Posted by sweetmarie on March 11, 2001, at 16:36:26
In reply to Re: treatment resistant depression » sweetmarie, posted by JahL on March 11, 2001, at 15:42:48
> >
> > > I spoke to my sister (a psych nurse), who basically said that I should do whatever feels O.K. for me within the framework given to me by my consultant and the professor. She suggested that I say on 100 mg for another week, and instead of going right up to 200 mg, go up to 150 mg for a couple of weeks.
>
> How about staying on 100mg til you see the prof? 50mg (to 150mg) is still quite a big leap, which is in effect doubled whilst you remain on VPA.
>
> > > Then 200 mg. By that point, I should be going to go into hospital (I was given a waiting time of 5/6 weeks on Monday, which is now 4/5 weeks, which should tie in with this arrangement. As for the Valproate; I`m not entirely sure. My consultant has told me to decrease from 1000 mg to nothing in weekly 200 mg intervals. In the light of the new arrangement I`ve made with the Lamotragine, I think I`ll slow this down (maybe 200 mg decrease over a week and a half instead of a week).
>
> Unless Valproate is significantly helping you, it makes sense to decrease it *more quickly* since the sooner it is out of your system, the sooner Lamotrigine blood levels will drop to within safer limits.
>
> Good luck,
> J.Valproate is doing absolutely sod-all (and never did), so I will. I was playing it cautious; my consultant advised me to come down by 100 mg every 5 - 7 days. I decided on the 7, which I have now changed to a week and a half. I reckon I`ll stick to her original suggestion.
As to the Lamotragine, I think I`ll do what you suggest. The main thing I guess is to make a plan and stick to it. I`m not going to `fiddle` with it any more.
By the way, was it you that told me that a combination of Valproate and Lamotragine can cause a rash? If it wasn`t you, then someone said it at some point. I hope that this is true because it might mean that the rash coud clear up once I`m off the Valroate. It`s not a serious rash, and caused no physical discomfort, but it`s noticeable and I`m self-concious about it. If it gets worse, I will be ringing my consultant right away. The other thing that I thought of is that they (the team at Newcastle hospital where I will be going), may be able to get a dermatologist to look at it.
Thanks for your help,
Anna.
poster:sweetmarie
thread:55847
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010310/msgs/56235.html