Even when you get to the goal dose you will probably need to take it day by day. You may need adjustments with the dose or other meds in addition to the lamictal. It's pretty much impossible to know. But it's a good idea to never set your mind that a goal dose is when you worry because that is often not the solution in and of itself. You'll get there but it will be easier if you don't set any timeframes in your mind, just try to accept that how you feel each day is how you feel and eventually you'll have a pattern that will show your response. Mood charting helps (I grudgingly admit since I've hated it and refused to do it for many, many years after initially finding it too hard). I use an app on my phone call imood journal (works on android and iphone both) and I like it a lot. Others like one called Optomism that my phone won't take b/c the phone is too old, or daily mood diary or a bunch of others. Or you can do it with paper and pencil. I like the app because I mark it through the day easily and as much as I feel I need to with mood changes and it reminds me. It also can send the data to my email and I can make graphs with it.