Hi searching,
I was started on 25 mg. She bumped me up to 50mg and I felt a bit manic. I take Wellbutrin, too. I've been on the 50mg for over a month and it sort of fizzled out. I imagine now she will take me down from the Wellbutrin and go up a tad more on the Lamictal. I need happy stability. My doc is being very conservative as I have had some issues with meds and mania in the past. There was about a two week stretch of time that I felt like the Lamictal sort of enhanced the Wellbutrin; but, that went away. Now, I am okay; but, have dull days again. I think it depends on the person what the optimal dosage for response is. I didn't even know how I would feel off of the Lamictal, didn't know what to expect. She said maybe some mild sedation. Far from that!
Lucinda

Well, she moved me up to 75mg today. She's keeping me on the Wellbutrin for now. After a week if I am okay on the 75, I will go down 200mg of the Wellbutrin. I feel okay from this small dose bump up. I just think that it's ridiculous to continue to take a med that barely works anymore (Wellbutrin). I just have to wait and see if the Lamictal was enhancing the Wellbutrin. When I take away 200mg and start feeling depressed again, then I know that the Lamictal works best with it and will stay on 400mg. I may have been manic when I was on 50mg just because I was; not from the medication. It's a possiblity, I'm just not 100% stabile yet.
Ciao for now!
Lucinda

Hi Searching and Lucinda,

I started on Lamictal over three years ago, and I think it took me about six weeks to see improvement in my mood as well. It's hard to say because it's been a while, but I'm fairly sure it was around six weeks. I can't answer as to gradually feeling better afterwards because the pdoc I had at the time seemed to like to put me on more meds than I needed, so I didn't see more improvement until a year later when I dropped the other meds on my own.

Right now I just started taking Lamictal again, and I've been seeing an improvement in mood after only 2 1/2 weeks. I'm on a combination of Lamictal and Lexapro (20 mg).

I'm starting to feel a little bit what this medication is suppose to do. She will move me up in mg in a few more weeks. The constant singing and racing thoughts in my head are calming down. It was like I had this backround song going in my head all the time. Music that I listen to, that is. I feel a little more focused and can look my boss dead in the eye better. I was trying to hide my mania and was afraid people would figure it out. I will stay on the 400mg Wellbutrin. The other thing I noticed is that the Lamictal is starting to expound the effects of the Klonepin, which I thought I built a tolerance to. I can go all day without taking the Klonepin and have been using it at night just for sleep. So far, just a little nausea about two hours after I take the Lamictal; but, that's it. I hope I do well on this because I don't want to go back to depakote or tegretol.
Lucinda

Ive been on 100mg of lamictal and 150 mg of welbutrin for about 2 months now. I have to say I am feeling ALOT better. My mood swings have lessened tremendously and don't find myself getting so angry over things that I used to..my depression is definitely better overall. I just dont know which drug is working the best or maybe its just the combination of them both together. So far so good...
But I have to say its taken me a good 6-8 weeks to get here. I hope your feeling better soon! I think giving it time is the key.

Lucinda,
Wow...I was just looking up some info on lamictal and came across this site - what a help! I was really shocked when I saw that someone else was on nearly the exact same cocktail as me - wellbutrin, lamictal and clonapin - and had vivid nightmares...and days of just crazy anger and irritation with anything that moves or doesn't move. I just wanted to thank you for sharing. I just started lamictal a month or so ago, I didn't really notice a huge difference although I'm not crying as much so maybe it's working...I just have been so incredibly irritable as to be ridiculous. I loved your hole story - I'm only at peace when I'm doing crossword puzzles w/the tv on. I didn't think anyone could even have the same symptoms...sounds silly now saying that outloud. When you say look your boss in the eye - I have a problem where if I look someone in the eye I start to think about looking them in the eye - and then which eye do I look at it? And is it weird to look at just one and do they think so? So I move from one eye to the other - they sometimes follow then I keep thinking about it and on and on my mind goes until I'm almost in a panic and looking at one eye and then the other and so on until I know they think I'm a total weirdo...it's a bizarre feeling but once that thought pattern gets started in my head I'm stuck with it - I can't pretend to be a normal person who is just looking someone in the eye talking to them...not all the time at least... My problem is that prozac worked the best - but came at a horrible price of 6 dress sizes in 6 months, so I had to quit it. I've tried wellbutrin on and off since then, I'm on 450 right now, it seems to be innocuous. I guess I almost need to be off the medicine for awhile to evaluate if it's even working or not - it's hard for me to pay enough attention to the day to day to realize whether or not it's working, I tend to be too busy to really notice or remember what I felt like a week ago, I just deal with today today. I'm concerned about this rash a bit as my back has been itching a bit lately and there's some small reddish spots but they don't look like any of the pictures I've seen of rashes...I take my lamictal and clonapin right before bed to both keep the nightmares away, and to be able to fall asleep. It works pretty good on the nightmares although there are times when it just fails and once the nightmare gets started that night, it goes all out, I really hate that. It's hard to explain to someone, usually they are so terrible I can recall them and then I dwell on them all day which is nice... Anyway, I'll stop now, I just wanted to thank you for sharing and say I'll check back too and see how you're doing on the lamictal and share my feelings about it too. Thank you!

