Lamictal

That's great news! I'm glad it's working for you. I take Lamictal for BP1 disorder. I've been taking it for 4 years and it has done wonders. I haven't had any side effects with this medication. Best wishes.

Have you talked to you pdoc about the headaches? Have you been drinking enough water? One thing I've noticed with Lamictal is I need to increase my water intake. Although I do drink a lot of water to begin with.

Glad it seems to be helping. Have you thought about printing off an article about Lamictal or any other psych med that says it takes awhile to notice effects and give it to your mom? Just a thought. Thanks for keeping us posted.

I haven't said anything about the headaches. I know it's a normal side effect, and there are two other factors that could be (and probably are) contributing...the fact that I have my period, and the fact that the weather is crappy.

I have also increased my water intake, and I know that it's plenty, so it's not from dehydration. It's also not from lack of sleep.

If the headaches continue, or worsen, I'll say something...but until I know for sure that it's the Lamictal, or they become worrisome, I'm going to leave it as is. I've been prone to headaches, including migraines most of my life, so I'm used to dealing with them on a regular basis.

I haven't thought about giving an article or whatever to my mom...but whatever. She really should know that they take awhile to work seeing as my sister is on Zoloft (and my mom is quite involved in her treatment seeing that my sister is only 16)...but as always, it seems that my mom cares more/has more interest in/understands my sister's problems more than mine. Oh well.

(((Sing))) My parents always favored my brothers over me, so I know the feeling. Which sucks. Hang in there. You are doing great.

Yeah, it does suck...but there's not anything I can do about it, so I try not to dwell on it.

Regarding the headaches though, I have read elsewhere online that some people have great luck with Gatorade helping...so I think I'll go to the store and get some to give a try...I like Gatorade anyway, so even if it doesn't help my head, it's added hydration and good tasting.

Guess what! I woke up today, and no headache! *Knock on wood* If I'm lucky, this will continue I hope they don't come back when I up my dose though...

I started Lamictal a month or so ago. 2 weeks at 25mg, 2 at 50, 2 at 75, and just started to 100mg dose. In the beginning I was going into rages and severe depression. My doc prescribed Ativan for the rages to help while I was titrating up to therapeutic dose. Headaches are a norm for me- so don't think that's been an effect, get em daily anyway. Now that I'm on 100mg for a couple days, I notice less rage but just kind of apathy. Numb feeling, still depression. Hoping as I take it longer it will help. Anyway I'd advise anyone who is currently on an antidepressant that works even a little- to continue taking it during the titration period. It's been a really rough month!!

To the OP- hope I didn't get too off topic. Ive heard really good things about the med and if you are noticing changes already that's great!! Keep hanging in there.

It's not too off topic. I like reading about other people's experiences.

I don't know where my doctor is planning on titrating me up to...he didn't say, but I'll definitely ask when I see him next. I didn't really think about it when he gave me the prescription, partly because I was kind of overwhelmed because he had just given me the bipolar diagnosis, but also partly because I didn't see it as something that mattered because I knew where he was going with it for the first month.

He'll probably see how well it works for you after 100mg. Usually between 100-200 is the therapeutic range. Though it does come in higher doses if need be. Sounds like it's working well for you thus far though.

Right. From what I've read online it seems like people usually end up on between 100mg and 300mg. My guess is I'll end up on the lower end, because I'm fairly sensitive to meds.

Also...my head isn't really bothering me this morning either. We'll see how the rest of the day goes, but upon waking up, no pounding head

Glad to hear that you didn't wake up with a headache. Hope you have a good day.

My neuro sent a letter to my insurance saying they should cover the cost of the name brand bc the generic isn't as good at controlling seizures and it's cheaper to pay for the meds now than an ER visit later. They actually did it too.

I might ask about something like that. I never even know docs could do that but he did and I got the name brand for the price of the generic.

I'm glad for no headache as well. I did just wear my glasses pretty much from the beginning of the day though to help prevent getting a headache, whether Lamictal induced or not.

Is it worth getting the brand vs. the generic? From what I've read, it seems like it might be...but if it's a huge hassle, I don't know...

Well mine is a little different bc it's for seizures. I'm not downplaying your issues, just saying that mine result in falling and blacking out so he was more concerned about it. He said that normally he will prescribe generic but, in this case, he felt it would be way more beneficial to get name brand. This is his reasoning:

every month you get a generic, it could potentially be from a different company. That's different people, machines etc... doing it every single month. That equates to changes in dosage (even if you're on 100 mg it could range from 120 to 80 or so each time) and could really mess with you. Whereas, getting it from the same company every single month guarantees (not totally but more so) that it's the same dosage every time. So if their idea of 100 is really 110....at least it's a consistent 110 mg.

Yeah...the changing of manufacturers is mainly what worries me. I have experienced firsthand how generics can differ from one manufacturer to another, and some generics are definitely better than others.

Another day with no headache! Glad it seems to be a startup effect and not anything permanent

I don't think it's from the Lamictal...but I feel sick. I feel run down, and my throat is sore, and I'm just generally blah. I know the med insert says to call your doctor if you have a sore throat (well, persistent sore throat), so I'm thinking I'll keep an eye on it and see...but I'm pretty sure I'm just sick, especially since last week (Thursday, I think), I shared a drink with my friend who then found out she had strep...

But on a brighter note, no headache today either. I go up in dose (to 50mg) at the end of the week. Hopefully that goes well.

Glad to hear that your headaches seem to be going away.

Mine was kind of a roller coaster starting out. They put you on that starter kit and it was like the first couple days I would just pass out and sleep forever. Then it would start to wear off and I'd feel fine and then I'd have to go up in dosage and start all over again. Things like this require a lot of playing around with dosages and maybe some other things (like vitamins or a change in diet) until you find that perfect combo. Glad everything is going well and keep us posted!

I can't wait until I reach the right dose for me. I go up to 50mg soon, and 100mg is the next step after that. From what I've heard, the lower doses are much rockier than the higher doses and sometimes cause more distress than help...so I'm just glad that I'm having mostly good effects. I do think that this could be the right med for me though based on my experience thus far. I'm definitely hoping.

I see my pdoc again next Monday for a med check, and also to get something for my OCD (woohoo!)...I'm curious as to what my pdoc will put me on though since I've been on multiple SSRIs and had some bad reactions, but then again, I was on them when I wasn't on a mood stabilizer, so things could be really different now...I don't know.

thanks so much for keeping us updated, I'm messing with my dose on Lamictal to try to find the right balance, it helps to read your experiences, hopefully I can eventually find the right dose in combo with all my other meds!

Ugh...I have a fever now...

It really sucks getting sick not long after starting a new med because you never know why what's wrong is wrong.

I'm gonna be honest here and say I'm a bit paranoid right now, thinking that this might be an effect of the Lamictal...but rationally I can say that in all likelihood it's that I have a virus from sharing a drink with my sick friend.

*Sigh*

If I'm not feeling better tomorrow, I think I'll go to the health office, just to err on the side of caution.

I'm definitely sick with some sort of virus...good...that means I can safely assume that I got sick from my friend and it has nothing to do with the Lamictal. I'm congested and have a cough, but my sore throat went away (except when I cough too much), and my fever is gone.

Only a couple more days until I raise my dose to 50mg. Is it weird that I'm excited?

So I guess it must be working at least a bit...my T said that I seemed less irritable and generally irritated. I guess that's true...I haven't really noticed, but I also haven't really been around very many people this week because I've been sick.

Also, tonight I go up to 50mg.

Thanks for the update. Glad that it seems to be helping.