Search the Community

I'm wondering if anyone here has felt a noticeable difference between the Glaxo-Smith Kline Lamictal and the Sandos brand (which is a generic?) My doctor said that they have the same bio-availability, only tiny difference is in the coating...He said the only issue he's seen is if you have been on a particular one for a long time and then switch. I am still titrating up around 75mg now (took GSK brand for a month), and the pharmacy gave me the Sandos brand this time. Has anyone here been on both brands & experienced any ill-effects from switching?

I'm trying to figure out if i should finish school to get a full time job or just accept my limitations and pursue some form of financial disability aid. Right now I work as a independent commercial/residential cleaner. I have enough clients to work about 20 or so hours a week. I'm in the Allied Health Program at my local community college to earn my phlebotomy/clinical lab assistant certificate taking 16 credits. (I know, 16 credits is insane.) I had to drop the phlebotomy tech class because i was drowning under the massive amount of schoolwork. I passed Clinical Lab 1 and now i'm trying to pass Clinical Lab 2. My alcoholic husband left me and my 2 kids (ages 18/20) last September to work in CA with a woman with whom he had an affair in 2007. So i am basically functioning as a single mom trying to stay positive and well to provide them with stability that they deserve. So far, i haven't missed a mortgage payment; my husband is still helping out financially. But the house is a huge responsibility to maintain. It's large, it's old and the backyard is a jungle. It's in need of so much work, i don't even know where to begin. The one plus side to my husband moving out is that i now rent out his office to a local student. Her rent pays for half my mortgage. I need to work full time at some point so that i can get insurance to cover meds, dr visits, etc. But i am still struggling with basic life skills at this point. How in the world am I going to get myself to a job 5 days a week, when i can barely pull myself out of bed because i'm so drugged out most mornings from my medications? Some days just taking a shower is beyond my capability. I don't eat healthy and getting regular exercise is a complete joke. Am i giving myself an excuse to be a flake? Or is this just the way it's always going to be? How does one set realistic goals while battling a serious mental disorder? I really welcome anyone's input.

At first they thought it was Bipolar II, but now they seem sure that it is Borderline. Lamictal seemed to be awesome when I started the initial 50mg a day dose. But maybe because I was in a "high" phase of my cycle. When the doctor took me up to 400 mg a day (afer a month), I devolped a delusional anxiety and fear so strong it was crippling my life. So he took me down to 200mg, and..I'm only a little bit better. I know people say to "stick it out" with the Lamictal, but I'm now so dependent on Clonazepam just to be able to look out the window, even. I've stuck this out for 3 weeks, and I'm tired. Will it be much longer? Is my pdoc incompetent?