Quote:
Originally Posted by Odee
So, anyone who has ever read me say anything on these forums likely knows I've been on Lamictal for almost a year.
The addition seemed to be so promising at first that I dropped the antidepressants I was on at the time to focus primarily on the mood stabilizer. My Pdoc warned me that Lamictal was often not enough, especially for someone with Bipolar 2 symptoms that matched mine. I have avoided adding anything else to what I take for several months, insisting that I wanted to maximize the effectiveness of lamotrigine and simply to increase the dose. I have been on Lamotrigine monotherapy since last July, the only variance being the past two months where I tried to add Trazodone for sleep.
It has become obvious to me now that the monotherapy isn't working. I have dipped into low depressions lately and high anxiety. I believe that I've just begun to feel as bad as I did before the lamictal. I've accepted that I need something else, and I will be talking to my psychiatrist next week. She does not want to increase Lamictal at all anymore. She has been insisting on adding buproprion.
I would just like to know what other people's thoughts and experiences are on adding to lamictal and what made the med truly effective. Where do I go when Lamictal alone is not enough?
I am BP2 with predominately depressive and anxious symptoms. I experience symptoms much like generalized anxiety, ADHD/ADD, and panic disorder.
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Hi Odee,
I think we have very similar symptoms, except I started with too many meds. For a period of time I was just having the rapid thoughts, so I was taking ONLY lamictal for a year (maybe less), it helped so much with easing my thoughts, I actually had time to RELAX!
How many mgs of Lamictal are you on? I've heard that after a while, your body gets used to it, and that there may be a "maximum effective dose"..?
I would be careful with the wellbutrin because (unlike what one comment said) it can work FAST. I mean like within a few days.
I was taking my original antidepressant, Venlafaxine (effexor), for years. I was taking the maximum dose but it still wore off. I was also taking lamictal as a mood stabilizer. When I added on the wellbutrin, it flung me into a hypomanic episode that lasted months. It was absolute hell. I've heard that effexor can be dangerous for people with bipolar.
I am taking celexa now too, a low dose, but im still a little hypomanic.
Basically my point that Im trying to make is, please be careful with wellbutrin. It worked very fast on me, and got me to do some bad things, including vandalizing a car, to the point where i could have gotten arrested, when I was in a manic rage. It made me insane.