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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by speck on March 20, 2002, at 16:32:23
What have people found to be the longer term therapeutic dosages of lamictal either in monotherapy or in conjunction with other meds? How high have you pushed the dose and with what side effects?
Posted by TSA West on March 21, 2002, at 0:36:51
In reply to Lamictal therapeutic dosages?, posted by speck on March 20, 2002, at 16:32:23
I've heard of people going up to 600 mg a day in 2-3 divided doses for maintenance of cycling. Overall, Lamictal is the most tolerable med in my opinion (in high doses) since the invention of SSRIs.
I am especially fond of the Neurontin + Lamictal combination.
> What have people found to be the longer term therapeutic dosages of lamictal either in monotherapy or in conjunction with other meds? How high have you pushed the dose and with what side effects?
Posted by Zo on March 21, 2002, at 15:59:26
In reply to Lamictal therapeutic dosages?, posted by speck on March 20, 2002, at 16:32:23
So far, since Sept 00, I am steady at 250mg. Pushed to 400mg, way too much, and then backed off incrementally to what felt good.
I don't know why, but it has also broken the back of lifelong depression. Tried a million other things. Really changed my life, didn't realize I cycled every day--and am no longer at the mercy of my emotions. Which still feels weird.
Zo
Posted by speck on March 21, 2002, at 21:11:31
In reply to Re: Lamictal therapeutic dosages? » speck, posted by Zo on March 21, 2002, at 15:59:26
How did you feel when too much was too much?
> So far, since Sept 00, I am steady at 250mg. Pushed to 400mg, way too much, and then backed off incrementally to what felt good.
>
> I don't know why, but it has also broken the back of lifelong depression. Tried a million other things. Really changed my life, didn't realize I cycled every day--and am no longer at the mercy of my emotions. Which still feels weird.
>
> Zo
Posted by speck on March 21, 2002, at 21:14:00
In reply to Re: Lamictal therapeutic dosages? » speck, posted by TSA West on March 21, 2002, at 0:36:51
First, thanks for the resonse. Did you have any side effects from the lamictal that were particularly troubling?
> I've heard of people going up to 600 mg a day in 2-3 divided doses for maintenance of cycling. Overall, Lamictal is the most tolerable med in my opinion (in high doses) since the invention of SSRIs.
>
> I am especially fond of the Neurontin + Lamictal combination.
>
> > What have people found to be the longer term therapeutic dosages of lamictal either in monotherapy or in conjunction with other meds? How high have you pushed the dose and with what side effects?
Posted by shelliR on March 22, 2002, at 19:44:45
In reply to Re: Lamictal therapeutic dosages? » TSA West, posted by speck on March 21, 2002, at 21:14:00
> I am especially fond of the Neurontin + Lamictal combination.Hi Speck,
are you fond of this combination for bipolar or unipolar depression?
Shelli
Posted by speck on March 23, 2002, at 15:29:41
In reply to Re: Lamictal therapeutic dosages? » speck, posted by shelliR on March 22, 2002, at 19:44:45
Actually, Shelli, it was TSA who expressed his/her fondness for the combo but I am having a fair amount of success with it too. In my case, it is for bipolar depression. I take Neurontin, topomax and have just added the lamictal as I discovered the side effects of the topomax to be too great even on a fairly low dose. I do tend to swing to the more depressed end of the bipolar spectrum more often than the high. I am now taking lamictal 125mg per day and Neurontin 800mg 3x per day. So far, so good. I am still working the lamictal up.
> > I am especially fond of the Neurontin + Lamictal combination.
>
> Hi Speck,
>
> are you fond of this combination for bipolar or unipolar depression?
>
> Shelli
Posted by Psydoc on March 23, 2002, at 22:36:51
In reply to Lamictal therapeutic dosages?, posted by speck on March 20, 2002, at 16:32:23
It turns out that some people with Bipolar and Unipolar depressions require doses in the 600 mg/day range to get a good antidepresant effect from Lamictal.
Best regards . . .
Ivan Goldberg
psydoc@psycom.net
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Posted by Zo on March 24, 2002, at 3:42:31
In reply to Re: Lamictal therapeutic dosages? » Zo, posted by speck on March 21, 2002, at 21:11:31
WORSE!
No, I mean. . .there was this too-much-drug feeling, and my brain went all haywire, loud ringing in ears, circuits overloaded.
Um, about every week, I would get very, very tense and panicky and just feel strongly "not myself". . .And lower my dose another 25mg. . .It was kind of subtle to catch by myself, needed feedback from a friend.
Zo
Posted by Roo on March 25, 2002, at 9:07:11
In reply to Re: Lamictal therapeutic dosages? » speck, posted by Zo on March 24, 2002, at 3:42:31
Shelli--
Did you ever find a good diuretic? Have you heard
of the one they prescribe for people with PMS. I
can't remember the name of it, but can find out if
you don't know which one i'm talking about. Are you
back on lamictal? did the water weight come right back
on? I'm still not sure if my 15 pounds of weight is
water or not, but I suspect it might be b/c I've been
working out like crazy, for 3 months, and my clothes haven't loosened
at all. I'm going to try to continue to exercise and eat
1300 cal. a day, and if I don't lose a pound a week
like a normal person would, I might ditch the lamictal.
I try not to let it get to me, but my body is driving
me nuts. I'm like 4 foot 11 inches, so the porkiness
really stands out more at this height!
Posted by shelliR on March 25, 2002, at 13:22:57
In reply to Re: Lamictal therapeutic dosages?Shelli R., posted by Roo on March 25, 2002, at 9:07:11
Hi Roo,I'm up to 300mg of lamictal and thought I was getting the water retention thing again, but it turned out to be just PMS bloating for now. For PMS I take furosemide (40mg; sometimes 80mg the first day) and will take it everyday if I start to bloat from the lamictal. I don't have a scale and I lost a lot of weight over the past few months from severe depression (didn't eat anything for days), so now it's hard to tell about weight gain. Usually aching breasts are my first clue and that went away after I got my period.
Is there any other medication that you're taking that could be causing you to have trouble losing weight? Have you tried a dieuretic? I'm not sure that all weight gain from lamictal is fluid retension, but I'm sure in my case because I lost in so quickly after discontinuing it.
I'd think hard before stopping lamictal and would try a diuretic before I ditched it. I am so sorry that I went off--it was the beginning of my downfall. I think I told you that 200mg was working well for me and the second time it took 400mg to get the same result. And I don't know if 400mg will do it the third time, or if it will even work again. So try a prescription diuretic and see if that works (then you can try natural things later to see if you get the same effect).
Shelli
Posted by Zo on March 26, 2002, at 16:43:24
In reply to Re: Lamictal therapeutic dosages?Shelli R. » Roo, posted by shelliR on March 25, 2002, at 13:22:57
This is the end of the thread.
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