Posted by Cindylou on April 9, 2002, at 12:11:35
In reply to Re: Going off Lamictal. Sigh..., posted by SLS on April 9, 2002, at 10:18:42
Thanks so much, Scott, for the informative post, and positive feedback! It gives me hope.
Last night I decreased the Lamictal from 75 mg to 50, and I have to tell ya, I feel better now than I have in weeks! I wonder if the Lamictal was backfiring on me (other drugs have done that after they have run their course.)
I'm not sure about Omega 3 being effective for unipolar depression or not -- I have been diagnosed as bipolar II, and my pdoc says it's good for stabilizing moods. Jury's still out on whether I'll try it or not ...
Thanks again, Scott!
cindy>
> > My pdoc gave me a prescription for Nortriptyline (I think that's the one ... the tricyclic.) She said it's been proven safe in pregnancy -- I'm not sure if I'll be able to tolerate it or not, but it's worth a shot.
>
> > Any experiences with Nortriptyline and/or Omega 3 are appreciated!
>
> Hi Cindy.
>
> The only thing that I would want comment on is that nortriptyline can be temperamental in terms of what dosage works best. Unlike most of the other drugs, you can actually lose a positive response by taking too much. Doctors usually make 75mg the target. Here is a thread that appeared a few weeks ago.
>
> http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020322/msgs/99639.html
>
> I find that the side effects of nortriptyline are very tolerable. However, at first, you might feel sedated and have dry-mouth. These things have disappeared entirely for me, although I have been on TCAs so many time, I have probably grown tolerant of them. Nortriptyline is generally a safe ,effective, and well-tolerated drug. Since nortriptyline has been around for 40 years as compared to the 15 years of oldest SSRI drug, Prozac, doctors can place much greater confidence in its historical lack of birth-defects and other complications of pregnancy (along with the TCAs as a group). Up until now, though, Prozac has a good track record.
>
> The only thing that appears in the literature concerning gestation is that Prozac is associated with a small increase in the rate of premature births. However, I think it has been overlooked that the baby will experience the same sort of SSRI-withdrawal effects that any adult would from the sudden disappearance of Prozac from the blood stream. It does pass through the placenta. It also shows up in breast milk, although I don't know to what degree this is significant.
>
>
> > I'm also going to try vitamins and that Omega 3 fatty acid stuff.
>
> Are you bipolar? Is Omega-3 effective for unipolar depression?
>
> I like to take plenty of B-vitamins along with a multiple vitamin containing zinc. I also take 1000mg of vitamin-C and 800 IU of vitamin-E.
>
> Good luck and congratulations!
>
>
> - Scott
poster:Cindylou
thread:102494
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020408/msgs/102516.html