ezpzlemonsqueezy Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 I am currently at 125mg on lamictal having followed the titration schedule exactly. I dont have Bi-Polar or Epilepsy but the doctor told be I have obsessive traits and he explained to me that sometimes drugs are used for off-label purposes. I no longer tear the skin of my fingers which I have been doing since I was as a child. No more crying and the depression is gone (after 25mg) Also the compulsions which have long accompanied my obsessive thinking seem to be under control. The obsessive thinking has not stopped. As I escalate to 200 mg what are some of the good changes I can expect? Will my self-doubt decrease? How much can this help the obsessive thoughts from dissapearing? All comments from your experiencees are appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMarshall Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 Hi EP. welcome. I don't think that anyone here can give you a list of concrete changes that will occur with your mind while taking any drug. You've listed some specific behaviours that have improved but it is difficult to get a perspective because you don't mention your dx's. Remember that most meds take a couple months to start taking effect and that the braincontinues to get better after that. I found that lamictal slowly took effect over about 3 months. I noticed small weekl improvements in. After that it has been more general long term improvements. good luck, a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeruleanBlue Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 I agree with Air Marshall...I have had hopeful preliminary results with Lamictal, but....I know of no drug about which we know enough to say, okay at 50 mg you will feel this, at 100 mg you will feel this, etc. First off, no one knows exactly how most psychotropic medications work, and secondly, even if we did know, everyone's particular brain chemistry is different, so what happens at 5 mg for one will only happen at 200 mg for another. In general, if Lamictal has done all you list.... I am currently at 125mg on lamictal having followed the titration schedule exactly. I no longer tear the skin of my fingers which I have been doing since I was as a child. No more crying and the depression is gone (after 25mg) Also the compulsions which have long accompanied my obsessive thinking seem to be under control.Hey, that's pretty good, I think! I wish it would get me to stop picking at the skin on my feet (yuk) which is what I pick at since I forced myself to stop picking my fingernails 15 years ago. As for those things which have not yet happened.... The obsessive thinking has not stopped. As I escalate to 200 mg what are some of the good changes I can expect? Will my self-doubt decrease? How much can this help the obsessive thoughts from dissapearing? I would just say hang in there. It sounds like this is a good med for you. If it doesn't fix every issue you have, maybe another drug will need to be added, or maybe psychotherapy will help? Are you on other drugs/getting therapy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loon-A-TiK Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 I started noticing changes at 50mg. Suddenly, I broke a nail. I've been a nailbiter since I was old enough to bite nails. Now, I looked down and noticed that I had lovely, long nails. My hair grows so fast that I need to double my trips to the salon, and even scars have faded (I don't know if this is common or if I'm just a freak)). I noticed more stability at 50mg as well. I wasn't flying up and down the walls anymore. I tend towards the manic side of life, and even Lamictal (famous for helping BP depression) brought me down. At 100mg, I was actually feeling fine and stable. I was on 200mg Seroquel, and 20mg Paxil, and 300mg WB at the time. Yes, an AD line-up that you think would turn a BP1 weirdo into a weirder weirdo, but for some reason it was fine. Probably the Seroquel. Expect that along the titrations you'll notice periods where you may experience the side effects more with a ose increase, and it will level out, and then you'll increase and the side effects will increase, and level, and so on. Personally, the weird hair/nail/skin stuff is all I ever "suffered" from Lamictal. Best of luck! I've been taking it for over a year and love it. Loon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revlow Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 ezpzlemonsqueezy: A couple things: Lamictal has helped tremendously for me with both: 1) obsessive thoughts and 2) an uncontrollable tic; for me it was snapping two of my toes together (just like you'd snap your fingers) over and over again. In my case, since I am BPII, I have noticed that both these seem to be a red flag for other BP symptoms to follow, and my doctor will have me titrate up a tad. One other thought: don't know if you are a woman. If you are and are taking either the Pill or hormone replacement therapy, you will probably need to take more Lamictal than you would otherwise. These hormones decrease the amount of Lamictal up to 50%, so you may need to take as much as twice the amount as you would without these hormones. If you look at my signature, you'll see I'm taking 575 mg. I'm in menopause and on heavy hormone replacement. So in reality I'm only getting about 287.5 mg in my system, which may be close to my target. (Doc and I are still tweaking it a little.) Of course, YMMV. Please keep us posted on how you're doing, okay? Best, revlow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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