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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by woolav on August 2, 2005, at 9:38:49
I am taking both and am wondering who else does?
I have bp2.
I take 300mg of lamictal (which means I have to break a tab in half, since they come in 200mg tabs. And it is the grossest tasting med EVER. I am thinking of asking my pdoc to raise me to 400mg so I dont have to break it. I also take a total of 600mg of trileptal.
I wonder if the extra 100mg of lamictal will make a difference or not.
Hmmmmm
S
Posted by Bill LL on August 2, 2005, at 10:08:01
In reply to who take trileptal AND lamictal???, posted by woolav on August 2, 2005, at 9:38:49
Lamictal is a drug that requires gradual dose increases. If you increase the dose too quickly, it is possible to develope a serious and dangerous rash. You should definitely not increase the dose before asking your doctor. Except for the rash issue, it is a very safe drug. So if you increase it slowly with your doctor's supervision, you probably won't have any problems.
> I am taking both and am wondering who else does?
> I have bp2.
> I take 300mg of lamictal (which means I have to break a tab in half, since they come in 200mg tabs. And it is the grossest tasting med EVER. I am thinking of asking my pdoc to raise me to 400mg so I dont have to break it. I also take a total of 600mg of trileptal.
> I wonder if the extra 100mg of lamictal will make a difference or not.
> Hmmmmm
> S
Posted by SLS on August 2, 2005, at 11:12:39
In reply to who take trileptal AND lamictal???, posted by woolav on August 2, 2005, at 9:38:49
> I am taking both and am wondering who else does?
> I have bp2.
> I take 300mg of lamictal (which means I have to break a tab in half, since they come in 200mg tabs. And it is the grossest tasting med EVER. I am thinking of asking my pdoc to raise me to 400mg so I dont have to break it. I also take a total of 600mg of trileptal.
> I wonder if the extra 100mg of lamictal will make a difference or not.
> Hmmmmm
> SHi Woolov.
I am currently taking Lamictal 150mg with Trileptal 900mg. I wouldn't hesitate to remain on both of them except that I am experiencing excema and severe dandruff. I believe both drugs cause this. Maybe they act synergistically, I don't know. I will probably drop one or the other. I can't decide, though.
Lamictal, when used for depression, is not a consistent drug when it comes to dose-response. Many people get a brief improvement upon a dosage increase (and sometimes decrease). However, once one reaches the higher dosages and find no advantage, reducing back to the lower dosage can cause a rebound depression that feels like a relapse; so much so, that people are convinced that they must stay at the higher dosages and perhaps experience unwanted side effects. I was at 300mg for quite awhile. Getting back to 150mg intitially was a struggle, but a gradual taper helps. At 150mg, I feel no worse than I did at 300mg.
I would definitely give the combination some time to work. However, I would think about moving up the Trileptal to 900mg.
Good luck.
- Scott
Posted by woolav on August 2, 2005, at 15:40:29
In reply to Re: who take trileptal AND lamictal???, posted by SLS on August 2, 2005, at 11:12:39
Hi, I thought that the average/normal dose of trileptal was 600mg?
When i think back, i was getting no effect really with the lamictal (i guess it stopped working) because i was still having serious bouts of depression and hypo episodes. But, when i added the trileptal it stopped.
I have only noticed with the trileptal the severe drowsyness i experiance in the morning when i wake up. I feel like i havent slept at all, yet i have had several hours of sleep.
Does 900mg make you drowsy during the day? how do you take it, half in the am and half in the pm??
S
Posted by med_empowered on August 2, 2005, at 16:47:07
In reply to Re: who take trileptal AND lamictal???sls, posted by woolav on August 2, 2005, at 15:40:29
hey! Trileptal dosages vary wildly. Some doctors start around 600-900 and move up until they max out at anywhere from 1800-2400mgs/day. Personally, I think thats a little excessive. The lowest amount of Trileptal I've ever taken is 600, while the most I've taken is 1,200. I kind of want to try the lamictal/trileptal combo, but I'm a little concerned...apparently, b/c of Trileptal's effects on liver enzymes, you need significantly more Lamictal to produce a therapeutic effect. So...while someone using Lamictal alone might need 100mgs, someone on Trileptal may need 200mgs for the same effects. Based on the data that's available, it really appears that Lamictal is best used for the depressive phase of bipolar. The manic/hypomanic symptoms really dont respond all that well to Lamictal alone, it appears. If the patient can tolerate antipsychotics, I imagine lamictal+an atypical+ an antidepressant could be very effective.
Posted by woolav on August 3, 2005, at 12:38:16
In reply to Re: who take trileptal AND lamictal???sls, posted by med_empowered on August 2, 2005, at 16:47:07
This is the end of the thread.
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