Yea, I know what you mean about nightmares. I can now take all my prescribed Klonepin at night. I don't have the need for it during the day and it's the Lamictal that has helped in this regard. Plus, Klonepin is another anti-convulsant; so, the combo is really sedating. I also take a small dose of Risperadone, sometimes during the day or night. It really has a positive, mood elevating effect on me and I am able to function better on the Risperadone/Lamictal combo during the day.
All in all, it's been a much better cocktail of meds than what I have been prescribed in the past. I guess it takes a while to find the right combo. But, as far as the mania is concerned when I started Lamictal, I just think that I was truly manic and it had nothing to do with the drug itself. I could feel myself getting more and more manic over the past 8 months or so and that is what prompted me to ask my pdoc to try Lamictal. I think I did so just in time. I am ready to move up in dosage; I have no side effects and am very pleased with the results. I feel more like myself and can let things roll off my back a little easier. It's hard to hide mania when you are dealing directly with people each day at work. I don't want anybody to know about my mental illness.
Take care and I'll keep you posted.
Lucinda

I've been taking Lamictal for 2 days now and today I already felt better. My mood was definitely more balanced. I'm a little surprised to be feeling better so soon. Hopefully its not a fluke. Monday, Tuesday and some of Wednesday I felt suicidal. Today (Thursday) I feel so much better. I'm also taking 40mg of adderall during the day for ADD and narcolepsy. Maybe they're enhancing each other. I don't know, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

FULL effectiveness???...

it's hard to remember. i've taken the stuff for roughly 4 years, and love it. my doc considers it to be the cornerstone of my treatment.

it started working right away, and i mean right away. my brain felt an electricity. i reported it, and he said not to worry about it, and that it means it is working and some patients do experience it, and that i'll probably be a fast responder.

it took about 2 months to reach 100mg, and then it was working great. i still needed more, but i could see a LOT of improvement.

it took until 4 months or so to reach 400mg, where i'm at now. this is my happy dose. i had to go this high for my maximum improvement to be reached, but it has been.

i'd say look at a lot of improvement around where you are now, around 6 weeks. that's just my experience and opinion. your body is different from mine of course, so you may have a far different experience.

i hope it works out for you!

-- loon

Hi,

I've been taking Brand Name Lamictal for 5 weeks. I did the starter pack, starting at 25mg and reached 100mg two weeks ago. Lamictal started working for me within 4 days. I went from suicidal depression (had recently been released from the hospital following my fourth major suicide attempt over the last 15 years) to waking up feeling FINE! I have stayed that way since.

I am also taking generic Wellbutrin, Bupropion HCL at 100mg twice a day. I have been on Bupropion by itself for almost two years, and besides helping me quit smoking , possibly increasing my energy a bit, and improving my tendency to binge on carbohydrates -- it has not helped with depression. I have been taking antidepressants on and off for 10 years and they have never helped for long. Sometimes they just made me feel like a fat apathetic zombie. I have two other family members diagnosed with bipolar disorder (most likely type II) and I finally feel like I have an answer to why my depression seemed untreatable and why I can be doing great for a while, just to keep watching my life go down the tubes over and over (broken relationships, quitting good jobs, laying in bed for many many months at a time watching tv).

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a teenager but dismissed it because I only knew about bipolar I, which I KNEW was not my experience at all. It was only recently that I learned about Type II. Another family member takes Lamictal so I gave it a shot and VOILA! I feel better! I am still not sure if I should stay on the Bupropion. For now, I am not going to mess with it. My question to you, my kindred spirits who have also struggled with this terrible affliction, is this: What is your experience switching from Brand Name Lamictal to Generic Lamotrigine?

I took my first dose of Generic last night and woke up with a lousy headache and feeling groggy this morning. I am afraid of any changes because the Lamictal has been working so well. Also, I attribute my recovery to the Lamictal, but I should also mention that I started taking a TRUCK LOAD of vitamins, minerals and fatty acids at the same time, as well as quiting alcohol, caffeine, and doing circadian rhythm therapy (using blue light glasses at 9pm every night and bright light at 7am every morning). So it is hard to know what is helping the most (as well as the added complication of having bipolar disorder which can make you pop out of depression on its own!)

That all said, I feel in my gut it is the Lamictal. If anyone wants any more information on my supplement regimen just let me know. I am happy to share more about it. Thanks for reading. I don't know any of you, but I feel in a way I do. My heart goes out to each and every person who suffers from depression and bipolar disorder. It is a difficult road to say the least. I wish you all the best on your journey toward health and lasting happiness. Much love!