 2007, at 10:02:34
In reply to Re: does lamictal do diddly??, posted by alanjacobs on March 2, 2007, at 9:58:42
I was on it twice but rare side effect of excess salivation I had to stop it. Love Phillipa
Posted by Dinah on March 2, 2007, at 10:40:19
In reply to does lamictal do diddly??, posted by sleepygirl on March 1, 2007, at 23:45:40
It seems to be working for migraine prophylaxis, but I also suspect it makes me a bit groggy in the mornings.
It appears to work as well as Depakote did for mood stabilizaton, although that's not as important to me now I'm off AD's.
Posted by TheMeanReds on March 2, 2007, at 12:14:20
In reply to Re: does lamictal do diddly?? » sleepygirl, posted by Dinah on March 2, 2007, at 10:40:19
I'm on 50mg/day of lamictal. Was on 200, but I wined about the bad side effects too much. On the positive side, it does tend to regulate my ups and downs, it has had anti depressant qualities since 25mgs, gives me motivation....and a few others I cant remember (because it messes with my memory sometimes).
Posted by psychobot5000 on March 2, 2007, at 12:14:42
In reply to Re: does lamictal do diddly?? » sleepygirl, posted by Dinah on March 2, 2007, at 10:40:19
No. At least nothing positive, after a possible initial boost that fades rapidly.
My personal experience was dramatic improvement for several days, followed by a return to baseline mood...and then to below baseline. And it gets immediately worse when you try stopping it or cutting the dose. Then there are the side-effects. Some people get almost nothing, but myself and others have gotten nasty cognitive slowing, sleep disruption, etc. It also can make you very itchy, especially as you get to higher doses.
The preponderance of evidence (many failed studies) indicate that Lamictal is not useful for moods, other than an initial, unsustained boost, which often becomes counterproductive.
Posted by polarbear206 on March 2, 2007, at 13:00:24
In reply to Re: does lamictal do diddly??, posted by psychobot5000 on March 2, 2007, at 12:14:42
> No. At least nothing positive, after a possible initial boost that fades rapidly.
>
> My personal experience was dramatic improvement for several days, followed by a return to baseline mood...and then to below baseline. And it gets immediately worse when you try stopping it or cutting the dose. Then there are the side-effects. Some people get almost nothing, but myself and others have gotten nasty cognitive slowing, sleep disruption, etc. It also can make you very itchy, especially as you get to higher doses.
>
> The preponderance of evidence (many failed studies) indicate that Lamictal is not useful for moods, other than an initial, unsustained boost, which often becomes counterproductive.
>Through what resources of evidence and failed studies have you come across. I disagree. There is tons of studies done that supports Lamictal as one of the front runners for mood stabilization. All of my research on this drug is from scholarly web sites. If you are interested I will glady give you the links.
Posted by Joe Bloe on March 2, 2007, at 13:40:43
In reply to Re: does lamictal do diddly?? » psychobot5000, posted by polarbear206 on March 2, 2007, at 13:00:24
I've been on the Lam for 2 weeks.
I started at 25 mgs but the side effects were serious - I could hardly function.
So I went back to 12.5 mgs and started taking it at night (it helps me get a full night's sleep). I've noticed a big improvement. Side effects have continuously decreased. I went back up to 25 mgs on day 14 so let's see what happens.
I would eventually like to take a daily dose of 25 or 50 mgs and to drop the Prozac. Since I started Lamictal, I've decreased the Prozac from 20 to 10 mgs - against the wishes of my pdoc. After 4 1/2 years, this medication has run its course and it's time to try something else.
Posted by Sandra62 on March 2, 2007, at 21:38:48
In reply to Re: does lamictal do diddly??, posted by Joe Bloe on March 2, 2007, at 13:40:43
I am Bipolar so in my med cocktail I have taken 100 mg of Lamictal for over a year now. When I first took as monotherapy I was able to write songs for the first time in months, but that escalated to mania so I had to add an anti-psychotic. I have been quite low for some time, no motivation to write music or do much else for that matter so I don't know if it's lost it's effect, or I need to be on a higher dose, need to cut back on the anti-psychotic dosage, or what. Still trying to find the perfect balance.
One annoying thing about starting Lamictal is you have to begin with 25 mg and ssssllloowwwwwy work your way up to a therapeutic dosage to hopefully avoid getting a rash.
Posted by polarbear206 on March 3, 2007, at 10:59:06
In reply to Re: does lamictal do diddly??, posted by Sandra62 on March 2, 2007, at 21:38:48
> I am Bipolar so in my med cocktail I have taken 100 mg of Lamictal for over a year now. When I first took as monotherapy I was able to write songs for the first time in months, but that escalated to mania so I had to add an anti-psychotic. I have been quite low for some time, no motivation to write music or do much else for that matter so I don't know if it's lost it's effect, or I need to be on a higher dose, need to cut back on the anti-psychotic dosage, or what. Still trying to find the perfect balance.
