MedicationLover Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 I have 38 100mg lamictal tablets and my doctor is hesitant to switch my meds on his own so I was thinking I'd just start switching to lamictal on my own and then tell him after a couple weeks and if he doesn't like it just go back to my old psychiatrist who was better but somewhat more expensive to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaRufina Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 That's not how you build a therapeutic relationship. I urge you to talk to your current doctor again about changing your medications or finding a medication that works well for you. We are not going to give you information on how to change your medications without the guidance and care of a physician; playing your own doctor is stupid and unsafe. If you feel you can't work with your current doctor despite efforts to communicate and compromise, I would encourage you to find someone else rather than screw with your meds and go behind their back, putting yourself both at risk due to medication misuse and negative interactions and reactions. Lamictal and many other medications have potential for serious consequences if not taking as prescribed or appropriately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicationLover Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 It's very tricky going from Tegretol to Lamotrigine because the two meds interact: Tegretol reduces serum Lamictal concentration by 40%. This means that Lamotrigine levels can rise significantly once you withdraw from the Tegretol, and you may feel side effects accordingly. It's also been found in some studies that Lamotrigine can make Tegretol plasma concentrations higher/toxic. For these reasons, the dosage of both drugs needs to be calibrated very carefully during AND after the transition process, and the transition should be slow. I hope your neurologist is aware of these issues! http://www.coping-with-epilepsy.com/forums/f23/switching-tegretol-lamictal-714/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicationLover Posted April 1, 2012 Author Share Posted April 1, 2012 Hey bitch I don't make alot of money or have health insurance so I go to a free clinic where the pdoc puts you on really high levels of shit. Why don't you go find some other thread to dick around on while I get some advice here. THANKS! I have alot of expirience in this area so I know what I'm doing, if you have a problem message me don't speak for other people on this forum as to how "we" (you and others) are going to help me or not help me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaRufina Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Hey bitch I don't make alot of money or have health insurance so I go to a free clinic where the pdoc puts you on really high levels of shit. Why don't you go find some other thread to dick around on while I get some advice here. THANKS! I have alot of expirience in this area so I know what I'm doing, if you have a problem message me don't speak for other people on this forum as to how "we" (you and others) are going to help me or not help me. Why don't you take about forty eight hours to cool off. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Do not play with these meds on your own. Lamictal can be a very dangerous med and you can damage your stability by going off the Tegretol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooster Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 It's very tricky going from Tegretol to Lamotrigine because the two meds interact This is only one PART of the reason why its important to talk to a medical professional about your situation. Nobody on the boards is qualified to give advice on the kind of question you are posing, which is why Luna used the pronoun "we". Calling names is always uncalled for and never helpful. I hope you are able to contact your care provider... if not your doctor, I hope you at least try checking with a pharmacist to make sure you don't end up accidentally dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duelist Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Only a doctor can advise you on this stuff, seriously.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becks Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 I really think we'll all pretty much say the same thing. Don't go messing around with your meds without consulting your pdoc. That's not med compliant or creating a good relationship with your current pdoc. If you feel he's not listening to you and addressing your concerns, then it's time to find another pdoc or go back to the other one. Experience in this department or not....your doc is the one with the degree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpladybug Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Luna gave you good and appropriate advice about your relationship with doctors and your concerns and you call her a BITCH????? That is NOT how we speak to one another around here, young man. I am glad she put you on a 48 hours hold. In addition she is an ADMIN so she does have the authority to use the 'we'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Faustus Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Of course, if you want to play the spoiled willful little piggy who doesn't want to play with anyone.....do what you want. nd don't go calling people here bitches and the like, many of us have no