i take 200mgs/day along with 20mgs/abilify. im labeled w/ 'severe bipolar i, mixed states, psychotic features.' makes me sound...a whole lot less stable than i actually am. LOL.

anyway...its an anti-seizure drug. not sedating per se, but..for me, it slows things down a bit but also keeps my mood from dipping into the deep, dark pit of psychotic depression (again, makes me sound scary...i can function during those episodes, just...barely...).

doses vary a good bit. 200mgs/daily is standard for Bipolar I. a lot of psych docs use it 1st line in bipolar II, because those people tend to be depression-heavy.

good news: -if- it works for you, it can help a whole lot w/ low dips and even reduce the ups, too. bad news: risks. one must be slowly, slowly dosed up...and now there are case reports coming in of nasty, bizarre, sometimes lethal events...

thankfully, those are rare (or seem to be, at this point). oh, and liver toxicity. its not mega-toxic, but there have been cases of liver damage that just kinda...appeared, it seems.

oh, and...---if--- you and the psych doc decide that you need a neuroleptic/tranquilizer/so-called 'antipsychotic,' some limited data shows good synergy between lamictal and seroquel, also abilify. that's a big deal for -me- because abilify at a full dose is an effective anti-manic, not so much an effective drug for the moody blues. i don't know what the seroquel augmentation is all about, but...it seems to help.

:-)