| Topic: |
Sociology > Depression |
| User: |
"algernon" |
| Date: |
06 Jun 2006 06:30:42 PM |
| Object: |
Lamictal, here I come |
So I went to the pdoc -- the real deal this time, not just someone
covered by my crappy insurance. He spent a long time talking about the
history of my mood swings and so forth and came to the conclusion that
I don't have bipolar, but rather atypical depression. Basically, it
sounded an awful lot like bipolar in that the mood swings are so
erratic, but I don't get the benefit of "highs." What a rip! At most, I
get good or OK days. No great days. ;-) I'm kidding -- I don't want
bipolar. Just trying to keep my humor intact.
I do have a couple of family members who either definitely have bipolar
or might have had it. My mom, who died when I was 12 of cancer, used to
rearrange entire rooms in the middle of the night all by herself. It
was an endearing trait, actually. This 4'11" lady didn't just move a
couch here and there; she'd swap entire bedrooms. But she also had fits
of rage, I remember. Losing a parent is naturally tough, but as I'm
getting older, I'm realizing it's also tough losing that glimpse into
your family history. I wish I could talk to her to find out if she had
what I have ... though I don't go through rage spurts.
Anyhow, because of this family history, the doc says I might be
resistent to normal ADs. I'd used Serzone a few years back and don't
remember any great change. I really believe my current Lexapro regiment
is actually giving me suicidal thoughts, because I can directly tie the
darkest thoughts to around the time I upped from 10 mg to 20 mg. So
we're trying Lamictal. I've read about the scary rash and will
definitely keep an eye out. Other than that, I've read postings here
about it, and it seems fairly promising. Doc also nixed my Xanax in
favor of Klonopin, which I'm happy about. I think I was getting a
little addicted to the X. I started the Klonopin today and, after
that's in my system for about four days, I'm to SLOWLY begin the
Lamictal. Wish me luck.
A
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| User: "Contrarian" |
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| Title: Re: Lamictal, here I come |
12 Jun 2006 03:04:35 AM |
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algernon <aynrand78@gmail.com> wrote:
So I went to the pdoc -- the real deal this time, not just someone
covered by my crappy insurance.
Good.
Anyhow, because of this family history, the doc says I might be
resistent to normal ADs.
Sounds like the real deal.
we're trying Lamictal. I've read about the scary rash and will
definitely keep an eye out. Other than that, I've read postings here
about it, and it seems fairly promising. Doc also nixed my Xanax in
favor of Klonopin, which I'm happy about. I think I was getting a
little addicted to the X. I started the Klonopin today and, after
that's in my system for about four days, I'm to SLOWLY begin the
Lamictal. Wish me luck.
I do indeed (if a few days late)
--
but the edge is still Out there. Or maybe it's In... HST (1967)
when i got to the edge , i built a deck % (2005)
.
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| User: "humble.life" |
|
| Title: Re: Lamictal, here I come |
06 Jun 2006 06:32:51 PM |
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algernon wrote:
So I went to the pdoc -- the real deal this time, not just someone
covered by my crappy insurance. He spent a long time talking about the
history of my mood swings and so forth and came to the conclusion that
I don't have bipolar, but rather atypical depression. Basically, it
sounded an awful lot like bipolar in that the mood swings are so
erratic, but I don't get the benefit of "highs." What a rip! At most, I
get good or OK days. No great days. ;-) I'm kidding -- I don't want
bipolar. Just trying to keep my humor intact.
I do have a couple of family members who either definitely have bipolar
or might have had it. My mom, who died when I was 12 of cancer, used to
rearrange entire rooms in the middle of the night all by herself. It
was an endearing trait, actually. This 4'11" lady didn't just move a
couch here and there; she'd swap entire bedrooms. But she also had fits
of rage, I remember. Losing a parent is naturally tough, but as I'm
getting older, I'm realizing it's also tough losing that glimpse into
your family history. I wish I could talk to her to find out if she had
what I have ... though I don't go through rage spurts.
Anyhow, because of this family history, the doc says I might be
resistent to normal ADs. I'd used Serzone a few years back and don't
remember any great change. I really believe my current Lexapro regiment
is actually giving me suicidal thoughts, because I can directly tie the
darkest thoughts to around the time I upped from 10 mg to 20 mg. So
we're trying Lamictal. I've read about the scary rash and will
definitely keep an eye out. Other than that, I've read postings here
about it, and it seems fairly promising. Doc also nixed my Xanax in
favor of Klonopin, which I'm happy about. I think I was getting a
little addicted to the X. I started the Klonopin today and, after
that's in my system for about four days, I'm to SLOWLY begin the
Lamictal. Wish me luck.
A
Good luck, keep typing
.
