titrating upward....

[dancesintherain]

Titrating sucks. I'm always extra sleepy and teary-eyed for the first two days or so at the new dosage level. the only silver lining I can think of is that I've recognized that it's a pattern, which means that it should go away and I should be back to the manageable level of symptoms soon (and then hopefully symptom-less once I'm actually at the therapeutic level, but who knows).

Sorry. I just needed to whine for a little bit.

[BPCharlotte]

It's good to get it off your chest!

As you say, you may know it's coming and that it will be short-lived BUT it still sucks to go through.

You're heading in the right direction though, so stick with it and whinge to your heart's content if it helps. And you don't need to apologise!

Hope you get to therapeutic levels soon.

[dancesintherain]

thank you maz...you're right that some times it helps just to vent and get it out of me in a healthy way. i also journaled my frustrations w/ this illness and w/ side effects.

i hope that you start to feel better soon as well.

[meg]

good for you for hanging in there-- it does suck, I had similar issues when I was working my way up on Lamictal as well mood-wise as well as some killerkiller headaches and almost gave up on it more than a couple of times

BUT

am so so incrediblyindescribablyunimaginably glad that I stuck with it.

I hope that you get some relief when your dosage is steadied out and at a good dose. There are a lot of folks here who've had success with this diva of a drug

take good care of yourself during these rocky patches -- since I noticed a pattern with my titration when starting Lamictal, I used the 'okay' few days in-between dosage changes to make sure the next couple rough days were easier to get through (made sure there were some protein bars, milk and liquids around so I wouldn't forget to eat or not eat because prep was too much work, tried my damndest to make sure I had some clean laundry and pillow-cases, stocked up on excedrin, etc.)

now I did this all feebly and half-heartedly, yes, but man was I grateful to be able to curl up and cry in a clean bed and pjs or drink a glass of chocolate milk in the middle of the night instead of wallowing and feeling extra gross in smelly clothes and not eating at all.

okay, so this started out as a positive tip and I don't know how it got so depressing sorry 'bout that.

whine away, if anybody 'gets it' we do!

m

[dancesintherain]

thanks susanb and meg...it is relieving to know that others have been there and made it out the other side. though sad to know that you had to put up with this icky titration process. I've actually been on lamictal once before and had really good luck w/ it, so I'm hoping that comes back. (I went off it b/c I'd been symptom-free for a good six or seven years. Learned my lesson.)

meg, thanks for the tips...I'm managing to stick it out, especially once I realized that there really was a pattern and I wasn't just getting worse all of a sudden for a few days. And I'm starting to feel a decent amount better already at this dose, so the hope is that just a little bit higher will be great. Or maybe staying here...I've got a new pdoc appointment soon.

thanks again...whining does help some times. expression's a good thing, I think.

[dancesintherain]

ARGH!!!!! It's another dose increase day. Crying, exhausted, and bent out of shape so easily. I hate these days.

okay, whine over. everyone offered such great support last time...I don't really need a whole new round. I just needed to get it out again.