insurance etc, either......if you want to play the victim, i'm sure there are places for that. If you want advise on how to make a rational decision about your situation and your meds, then well...... We all wig out sometimes. Just hope thats all you were doing and not playing doctor. As a lamictal and tegretol user, well......what you ask is as smart as putting out a cigarette in your cars gas tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eden Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Regardless of your perceived knowledge on the subject you clearly don't know what you are doing, hence asking us for help. Play nice and don't expect help with inadvisable decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicationLover1 Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Sorry everyone, especially the woman who I called a bitch. I shouldn't call someone a name just from one expirience with them. My frustration is more with my doctor who doesn't even remember who I am or my diagnosis whenever he sees me and even sometimes gives me other peoples' perscriptions on accident. I will take care of this the right way as soon as possible. I feel bad that I made such a bad first impression here on the forums, you guys seem very down to earth and helpful. Wish me luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cetkat Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 How about not creating separate accounts to get around bans for starters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dedoubt Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Hey bitch I don't make alot of money or have health insurance so I go to a free clinic where the pdoc puts you on really high levels of shit. Why don't you go find some other thread to dick around on while I get some advice here. THANKS! I have alot of expirience in this area so I know what I'm doing, if you have a problem message me don't speak for other people on this forum as to how "we" (you and others) are going to help me or not help me. WE like LunaRufina a lot. WE think you are a dick for talking to her like this. WE don't want to help you unless you apologize. Of all people on this site, I am absolutely fine with Luna speaking for me. ETA: forgot to post right away... don't think much of trying to get around a ban. Lame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicationLover1 Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 How about not creating separate accounts to get around bans for starters? I'm not trying to get around a ban or whatever. I just am really busy this week so I made a whole new account so I wouldn't have to wait 48 hours. And yes next time luna is online I'm going to apologize to her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dedoubt Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 How about not creating separate accounts to get around bans for starters? I'm not trying to get around a ban or whatever. I just am really busy this week so I made a whole new account so I wouldn't have to wait 48 hours. And yes next time luna is online I'm going to apologize to her. You don't seem to get what a ban is. YOU are banned, not your username. Switching to a slightly different username and continuing to post IS trying to get around the ban. I presume that an admin or staff will be along shortly to make that even more clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicationLover1 Posted April 1, 2012 Share Posted April 1, 2012 Yeah I guess that makes sense. Well adios. I'll talk to you guys in a couple days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nauseous Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 I do whatever I want with Lamictal. The side effect warnings are pretty much overwrought. I stop taking the stuff whenever I want (for up to a year). I mean I just quit cold turkey; I don't care. And I take 300-600 mg. I adjust the dosage anyway I want. One day I took 1800 mg of the stuff (which I don't recommend). I got that same effect you get when you drink a whole bottle of Dextromethorphan cough syrup. You get the robot walk, your head suddenly just flops backwards, you get nystagmus and you generally feel crappy. The effect of Lamictal is just like Dextromethorphan. DMX stops you from developing tolerance to Dexedrine. So it is with Lamictal. It really helps to prevent Dex tolerance. I resume taking Lamictal whenever and however I want. I just start taking 300 mg-450 mg every day. I never titrate up. Nothing bad ever happens. I get energized and a bit hypomanic for a few days. But I enjoy that effect. On another note - Valproate blood testing. I know for a fact that if you don't take your Valproate and your doctor orders you to take a blood test, you can easily fake the blood test. I was in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit and I had to prove to 3 psychiatrists, (two on the opposing side) that I was taking my prescribed dosage of Valproate for the last year, ( which I wasn't because I hate the stuff and I enjoy being hypomanic). All I did before the blood test is take 1000 mg 4 hours before the test. The results were that I had 450 whatevers of Valproate in my blood. Right where it ought to be. All the pdocs were convinced that I had been on the stuff for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tryp Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 That's not "faking" the blood test, that's DOING the blood test. Unfortunately we