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| User: "Franz Bestuchev" |
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| Title: Re: Lamictal, here I come |
06 Jun 2006 07:55:56 PM |
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algernon wrote:
So I went to the pdoc -- the real deal this time, not just someone
covered by my crappy insurance. He spent a long time talking about the
history of my mood swings and so forth and came to the conclusion that
I don't have bipolar, but rather atypical depression. Basically, it
sounded an awful lot like bipolar in that the mood swings are so
erratic, but I don't get the benefit of "highs." What a rip! At most, I
get good or OK days. No great days. ;-) I'm kidding -- I don't want
bipolar. Just trying to keep my humor intact.
I do have a couple of family members who either definitely have bipolar
or might have had it. My mom, who died when I was 12 of cancer, used to
rearrange entire rooms in the middle of the night all by herself. It
was an endearing trait, actually. This 4'11" lady didn't just move a
couch here and there; she'd swap entire bedrooms. But she also had fits
of rage, I remember. Losing a parent is naturally tough, but as I'm
getting older, I'm realizing it's also tough losing that glimpse into
your family history. I wish I could talk to her to find out if she had
what I have ... though I don't go through rage spurts.
Anyhow, because of this family history, the doc says I might be
resistent to normal ADs. I'd used Serzone a few years back and don't
remember any great change. I really believe my current Lexapro regiment
is actually giving me suicidal thoughts, because I can directly tie the
darkest thoughts to around the time I upped from 10 mg to 20 mg. So
we're trying Lamictal. I've read about the scary rash and will
definitely keep an eye out. Other than that, I've read postings here
about it, and it seems fairly promising. Doc also nixed my Xanax in
favor of Klonopin, which I'm happy about. I think I was getting a
little addicted to the X. I started the Klonopin today and, after
that's in my system for about four days, I'm to SLOWLY begin the
Lamictal. Wish me luck.
A
I went at half of the already slow drug mfg schedule. I really, really
wanted it to work and I'd gotten a lot of other issues with other drugs.
Not physical interactions but lots of stuff like major rage from jumping
fully into Risperdal.
It took a goodly amount of time, but I began to notice slow changes. At
first I noticed it was easier for me to return to center after getting
upset. Now I can feel more of a "center" to rest/return upon. I get
upset to a much lesser degree. It's a lot faster for me to settle.
One of the best things I've come across in my psych med travels.
.
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| User: "algernon" |
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| Title: Re: Lamictal, here I come |
06 Jun 2006 08:07:08 PM |
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Hey, thanks for the response. How long have you been on it now? What
dose are you at? Just curious -- why did you go at half-pace? I know
the risks of dosing up too quickly. Were you on another med that
required you to go even slower?
I hope you don't mind me being nosy. I'm antsy to start this. They want
me on the Klonopin for a few days and I'm itching to get moving on the
Lamictal because it already is going to take so long to see if it
works. That said, I'll follow the doctor's orders. Last thing I need is
a deadly friggin' rash. ;-P I mean, seriously, drugs can always kill
you somehow, but a RASH! A rash!? Come on! That just sounds like a
humiliating way to die.
Kidding ...
Franz Bestuchev wrote:
algernon wrote:
So I went to the pdoc -- the real deal this time, not just someone
covered by my crappy insurance. He spent a long time talking about the
history of my mood swings and so forth and came to the conclusion that
I don't have bipolar, but rather atypical depression. Basically, it
sounded an awful lot like bipolar in that the mood swings are so
erratic, but I don't get the benefit of "highs." What a rip! At most, I
get good or OK days. No great days. ;-) I'm kidding -- I don't want
bipolar. Just trying to keep my humor intact.
I do have a couple of family members who either definitely have bipolar
or might have had it. My mom, who died when I was 12 of cancer, used to
rearrange entire rooms in the middle of the night all by herself. It
was an endearing trait, actually. This 4'11" lady didn't just move a
couch here and there; she'd swap entire bedrooms. But she also had fits
of rage, I remember. Losing a parent is naturally tough, but as I'm
getting older, I'm realizing it's also tough losing that glimpse into
your family history. I wish I could talk to her to find out if she had
what I have ... though I don't go through rage spurts.
Anyhow, because of this family history, the doc says I might be
resistent to normal ADs. I'd used Serzone a few years back and don't
remember any great change. I really believe my current Lexapro regiment
is actually giving me suicidal thoughts, because I can directly tie the
darkest thoughts to around the time I upped from 10 mg to 20 mg. So
we're trying Lamictal. I've read about the scary rash and will
definitely keep an eye out. Other than that, I've read postings here
about it, and it seems fairly promising. Doc also nixed my Xanax in
favor of Klonopin, which I'm happy about. I think I was getting a
little addicted to the X. I started the Klonopin today and, after
that's in my system for about four days, I'm to SLOWLY begin the
Lamictal. Wish me luck.
