Lamictal for Depression?

SO, I have a very- well, let's just call her "stubborn" to be polite- pdoc.
I was put on Wellbutrin around two years ago, to help stabilize my mood.
I have been diagnosed with: Major Depressive Disorder with Psychotic Features (hallucinations, mostly), PTSD, ADD, Sensory Input Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and an EDNOS.
There has been some touch-and-go with the possibility of me having Bipolar Type II (both my sister and father have Bipolar Disorder) and Borderline Personality Disorder (father had Narcissistic Personality Disorder).
However, after spending a couple months in a day-treatment program, both of those were dismissed, because my behavior always "swung low"- that is, I never really displayed any BIG ups in mood, almost always downs (unless I got worked up over something serious). I have always been much more on the depressed side of the spectrum, and the only times people have seriously considered the possibility of Bipolar is when I get really irritable (which I've recently worked out in therapy as more of an anxiety thing, and really kind of a "mask", per say, for some really deep/dark/scary thoughts and feelings that I didn't want to face/discuss- so I acted *****y to keep people from talking to me).
So anyway, I was on: Wellbutrin (150 mg, 2x a day), Saphris (10 mg, at bedtime), Guanfacine (1/2 mg in morning and afternoon; 2 mg at bedtime), Vyvanse (70 mg, 2x a day), Ambien (10 mg at bedtime), and Valium (2 mg at bedtime). (She was weening me off the Valium, anyway; I had started it in early 2012 for tension tics/spasms).
Well, even though I would always tell my doctor that the Wellbutrin never seemed to help me, no matter what, I was still stuck on it for two years. Well, on Monday I had an appointment with her, and finally I said, "My mother was really encouraging me to speak out and ask for a med change", and I'll be damned that she actually UNDERSTOOD this time and changed my meds.
Now I'm on: Saphris (10 mg, at bedtime), Guanfacine (1/2 mg in morning and afternoon; 2 mg 3 hours before bedtime), Vyvanse (70 mg, 2x a day), Temazepam (30 mg at bedtime), and melatonin (3 mg with the Guanfacine, 3 hours before bedtime; and 3 mg at bedtime), and I am on my second day of Lamictal (I am on a pack thingy, and will be up to 200 mg, 2x a day. She said it's normally 100 mg 2x a day, but because I am on an oral contraceptive that contains estrogen, the estrogen will lower the levels of Lamictal in my body).

Now, she told me very clearly that Lamictal is a low-risk medication, that it was a mood stabilizer that should help improve and level out my moods. But I feel like she can't seem to understand that it's NOT solely an issue of my mood swinging; I need to get my mood RAISED before I level it out (if I leveled out where I am at, I would be stuck in perpetual torment). She said she didn't want to risk putting me on something like Prozac because of high suicide risks (a reoccurring issue with me) and because of high possibility of metabolic effects (lots of issues there); however, I still am not sure about the idea of not at least trying something like that (I have only ever tried anti-psychotics, mood stabilizers and things like that; the only actual DEFINITE anti-depressant I have been on was Zoloft).

Does anyone have any experience with taking this medicine for Major Depression, rather than Bipolar (or an anti-convulsion use; I heard it's used for seizure patients)????? I'm slightly put off by how determined my doctor is to stick me with a mood stabilizer ..... but whatever, I'll give it a chance (but I kind of want to expect after I get settled with the Lamictal?)

Lamictal is used as a mood stabilizer quite regularly, particularly with patients who stay on the depressed end of things. It works well for depression. It isn't uncommon for it to be used for major depression, particularly in cases where regular antidepressants haven't been successful.

You have been on Wellbutrin, an antidepressant. So you've tried 2 different ADs and neither worked. And now your pdoc is trying something different. Lamictal is frequently prescribed for bipolar depression, so it sounds like a decent choice. Hope it helps.

I noticed you are taking such a high amount of Vyvanse, twice the maximum recommended dose. Could it be that is why you need those sleep meds?

Oh, the sleep has been an issue for me since I was a baby (according to my mother). I was diagnosed with a circadian rhythm disorder (CRD) when I was about 12-13 years old (wasn't put on anything else for sleep then). I remember being 6 or 7 and just sitting up all night, waiting for sleep; but it never came until midday (part of the CRD). Of course, the PTSD comes with plenty of nightmares, so that doesn't help a thing. But seriously- I've had it before where I actually collapsed with exhaustion because I couldn't sleep all night but still had school the next day. The longest I've gone without sleep was three consecutive days. As a kid (6-14 years old), I would try the OTC sleep aids and Melatonin (as well as a bath before bed, warm milk, no lighting/soft lighting-which was a fail, because I'm terrified of the dark- sleeping with a pet, even sleeping in my mother's room); but I felt absolutely NO AFFECTS from those things.
I didn't even start an Rx sleep aid until I was 16 (my pediatrician was the one who put me on Ambien, and that was only shortly before my first hospitalization for psychiatric issues). After that, I was put on and pulled off the Ambien (as well as Clonazepam, Lunesta, Trazadone, etc. I was even weened off of everything by one idiot doctor who thought that benedryl- BENEDRYL, of all things- was enough to get me to sleep. Both my mother and I told her over and over and over again "Look, she doesn't need to be on a medication that does nothing. That's what benedryl is to her- NOTHING. She's tried all of the OTC sleep aids available at Walgreens and Wal-Mart, and to no avail"; but this particular doctor didn't seem to comprehend how a CRD affected my body's sleeping pattern.)
I wasn't put on Vyvanse until a year ago; and my current dosage was settled about six months ago. Nothing really got any worse with my sleep (if anything changed, it was that I was actually kept awake all day; therefore, even if I didn't sleep at night, I was at least drowsy enough to rest. LOL.... I know all of this must sound a little backwards, but all of the women in my family have had the CRD, or something very similar). Anyway, the only thing I was on for sleep was the Ambien; the Valium was for tension tics/anxiety. I'm off both of those now, and my doctor is trying the Temazepam for now. It's kinda working; I'm out a little faster than on Ambien, and I don't get that groggy hangover-effect too bad.

