[ComfortablyNumb5]

So I'm glad to say that I've been stable for a year now! Thank you lamictal! But I've been taking the same doses of my meds from when I was really bad. Shouldn't they be lowered since I'm good now?? Shouldn't the pdoc take that into consideration? Or maybe I'm wrong? Well when I was doing bad I wasn't sleeping and I was rapid cycling and just angry allll the damn time. So for sleep I was on 600mg of seroquel. Well without my pdoc knowing, I had to cut my seroquel down to 300 because 600 was making me sleep 12+hours AND a nap or two! I can't live like that. Yes I know it's wrong to change up your meds without pdoc knowing but being zombied out was making me feel so bad. But even though I cut the dose down, it's still helping and I've been having healthy sleep patterns for the first time in ages. I'm actually thinking about going down to 200mg now. And then there's lamictal. I'm on 400mg, is that a high dose?? Should I cut it down a bit now that I'm doing good? I do have the fear that taking less will make me bad again though.

Does anyone else's dosage change depending on stability?? Or is it too risky??

[Guiness187055]

It's to risky for me. If I am stable that means my dosage is correct so why change it. If I am unstable I just talk to my pdoc and we change dosages.

[unaluna]

I agree - unless im having bad side effects, i stay on the dose im stable at. Yeah im all for earth mother natural, but i dont try to reduce my meds just for the sake of reducing meds. I use the meds to stabilize me so i can work on the problem thats causing me to need the med - like lose weight so i can get off diabetes and blood pressure meds.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Yes I understand that but I couldn't function at my old dosage and my pdoc wouldn't discuss it until I came in...a month later. Sleeping 12+ hours plus 2 naps was ruining my days. I couldn't even function.

[Sunflower123]

I don't blame you for lowering the Seroquel if your pdoc won't discuss it with you for a month. When I think I need a change in meds or dosages I leave my pdoc a voicemail and he calls me back by the end of that day. He usually agrees with what I've suggested but we've been together many years so that probably helps some. I would wait until I saw him before you reduce your other med.

[wildflowerchild25]

I have a long and storied past of ****ing with my meds myself. Never turned out well. I understand why you would want to reduce the seroquel and if you're still doing well then keep it at 300, knowing you can increase if necessary. As for the lamictal I think you need your pdoc's guidance for that one because I THINK I've heard it's dangerous to come off of too quickly. I would wait on that until you see him.

Personally, for me, I don't mess around with my meds anymore. I like being stable and I don't mind taking meds if they aren't causing serious side effects. So even when I was stable for a year and a half I kept the dosages as they were because I didn't want to risk it. I'll do the same thing when I stabilize again.

[5150DirtDiva]

If your current meds are making you stable, why would you want to change it? I am not understanding why you would lower or go off. It is working.....it is like having surgery and getting pain meds then letting them wear off because they made you feel better....the pain will be back.

[bioChE]

I've been stable for a while now. Stable to the point of being really flat. I didn't even realize it until my therapist classified me as moderately/severely depressed based on one of his surveys. I don't feel down at all, just slightly below baseline....but stable.

Talked this over with my psychiatrist, and we decided to reduce my Latuda from 80 to 60. It's been a strange few days since then, I've been slightly unstable but haven't gone off my rocker. I think I've regained some ability to feel, but it's going to take at least a few more days for things to settle down.

I'm an advocate for reducing meds when you're feeling stable but are still experiencing side effects. That being said, I would strongly suggest you get buy-in from your psychiatrist to do so. If you don't, he's going to eventually figure it out anyway and it will be more like a bombshell; his treatment of you is based on you being compliant with his (or her) treatment plan. If they don't have the full picture, they could be changing things that aren't appropriate.

When you talk to your doc, tell them about the intolerable side effects. Tell them what you're thinking. They may go along with what you want, or they may have a different path you haven't thought about. But they need the information. They make decisions based not only the conversations you have while in their office, but also based on their observations of you when you meet. If you're lethargic from too much Seroquel, they'll see that. If you're brighter and more awake because you changed your dose without their knowledge, then they don't have a complete picture to work from.

Good luck whatever you decide.

[99fairies]

When I am in an acute situation my doctor puts me on more meds and emergency prn's. once I stabilize he returns my meds back to normal.

[Wonderfalls]

I'm wondering when you can decrease medicines. I'm on 7 medicines at full doses, or even high-ish, so it seems like I should be thinking of reducing that. BUT I've been stable for some years now on that combination. Is it a good idea not to mess with what works? Or is when you're stable the time to drop drugs? My old and my new pdocs are of the mind: don't "fix" it if it's not broken. I get that. But as I said you can't do it when you're not stable either.

