Posted by HenryO on September 23, 2003, at 5:10:21
In reply to How does lamictal feel and how much does it help??, posted by DayByDay on September 22, 2003, at 8:08:11
I can't address OCD, too little personal experience.
Lamictal isn't much of an anti-anxiety med as far as I know. Maybe it's helping people in that department. I wouldn't be completely surprized. I don't get that much anxiety and if I do, I don't think of Lamictal first. It works very slowly, you have to be so patient changing the dose. It's not a fast reaction med. When I have anxiety I want to knock it down fast.
I imagine Lamictal might have a mild long term stablizing effect on anxiety but that is conjecture. Who knows though. It seems to be pretty free of interactions with other meds. You should be able to take other meds with it without much trouble. I have never seen a post here about any unpleasant interactions.
I think any med is always going to be five times better at preventing depression than it will be at curing it. You know, that whole kindling thing, and that isn't just my opinion.
The effects were noticeable for me at 125mg to 150. That took six weeks at least to achive. It wasn't fun waiting.
I don't feel much at all from it, other than the absence of emotional pain and a moderate increase in energy. What I mean is, I don't feel medicated. I hate feeling buzzed. I did try taking more. Over the course of several weeks I increased my dose to 300mg a day. It started to give me unrestorative very light sleep. I had to cut back. 200mg seems to be the dose that's going to give me the maximum benefit. I know some people take more happily, others take less.
I talk a lot here about my experiences with Pindolol a.k.a. Visken. I don't know if it's just my idiosincratic disease but it helps me when I have crisis mental pain. I wish more people would post here about it. I'd like to know if I'm the only one who finds it so helpful.
My latest drug curiousity is about Dilantin. I am going to get some to see if it quiets the negative thinking that often clamors in my brain.
poster:HenryO
thread:261445
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030923/msgs/262603.html