'Lamithium'

su1,

I have been on lamotrigine for 3 years and really like the med...no side effects for me, either.  I did have side effects with Lithium, so my pdoc put me on Abilify, which seems to be the combo for me.  Because  I, like you, was manic for such a long time, then crashed and burned, too, depression is a major problem, so i take Lexapro, as well.  This combo is pretty good and my pdoc states that the next drug like Abilify will be the one for me!  Ha!  I hope so.  The Abilify does cause fatigue so i take it early evening and by 10pm i'm ready for bed.  I'm not working currently..other than taking care of my 3 year old...but i can feel it coming..going to try and get out there and see how i do. Lithium works for a lot of people, and a low therapeutic dose may be all you need with the lamictal.  Good luck and let us know how it works for you.

su...My meds are lithium, lamictal and abilify.  I have taken lithium for several years with good success overall.  Just need an occasional blood test that checks the kidney function, as lithium is metabolized thru them.  I take NO antidepressants - for me, they can spike me into a full blown mania. 

About 3 years ago, my doc put me on Zyprexa.  It caused weight gain - and also kept me sleepy and druggy most of the day.  We finally switched to Abilify about a year ago - I am very happy with this drug so far.  I'm not nearly as sleepy, I have lost some weight, and overall am more functioning and productive.

As you well know, every body is unique and has specific needs with meds.  You could talk to your doctor about abilify and see what he thinks.  It may or may not work for you.  Good luck with your meds.......Judy

...with antidepressants are that they INCREASE my mania beyond control really....however, due to my very very low moods I am on a very low dosage of zoloft, but my main medications that seem to make a difference are Lamictal, ABILIFY, Klonopin (which i don't know how many times that one has saved me from massive anger outbursts or panic attacks or just deep and rampid anxiety) and zoloft (low dosage)....I am very rapid cycling and mixed mood stage bp so i think the zoloft is important although it can cause mania...at least that is what i have been told by pdoc and by my research of which i am OBSESSED with doing on this disorder so that i can understand all that rambles, rushes and whirls in my head.....have a lot of that going on all the time, even when depressed. But to be honest the abilify (also i take at nighttime) seems to have really made a difference, they had to up the mg of it for me when i was having tactile delusions and boy were those scary...felt like if someone hugged me it was a PUNCH, and sensations of the skin were very very odd likea pencil felt like a treelimb and didn't fit right in my hand....so there are many areas that abilify and lamictal help me with, I will be honest i am not thrilled with the zoloft for it never really seems to thwart my deep depression that i go into unexpectedly....with rapid cycling i have NO IDEA when a mood is going to switch on me mid stream, can be laughing one minute and talking so fast and much that others just look at me like i'm losing it, and then go right into intense crying spells.....from no where, triggered by nothing i can identify...

If I were you i'd talk to the pdoc about abilify and see about the prozac and the zyprexa combination and see if that could be a combination that may not work for you..HOWEVER< I"m obviously not a pdoc and have only my own experience to go from...I was on prozac for 3 years and uhm it wasn't doing a thing but sending me into massive mania...I broke, BIG TIME broke, and it took me 10 years to get diagnosed so it is hard to say which factor caused me to break basically....

however, there is a good website that tells you if there are combinations of drugs that could react with each other, for we certainly don't need any more issues with our meds that 's for sure.....I hope that when you check with him that he is easy to talk to and you can ask about the combo of meds.

GJ is a great resource to pull from, he has helped me out so many times it isn't funny. So if he has some information on the medication i'd certainly trust completely what he is telling you. But don't forget, you must stay with the medications and must talk to the pdoc about your concerns.  I hope you have one you feel you can communicate well with, I know mine (this time, for one i had before wasn't conducive to being questioned on HIS decisions about MY life/medications) the one i have now is awesome and very open to discussion and questions....I'd certainly address this with him and not sure if I am right or not but my research says that you shouldn't go on and off the medication and that zyprexa takes a while to get into the system .....so taking it for a while and then off for a while will only cause the process to start over and you have to wait once again for the results to be positive or conducive to helping you....but that is just what i've read, not experienced with this medication.

I worry about you SU1 and hope that you are able to get a handle on the medications.

I too have family history of m.illness and didn't even know it until i was diagnosed and began researching my own family history....it is very prevalent to have family members with this or other disorders.

Just hang in there girl, and stay adament on getting the help you feel you need, that is what that doc is there for, never forget that and never let HIM forget that too....he is to be your answers, your support, your resource....

Hang tough girl, know i'm thinking of you,

take care!!!

ctrygirl

ps not sure any of this helped but hope so....