Question for Cam ref: Lamictal

Hi Cam,
How's it going? Here I go again with a new drug question, my doc made a suggestion of me trying Lamictal instead of the Lithium I've been using due to the deep depression I'm sinking back into, he started me back on Celexa again too, and I'm still taking 100mg of Topamax, for what I don't know I told him it hasn't had any effect on my weight, but I think he is afraid that once I am off the Lithium I still may need a mood stabilizer back up. Anyway when he suggested Lamictal due to it's antidepressant property track record with bipolars I told him I wasn't fond of the chance of the rash thing, I've always had skin problems and was always prone to skin disorders, so I abruptly said "no thanks", maybe I should reconsider taking it? Is the chance of rashing slim? I saw my original doc. today she even said Lamictal is good for bipolars that tend to be more depressed than manic, and if I still lived out there by her she would suggest I try it. What have you heard about this drug, does it cause hair loss, weight gain, sexual dysfunction, etc.?? Gee, it will be another of many I've tried, I'm getting a lot of experience with these meds. But I guess it is worth it to keep trying them till we get it right, that is as long as they get it right soon As always I appreciate any info you can furnish me with and a little chit-chat would be nice too
Thanks so much!
"darkeyes"

Hey Dudette! How's it going?

The Lamictal™ (lamotrigine)/Topamax™ combo is one I've always liked as a mood stabilization treatment, even though I only seen it used a couple of times, for any length of time. On paper, this should be a standard Bipolar II treatment, but for some reason it doesn't have to complete holding power against hypomania.

The life-threatening Stevens-Johnson syndrome is a concern, but usually to young children given high doses. In adults you do see a lot of rashes when the dose is pushed too fast. I would think that people with sensitive skin would be more prone to the rash side effect, but I have absolutely no proof of this, nor have I investigated it.

Your best bet would be to go low and slow. Take 12.5mg or 25mg once daily for 2 weeks and increase slowly every 2 weeks until your doc notices an effect. This is a very slow and arduous way to do a med titration, but it will probably avert any risk of a rash in someone as sweet and nice as you.

Lamictal is a wonderful antidepressant for bipolar depression. I have seen it work like a charm as an adjunct (add-on) to regular bipolar medication. I would really like to see the researchers tease the real mechanism of action out of this drug.

Go for it!

Anyway, I am settling in to my new job in a very small town. It is sure a different life. I can see that I am looked on with suspicion, as an outsider, but I just tell the story of my Great-Grandfather homesteading about 40 miles west and the old people's faces light up. It's funny, my dad grew up about 20 miles away, but it may as well have been a million miles. These little communities are tight knit, and more or less closed (and a little inbred in some instances, if you ask me).

It is sure different dealing with the public after having to deal with psychiatrists for so many years. I am sure that I come off at times as an aloof city-dweller at times, but I keep telling myself that this job isn't forever.

So, how are you doing? What's up? I haven't been online much lately. I am finding that the internet is beginning to bore me. I also seem to be losing interest in medicine, but my new hobby is quantum cosmology and the structure of "reality". It is a neat topic, but very, very weird. I have been trying to gear myself up to take on some of the mathematics, but I think that I will need a calculus overhaul before attempting that. Perhaps I'll apply to homestudy for a physics degree. Whoa! That sounds like work .... maybe not .... I dunno.

Anyway, the lawn is calling me to cut it. I'd better go. Talk to you soon. - Cam

<font color=blue>"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened." - Winston Churchill</font color=blue>

Thanks for the info.
Hey, you'll have to use your "anti-growth" technique on your lawn that you used on your wife's tomatoes, ha!ha! the neighbors would love that I'm sure Wow, sounds like you are filling your mind with some powerfull stuff lately, pre-calc was enough math for me back in college, bless you! Are you planning on becoming the next Steven Hawkings? Just kidding. Bptoo, is about to become a granddaddy any minute isn't that great?? Wow, us baby boomers are getting od, ha!ha! You sound happy, that is good. I get so happy when I hear people on the forum sounding upbeat, the best medicine Well take care now and don't work too hard, meanwhile I'll keep thinking about the go ahead with the lamictal when I see my doc in 2 weeks, thanks again.
"hugs"
"darkeyes" (actually a little brighter now)

Hell, bptoo is probably a grandfather many times over; he just doesn't know who all of his children are.

He's so excited! I wish him and his daughter all the best. - Cam

<font color=blue>"The minute you or anybody else knows what you are you are not it, you are what you or anybody else knows you are and as everything in living is made up of finding out what you are it is extraordinarily difficult really not to know what you are and yet to be that thing." - Gertrude Stein, 1937</font color=blue>