My boyfriend has been on countless medications throughout his entire life, most recent one was Lamictal. He started to develop a skin rash so the doctor took him off. My boyfriend said that for temporary relief of depression yoga classes seemed to help him somewhat. Right now we're trying acupunture and meditation because so far, we've seemed to have run out of drug options that don't have serious long-term side effects (for example, if you're on Lithium for too long or too high of a dose you can expect to develop diabetes and/or damage to your thyroid).
Besides alternative methods another option to try is to find several drugs that work for you and keep rotating those drug regimens so you won't have long-term side effects.
As far as Lamictal goes, here's what I found in on-line drug references for health professionals: AHFS Drug Information 2007, Mosby's Drug Consult, and ACP's Pier -- The Physician's Information and Drug Resource.
Brand Name: Lamictal
Generic Name: Lamotrigine
FDA Approval Date: 1994-12-01
Drug Class: Anticonvulsants (most drugs used for bipolar nowdays are anticonvulsants)
Pregnancy Category: C (means caution is advised when used by a pregnant woman. Best to avoid it if you can)
Uses: bipolar affective disorder, partial seizures, Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome
Off Label Uses: bipolar disorder, epilepsy
*Please be advised that it has a boxed warning -- this medication may cause a serious rash, including Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. If you're using this medication, and notice ANY signs of rash, immediately call your health care provider.*
Dosage form: 1) Oral tablets: 25-mg (white color), 100-mg (peach), 150-mg (cream), and 200-mg (blue) tablets. Significant excipient: lactose
2) Chewable dispersible tablets: 2 mg (white), 5 mg (white) or 25 mg (white)
Mechanism of Action: unknown (they are not sure how this medication exerts its effect in people with bipolar disorder)
Clearance: Valproate decreases clearance of Lamotrigine (this means that if you're taking Valproate and Lamotrigine at the same time, you should be getting a reduced dosage of Lamotrigine. AHFS recommends reducing the dose of lamotrigine by 50%).
Carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital, and primidone increase the clearance of Lamotrigine (this means if you're taking Lamotrigine with any of these drugs, you doctor should increase Lamotrigine dosage).
Also tell your doctor if you're using oral contraceptives.
Tell your doctor if you have kidney, liver, or heart disease.
Usually the doctor will start you off on a low dosage and slowly work it up to the dosage where he/she wants you to be. This is in order to avoid the development of a skin rash. For this kind of treatment to succeed, it is crucial to adhere to the prescribed regimen and not miss any doses, especially in the beginning.
Talked to your doctor about hypersensitivity reaction before starting the medication -- a rare but serious event. Symptoms may include fever, swollen lymph nodes, etc.
For more information on standard dosage guidelines, common and rare side effects, how to take the medication and other information you can consult
[url]WWW.EPOCRATES.COM[/url] Type in search box either lamictal or lamotrigine. The first half of the page that shows up is mainly for health professionals (indications on how to dose the medication and that sort of thing) but the second half of the page has a wealth of information that you might find of interest.
Hope this helped.
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