Well, that old doc I wasn't sure about turned out to be right. I saw a new psychiatrist today and he gave a dx of rapid cycling bipolar. Now I have a wonderful bottle of Lamictal... well, box but whatever. Anyone use this? What are your experiences with it?

im happy for you rem....
(((((rem))))))

[SpazKatt]

Soo happy that you did this scary first step *huuugs*

[vacantangel]

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Well, that old doc I wasn't sure about turned out to be right. I saw a new psychiatrist today and he gave a dx of rapid cycling bipolar. Now I have a wonderful bottle of Lamictal... well, box but whatever. Anyone use this? What are your experiences with it?

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I used it before. It was the very first med that gave me absolutely no side effects. That just about blew me away, imagine a med with no side effects. Who would've thunk? Notice I said *used to be on it*. Major advice, tirate sssssssssslllllllllllooooooooooowwwwwwwwwlllllllllllyyyyyyy!!! Can't emphasize that too much. Start at very lowest dosage and very low increments with good time in between. Are you taking Depakote too? If so, there is an interaction between the two. I was. Doesn't mean you can't take it just means the tirating is even slower, like 1/2 the speed and maybe even 1/2 the dosage as anyone who is not on Depakote and you could only take 1/2 max dosage than anyone who is not on Depakote while taking Lamictal. Now the reason for all this slowness is the dreaded Stephens-Johnson Syndrome. Did your pdoc talk to you about that? Definitely one you need to watch out for. Can be fatal. I was on Depakote for years, was switching over to Lamictal, so was tirating down on Depakote at same time as tirating up on Lamictal. Took Lamictal for 9 months at least, can't remember exactly and then got the rash, not fun, cold turkey. Withdrawal. Again not fun. you can get better more informed info on meds board. Anyways, don't be scared of it, you'll probably be ok. Good luck with it!

dr put me on 25 mg per day for 1 week and increased by 25 mg each week until i get to 100 mg. Is that slow like you were talking about angel? This is the only med I'm on.

[vacantangel]

that is probably ok as long as you're not on Depakote but that is my opinion. Others may feel differently. Anyway, I would not to begin to presume that I would know more than your pdoc. You can read about it online and they also give schedules for tirating, with or without Depakote. I'm sorry that I don't have a link for you cuz I removed them from my bookmarks after I came off of it. It might even be the manufacturer's site, I really can't recall. You could also search by the generic name lamitrogine. I think that's how you spell it. I hope I'm not misguiding you. this might actually work, don't know but you could try

www.lamictal.com

Good luck!!!

[apislily]

Lamictal has been the drug with the fewest side effects for me, and it really helps the down cycles. I think that when I started it again this fall I did the same titration that you have mentioned, but I had taken it before with no side effects. I might have gone up more slowly the first time I took it. Good luck with this!

-apislily

[darkeyes]

Excellent med.
I have been on it (actually on decrease now) for about 3 years, I have Bipolar - II (mild) and it has helped tremendously with the depressive side of this disorder.
I say, "give it a try, be patient it has to be tritrated over a couple of months or less, along with the pdoc's monitoring.
I also like it cause it is not sedating and I can carry out my daily chores, like driving almost 100 miles a day
I wish you lots of luck with this

Take good care now,

DE

Thanks for the input guys. I'm glad to hear that this med really does help. I've only been on since Thursday but I've had a couple level days. Not sure if it's the med or that I'm just trying to relax more. Either way, I'm gonna stick with it.

[SpazKatt]

Glad to hear rem! *hugs*