Posted by JahL on July 14, 2005, at 19:37:12
In reply to Re: ECT. » JahL, posted by ed_uk on July 14, 2005, at 16:23:02
> Hi Jamie,
>
> How awful, ECT has been terrible for you. The memory loss sounds devastating.Yeah. My working IQ is around 30 or so points down from my euthymic IQ anyway, and it's a killer. Very demeaning. The memory loss just adds insult to injury. However, I suppose can't really complain; I readily consented to ECT and I essentially knew what I could be letting myself in for. Oh well.
> >Lamotrigene is my lifeline...
>
> Do you have any side effects?Er...maybe a little agitation and patches of psoriasis. Nothing I can't handle.
I missed a dose once and the subsequent one caused a spike in serum levels, precipitating the dreaded rash. I was bright red *all* over. I looked a right state. As you can imagine, I was more than a little worried, but it thankfully cleared up after a few days.
Another time, I developed some sort of immune system reaction, when the lymph glands (?) on my neck swelled to the size of tennis balls (no exaggeration). Again, very disconcerting, but the swelling subsided after a couple of days.
It seems Lamotrigene is a wonderful drug, but one which demands plenty of caution and respect.
> >I originally responded to just 25mg but a succession of pdocs bumped up the dose so that I am now stranded on 600mg.
>
> That's interesting. I never was a fan of 'target doses' eg. 200mg Lamictal. I think people should stay on the dose that works, however low it is.I agree. Surely it's all about optimal dosing. I think the 'one size fits all' approach is just lazy psychiatry.
> >Can you tell me what brought you to PB?
>
> Anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder brought me to babble.I'm sorry to hear that. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I've noticed you post rather a lot (amazing really; you produce so many cogent and often pretty sophisticated posts in double quick time - I work at a snail's pace these days). Is there any kind of OCD component to this?
> I first visited about 6 years ago...
Wow. I started lurking around the same time. Were you posting back then? I don't remember the name, although these days I have trouble remembering my own...
Best,
Jamie.
poster:JahL
thread:500631
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050712/msgs/527707.html