don't have a blood test that is intended to show what you have been taking for the past year. If you thought that you faked out the test, you misunderstood. All this above and beyond the fact that lying to your doctors and going on and off your medication is possibly the dumbest thing you can do. Lamictal is nothing like DMX and the fact that you describe feeling that way after taking 1800 mg of Lamictal and still insist that nothing bad happened to you is staggering. If you have not had something bad happen to you yet, you are very lucky and most people following in your footsteps will not be so lucky. Not to mention the fact that your disease cannot possibly be under control, which you claim to like. We are pro-treatment and pro-medication. If you can't get behind that, you probably won't find an especially warm welcome here. Suggesting that other people mess around with their medication like that is irresponsible and dangerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becks Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 I think your advice is destructive to others who are looking for genuine answers to their questions. You are recommending in your post something that could potential lead to health complications and could potentially be fatal. Lamictal causes a rash that could lead to death. Messing around with dosages on your own, is well, just not the smartest thing one could do. Just because you messed around with your meds (foolishly I must add) doesn't mean you should go around endorsing that act for others to do the same. If a med isn't working for you, that's what you have a pdoc for, to help you find one that will help you. Going off a med without the consult of your pdoc because you hate the stuff isn't a justifiable enough reason to just quit and then try to trick the court system into ruling in your favor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nauseous Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Also, I don't know if I should even mention this because I'm afraid that people might think that I am MedicationLover1, which I am not. But, the guy did apologize twice, and he seemed contrite me. He shoudn't wait for Luna to be online to apologize; he should just apologize directly to the board. The guy was a serious jerk no doubt, but that's the nature of the illness; it's hard to tell if someone is a jerk or just bipolar. We're supposed to control our jerk factor. He can do it. If Medication Lover is the same person as MedicationLover1, (maybe his IP address can verify his location), he starts out well with his question about the 38 Lamictal, but 15 minutes later he turns into a jerk. That makes no sense unless it's a super rapid cycling (which I doubt). My point is this: why would he come on this board if he didn't have mental health problems? He's been excommunicated after just 1 (albeit serious) miscue. I know people are angry, but an ethos of goodwill ought to prevail for at least a chance to make things right. Respectfully, (it's your board afterall), Nauseous (not from meds, but from this Sierra LaMar case) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crtclms Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 It's a good thing you aren't MedicationLover1, or we might be suspicious. And your tales of prescription drug abuse make me swoon with desire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nauseous Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 I get your point about a cavalier attitude towards medication but I challenge you; how do you actually know that any of these dreaded side effects will actually occur? Has it happened to you? Or even anybody you know. Does anybody actually know someone that has come down with the dreaded Stevens Johnson rash? Sure, the drugmaker has to give warnings; it's a litigis (sic) environment. But really, it's very rare. As for DMX being similar to Lamotrigine, if you do a little reseach you will find I am correct; they are both calcium blockers which limit the tolerance effect of not only opiates, but stimulants as well. And, I did not offer any advice whatsoever; I simply related my experience. As for being disenguous with my pdocs, I simply find that being hypomanic is preferable to being fat and bald. The depression I experience from the side effects of a combination of Valproate and Lamotrigine is much worse than the (for me anyway) controllable hypomania I experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tryp Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Actually, yes. I can think of at least one member here who had SEVERE, skin falling off SJS. What you do is your decision, but we try to protect our more vulnerable members, who may not be in a place to critically appraise such information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nauseous Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 And, I do concede that I did not read the big emboldened headline at the top of the page: How do I switch from 600mg/day tegretol to 400 mg lamictal? So for that, I apologize. But more and more pdocs are being unfairly criticised for a rapid upward titration of Lamictal. I think that often times, the criticism is simply unwarranted. Yeah, I got muscle cramps and insomnia for a few days when I first started on 75 mg of the stuff (that's what my pdoc prescribed). But, in his experience a rapid upward titration is preferable to the patient committing suicide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nauseous Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Stevens–Johnson syndrome is a rare condition, with a reported incidence of around 2.6[3] to 6.1[2] cases per million people per year. In the United States, there are about 300 new diagnoses per year. The condition is more common in adults than in children. Women are affected more often than men, with cases occurring at a two to one (2:1) ratio.