[gvennetti]

So I have depression and bipolar. My doctor put me on lamictal 25mg and raised me slowly to 50mg. I am now on 100mg for a week now and I'm constantly tired and irritable. I felt great on 50mg but that's not even near a therapeutic dose. Has anyone else experienced this and does it subside? Thanks so much!

I did not have any problems with it when I first took it several years ago. I'm back on it, but just starting at 25 mg, and have a long way to go to get to 200 mg, which is what's worked for me in the past.

Are you taking other meds with the lamictal?

[Crazy Hitch]

I've also just started on it. I take it at night time as I was told it can sometimes cause drowsiness. I'm on 75mg. Can't tell you if its my depression making me feel tired or my thyroid that no longer functions.

[Curious651]

I would like to give you help, but don't take meds. Good luck.

[wiretwister]

Love my lamictal, much better than depakote I was on.. I am at 300mg and currently have no side effects,,.hope you get feeling better.

[loophole]

Lamictal was the first med I was prescribed and has been the only med that hasn't changed since my diagnosis. 200 mg. 100 in the morning 100 at night.. it's been the best thing for me. I used to go into wild manic rages and it almost got me fired (luckily I'm in a union or would have been).. I'm able to control some of my more insane public outbursts and personal... it's obviously not liquid gold. Nothing is a cure all but I'm sure you already know that. Best med for me. 2nd up to this point would be latuda

[LastQuestion]

Lamotrigine has, to my knowledge, very little evidence of efficacy in treating BP depression, but it can help prevent the recurrence of depressive episodes after one has stabilized. If your depression improves while on Lamotrigine then it's most likely due to your brain healing itself, or other factors independent of its administration.

[happywoman]

Originally Posted by loophole

Lamictal was the first med I was prescribed and has been the only med that hasn't changed since my diagnosis. 200 mg. 100 in the morning 100 at night.. it's been the best thing for me. I used to go into wild manic rages and it almost got me fired (luckily I'm in a union or would have been).. I'm able to control some of my more insane public outbursts and personal... it's obviously not liquid gold. Nothing is a cure all but I'm sure you already know that. Best med for me. 2nd up to this point would be latuda

I 'm taking valproate as a mood stabiliser,talked to my pdoc about changing but she said not to change yet due to me starting a new job recently and other stresses but she thought lamictal might be something to consider. Do you take it as a mono therapy .

[happywoman]

Originally Posted by wiretwister

Love my lamictal, much better than depakote I was on.. I am at 300mg and currently have no side effects,,.hope you get feeling better.

Is lamictal a replacement for depakote / epilim / valproate as a mood stabiliser. My understanding that it is effective for bipolar depression but what about hypo mania or mania. I have prn zyprexa as a antipsychotic but i take it never.I also have clonazepam ( a benzo if the epilim isn't,t working. I take it a few times a year. What about the lamictal do you find better than the depakote?

[happywoman]

Originally Posted by gvennetti

So I have depression and bipolar. My doctor put me on lamictal 25mg and raised me slowly to 50mg. I am now on 100mg for a week now and I'm constantly tired and irritable. I felt great on 50mg but that's not even near a therapeutic dose. Has anyone else experienced this and does it subside? Thanks so much!

Is the lamictal used as a mono therapy?

[wiretwister]

Originally Posted by happywoman

Is lamictal a replacement for depakote / epilim / valproate as a mood stabiliser. My understanding that it is effective for bipolar depression but what about hypo mania or mania. I have prn zyprexa as a antipsychotic but i take it never.I also have clonazepam ( a benzo if the epilim isn't,t working. I take it a few times a year. What about the lamictal do you find better than the depakote?

yes it is a mood stabiliser for me, depakote to me was what i call a dark drug it deadened my senses and took any hope of joy away, just how it effected me, the lamictal is taken with geodon and mostly hypomania is controled although i find a sleep schedule the most important part of good control, xanex used pm for anexity , no side effects with lamictal yet...also no depression which the depakote never helped.

[happywoman]

Originally Posted by wiretwister

yes it is a mood stabiliser for me, depakote to me was what i call a dark drug it deadened my senses and took any hope of joy away, just how it effected me, the lamictal is taken with geodon and mostly hypomania is controled although i find a sleep schedule the most important part of good control, xanex used pm for anexity , no side effects with lamictal yet...also no depression which the depakote never helped.

Thanks for your reply. Yes I don,t think the epilim / depakote helps with depressions , I have been taking 300mg morning and 400mg at night. I don't know geodon.

[SillyKitty]

It takes a little while to kick in, but it's the only one that hasn't been changed since day 1. I take 300 mg. it has kept me be kinda 'normal.'

[Hopeful Camel]

I take 200 mg lamictal for depression. But at this point I am on so many meds, it is hard to tell what is doing what to me. But back when I was first put on it, it seemed to be helping quite a bit for my depression. Who knows what I would be like without it!?

[littlemiss1970]

I take lamictal too...200mg twice a day. It works awesome at stabilizing my mood. I have to take an ap and an ad with it to make it work better. Im tapped at the highest dose on it. Side effects did subside. It will get better. Give it a chance but if you just don't feel good on it try something different. Good luck to you. :-)

[loophole]

Originally Posted by happywoman

I 'm taking valproate as a mood stabiliser,talked to my pdoc about changing but she said not to change yet due to me starting a new job recently and other stresses but she thought lamictal might be something to consider. Do you take it as a mono therapy .

I take it with latuda and seroquel.. all about trying to keep doses low and find the right balance..
I have an excellent pdoc now. Been through 3 now. This guy is pretty great.... he got me off benzos and lithium... the latuda is ungodly expensive. He has had me on samples for 2 months and just yesterday met with him again and he said to just call in and pick up another month of samples. Can't beat that! I'd say try to keep the meds down.. you get to the point you don't know which is doing what.... i been there before. .. not good. Best of luck. Lamictal is one of the meds that has had alot of positives across the board.. unless you get the rash of course..

[Victoria'smom]

My whole family is on lamictal. I'm not the stablist right now (I'm going to see if I can raise my lamictal to 200 and get a new prn) but each of us take an antipsychotic or a medication with antipsychotic properties with the lamictal. Both my husband and I are on ssri's.

[JigssawFeeling]

I can also add; Lamictal was the same for me, 25-50mg was heavenly stabilizing me, then I got to 100 & 200mg, during which time I felt a little worse., but it got better again.

For me Lamictal doesn't take the rollecoaster completely away, but it has minimized it a lot.

Stay strong!

[Bipolarchic14]

Originally Posted by gvennetti

So I have depression and bipolar. My doctor put me on lamictal 25mg and raised me slowly to 50mg. I am now on 100mg for a week now and I'm constantly tired and irritable. I felt great on 50mg but that's not even near a therapeutic dose. Has anyone else experienced this and does it subside? Thanks so much!

Yes, I was practically falling asleep still work..it does subside.

[Bipolarchic14]

Originally Posted by LastQuestion

Lamotrigine has, to my knowledge, very little evidence of efficacy in treating BP depression, but it can help prevent the recurrence of depressive episodes after one has stabilized. If your depression improves while on Lamotrigine then it's most likely due to your brain healing itself, or other factors independent of its administration.

Yep...only helped with depression for a brief period. Taking this with fish oil has helped tremendously.