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Tuesday, November, 24, 2009
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The Meds

Babou
Babou
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I have been under a psychiatist's care since I was 25.

I've just recently gotten some relief from a terrible depression. ...

Babou

Wednesday, February 18, 2009
View All of Babou's Posts
It was terribly disapppointing to have med after med not work on me.  I know my Psych was tearing his hair out.  I hated to visit him because I hated to disappoint him.  My therapst has been a great help.  It was she who suggested Lamictal, which I think is the drug that made me t...
  1. wow!
    Merely Me
    Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 06:06 PM

    So can you tell us more about this medication and how it helped you?  It is cause for celebration when a drug can help so much. 

     

    Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

    Reply
    re: wow!
    Babou
    Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 08:10 PM

    I can't say that the Mertazapine ever did very much.  He started me on that.  Then he kept me on the Mertazapine and put me on Pristiq right before the holidays.  I cried through most of the holdays, curled up in my blanket on the sofa, eyes shut.  Pristiq was a nightmare.  Then came the Zprexa, and that was a no go, but he made me continue with it.  My therapist suggested Lamictal, and he decided to throw that into the mix.  Finally, he threw in Effexor for good measure.  It's so hard to say which drug helped the most.  I've never been on so many meds before, but then I've never had such a deep, intractable depression.  I started to feel better just days after starting effexor, so it seems that the lamictal helped the most.  I'm very concerned that I'm on so many different drugs, but if that's what it takes to feel this good.............and I do feel soo good after feeling soooo bad for so long.

    Reply
  2. Untitled Comment
    stardust
    Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 08:35 PM

    I also had a major turnaround with my depression after taking lamictal.  It is used for depression, but also bi-polar and I think it's also used for anxiety.  The difference in my quality of life was tremendous.  All my adult life I was always diagnosed and treated for major depression.  Sometimes it was better than other times, but the medications never worked effectively.  I am talking about a lot of years here.  After we moved, I needed to find a new psychiatrist, and his evaluation and recommendations were a little different than the past.  He said I had a low level bi-polar element to me, almost like a minor "mixed state" where you are very depressed, but having racing thoughts and agitation.  The tricky part was that I did not have manic episodes, just this racing and agitation.  The lamictal was the answer.  As the doctor described, it helps provide me with an "emotional shelf"  so I don't drop into major depression.  The racing is gone, and I still take some klonopin for anxiety and physical spasms.

     

    Lamictal, generic name "lamotrigine" is actually an anti-siezure drug, but of course has shown outstanding results in the areas I mentioned.  By the way, I have no side effects.  Also, the doctor advised me to "stay out of other people's dramas", and I have never forgotten his statement! 

    Reply
  3. Lamictal reaction
    Angela
    Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 12:07 PM

    I too have gone through the list of meds to try to find relief - the only difference - when we got to the Lamictal I took it for about a week and turned into a bright red itchy mess!  I stayed on it for another 2 weeks hoping my body would adjust because it seemed to be helping but no luckCry  I just kept getting redder and itchier.  3 days after stopping the med I was back to "normal" (whatever that is)!  As for being on so many meds, maybe you can try to come off of some while keeping the Lamictal.  Try 1 at a time so you know which ones are helping and which are extras.  Even if done by following  directions for cutting back amounts Effexor was VERY hard to come off of.  I'm glad you have found some relief - Good luck in the future!    Angela

    Reply
    re: Lamictal reaction
    Babou
    Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 05:03 PM

    I have hear that Effexor is a bear to come off of.  There is even a comment about it under the Crazy Meds site, saying that patients have fired their doctors after comng off of it.  I think he was being funny, but I know I'm in for a rough time if I have to come off of it.

    Reply
    re: re: Lamictal reaction
    Babou
    Sunday, May 03, 2009 at 05:27 PM

    That rash is very common in the drug lamictal.  It's for that reason that my doctor started me on a starter kit that eased my system into accepting the drug. 

    Reply
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