>
> One annoying thing about starting Lamictal is you have to begin with 25 mg and ssssllloowwwwwy work your way up to a therapeutic dosage to hopefully avoid getting a rash.
I would start with cutting back on the ant-psychotic. My hunch is that it is the culprit.polarbear
Posted by Sandra62 on March 3, 2007, at 13:05:25
In reply to Re: does lamictal do diddly?? » Sandra62, posted by polarbear206 on March 3, 2007, at 10:59:06
Hi Polarbear, I recently switched from Zyprexa to Seroquel because I was getting muscle rigidity. I've been on Seroquel for a few weeks, but only at 300 mg for a few days. I'm feeling better. Although it has not been approved for such, there are promising studies that Seroquel can help with Bipolar depression as well. So I'm going to stick with it for some time and see how it works. I'm also going to ask my PDOC on Monday if I can switch from Lexapro to Wellbutrin. I had success with Wellbutrin in the past.
Posted by linkadge on March 3, 2007, at 19:20:10
In reply to Re: does lamictal do diddly?? » psychobot5000, posted by polarbear206 on March 2, 2007, at 13:00:24
I agree with you. I have read tons of studies indicating that it can help certain people long term when other medicaitons have failed.
Isn't it the only medication besides lithium approved for bipolar I disorder?
I personally know a few people who have done well on lamotragine monotherapy for a few years now.
Of course its not for everybody, but no med is.
Linkadge
Posted by kilgor trout on March 3, 2007, at 21:59:45
In reply to Re: does lamictal do diddly?? » psychobot5000, posted by polarbear206 on March 2, 2007, at 13:00:24
I transitioned off Serzone (gratefully) to Lamictal about 4 years ago.
Now, if I think about it I have still had some major cycling. The pressure of parenting (4yr girl and 6yr boy) and keeping up a high-stress job has tumbled me down into a hole several times.
Previously, on Serzone I was fairly stable, but life was a little easier.
So, I was planning on writing a positive statement, and now I am wondering...
Posted by stargazer on March 4, 2007, at 14:15:44
In reply to Re: does lamictal do diddly??, posted by kilgor trout on March 3, 2007, at 21:59:45
Posted by polarbear206 on March 7, 2007, at 9:31:33
In reply to Re: does lamictal do diddly??, posted by Sandra62 on March 3, 2007, at 13:05:25
> Hi Polarbear, I recently switched from Zyprexa to Seroquel because I was getting muscle rigidity. I've been on Seroquel for a few weeks, but only at 300 mg for a few days. I'm feeling better. Although it has not been approved for such, there are promising studies that Seroquel can help with Bipolar depression as well. So I'm going to stick with it for some time and see how it works. I'm also going to ask my PDOC on Monday if I can switch from Lexapro to Wellbutrin. I had success with Wellbutrin in the past.
Sandra,
Seroquel has an excellent track record and is being used more and more for bipolar. It will probably work well with the Lamictal together and you probably won't need a high dose being on both of them. You may be able to cut back on the AD at some point or switch to wellbutrin. I have a p-doc appt. today. I have been highly functional on my current combo of lamictal 200mg, effexor 300mg, and klonopin when needed. I still have periods of occasional mixed states around my period and I have seasonal swings when we change the clocks. I am planning on adding a low dose of lithium with my lamictal. Hopefully, this will enable me to cut back the effexor to 150mg.I have been doing alot of research on this and it is very promising. Sexual side effects from effexor are bothersome at that dose, and of course, using the least amount of an antidepressant is paramount to prevent mood cycling. I am what you would call a "soft" bipolar II. How about you??
polarbear
Posted by Sandra62 on March 12, 2007, at 13:57:31
In reply to Re: does lamictal do diddly?? » Sandra62, posted by polarbear206 on March 7, 2007, at 9:31:33
Hi Polarbear,
I hope that your meds work for you. I've stopped the Seroquel. I don't know if it was withdrawal from Zyprexa, although we thought we did it gradually from what I've been reading though perhaps it was too fast, or the Seroquel that was causing intense anxiety or perhaps it was akathasia. I feel better now back on the 10 mg of Zyprexa. My diagnosis was Bipolar presenting with more depression and hypomania so likely Bipolar II. I'm not educated on 'soft Bipolar', will do more research on that. Still on 100 mg of Lamictal, 10 mg of Lexapro, 1.5 mg of Rivotril (Clonazepman/Klonopin).
Posted by sick puppy on March 13, 2007, at 20:14:06
In reply to does lamictal do diddly??, posted by sleepygirl on March 1, 2007, at 23:45:40
I had to get to a fairly high dose, around 300 mg, and it took alot of patience but combined with 600mg lithium/day, I have never felt better.
Good Luck!
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