lamictal dosage increase

[wemble]

i was on 50mg of lamictal, pdoc added 25mg of pamelor which started to make me agitated, irritable, angry (ie all the symptoms i have during mixed, manic-ish states) so he upped the lamictal to 100mg. i've been on it for a little over 2 weeks now and MAYBE feel SLIGHTLY different... not really though. actually, really not really (i've started taking my klonopin regularly to take the edge off as opposed to every once in a while in stressful and understandable situations). is 2 weeks long enough to feel a difference or should i give it more time? i don't see my dr again until mid dec. should i give it until then? call earlier?

if it makes a difference, i used to be on 150mg of lamictal previously, but that was with another dr and a few years ago for a short time (long story).

thanks!

[AnneMarie]

Lamictal can be activating, particularly at lower doses. Some with bipolar can't take it without a stronger antimanic. If you continue to feel agitated, especially if it's more than the Klonopin can manage, call your pdoc. Maybe he can add something else until you are at a higher dose or for the duration.

[wemble]

Lamictal can be activating, particularly at lower doses. Some with bipolar can't take it without a stronger antimanic. If you continue to feel agitated, especially if it's more than the Klonopin can manage, call your pdoc. Maybe he can add something else until you are at a higher dose or for the duration.

see, that's the thing. i'm not sure he's planning on increasing the lamictal. for some reason i feel like he doesn't really know that much about it. he was surprised it came in 200mg pills ("that's a dosage?" kind of thing. but on our first appt he told me 150mg was a typical dose. i'm confused by him). it could be me just reading into things and he's just being careful, but he left me at 50mg for... 2ish months without it really doing anything.

what else would he add? i know the whole disclaimer "we're not drs" etc. i'm just paranoid about this guy all of a sudden and want to know if he's headed in the right direction or just not with it. ie if he just ups me to a whole lotta klonopin vs the more typical response of "xyz."

i dunno, i like the guy - he's the first pdoc i feel like i can relate with at all, but i'm paranoid that something's missing, that i failed to communicate something and it's gonna screw me over. then again paranoia seems to be a thing for me, so... i probably should get a therapist i see regularly to have someone "in my corner" so to speak, but that involves money and work and blegh - really i just i hate trying out new people. it's exhausting.

i'm also thinking about wellbutrin over pamelor. i'm suddenly uneasy/afraid/whatever about this drug and know people who've had good experiences with wellbutrin. i dunno how that's gonna help/hurt things.

blegh, i'm buzzing right now. sorry for the rambling response.

[dancesintherain]

for what it's worth, I felt a difference by around 100mg, but it didn't have its full effect until 200mg. At the lower doses, I'd feel a difference for a brief period of time and then it would fade until I increased the dose. Once I got to 200mg, it stuck around. I've stayed either there or at 250 mg depending on the degree to which i need the antidepressant. Right now it's at the higher dose. But that's just my experience.

I'd definitely have your doctor check about average doses though and therapeutic levels. I've seen 200-250 as a pretty regular thing around here.

[nalgas]

I've seen 200-250 as a pretty regular thing around here.

Yup. 200 mg/day is generally considered the normal target dose for mood stuff, with adjustments up or down as needed from there, unless you're taking something else that interacts with it, in which case the numbers can be as much as doubled or halved, depending on what other meds are involved.