Posted by Emme on October 3, 2001, at 8:24:35
In reply to Re: Started Geodon, off Zyprexa--scott » Emme, posted by SLS on September 30, 2001, at 8:49:44
Hi Scott,
Yes, sorry to spoil your record. Glad you've been able to tolerate the lamictal well. I see so many positive posts about it. I increased the Lamictal by 12.5 mg/week. I got the rash while I was at 75 mg - just when good things were starting to happen. I've been trying other ACs for the time being. Currently I'm on Gabitril.
Am I bipolar? My doctor certainly thinks so. It's been hard for me to believe the diagnosis because I've never really been clearly hypomanic and definitely never manic. My depression has been different at different times, sometimes accompanied by lots of anxiety, sometimes by awful fatigue, and the symptoms of depression with lots of anxiety are pretty similar to the features of a mixed state. There have been times when I definitely seemed to be cycling up and down on the time scale of a week or two, except that the "highs" never really popped up into hypomanic. My doctor says that loss of efficacy with various antidepressants is another indication. So she thinks that although no one symptom is conclusive by itself, taken together they suggest a bipolar spectrum disorder. I know the BPII diagnosis gets thrown around a lot these days. But I also trust that my doctor has a good clinical sense, and so I am willing to try the bipolar treatments. I assume you have been diagnosed bipolar also? How do you describe your mood disorder?
Emme
> Dear Emme,
>
> I'm sorry that it was you who had to spoil my record!
>
> For me, I noticed that my eyes itched - sort of like an allergy - whenever I raised the dosage. It usually lasted for a day or two. I'm hoping that your reaction is similarly brief.
>
> When titrating Lamictal in the absence of another anticonvulsant mood stabilizer, the increases must be more gradual than the schedule prescribed by the manufacturer and PDR. I had success with the following:
>
> 25mg x 2 weeks
> 50mg x 2 weeks
> 75mg x 1 week
> 100mg x 1 week
>
> I guess you'll have to go slower than that. How exactly did you increase the dosage? I am currently taking 300mg. I think 100mg - 200mg is where most people end up. Do you have bipolar disorder? If not, how would you describe the features of your depression?
>
> Thanks.
>
>
> - Scott
poster:Emme
thread:79801
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010927/msgs/80141.html