Hi everyone! I have only been diagnosed with bipolar disorder for about a year. I also have a lot of depression. my current meds are wellbutrin sr 150 mg twice a day, topamax100 mg twice a day & lamictal 25 mg. I have only been on the lamictal for a week after 2 weeks I am supposed to bump it up to twice a day. That was switched from celexa 20 mg. The reason I was switched from celexa to the lamictal was because of the i had heard there was alot less side effects on the lamictal. My problem is is since I switched I have noticed myself being alot more emotional, not having the rapid moodswings, just crying at the littlest things & feeling down. Will this improve when I adjust to the meds or do I need to go back on a med that is more for depression? Please help!
Welcome to the boards. Lamictal takes quite a while to build up to a therapeutic dose in your body, like a couple of months. So your moods are probably just out of whack because of the mood stabilizer switch. Lamictal is a very good drug and once you get used to it, it should do it's job very very well. You just have to hang in there and get through the activation stage. Another thing with lamictal it can cause insomnia in some people so you may consider taking it in the morning or mid-morning.
Thanks so much Kat!! I am definately going to stick it out because I have heard so many wonderful things about this medicine & I want it to work so bad!
Keep coming here, there are so many people that can support you and lift you up in the tough times. I know it's hard to ride out the bad times, but you'll get through them and hopefully on the other end you'll find stability and happiness. Even if you need to just vent or yell or whatever, that's what we're here for. It's alot easier to talk with those of us who know what each other are going through.
Are you seeing a tdoc (therapist)? If not, you may want to consider it. I've been seeing a tdoc for the past 1.5 years and he has been instrumental in educating me about bipolar. If it weren't for him, I'd still be living in the land of confusion as far as bipolar is concerned.
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Atypical Bipolar I Disorder with Rapid Cycling
Meds:
Depakote 1500mg
Prozac 40mg
Risperdal 1mg titrating to 6mg/day
Klonopin .5mg (2x/day)
Trazodone 100mg or 200mg PRN
No. although I am sure I need to. I have seen a few therapist in the past but none of them ever picked up on it. I was actually diagnosed by my PCP. After being told by someone else that I couldn't be bipolar because i didnt have the extreme highs, just the depression & mood swings, & being treated for PMDD, my PCP swooped in on his white horse and explained that I was bipolar because there are different levels. That was a joyous day being diagnosed, as strange as that sounds, because after years of looking for the answer, I finally knew what was wrong with me. He started ne on meds right away and my husband and I both breathed a sigh of relief. So i really have just had the problem of finding the right meds without the side effects that I go to my PCP for. I guess what this long , drawn out, off the topic post is trying to say is the meds pretty much control my moods so I see no reason why I should go see a therapist. I am sure there are other benefits as well but I live in a podunk town where there is like 1 private 1 or the Mental health. Sorry for the ramblin post. did I mention it is 3:30 am and i cant sleep? Side effect of the new med?
Hi everyone! I have only been diagnosed with bipolar disorder for about a year. I also have a lot of depression. my current meds are wellbutrin sr 150 mg twice a day, topamax100 mg twice a day & lamictal 25 mg. I have only been on the lamictal for a week after 2 weeks I am supposed to bump it up to twice a day. That was switched from celexa 20 mg. The reason I was switched from celexa to the lamictal was because of the i had heard there was alot less side effects on the lamictal. My problem is is since I switched I have noticed myself being alot more emotional, not having the rapid moodswings, just crying at the littlest things & feeling down. Will this improve when I adjust to the meds or do I need to go back on a med that is more for depression? Please help!
welcome to the boards, lots of great help here. give new meds a chance to work for a while and if after a couple of months you don't feel any improvement talk to your pdoc again. as kat said sometimes lamictal can take a while to work but also it can take a while to get to the right combination of meds that suit you. talk to us here any time.
No. although I am sure I need to. I have seen a few therapist in the past but none of them ever picked up on it. I was actually diagnosed by my PCP. After being told by someone else that I couldn't be bipolar because i didnt have the extreme highs, just the depression & mood swings, & being treated for PMDD, my PCP swooped in on his white horse and explained that I was bipolar because there are different levels. That was a joyous day being diagnosed, as strange as that sounds, because after years of looking for the answer, I finally knew what was wrong with me. He started ne on meds right away and my husband and I both breathed a sigh of relief. So i really have just had the problem of finding the right meds without the side effects that I go to my PCP for. I guess what this long , drawn out, off the topic post is trying to say is the meds pretty much control my moods so I see no reason why I should go see a therapist. I am sure there are other benefits as well but I live in a podunk town where there is like 1 private 1 or the Mental health. Sorry for the ramblin post. did I mention it is 3:30 am and i cant sleep? Side effect of the new med?
Lamictal is primarily prescribed for bipolar depression, so even if you wouldn't have been prescribed this med as opposed to Celexa, you still would have been taking a med that is designed to treat depression.
As for the last question in your post, it is quite possible that Lamictal could be causiing sleep difficulties since this is a common side effect of this med.
You mentioned that your GP diagnosed you with bipolar. I would recommend that you see a pdoc (psychiatrist) since many GPs are not fully informed about bipolar nor do they fully understand how meds for bipolar work.
Having said that, your GP is correct about there being milder forms of bipolar.
The mildest form is called cyclothymia. This is where a person experiences mild hypomania and mild depression.
The next mildest form is bipolar II where a person experiences hypomania and depression.
The most severe type is bipolar 1 where people have full blown manic episodes as well as severe depression. I have bipolar 1, but my bipolar falls more on the manic side except during the autumn/winter months when I'm 80% depressed and 20% manic.
__________________
Atypical Bipolar I Disorder with Rapid Cycling
Meds:
Depakote 1500mg
Prozac 40mg
Risperdal 1mg titrating to 6mg/day
Klonopin .5mg (2x/day)
Trazodone 100mg or 200mg PRN
