lamictal dosing bipolar

I have bipolar and schitzoaffective disorders. I've been on lithium and it made me a drooling idiot, wellbutrin made me violent, depakote and seroquil caused extreme weight gain, complicating my other health problems. I have a heart valve problem and back, knee and hip/pelvis injuries from a car accident. My psychiatrist said I had to stay on the depakote and seroquil because there is nothing else out there for me, but I don't believe that.

ever since i've started taking lamacil, i've gained weight. i'm often hungry, and i'm often hungry, when i recognize, i shouldn't be. i've read posts that say it doesn't cause weight gain, but my weight gain started with taking lamactil, and i'm definitely searching for food at times that i shouldn't be.

I was diagnosed Bipolar II with minor depression and was put on Lamictal teetering up 25 mg every 2 weeks with 150mg Wellbutrin (Zyban) the aim was to reach 200mg and see how I feel, by the start of the seventh week, I got tiny itchy patches on my cheeks that flaired up after I took the Lamictal… so stopped lamictal, (remained on the wellbutrin) and went on an antihistamine (Atarax) for a 2 weeks 25/50mg, did some surface (72 hour skin contact) allergy tests and came negative for Lamictal so I w

t like the sexual side effects. Lamictal, though, seems to only be approved for treating bipolar disorder and epilepsy. I have never been diagnosed with bipolar disorder nor do I have epilepsy. Is my psychiatrist really going out on a limb prescribing Lamictal for anxiety/depression?

was diagnosed as being bipolar. The prescription that he got was a generic form of Lamictal. I visited him today & saw the pill bottle, it says "41" but there were only 9 pills left in the container. The date was Dec. 19 - that's only been 7 days ago & it says to take "1 for the lst 7 days & then take 2 a day". I asked him why there were so few in the bottle & he said the pharmacy didn't have enough to fill the entire prescription.

Well olanzapine, which I was on before I was diagnosed too, is actually an antipychotic and did cause a ton of weight gain for me too. I don't know about lamictal but I just wanted to say its not a main bipolar medication, so you have a lot of other options. Why not do some of your own research and find a list of medication that you think might help you, then present that to your doctor.

My new doctor thinks I've been misdiagnosed for depression/anxiety. He says this based on everything I described to him and because general SSRI's just cause me more problems than good (high anxiety and side effects). He says I'm not BiPolar, but that I have a mood disorder, on the BiPolar Spectrum... maybe unipolar. He says he does not know exactly what kind of mood disorder yet, just that I have one. So he's trying me out on Lamictal.

I am on Lamictal for my Bipolar, but i have also had a seizure. i know it is also a seizure med, and my bipolar issue is WAY more important. How much of the lamictal will be helping for my actual bipolar? I'm trying to understand, the doctor said it will treat both, but i need to be sure that the motivation was not for epilepsy, because that takes a backseat to bipolar, as i have only had a couple seizures, and am not diagnosed epileptic, and my MRI showed nothing of the sort.

I saw two new doctors and was told that since I have a mood disorder I should not be on anti-depressants and should be taking Lamictal. I was later diagnosed with Bipolar I and BPD. Lamictal has worked great for me. It did take a while for it to "kick in". I've been at 200 mg for 5 years now. I feel "normal". I barely have any side effects and don't feel medicated like I did with the anti-depressants. I think you should listen to your new doctor.

Hello all. For a while I had the suspicion that I may be mildly bipolar. I spoke with my Pdoc a couple days ago--set down and went over all my symptoms/history with her. She said she just doesnt see any signs of bipolar and thinks im just unipolar depressive. However, she said I may be the treatment resistence type so prescribed me 25MG of lamictal to add to my 37.5mg of Effexor XR. I am supposed to take 12.5mg/day for one week then start on the full 25mg. I took the first 12.

I am currently on Lamictal and Prozac and doing okay...not great but okay. I believe the Lamictal is a maintainence drug for mood swings and it contains a antidpressant. My bipolar leans more to depression than mania and I have to be on a antidpressant. When beginning a new antidepressant I tend to get mania for a short time but seem to adjust after the first week or two. Hey, if you are feeling good...why mess with something that's not broken! Best of luck.

