betcsu Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 ive been reading and have had responses from several people that lamictal is known for its AD properties. i thought it was just a mood stabilizer, but from what ive read and what ive been told, its a pretty decent AD once you get to a certain level. im only at 50mg right now and will increase to 75mg in 10 days then to 100mg 3 weeks after that. pdoc wanted me to increase by 25 every 2 weeks but im chickin so im only increasing every 3 weeks. anyway, if lamictal has AD properties once you hit a certain level, does this mean that once i hit that level (200mg????) can i potentially drop the celexa, which is an ssri, if im not mistaken. the SSRI scares me, too as i get racy and anxious at times, and though this could be lamictal related, it could also be SSRI related. i want the least amount of meds that could push me into hypo or mania. so, what does everyone think? is there a chance i could go mono-therapy and end up with lamictal alone. or is it usually used in conjunction with something else? thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nalgas Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 It is entirely possible that Lamictal could have enough of an AD effect once you reach a high enough dosage that you wouldn't need anything else for the depression side of things. It also might not be enough. You'll have to wait and see, unfortunately. It definitely does work for that for some people, though, so it might for you. As far as getting away with just Lamictal when you're worried about (hypo)mania, Lamictal is actually fairly bad at stopping mania for a lot of people. It's much better at handling the depression end of things. For controlling both extremes of mood, Lamictal on its own frequently doesn't work for people, but, again, it might or might not for you. It just doesn't have a great reputation for keeping mania down on its own, probably related to the reasons it's a decent AD for some people on its own. And you're right that the agitation/anxiety could be from either the Celexa or the Lamictal. Did you start them far enough apart to have a sense of what Celexa was like on its own without the Lamictal, and if so, was it doing it on its own already? If you started them at or near the same time, it can be really hard to say one way or another which one is doing it for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betcsu Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 i statred the celexa last march and started the lamictal just this past december. now, keep in mind, ive had 10 sessions of ECT so my meory aint exactly all there, but from what i recall, the pdoc told me he was adding the lamictal as a mood stabilizer. i no longer see him as he was my inpatient and ECT pdoc who is very far away so i cant ask him for sure. i am currently seeing a Pnurse who told me she was glad the Pdoc put me on lamictal as it is her favorite med. i see her again on the 31st, so i'll be sure to ask her this question then. of course, due to your response (nalgas), i may have to put a call into her on monday cuz now im wondering if this is why im still having occassional hypo/manic episodes...... shit! now what? i hate when i think i have stuff figured out then fins out im really clueless! but i appreciate your reply as now i can try to fins out for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest maura Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 i statred the celexa last march and started the lamictal just this past december. now, keep in mind, ive had 10 sessions of ECT so my meory aint exactly all there, but from what i recall, the pdoc told me he was adding the lamictal as a mood stabilizer. i no longer see him as he was my inpatient and ECT pdoc who is very far away so i cant ask him for sure. i am currently seeing a Pnurse who told me she was glad the Pdoc put me on lamictal as it is her favorite med. i see her again on the 31st, so i'll be sure to ask her this question then. of course, due to your response (nalgas), i may have to put a call into her on monday cuz now im wondering if this is why im still having occassional hypo/manic episodes...... shit! now what? i hate when i think i have stuff figured out then fins out im really clueless! but i appreciate your reply as now i can try to fins out for sure! I am on 400mg of Lamictal and 20 of Lexapro. The Lamictal does give me a bit of a boost, and I often blame it for some hypomanic episodes but it has been the only med that has worked for me. I find that I am a bit "fast" when most of the day goes by and I realize that I forgot to take my meds. Once I take them, I relax.I guess it does the opposite for me. Who knows? I have been on Lamictal for years and while my doctor was increasing it I did not find any threat of a hypomanic/manic episode. I like the combo of meds I am on...I don't think that the Lamictal is enough to manage me, I need the AD too. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenbean Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 i had a good AD effect when i hit 150 mg, and did well on Lamictal as monotherapy for quite a while. so it is possible, but as always, ymmv. good luck, bean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zsepthenne Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 I have had the best anti-depressant effect with lamictal and am on it solo for depression @ 75mg, titrating to 100mg. I upped it to 100 before but felt a little edgy, but am trying again. The ssri's and similar guys have always made me funky, except for the oldie AD's. I am getting worried about the mania end as March is coming and that's mania\hypomania time for me. My pdoc only suggests adding on lithium and I'd like to actually try a few other things for once. He just wants to keep raising my seroquel. But so far I love lamictal! I think I should make t-shirts. I (heart) Lamictal, I could probably sell a few just in time for valentines day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newtonium Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I think Lamictal has had an AD effect for me--milder than the SSRIs, but still there and without the libido-trashing side effects. But I also worry that it's helping my hypo/mania continue, and I sometimes contemplate lowering my dose. However, with Seroquel as an anti-manic I manage pretty well, so I try to keep my fingers out of the pie for now. I think the "magic level" is different for everyone--I'm on 150 mg twice a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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