[Cocosurviving]

Lamictal helped me for 2 years. I titrated up to 400mg. I stayed at that mg. I understand about decreasing the sleep med.

[xRavenx]

Originally Posted by RxQueen875

So I'm glad to say that I've been stable for a year now! Thank you lamictal! But I've been taking the same doses of my meds from when I was really bad. Shouldn't they be lowered since I'm good now?? Shouldn't the pdoc take that into consideration? Or maybe I'm wrong? Well when I was doing bad I wasn't sleeping and I was rapid cycling and just angry allll the damn time. So for sleep I was on 600mg of seroquel. Well without my pdoc knowing, I had to cut my seroquel down to 300 because 600 was making me sleep 12+hours AND a nap or two! I can't live like that. Yes I know it's wrong to change up your meds without pdoc knowing but being zombied out was making me feel so bad. But even though I cut the dose down, it's still helping and I've been having healthy sleep patterns for the first time in ages. I'm actually thinking about going down to 200mg now. And then there's lamictal. I'm on 400mg, is that a high dose?? Should I cut it down a bit now that I'm doing good? I do have the fear that taking less will make me bad again though.

Does anyone else's dosage change depending on stability?? Or is it too risky??

I'm also on Lamictal, same dose as you (400). My pdoc considers it a high dose and that anything more does not have much of a benefit (if any benefit at all). I was on 600 mg of Seroquel too, but I was also feeling zombied out and so tired, although it helped significantly with mixed mania. After a period of time, I actually noticed my mood was better on 400 than 600, since there was less side effects.

You can think about the decision of cutting down on the Lamictal, but talk to your pdoc and it's strongly recommended to do so under supervision, since Lamictal has a lot of serious side effects and withdrawal symptoms without monitoring. I would never mess with tapering down on Lamictal on my own. You might want to consider that if the 400 mg of Lamictal is benefiting you, then maybe you want to avoid cutting down on it, if it's not causing any harm? 400 mg of Lamictal gives me no side effects, so I stay on that dose.

The Seroquel on the other hand, the less I need, the better due to the side effects. I've been guilty of cutting down Seroquel myself. Luckily, my pdoc agrees with adjusting the Seroquel as needed. I try to stay at 400 mg, which is a happy medium and only reserve 600 + for severe mania/mixed mania/psychosis. She told me anything lower than 300 mg is more of a sleep medication than mood stabilizer, but since you mentioned you use it primarily for sleep....then it's something to consider and talk about next time with your pdoc.

You can maybe try making just a slight change (with your pdoc's permission), and if there's any warning signs at all, catch it early enough to go back to your previous dose. Just throwing things out there! Bottom line: talk to your pdoc about your thoughts on this, since it's well worth discussing to make decisions.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Originally Posted by xRavenx

I'm also on Lamictal, same dose as you (400). My pdoc considers it a high dose and that anything more does not have much of a benefit (if any benefit at all). I was on 600 mg of Seroquel too, but I was also feeling zombied out and so tired, although it helped significantly with mixed mania. After a period of time, I actually noticed my mood was better on 400 than 600, since there was less side effects.

You can think about the decision of cutting down on the Lamictal, but talk to your pdoc and it's strongly recommended to do so under supervision, since Lamictal has a lot of serious side effects and withdrawal symptoms without monitoring. I would never mess with tapering down on Lamictal on my own. You might want to consider that if the 400 mg of Lamictal is benefiting you, then maybe you want to avoid cutting down on it, if it's not causing any harm? 400 mg of Lamictal gives me no side effects, so I stay on that dose.

The Seroquel on the other hand, the less I need, the better due to the side effects. I've been guilty of cutting down Seroquel myself. Luckily, my pdoc agrees with adjusting the Seroquel as needed. I try to stay at 400 mg, which is a happy medium and only reserve 600 + for severe mania/mixed mania/psychosis. She told me anything lower than 300 mg is more of a sleep medication than mood stabilizer, but since you mentioned you use it primarily for sleep....then it's something to consider and talk about next time with your pdoc.

You can maybe try making just a slight change (with your pdoc's permission), and if there's any warning signs at all, catch it early enough to go back to your previous dose. Just throwing things out there! Bottom line: talk to your pdoc about your thoughts on this, since it's well worth discussing to make decisions.

I totally agree! I take lamictal at night because it does sedate me but it doesn't last all day like seroquel does. I guess we all have the same wish... to not need meds. I accept that I need them but I just want to at least cut down especially on the seroquel. Being a zombie would put anyone in a crap mood!