[brainfog]

Hi all,

I've been diagnosed with bipolar II after many misdiagnoses of major depression. My new pdoc said this is the reason I've been having so many probs with depression meds.

So, he put me on a low dose of Lamictal (25mg) to start since I'm so sensitive to meds. It's definitely working but the depression is still really bad! I've tried some of my old depressions meds but they really cause me issues, even at very low doses. Pdoc said this normal since they change your mood so the two are somewhat fighting against each other.

I would like to have a couple of options for my pdoc on wed. Has anyone out there had any success with something added to their mood stabilizer for depression?

Thanks!

[Moose72]

Rexulti is marketed toward bipolar depression as an add-on and I think Abilify is also but I would be cautious about using those because they are antipsychotics and are not without side effects themselves. (I take Rexulti and have for a few years. And Abilify was good but I had muscle twitching so my pdoc stopped that one.)

Hi brainfog. 25 mg of Lamictal is a very small dose. I would be hesitant to judge its efficacy at such an early point. The average doses of Lamictal for people with bipolar disorder are more in the 100 to 400 mg range (see Lamotrigine Dosage Guide with Precautions - Drugs.com). Abandoning it at 25 mg could be an unfortunate action as Lamictal is generally a pretty side effect friendly moodstabilizer compared to others.

I hope you feel better soon!

[luvyrself]

You’re still on a low dose of lamictal so I think you should wait to see if your pdoc wants to raise the dose before thinking of adding an additional drug. These are powerful drugs so be cautious. You said you are drug sensitive anyway.
I get really frustrated that people dont use vigorous exercise and getting out more to fight depression. It sure helps me. My pdoc and I were laughing the other day about people expecting to find the magic bullet, the drug combination that solves everything. But yes, getting the right combination is important. Today they do sometimes use more than one stabilizer but everyone’s different.

[Scooter9]

I was very depressed for a long time when I was finally put on Lamictal. It took weeks to reach my target dose of 200mg but when I finally did, it made a huge difference.

I was on Lamictal for 4 years and they were relatively good years.

Like some others have said, give it a chance to start working. You may notice some ups and downs as your dose increases but hang in there.

[~Christina]

Your on the starter dose of Lamictal as is the correct way to start titration, yes it takes time to get to a therapeutic dose going faster puts you at risk for Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) Rash which in absolute worse case can be fatal. It’s actually a seizure medication that was just found to help balance out moods for Bipolar.

Meds are not going to be a magic fix.

What else are you doing to manage Bipolar ? Exercise, mediation, mindfulness, distraction? How’s your sleep ? Eating healthy ? Coping skills in use?

When treating bipolar it’s really making changes to your lifestyle along often with meds that take time to really start working.

[Nocalove]

I take Wellbutrin in addition to 200 mg of Lamictal and it helps with my depression.