A
I went at half of the already slow drug mfg schedule. I really, really
wanted it to work and I'd gotten a lot of other issues with other drugs.
Not physical interactions but lots of stuff like major rage from jumping
fully into Risperdal.
It took a goodly amount of time, but I began to notice slow changes. At
first I noticed it was easier for me to return to center after getting
upset. Now I can feel more of a "center" to rest/return upon. I get
upset to a much lesser degree. It's a lot faster for me to settle.
One of the best things I've come across in my psych med travels.
.
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| User: "Franz Bestuchev" |
|
| Title: Re: Lamictal, here I come |
06 Jun 2006 11:07:34 PM |
|
|
algernon wrote:
Hey, thanks for the response. How long have you been on it now? What
dose are you at? Just curious -- why did you go at half-pace? I know
the risks of dosing up too quickly. Were you on another med that
required you to go even slower?
I hope you don't mind me being nosy. I'm antsy to start this. They want
me on the Klonopin for a few days and I'm itching to get moving on the
Lamictal because it already is going to take so long to see if it
works. That said, I'll follow the doctor's orders. Last thing I need is
a deadly friggin' rash. ;-P I mean, seriously, drugs can always kill
you somehow, but a RASH! A rash!? Come on! That just sounds like a
humiliating way to die.
Kidding ...
Franz Bestuchev wrote:
algernon wrote:
So I went to the pdoc -- the real deal this time, not just someone
covered by my crappy insurance. He spent a long time talking about the
history of my mood swings and so forth and came to the conclusion that
I don't have bipolar, but rather atypical depression. Basically, it
sounded an awful lot like bipolar in that the mood swings are so
erratic, but I don't get the benefit of "highs." What a rip! At most, I
get good or OK days. No great days. ;-) I'm kidding -- I don't want
bipolar. Just trying to keep my humor intact.
I do have a couple of family members who either definitely have bipolar
or might have had it. My mom, who died when I was 12 of cancer, used to
rearrange entire rooms in the middle of the night all by herself. It
was an endearing trait, actually. This 4'11" lady didn't just move a
couch here and there; she'd swap entire bedrooms. But she also had fits
of rage, I remember. Losing a parent is naturally tough, but as I'm
getting older, I'm realizing it's also tough losing that glimpse into
your family history. I wish I could talk to her to find out if she had
what I have ... though I don't go through rage spurts.
Anyhow, because of this family history, the doc says I might be
resistent to normal ADs. I'd used Serzone a few years back and don't
remember any great change. I really believe my current Lexapro regiment
is actually giving me suicidal thoughts, because I can directly tie the
darkest thoughts to around the time I upped from 10 mg to 20 mg. So
we're trying Lamictal. I've read about the scary rash and will
definitely keep an eye out. Other than that, I've read postings here
about it, and it seems fairly promising. Doc also nixed my Xanax in
favor of Klonopin, which I'm happy about. I think I was getting a
little addicted to the X. I started the Klonopin today and, after
that's in my system for about four days, I'm to SLOWLY begin the
Lamictal. Wish me luck.
A
I went at half of the already slow drug mfg schedule. I really, really
wanted it to work and I'd gotten a lot of other issues with other drugs.
Not physical interactions but lots of stuff like major rage from jumping
fully into Risperdal.
It took a goodly amount of time, but I began to notice slow changes. At
first I noticed it was easier for me to return to center after getting
upset. Now I can feel more of a "center" to rest/return upon. I get
upset to a much lesser degree. It's a lot faster for me to settle.
One of the best things I've come across in my psych med travels.
(I'm posting at the bottom because it makes the world an easier place to
read, a point of etiquette)
I went slowly because I had nothing to lose. None of the other drugs had
worked for me, and I wanted to be able to get a feel for the drug so
that I would be able to determine the most effective dose. I wasn't
concerned about the rash and I'm not going to go into that. SJ is too
unpredictable and to strongly associate it with Lamictal is absurd.
I wanted to be able to assess the effects of the drug in a more in-depth
manner. When you're trying to chase the demons out of your mind there's
too much temptation for the more=better mentality to take hold. I try to
take as detached a view as possible when judging medication. I've had to
do a LOT of research and learn a lot of the neurochemistry world. My Dr.
can't spend hours every week on this like I can. Lamictal is just one of
many drugs that I've adjusted the doseage schedule on.
Each mind is so different that it amazes me. For some people then the
beginning dose is twice as much as they need. Therefore they feel sick
and abandon the medication, when it otherwise would have been excellent
for them.
There are no shortcuts in medicine. I've found a drug regimen that has
me feeling better now than at any point in the last 15+ years. It took
me a bit short of 5 years to get it right though.
I know the tricks so I could probably do it quicker if I had to start
over. There are unavoidable waiting spells.
.
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