[2] (Wikipedia,mind you) Yes, I agree we should protect vulnerable persons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nauseous Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 If you feel my comments are irresponsible and may incite an ad libitum effect in some member's use of Lamictal, just delete them. It is, after all your board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cetkat Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 So for that, I apologize. But more and more pdocs are being unfairly criticised for a rapid upward titration of Lamictal. I think that often times, the criticism is simply unwarranted. Yeah, I got muscle cramps and insomnia for a few days when I first started on 75 mg of the stuff (that's what my pdoc prescribed). But, in his experience a rapid upward titration is preferable to the patient committing suicide. Stevens–Johnson syndrome is a rare condition, with a reported incidence of around 2.6[3] to 6.1[2] cases per million people per year. In the United States, there are about 300 new diagnoses per year. The condition is more common in adults than in children. Women are affected more often than men, with cases occurring at a two to one (2:1) ratio.[2] (Wikipedia,mind you) Yes, I agree we should protect vulnerable persons. Well, with your infinite wisdom you should realize that those numbers that are due to Lamictal would be based on the normal slow titration that's much less likely to cause a reaction. If people were to start at your claimed 300-450mg, that number would be much higher. I for one think you're full of shit and just instigating. Next thing you'll be telling us is that you self-administer your own ECT with your car battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nauseous Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Although Stevens–Johnson Syndrome can be caused by viral infections, malignancies, or severe allergic reactions to medication, the leading cause appears to be the use of antibiotics and sulfa drugs. SJS can be caused by adverse effects of drugs allopurinol, Depakote, Levaquin, diclofenac, etravirine, isotretinoin (a.k.a. Accutane), fluconazole,[4] valdecoxib, sitagliptin, oseltamivir, penicillins, barbiturates, sulfonamides, phenytoin, azithromycin, oxcarbazepine, zonisamide, modafinil,[5] lamotrigine, nevirapine, pyrimethamine, ibuprofen,[6] ethosuximide, carbamazepine, and nystatin.[7][8] Sorry you feel I'm full of shit. I never recommended that anybody do anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confused Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 I'm not sure if you're a troll or an idiot, or maybe both. . Can I vote for idiot? Nauseous, The way you are taking medication is reckless. Also, valproate and lamictal interact so you really don't want to be adjusting dosages on your own. I'm not sure the point of your last post. lamictal is on the list of medications that can cause SJS. I'm sure by now you know this is a pro-med website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunaRufina Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 But, the guy did apologize twice, and he seemed contrite me. He shoudn't wait for Luna to be online to apologize; he should just apologize directly to the board. I'm not sure anyone suggested he wait until I be online to apologize. But whether or medicationlover apologizes to me PERSONALLY is a different matter thn whether an apology is made to the board. You are correct. And apologies were made to the board. The guy was a serious jerk no doubt, but that's the nature of the illness; it's hard to tell if someone is a jerk or just bipolar. Yeah, only, whether I'm "just being bipolar" or "just being a jerk" I still take responsibility for my actions. Which brings me to... He's been excommunicated after just 1 (albeit serious) miscue. I know people are angry, but an ethos of goodwill ought to prevail for at least a chance to make things right. No. Not excommunicated. Given a 48 hour time out because of the intensity of jerkiness. Nothing more. After forty eight hours medicationlover has been given choice to come back; whether that freedom will be taken advantage of remains to be forseen. I have sent a message to the member and have not received a reply. Perhaps they have decided to stay away, perhaps they have decided to start fresh with a new handle. We won't know unless they want us to. (it's your board afterall), [...eh, kinda] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 I got Steven-Johnson's from a dose adjustment of Lamictal. I can't take it ever again. What you're doing is idiotic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 I think your DR should be concerned about weaning you on and off those meds slowly. It isn't a good idea to stop and start; always wean ... not self-dose this med. Also, how long were you on Lamictal before a diagnosis of SJS was given? What were the initial symptoms? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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