[mommasuesue]

Does anybody know if lamactil is for bpd 1 or bpd 2 ?
My pdoc has me on lexapro 10 mgs trazodone 200 mgs trileptal 1200 mgs and slowly uping my lamactil to 200 I just started taking it a couple of weeks ago but its the generic kind

[Shakti]

If you search around the bipolar forum you will find tons of threads about this, some really involved and definitely worth reading. So many opinions! My opinion (and, haha, I think EVERYONE here knows this by now and is probably rolling their eyes as they read this because they read it from me so often) is YES YES YES is is great for both, but be very wary of the generic. Works for some. Disaster for others.

But also keep in mind that asking the question "Is X medicine good for X disorder?" is like asking "Do girls like pears?" It totally depends on the person. Our brains, our body chemistries, all so very different and unique. My best friend is also bipolar 1 like me, but we have absolutely opposite medication reactions. Every single one that works for me has been a disaster or just not worked at all for her and vice versa. And our symptoms and our "flavor" of the disorder is very similar. I think you may just have to give it a try.

[onomonapetia]

Lamictal does work for both (in my opinion). I know it is approved for bp 1, I don't think for bp 2. I am bp 2 with rapid cycling mixed episodes so it really doesn't matter anyways! I take lamictal 200mg and I am with shakti on this; I think the generic is ****. I just got my brand lamictal yesterday instead of generic so we will see. Last time I took it I was alive again (the brand name), this time I started on generic and it sucked balls. I hope the our theories are true because it might just save my life.

I am wondering about trazodone and trileptal...I have never been on these. What are they like/for, etc?

[mommasuesue]

I love my Trazodone It helps me stay asleep and I started taking it the first time i was in the hospital its for depression and for other things too but usually I dont sleep much so I take it at night and it makes me sleepy but i still get up in the middle of the night and wake up early . I usually get to bed by 1am maybe midnight and up around 2 ish sometimes then sometimes its like 4 am Its just all night long I guess lol then up again by 6am and the trileptal is the same as oxcarbazepin and its a anticonvusant i guess or mood stablizer but I have really never noticed what the oxcarbazen has done for me so its probably not working for me maybe thats why my pdoc add the lamotrigine for me to take and I think my insurance only pays for the generic for the lamactil-lamotrigine . I have been on meds for about 5 or 6 years now I didnt know I was bipolar til my husband left me and i ended up in the hospital.

[Skully]

I take Lamictal for Bipolar II. I have a friend who takes it for Bipolar I. So, it really can go either way depending on your symptoms.

[Shakti]

When they started me on Lamictal I was BP2. I honestly think the lables are very iffy when it comes to bipolar. They often change, mesh, mix, and overlap. I'm now BP1 and still on it. I also hear it is not necessarily the first line of treatment for BP1 or BP2 but for me they went right to that.

So much about this disorder is trial and error. Almost, but not quite, soft science. I mean, not *really* of course, but just in the many many ways it is treated, the differing medical opinions on the best ways to treat it and the relative lack of science on exactly why what does what (treatment-wise), including why even and how bipolar specifically works on our brains. It's getting figured out, but for now...so much trial and error. And disagreement on what is best for what and what should be used when and what should and shouldn't be used at all.

[mommasuesue]

Thank you all for your help finally I have you to talk with about this bpd

[greylove]

That's how I feel mommasuesue.......there's someplace to go where others will understand.

I'm on 200 mg Lamictal for Bipolar 1. My pdoc increased my Lamictal when I had to go off Lithium entirely because of really intolerable side effects. I think Lamictal was first used as an anti-seizure but it is found to be effective with Bipolar disorders. All the best to you and please come back often to "talk."