As for the whole Wellbutrin thing, I've been told by different people that it was for different things; a nurse would tell me it was for mood stabilization, and then a doctor would say it was an anti-depressant. So I wasn't too sure, you know? Oops, well, guess I know now. Either way, it was like being on nothing at all (and for two years to boot! I guess what really got me was the fact that I was on 200 mg/2x a day of Wellbutrin for a year, and then my doctor thought it might be making me antsy, so she cut the dosage down to 150 mg/2x a day. It's like "So, you wanna keep me on something that doesn't help, then lower the dose and use nothing else? Seems legit.") I just hate what a pain the tuchas it is to find a decent med. I'm just glad that this particular pdoc was actually looking out for my physical health- as in, metabolism/weight gain/hormones- unlike some other doctors who stuck me on something that didn't have much affect, but made my metabolism go screwy.
Thanks

I have major depressive disorder. Lamictal has been very helpful for me in combination with Abilify. Don't think in terms of whether something is officially called a mood stabilizer or an antidepressant (or anything else). Just think, aspirin is used for several different medical problems. The only thing that matters is whether it works for your symptoms and without problematic side effects.

Swcond hand knowledge here but I know a woman with reoccurring episodes of depression, not bipolar, who was helped greatly by lamictal. A mood stabilizer doesn't take a picture of your mood where it is now and keep you there. It takes you to the "baseline" and leaves you there.

I used to take Lamictal for severe Depression and some psychosis, plus pure o OCD. It didn't help me a lot, but I took it in conjunction with another medication (Viibryd) and just about every med I've been on hasn't worked, so I wouldn't take my case into too much consideration. I just wanted to say that Lamictal tastes like s***. And if you leave it in your mouth for more than a few seconds, you will taste it. Just a warning.

Nomad

Hehe, Nomad...I totally agree with you on the nasty taste. It is SO AWFUL. There's an orally disintegrating tablet version of lamictal that tastes fantastic. It just dissolves on your tongue with a very nice flavor. Only problem...it costs a fortune (a couple hundred a month!) My insurance said no way to covering it in any form or fashion. They'd cover the name brand regular lamictal or the generic lamotrigine, but they would not cover the ODT version. I was bummed- I had received a free sample for it initially and it was great. Now I'm stuck with the nasty pills. Bleck! Oh well.

Hahaha it's the worst tasting pill I've ever had to take. I nearly started dancing in my pdoc's office when she took me off of it. Yuck. So glad I don't have to taste that every day. I used to take it and then immediately put 3 Altoids in my mouth!

Nomad

Nomad: Nothing that I have taken beats the taste of Wellbutrin, and I am currently on Lamictal. Lamictal is bitter, Wellbutrin stings. LOL

OP: I was recently diagnosed Bipolar II but my symptoms have been mainly depression and anxiety. I've been on several trials of various AD's and anti-anxiety medications. Nothing truly helped until I was placed on Lamictal which has improved me greatly although I still experience frequent bumps (gonna talk about raising it above 200mg).

Lamictal has successfully treated countless patients with diagnosed unipolar depression, whether or not these patients were truly bipolar can't ever be known. Often times bipolar 2 is masked as depression or depression with anxiety and is extremely difficult to discern. This could be your case and it could not be, but there ARE people with your symptoms diagnosed unipolar and bipolar that have benefited from Lamictal.

Of all the mood stabilizers, Lamictal is #1 in terms of its effectiveness against bipolar depression. It's the best antidepressant of all the mood stabilizers.

I understand that you don't want to be stabilized on the wrong side of things. This isn't the case -- for me it has brought me up and kept me level. Sometimes you have to level things out before you push yourself back up. What's the point of pushing yourself up if you're still unstable? Often times for depressive types an AD has to be added to ease depression after lamictal has been started. Lamictal can really boost the action of an AD, allowing it to work when it originally wasn't. ADs don't always flip bipolar into mania, sometimes they destabilize you in a way that makes you feel worse and more depressed, making the condition look like refractory depression.

Lamictal can be pretty damn effective and it is worth a try. It's not a far shot for your Doc to be giving you this med, bipolar or unipolar.

Really? You guys think they have a bad taste? I have really keen senses, and they only psych med I take that's got an odd taste is Saphris. Then again, it's hard to say; what with my issues with nausea, I always gag when I take my mostly any medicine (except, oddly enough, cough syrup)...... so, I don't really get a taste of anything cuz I'm too busy choking every morning :P