Any one have experience with Lamictal?

[BeHereNow]

My doctor just added it to my Wellbutrin/Ativan regime.
I looked it up and am not sure why.
I have never been diagnosed as BP-
Just depression and GAD.
I read up on Lamictal and it seems to primarily be used in
treating BP disorder.
Anyone have any experience with it?
In advance, thanks!
BHN

[mopinko]

1. i was prescribed it for gad.

helped with sleep. i dropped it and celexa cuz it was causing a fibro blowback. taking cymbalta now, with klonipin at night.
pretty good combo for me.

[jwirr]

3. My daughter took it for seizure and became so dehydrated because she could not keep anything

in her stomach that we had her in the hospital 4 times before the doctor realized what was happening. this probably does not apply to your situation.

[Neoma]

4. No experience with it.

But I do know that Wellbutrin is used for bipolars also, s/he might be testing a theory that you are Bipolar?

However, it has double uses and the doctor might just be juggling pills around to see what works. A lot of pills are used for what they're not intended for, to see if the mixure does anything different I guess.

[fizzgig]

5. i've been dx bp II and that's what they had me on

it worked well at evening me out, but stopped working after a bit. i opted to stop taking it rather that having to continually up it. that was about two years ago.

interesting note, i can't say i've felt depressed since i stopped taking it. i've exhibited symptoms, mostly lack of motivation, occasional feelings of helplessness and wanting to give up (not suicidal ideation, just saying fuck it and giving up on everything), but i haven't felt depressed. didn't do fuck all for the anxiety, tho.

edit for clarification: i was diagnosed as bp II after i went on a months-long manic streak, which i think was triggered by the effexor i was taking at the time to manage my depression. i tried lamictal twice in a couple years, including after my stay in the psych ward in nov. 2007 (they agreed with) the earlier dx). i took the meds until about nov. 2009 and then stopped. i was thinking about going back on meds about a than a year ago and those docs questioned the dx (the dx hadn't been questioned by my previous doc there). everyone reacts differently to meds, but i wanted you to have the full picture.

[JoeyT]

6. A little.

I was given it for GAD, but it made me so sleepy all the time I had to stop taking it. It did seem to help before I stopped.

BTW: If you get a rash while you're on it, head straight to your doctor.

[BeHereNow]

7. Well, no more Lamictal for me... severe ADR with first dose.

I took 25 mg as directed yesterday with my usual 300mg of Wellbutrin.
Four hours later, COMPLETE meltdown- crying, hyper anxiety attack-
NOT fun.
Finally took an ativan and slept for five hours.
Nearly 24 hours later and still not feeling very well.

WHY do these doctors give us these drugs!
I've been doing fine on Wellbutrin and Ativan.
Why fix what isn't broken?

I am so pissed off right now-
I lost an ENTIRE day of my life and scared the hell out of my family-
Sheesh, I'm so tired of the battle for sanity.

BHN

[hunter]

8. Crazy meds are a crapshoot.

Doctors give the drugs for the times they get it right.

But when it's wrong it sucks.

Loosing days isn't quite so bad as losing weeks. Or months. Or years.

My worst problems have been when I'm cruising along thinking I'm "fixed" when it's clear to everyone else around me I'm "broken."

AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!

(Whew. I'm better.)

Best of luck to you, BeHereNow.

[BeHereNow]

9. Thanks Hunter-

I'm feeling MUCH better now- I think it took a few days to clear
my system of the evil drug.
Now that I am clear- I want to ask my doctor his reason for prescribing it!~
I've been doing really well on my Wellbutrin/Ativan combo.
A few months ago, he added Abilify- again, a disaster.
Turned me into a mumbling zombie.
Sometimes I think they just feel they need to prescribe things
to justify the cost of the office visit...
I don't know.
Hope you are well, and thanks for weighing in.
BHN

[GreenPartyVoter]

10. 25mg is too much. A lot of doctors will do half that or even less to start you off. Lamictal carries

a pretty high risk of Stevens-Johnson and TENS rash reactions if you start too high. It took me months to get to a 100mg dose.

Personally, I liked it. I think it was helping me, but I needed another med to tamp down the hypomania that it kicked in.

Definitely does not sound like it was the right med for you, tho, and I am not sure why they would give it to you if you were fine on your other meds. I wish there was a better way for them to treat brain illnesses other than just by guessing!

[momto3]

11. My daughter and I have both had luck with lamictal for treating our bipolar.

As previous posters have said you have to start with a very low dose with incremental increases over a long period of time. It can result in some pretty serious side effects. If you stop taking it, you need to be weaned off it slowly as well.