Besides taking Lamictal and Wellbutrin and Cymbalta, I work in Mental Health. It is very common to take a mood stabilizer as well as an antidepressant. They work on different areas of the brain and work well in combination. Some people do worse on an "unopposed" antidepressant because it stimulates an area of the brain in such a way. Paxil has alot of side effects and is sometimes refered to as a "dirty" drug for that reason. Their are alot of newer antidepressants and your pdoc may want to try you on a different combination. As far as getting off them because you don't want to take drugs forever - that probably isn't a good idea. You have a disease just like diabetes or high blood pressure that you really can't "will" away. Studies have shown that going off and on of drugs sometimes makes the next depression worse. It is better to stay in the middle rather than up and down. I know I talk too much, but I hope this is a bit helpful. As far as the side effects, maybe they are unrelated to the Lamictal and need to be looked at separately. I was having some incontinence problems even before taking the Lamictal and turned out I was having bladder spasms for some reason. Several months of Detrol and it seems "cured". The only time I had a problem with hair loss was when I was pregnant. - fell out like I was a chemo patient (and I have thick hair) but once my hormones settled down that went away. Good luck and keep working with pdoc until you and he get it right.