Posted by colin wallace on December 20, 2002, at 12:24:50
In reply to Re: Lamictal for BP2 : Love it so far, posted by catmint on December 20, 2002, at 2:30:23
Hi Amy,
I was wondering how you were faring so far on Lamictal- seems as if you are getting the common early boost towards normality that I experienced within a few days.It's not a placebo effect, but you WILL need to raise the dose weekly to sustain the effect.I have to say that, for me at least, titrating was a tricky business at first.Expect some days where you feel irritable in the extreme- I literally felt like screaming on occasion!The best ways to counter this are 1) grit your teeth and ride it out for a few days- it will pass, believe me (remember, undoing years of screwy brain chemistry ain't gonna be smooth 'n easy!)2) take a low dose, long lasting benzo. for a short while- I used 2 to 4mg of diazepam which helped a lot. 3)lower the dose slightly for a few days, then nudge it back up slowly.4)Paradoxically,RAISE the dose! When I hit 25mg for a few weeks I suddenly lost all benefit and began to slide and get anger symptoms-felt like giving it up at this stage.Then, I took the plunge and hit 50mg, and felt great for ages.My mood became consistently smooth at this point, and further (12.5mg) raises were fairly easy.
This is all very subjective though- you may get away with very few adverse affects- some people, as you know, can whack up the dose by 25mg each week, and hit 400mg in no time.I'd go low and slow if I were you though, with your med. sensitivity.Good luck, and have a great Christmas!
PS.No probs exercising on Lamictal whatsoever-no interactions with supplements.> Hello all,
>
> I am on my second trial of Lamictal. The first time I started too high and ended up with a slight rash. I have been on only 2.5 mg. for a week now. I almost gave up on the third day because of awful irritability. Thank God that went away, now I feel good, no depressive symptoms for 4 days! I'm wondering if I'm am hypomanic, but my usual pattern is up for 3 days, down for many and this is different for sure. I have been feeling more normal than I have in years.
> I'm amazed I am having a response at such a low dose. Is this a placebo effect?
> Colin, it's great to hear that you are still having a good response! How did you know when to titrate up? So far I haven't felt the need to. Also, can I expect irritability for about 3 days right after I increase? What should I take to counteract this?
> I am hopeful this is *THE* med for me.
> For those of you who have not had a good response from Lamictal long term, are there other factors involved? I'm thinking that even though Lamictal is great for bipolar depression, I won't in any way stop exercising, or taking supplements.
>
> Amy
poster:colin wallace
thread:131533
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021217/msgs/132628.html