Beth, it took 3 weeks of being on 900-1200mg of lithium for me to stabilizer when I took it, then it worked better than any other med out there, so I wouldn't give up on it just yet. I don't know what your med dude is on about but the only meds that worked that quickly for me are a few APs and sleep meds.

And I read the drugs.com in-depth guide to lamictal and it says the max FDA dose for bipolar is 200mg while for epilepsy it's 400mg although obviously people with bipolar have been on higher with more success. It also depends on what other medications you're taking.