maybetinymaybesad Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 ahhh it is definitely not good for me to read that post of all the side effects of lamictal bc then i start to doubt using it and wondering if everything that goes wrong is the result of lamictal (not that the post should be taken down at all...i am just neurotic.) i am wondering whether anyone has had success with a very low dose of lamictal...i got a non-fatal rash and had to stop once. then i restarted two and a half weeks ago and so far i am up to 75 milligrams, but i feel pretty stable. is anyone on a dose this low? it could be a placebo effect or it could be just a non-cycling time unrelated to medication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borzage Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 ahhh it is definitely not good for me to read that post of all the side effects of lamictal bc then i start to doubt using it and wondering if everything that goes wrong is the result of lamictal (not that the post should be taken down at all...i am just neurotic.) i am wondering whether anyone has had success with a very low dose of lamictal...i got a non-fatal rash and had to stop once. then i restarted two and a half weeks ago and so far i am up to 75 milligrams, but i feel pretty stable. is anyone on a dose this low? it could be a placebo effect or it could be just a non-cycling time unrelated to medication. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I took Lamictal and it was like a wonder drug for me at 25 mgs. I told my pdoc I wanted to stay at 25, and life was so good... until I got the rash, the deadly kind. He would never let me try Lamictal again... dammit. It was the ONLY thing that ever worked for me!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 I'm on 100mg. It kind of pooped out on me after several months of happy goodness. Now I'm on both that and Seroquel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncc1701 Posted April 14, 2006 Share Posted April 14, 2006 Heya maybetiny, Weird drug. That's a medical term, very specialized, "weird drug." Hey, if 75 helps, take 75. Always take the lowest effective dose. And in the future you always have some wiggle room. --ncc-- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkybee Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 I'm taking 75mg, but I'm also on Lithium & Seroquel too. I started the Lamictal to kinda augment everything, so i could decrease my seroquel to a dosage that allows me to lose weight easier. So far it's working really well... Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maybetinymaybesad Posted April 18, 2006 Author Share Posted April 18, 2006 i may have spoken too soon as this past weekend was not so good. i'm at 87.5 mg now and slooooooowly moving up. i still have patches of rashes on my legs, but they are barely there, and i am not going to give up on the one medication that does not make me fat or stupid (based on my experience) until i am at the brink of death, heh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesoul Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 You know, it is possible to stay at low dose. I'm at 50mg. Granted, I'm not doing all that good, rather manicky...and when I went up to 100mg lamictal, full on manic! And side effects. But at 50, it is really keeping the depression away; no side effects. I have heard of someone with BP depression getting relief from 25mg. If it works, my advice is like ncc says: don't play around with it, just stay there. I went and uped and it was much trouble...why fix it if it is working? it may wreck it instead. You can always up if it stops working. And the more slowly your body gets used to it, the less side effects you'll get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NARS Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 I definitely got relief from depression even at 25mg. I didn't get mood stabilization until I hit around 200. I stayed there for a while until Fall Mania Season, when the 450 mg of wellbutrin I was on spun me out of control. Increased the lamictal to 300, then to 400. It keeps me stable and has zippo for lasting side effects. I was more rashy while increasing the lamictal, and am still more sensitive to perfumes and cleansers than I used to be, so I get little rashes. Nothing that benadryl or cortisone cream won't help. I watched like a hawk for the evil rash but never got it. So long as the rash is better, not worse, I'd say you're probably OK. Good luck with the new levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luli2 Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 I'm just chiming in here... 25 mg (on effexor 150 mg) was good for lifting depression, and I was so glad cause I was way below zero with bad depression. No rash, went really slow. I wanted to stay at 50 but pdoc said get it up, then up...at 150 she said to back it to 100 and stay there for a while. It has been in general very very good, and such a relief. I'm in a rough spot now moving and job problems so I am having breakthru sort of depression. Lamictal depresses my appetite, so I had some yukkiness getting back to eating right, which I am now doing. I could like, not eat or drink anything but latte's and think I was ok. No wonder I sort of bottomed out last week. I'm with the take the lowest dose for wiggle room later. I hope it keeps working for me. Good luck with it. BTW I began in mid November and only two weeks ago got up to 150. That's just the way it went I guess. Luli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirlygrl Posted April 21, 2006 Share Posted April 21, 2006 100 mg, for a while now. No higher, because I've had auditory hallucinations at 125. I've had three rash scares, one very ugly and serious (biopsy), but the rashes did go away. They weren't above the neck, in any case. And yet I continue to take this drug, because depression is so scary and antidepressants are very mean to me. Hope your rash is better, sg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maybetinymaybesad Posted April 21, 2006 Author Share Posted April 21, 2006 uuugh this rash just won't quit. it's very low grade and not dangerous at all, but according to all the research by calabrese on the lamitcal rash at the univ of texas, one should decrease the dose of lamictal until the rash goes away, so i am going to drop the 12.5 mg i was taking in the morning and keep 75 mg at night until it goes away. sigh, this is taking forever. (by the way, the doctor is the one who told me to titrate 12.5 mg at a time, and she knows i got the rash from titrating too fast last time.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sita Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 I got a fever & rash the first time, and then the second time titrated reeeeealy slow. 12.5 mg every 2 weeks. No rash--a bit of dry patches on my legs but I think that's unrealted. Going really slow is worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MellowYellow Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 I didn't get a rash, but it sure made me happppy for awhile, then turned to severe agitation. It's the only medication my husband has ever *demanded* that I get off of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 It was when I got to 75 mg that I first noticed a difference too. I also thought the same thing...is it just my regular cycling? But no I think it was the med. And now there is more than one of us. so there! Ameth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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