Quote:
Originally Posted by sxprt
Not necessarily bad.
I was on 600mg of lith and 200 of lamictal.
She said that after roughly 8 years on lithium, it could lead to side effects (thyroid and kidney) as well as the amount I was on was probably not doing much anymore (I did need my meds tweaked).
She put me on 100mg bid of the lamictal instead of 200 at once. I was feeling myself crashing and getting lethargic about 6 hours after my lamictal. New dose seems to be nice.
Anything I should watch out for getting off lithium?
She also prescribed Trazadone for sleep (50mg) because I have some issues with that. I can use it prn, and I'm not a fan because it's an antidepressant and those have sexual side effects I am prone to, mainly libido.
Anyhow, thanks in advance for any advice.
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Lamictal as a maintenance drug is predominately effective against depression, and lithium is predominately effective against mania. Combined, they're the gold standard maintenance combination for bipolar. Without lithium, you're at higher risk for hypo/mania, depending on who you are.