The post above is correct. The established dose of Lamictal for the treatment of Bipolar is 200mg a day. If you happen to be taking Depakote too then the dose is much lower at 100mg. The other use of Lamictal is for seizures and in that case the max dose is around 400mg to 500mg a day. All the symptoms you mentioned are clearly documented as side effects.

In all cases Lamictal must be increased *very slowly* because of the small risk of developing a potentially lethal rash. Typically it takes 2-3 months when first starting Lamictal to get to the effective dose of 200mg. An immediate increase of 300mg per day not only is unlikely to be of benefit but could put you at increased risk of Stevens-Johnson syndrome which is a very serious drug reaction. If you get a rash you should stop the medicine and report it to your doctor (or in your case a suitably informed health care practitioner).

Your psychiatrist seems, *ahem*, uninformed of these dangers. This medicine is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline and any of their drug reps are more than willing to be of "assistance" to her with the correct use of Lamictal. In fact usually doctors have to fend them off from breaking down their door. These reps make certain that prescribing docs know all about the rash. I also know that all the sample packs of Lamictal in my office have this gradual titration schedule plastered all over the package. Every article written about its use has warnings practically every other sentence on sticking to gradual increases. I don't want to scare you about Lamictal since it is an excellent drug and probably the first true "mood stabilizer" in that it treats mania AND depression and is generally well tolerated. I just think that it needs to be prescribed appropriately.