Hey I have been taking 25 mg a day for a week. Yesterday I took 4 of those (straight from taking 1 the day before) and it didn't feel any heavier than before. I know it was a crazy risk but I think it proofs I´m less sensitive to it than the norm. No swelling in the throat or breaking out on the skin. (the two my doc mentioned).

I´m not saying I will now take 4 a day but I was wondering if I could built up in maybe 2x faster. That would mean I would start taking 2 a day now for a week, then 3 for a week... and so on. Ive always had a good tolerance for drugs.

I mean wouldn't I have had bad side effects right away when jumping to 4 if it would be too much?

No, you wouldn't necessarily have side effects right away. Lamictal must be increased slowly over a p;eriod of time. If not, you can get some serious side effects, a couple of which can make you really sick and put you in the hospital and last a long time.

Please don't mess with your meds. Only under a doctor's instruction should you ever alter your medications. Self-medicating is dangerous.

So please get in touch with your doctor before you go beyond the 25 mg. You might be able to speed up the schedule a bit, but your body has to get used to Lamictal gradually.

You're playing with your health and perhaps your life here.

Seaturtle is right. Lamictal is one of those meds that NEEDS to be built up slowly. It is really important so as to try to avoid the bad rash that can occur with this medication. I know it is tempting to mess with your meds on your own, but in my experience it has never had a good outcome. I hope you will call your pdoc about this and ask about your dosing schedule. Stay well! :)

Somehow I doubt taking 2 pills after a week could be life threatening.

We are talking about building up in over a month instead of 2. Yes I understand it has a higher risk of side effects but I don't believe I could end up in the hospital.

Btw if I would get side effects I would change my mind right away.

Update... I have been taking 2 a day now for 4 days. Doesn't feel any heavier and no bad side effects. I appreciate the warnings but I´m gonna continue with the plan to build up in 5 weeks instead of 10. I'm pretty sure I would feel something negative by now if I couldn't handle it.

So when Ive finished 7 days of taking 2 I´ll go up to 3.

Obviously no one here can tell you what to do with your meds, but I too warn you to be very cautious and at least inform your doctor of your intentions to do this. I went from 25 mg. to 100 mg. in 5 weeks under my doctors care, and then from 100 to 150 in a week and 150 to 200 in one week, so 7 weeks total to go from 25 to 200. Not sure what the dose you are aiming to get to is, but please be careful with this drug. The side effects can be deadly.

Well I´m suppose to reach 200 mg and then wait and see how that works out. My doc made a plan to reach that in 12 weeks which I have now changed down to 6 weeks (not 5 like I said above).

Still going fine and it feels exactly the same as the first day I took just one. But like I said before I´ll slow down if that changes. I know my body well and I've always handled medication well (and usually also need a higher dosage than the average).

My son is 13. He is on Lamictal and Abilify, he is ADD and BP. He has been on the Lamictal for almost 5 weeks. The first 2 weeks he took 25mg once a day, week 3 it went up to 50mg, for wk. 4 also. then in wk. 5 he will be on 100mg. We were also told that it needed to by upped GRADUALLY. It can cause a serious rash, that can put you in the hospital and could be life threatning. they said this can be caused by not gradually increasing the doses.

Be very careful with meds. you won't see side affects right away, and once you see them, they don't just disappear by stopping the med. either

Actually, even those who have been on lamictal for a while, even years, can suddenly have a reaction. I've been told to even look at my gums everyday for a rash just to be sure. A rash from lamictal can be very dangerous. My doc has told me that the rash can spread and be just as dangerous as 3rd degree burns. Lamictal rashes have been know to be deadly. It is more likely that you can have a reaction to the medication at any time, not just immediately following a larger dose, if you don't allow the medication to slowly build up in your system. Just be careful. I love lamictal personally. It has completely changed my life. I feel almost, dare I say, normal.

Yes I understand it has a higher risk of side effects but I don't believe I could end up in the hospital..

Not only could you end up in the hospital, you could end up dead.

Lamictal is not a drug that you can play around with. Here is a link to the prescribing information that is given to doctors. You might want to have a look at it:
http://www.fda.gov/cder/foi/label/2006/020241s10s21s25s26s27,020764s3s14s18s19s 20lbl.pdf

I would never dare mess with any of my bipolar medications. They can cause any number of serious complications if not monitored by your pdoctor. Strokes, seizures death etc. Some irreversible and not worth any risk. I wouldn't want to be in a wheelchair unable to do anything for myself. What a life. I'm not trying to scare you it's reality. Do what you want to, but it would be good if you talked it over with your pdoctor Sassy:o

Hi Ice: If you felt good on the first day, with just one why is the doc saying to go up? Lamitcal works good for me, but in the winter I need to adjust. I go down in the summer. I started doing this becasue I was up to 400. Max is 600. I am now on 350. I don't know what I would do with out this drug.
Jeane

I tried to do what you're doing. My arm broke out in a rash on the third week. I backed down to what the starter pack recommended and the rash went away in a few days. Since then I stayed on 100mg for several months due to having good results, then went to 150, and am now on 300 (actually went from 150 to 300 in 2 weeks). Only problem I've had is some seriously itchy dry winter skin! The worse dry winter skin I've ever encountered. No rash though! I have been on it 1 year now and it is a wonderful BP medication. Tom

When I say "good" I meant it didn't feel heavier in the head or new side effects. I wasn't talking about a difference considering my bipolar, usually it takes 2-3 months to feel a change.

I was on 25 mg and now I'm on 50 mg.