Bipolar Disorder Support Group

No, Lamictal is done in very small doses. I did 25mg for 2 months. Then 50mg for 2 months..so on. Now I'm on 200mg. I love it, works great.
Don't feel like a guinea pig! Bipolar is different in everybody. It takes a while to find the right meds AND the right dosage. We've all gone through it. Welcome to the club!!

Yes... as #1 said... you start lamictal in small doses so that if you develop that nasty rash, they can catch the reaction early and it won't be severe.

lamictal has really made me feel better, more steady most of the time. better than i was before, anyway!

your doctor will keep tapering you up. probably to at least 200 mg.

Please believe me when I say if they start you on small doses, there is a very good reason. And, I wholeheartedly agree with Dobie - we never know how long it will take, but it's part of being "in the club." Hopefully it helps to know you aren't alone? It will get better - I'm in a crappy place and even I know that! Welcome!

You are too cool LuvNHope!

yeahit does realy help. da fing is i havnt actually bin diagnosd wiv bp, in a way i wish i had coz i fink id feel so relieved. my pdoc calls it "a mild mood disorder" which makes me really angry coz it beliitles wot im going through. its like shes not acknowledging it 4 wot it is!

I agree with dobie - but let me add that my experience with lamictal was ok until they added the antidepressant. They did the proper thing by slowly increasing the lamictal but then the doc (who was not a psychiatrist, but a regular general doc -a nd I was not dx'd with a mood disorder, but general depression not otherwise whatever blah,blah) anyway, they added Paxil to that. Within about a month I ended up totally manic, worst than ever, and I had even quit taking the meds by this time. It does take a while to find the right meds, but let the doc know if you aren't feeling right. I kept my mouth shut, when I should have said something. Good luck dear. You will find the right ones, don't give up! I finally did (It took a long time, and I had to get a pdoc too). :)

Hi, Everyone, I am on the lamictal too, been on it for about 8 weeks now, up to a 150mg once a day, and I can say I haven't felt this good in years, diagnosed bipolar 2, had been on 4 antidepressants at one time, and they weren't working, starting with the smaller dose allows your doctor to watch for reactions, I had to go see the pdoc every 2 wks, then we just cut it back to once a month for now, go again in 2 weeks, to see them again and see about upping the dose. This medication has been a life saver for me, literally as I tried to O.D in July of this year, with all the reading that I have done on the BP, it seems that those on anti's alone are more prone to suicide.

Give the med's a chance and be nice to yourself, Carmen

ive been on lamictal a year now.. as was said earlier its tapered slowley so if the rash appears they can stop it. i really like lamictal. havent felt this good since lithium... also though some of us do also need a antidepressant with the moodstaboliser. so dont loose heart youll get there. i agree we are all different so the same meds wont work for all of us. just watch your moods daily.

Im a ginny pig too.... I have a really hard time with side affects from meds that make life unbareable and send me into crisis. Even the smallest changes will put me in crisis.

I was headed to the crisis center today and my doctor wanted to see me befor I went. She started me on Lamictal and symbalta (Im hoping for pain relief with that one as well as the anti depressant) She continued me on my lithium as it had stabalized my daily rapis cycling but I was still cycling on a weekly basis. I also have Zanax for my anxiety, restoril for my sleep (which Im not getting much of) synthroid, Ultram and vicodin for my fibro pain, and a couple prns to treat side affects of my fms that I have taken for a long time. My lamictal is also very low. I am started at 25 mg for 2 weeks the to 50 for 2 then evaluate. If Im still shaky I will be decreasing my lithium slightly and probally increasing the lamictal. The goal is to get my rapid cycleing undercontrol and keep me from the bottom less pit I call life.

Life wont always be so hard once you find the right meds you will find a center that works for you. I am having to learn to find what I am willing to tolerate and what I am not and make a new baseline for my life. Try to get into counciling to it may help.

yes, that is a small dose of Lamictal, but you have to start out like that before you can build up. i think others have cleared that bit up, though.

i'm really sorry this is all hitting you and causing you so much distress, but i do understand. hun, you won't be like this forever. it's just a matter of finding the right med combination for you, and then you getting some counseling, perhaps. you CAN get through this and feel much better! i know that can be so hard to believe, but it is true....even if i myself don't believe it at times.

hang in there! give the med time to work and work with your doc. best of luck!