lamictal and abilify for depression

I am on Lamotragine (Limictal) now for my depression and I think it works well. I am on Risperdal for my mania, and I think it works great for that. Yes though taper down! I am sure you can find some other med that works for you to replace the abilify also??? Be careful with yourself...please.

Once I reached the therapeutic dose of Lamictal, I stopped Abilify and immediately experienced rapid fluctuations between depression and mania and my therapist told me to go back on Abilify at a reduced 2.5 mg. In addition, since beginning Lamictal + Abilify I have consistently gained 40 pounds.... 10 of which were gained within the 2 weeks I restarted Abilify at 2.5 mg. As someone who has a history of body dysmorphia and eating disorders, I NEED a different treatment.

Did anyone took Lamictal for anxiety and depression? Did it work,and how soon did it started working? Did anyone started feeling normal and had their old life back? Did anyone felt the itching, and how long it lasted? I am very worried, i need this med to be working for me soon because i going through very tough time in my relationship. If anyone know anything about it, pleaselet me know. It willbe veryhelpful.

he has been on abilify for 1 1/2 yrs and lamictil about 2 months. He is still extremely depressed. We are worried . Should we go to another child psychiatrist. They are really not sure of dx. He did extremely well on abilify for about a yr.

s not the cause of the mania (of course it could easily be that its just not working well enough and the whole issue is their judgment). Abilify can be helpful for many people but for me it was very activating and I had to change back to another antipsychotic. See if it works.

Hello Everyone, I'm very new community. My new dr. just recently told me that me that I'm bipolar. I had been on lamictal for about two years for depression and anxiety, but weaned myself off of it, as I was convinced that it was making me gain weight. When I weaned myself off, I fell into a deep depression and had to find myself a new dr. I started Topamax and Wellbutrin, but the Wellbutrin is making my thoughts and heart race. So I have to go off.

Not necessarily, no. The better way according to my research is to successfully withdraw from a drug before starting a new one. Most psychiatrists have their own way of doing it, and so you have to accept that they have had success doing it that way. But I believe in erring on the side of safety, and that means tapering off a drug at a pace that suits you, not one that suits the psychiatrist. Everyone is going to have their own experience and stopping and starting meds should reflect that.

I had the same experience with SSRIs in the beginning. I started taking Lamictal and ramped it up to 200mg along with Effexor and Abilify. That's my list for now with no complaints. I still feel myself cycle up and down but the highs and lows are much less. I'm definitely more balanced and much much less depressed. Finding what works for you is the hard part. Just don't get frustrated and give up looking for relief.

I have recently started 200mg Lamictal and 20mg Lexapro and it seems to be working for me, controls the depression and anxiety. If that combination was working for you I don't understand why your doc took you off it, but that's his call. I am never afraid to try new meds that my doctor recommends, because as triedeverymed says, if the new stuff doesn't help in a couple of weeks, then go back to the old meds or try another new one.

I use Lamictal as my mood stabilizer and take Effexor and Abilify for my depression. The combo of all of these had made all of the difference in the world for me. I take 200mg/day of the Lamictal and for me it worked pretty much right away but seemed to lose its effectiveness after the first 6-7 months. So after getting up to the full dose 200mg, my doc added Effexor and then eventually the Abilify. I'm BP2 also and have tried so many different meds over the years I lost count.

gain and titrating up on Lamictal for obvious mood swings. Idk, Abilify worked well for me with Zoloft for approx 8 years. Good luck to you!

after over 20 yrs. of being treated for depression, ADHD, drug and alcohol addiction i'm now being treated for rapid cycling bipolar. (2 yrs.) i've been off and on depakote,the diagnosis seems good,, i'm currently taking 2 grams a day. i do better on medication but still struggle with focus, completeing tasks, starting new projects, anxiousness, worry. the doc and i are considering adding Abilify to the Depakote. anyone out there tried it.

s only then i recommend abilify+seroquel both are newer drugs than olanzapine (zyprexa) abilify is activating very good for depression like lamictal not sedating the only drawback is a bit of anxiety which seroquel can take care of, also the latter is a strong antimanic but also will NOT worsen depression like the rest of the typical AP's say. I bet one doesn't combine lamictal+abilify because both work upwards only although lamictal is an MS.

I've also heard Abilify is activating. After being on it for a month, my own opinion of it is whatever it was doing to me was very weird. I was always moving. Tapping my feet, fidgeting, shaking and twisting my hands. I felt like I was bouncing around. And then my heart would start racing and I would literally have to grab onto something and hold on while this surge was just racing through me. It was like panic but, much much worse. So.... I won't be trying that one again.

Does Lamictal help with anxiety AND depression? I'm just not sure how anxiety and depression is a mood disorder. I thought you had to be manic to have a mood disorder. I really appreciate everyone's help!

I struggled with repetative harmful thoughts although I do not use marijuana. I am on lamictal also, and my doctor added Abilify when I started having this problem. It helped me out a lot. I hope he feels better soon! I know how hard it is to deal with such negative thoughts.

I am on Carbamazeptine, that is for my Epilepsy and Depression. I found that it did not work for my Bipolar even though i was on 800mg and yes, you will need regular blood tests to check your liver and kidney function. If you are concerned about it talk to your Psychiatrist about other options. I did! It is your body and you do have control over what goes into it.

My Dr and I discussed it and he said i may be a good "candidate" for Abilify. Right now im taking 100mgs of zoloft, and .05mgs of lorazepham. Been on those meds for 2 months now and while im not having as much panick attacks, its still there and im having trouble sleeping. Im seeing a threapist tomarrow as my Dr told me to do,cause he wants to get a second opioun on weather i should take abilify or not...Has anyone here taken that medication? What are your thoughts?

t had mania in awhile, but the depression just lingers on and on. I currently take Lamictal 400 mg, Risperdal 1 mg, daily. He tried me on Abilify and that was a nightmare - made me feel "crazy". Also have tried Geodon - not good on that one either. I miss being happy - even if it was induced by mania. I have so much to be happy about, but I'm just never happy. I have extreme anxiety and every day is exhausting.

All of the atypical antipsychotics, like Abilify, can cause weight gain, although some are less likely to. That drug class is known for it. Lamictal is an anticonvulsant, and a lot of those (except for depakote) are weight neutral. I don't think you have anything to worry about in the weight department. Make sure to take your Lamictal exactly as prescribed.

I've found that there are a lot of people on the crazymeds forums with BP II. A great website about BP II and other variants is the psycheducation.org site. It's written by a psychiatrist who has seen a lot of people with different flavors of bipolar and done a lot of research, and he's really good at explaining things.

Thank you everyone, for your replies. I did see my dr. yesterday. I've had major depressive disorder for years, and have tried many ADs. I'm also on interferons for MS, and the interferons themselves can cause depression, even in someone without it. The depression makes me do less, and eat more. The dr. diagnosed me with bipolar, which is really surprising to me, as I don't have real manic episodes. She wants me to try Geodon.

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.

Before this I took a series of other mood stabilizing drugs and had the same dislike for them as Abilify - these drugs seem to want to treat my almost nonexistant mania (anxiety more prominant than hysterical joy) and undertreat my heavy depression symptoms. I feel flat lined and listless on Abilify and have since stopped taking it. Is there any drug more pointed towards we of the B.P. community with overriding angst and little of the fun stuff?

Lamictal and abilify for depression

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