I am currently taking 400mg of Lamictal ODT for bipolar II disorder and to help in the treatment of migraines my periods are coming later and later every month and they are really light. Is this common for this medication. Also I'm not actively trying to get pregnant but if I do what are the risks of staying on it or should I stop immediately?

my gpdoc prescribed lamictal today..cuz i told him i cant waite till the 23rd of this month to see the pdoc.. i knowing that it might take up to 4 weeks to feel this..depending on how fast my body metabolizes it.. is this the correct dosage starting out..hes got me taking 25 mgs 1 at bedtime for 2 weeks..then 50mgs at bedtime for 2 weeks..the 1 -- 100mg at bedtime then see were im at after a week on the 100mgs.. does this sound like the way that you were prescribed..

I told my p-doc I was still depressed and she suggested that we lower Lamictal instead of increasing Wellbutrin (which she said I was maxed out on). I have been a proponent of 'less medication', so I am unsure of what to ask at my upcoming new psychiatrist appointment. Since graduating, I haven't spoken with any t-doc or p-doc in around 8 months. For the last year or so I was taking 300mg/day Wellbutrin Xr and also 200mg lamictal. I have also taken Buspar for around a year.

ve just found out I am pregnant and I have been taking Abilify (Aripirazole) and Lamictal (Lamotrigine) for the last year, against bipolar disorder, my doctor recommended to reduce it slowly and then stop it. He said that I have taken it so far wouldn't harm the baby. I am still very worried and wondered if anybody has any experience with this. Thank you!

i spoke to my psy and she told me not to go below 150 mgs of lamictal... the lamictal has been a problem for me.. i dont feel well on it. i have more anxiety issues with it.. since tapering down for 3 weeks now, i feel a lot better. i think i made the mistake of self diagnosing myself. I was not in my right mind then.. the internet can be a dangerous thing... Now the question?? is it not true that medications can cause bipolar type symptoms temporarily?

I just got diagnosed with bipolar and the doc put me on lamictal. This is scaring me. Like , raelly scaring me. I have only taken one dose so far. Is there a medicine with less side efffects I could ask the doc about?

i am on lithium and lamictal. i don't have mania. i have adhd and talk too much which can really drive away people. am i on the right meds? i don't have depression swings anymore, some anger. would it help if i worked outside the home? how do i read the amswers to the posted questions on this forum?? i am also on tamoxifen and clonapin.

Lamictal is a antiseizure med that is also a mood stabilizer that is primarily used for bipolar and seizure disorders. Some pdocs give lamictal to people with BPD to help with the mood fluxuations (lower mood changes than with bipolar).

how does this help for your bipolar..im on the hi end of bipolar..but not like really super hyper!! was on serquil to help me..had to stop it was causing my heart rate to go way up.........please explain??

Why not ask them if they changed or updated your diagnosis because in someone with bipolar anti-depressents can worsen mania. Lamictal is a good mood stabilizer and has a strong anti-depressent effect. The problem is it can be only be raised at a very slow rate so if you have symptoms in the meantime they might give you something else to keep things stable. Speak to your psychiatrist about what your diagnosis is and exactly how they intend to manage it and what available options are.

5 tid before episode , also the lamictal and seraquel were added and wellbutrin dropped from 300 mg a day to 100). My question is this: I started feeling better and my pdoc and I decided to drop the klonopin to 1 mg in the am, 1/2 mg. in the afternoon, and 1 mg. in the evening. Essentially cutting the klonipin in half in the afternoon. Now, I am starting to feel some anxiety creeping back, especially in the am. Do you think it could be related to the slight decrease of klonopin? thanks.

s the seroquel or the combination with lamictal, or if my brain is just fried from being depressed and bipolar for the last 30 yrs and on all sorts of different meds that work for a while, then need to be changed, over and over again. Life is a b*tch sometimes. But I try to look on the bright side even when there doesn't seem to be much of a bright side! Hope you feel better soon.

This is complex but definitely speak to your psychiatrist about it and definitely keep track of whether mania or anything other aspects of bipolar the Lamictal is treating improved, worsened or remained the same as the dosage is increased.

Saphris and Seroquel are both in the atypical antipsychotic family, while Lamictal is in the anti-epileptic family. Lamictal is good if depression is your main issue, and it has one of the best side effect profiles of any of the mood stabilizers. It's what I'm on, and so far it seems to be working pretty well (I've gotten up to 100 mg). I haven't taken any atypicals. If he's giving you a choice, my vote is for Lamictal.

I was thinking that maybe I just need to take the Lamictal and not take the celexa since the lamictal is weight neutral.. Does anyone taking Lamictal think it will work for my mood swings?

Lamictal dosing bipolar

Common Questions and Answers about Lamictal dosing bipolar

lamictal