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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by kaleidoscope on April 12, 2008, at 12:08:26
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal » llurpsienoodle, posted by Quintal on April 12, 2008, at 9:55:57
>I think they do have a titration pack here, but pdocs don't seem to use it.
There is one, yes, but it's not much used (by anyone) - nor is it necessary since it's just as easy to prescribe some 25mg tablets generically. The titration pack is only available as 'Lamictal' so it's a waste of money anyway. Most people are started as per the SPC eg. 25mg/day for two weeks then 50mg/day for two weeks then 100mg/day etc. It might be a good idea to titrate even more gradually in your case.
Posted by Quintal on April 12, 2008, at 12:54:52
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal » Quintal, posted by kaleidoscope on April 12, 2008, at 12:08:26
The tablets I got this time were brand name Lamictal anyway, so it wouldn't have mattered. At least I'd have got the right dosage! I did get a generic lamotrigine a few times , APA or APS I think, and some Spanish strawberry-flavoured orodispersible ones, but mostly it was GSK Lamitcal.
Q
Posted by kaleidoscope on April 12, 2008, at 13:32:16
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal » kaleidoscope, posted by Quintal on April 12, 2008, at 12:54:52
Hi Q
APS/TEVA is widely used, so is Alpharma. Good look with Lamictal!
Posted by Quintal on April 12, 2008, at 17:50:13
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal » Quintal, posted by llurpsieNoOdle on April 12, 2008, at 10:01:29
Ooh!!! I think I might be allergic to the blue colourant in the lorazepam tablets... just took 0.5mg and my hives are itching like crazy. Come to think of it, I'd just taken a lorazepam tablet the morning they appeared. I've taken a Piriton, so I hope this settles down before I go to bed.
Q
Posted by Phillipa on April 12, 2008, at 19:49:39
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal, posted by Quintal on April 12, 2008, at 17:50:13
Q hope mystery solved. Another brand perhaps? Phillipa
Posted by Quintal on April 12, 2008, at 20:09:32
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal » Quintal, posted by Phillipa on April 12, 2008, at 19:49:39
Yeah, that would be a good idea, but I don't think I'll be getting any more any time soon. I'm up hoovering my floors in the middle of the night - neighbours clean their coal fire out between 5-6:00AM every morning and make a huge racket that wakes me up, so I don't care if noise of hoovering wakes them up. Serves them right :-) Had two cans of lager in addition to lorazepam and zopiclone and am feeling fine.
Q
Posted by Phillipa on April 12, 2008, at 20:46:32
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal » Phillipa, posted by Quintal on April 12, 2008, at 20:09:32
Q you've been up all night? Or you're planning to be? Must still be very cold there. Well cold front hitting here tonight. No mania right? Love Phillipa
Posted by llurpsienoodle on April 12, 2008, at 20:57:15
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal » Phillipa, posted by Quintal on April 12, 2008, at 20:09:32
Q, I have a lot of house to clean. again, I kindly extend the invitation... I'll cook for you. I dunno about lager, but you can have a cocktail while you whistle while you work?
how long you've been up for? since 5 am?
Posted by elanor roosevelt on April 12, 2008, at 21:59:18
In reply to Starting Lamictal, posted by Quintal on April 11, 2008, at 12:02:41
i'm on week 3 of 25mg
and successfully stabilized at a mood called angry
Posted by undopaminergic on April 13, 2008, at 2:14:25
In reply to Starting Lamictal, posted by Quintal on April 11, 2008, at 12:02:41
> I'm really not happy about that, but I'm afraid of being perceived as 'difficult' if I don't take the dose he has prescribed. This is what held me back from saying anything during the appointment.
>If you think it will matter, just tell him what he wants to hear. I agree with everyone else that 50 mg is too much to start with and that 100 mg on day 2 is way too much too soon.
Posted by Quintal on April 13, 2008, at 19:39:31
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal » Quintal, posted by Phillipa on April 12, 2008, at 20:46:32
No, I was only up until 3, then slept like a baby until this afternoon. Took 11.25mg Zopiclone and 1mg lorazepam though. I don't know what I'm going to do tonight. Lamitcal is giving me a lot of background energy, it's like there's a light on in my head that won't go off.
Q
Posted by Quintal on April 13, 2008, at 19:49:27
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal » Quintal, posted by llurpsienoodle on April 12, 2008, at 20:57:15
I was actually thinking of hiring one myself. I'd forgotten my mother used to have one, then I took over, or was trained to, and did it for free.
http://www.nakedcleaners.co.uk/
I'm thinking of going for either Dynamite or Skipper.
Q
Posted by Quintal on April 13, 2008, at 20:05:38
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal, posted by elanor roosevelt on April 12, 2008, at 21:59:18
Good luck with it too! I'm feeling less irritable and angry already. I was putting some blinds up today and the screw wouldn't go in. Normally I would have wanted to smash the ***** thing through the window, but Lamictal pacified me to a certain extent.
Q
Posted by Quintal on April 13, 2008, at 20:07:24
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal, posted by undopaminergic on April 13, 2008, at 2:14:25
Yeah, I may just say I've been taking the dose he prescribed. It's working well at 25mg anyway, so it's not as if I'm delaying the therapeutic effect by taking a lower dose.
Q
Posted by kaleidoscope on April 14, 2008, at 15:25:32
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal » llurpsienoodle, posted by Quintal on April 13, 2008, at 19:49:27
Dynamite or Skipper lol
I looked at the pics!
Posted by Phillipa on April 14, 2008, at 17:36:19
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal » Quintal, posted by kaleidoscope on April 14, 2008, at 15:25:32
Humm I didn't look maybe I should look at the pic Love PJXXX
Posted by henryo on April 15, 2008, at 6:35:53
In reply to Starting Lamictal, posted by Quintal on April 11, 2008, at 12:02:41
have a look at my thread on a post above yours on my Lamictal experiences
Posted by Quintal on April 18, 2008, at 13:16:01
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal, posted by henryo on April 15, 2008, at 6:35:53
I started on 50mg today. So far I feel a little woozy, like being on a small dose of a benzo or something. No rashes. One of the most prominent effects has been that my neuropathic pain has almost vanished. I'm more stable and brighter, even though I quit tianeptine on Sunday (supply ran out). I was trying to describe what it feels like earlier - it's almost as though I'm watching my mood from afar, but without feeling detached or numb in any way. I remembered reading something about lamotrigine binding to the NMDA receptor, perhaps making it similar to ketamine (a dissociative aneaesthetic) in that regard - which I guess would explain the analgesic and dissociative effects. I wonder if that is why you can watch yourself sleeping at 400mg+ henryo?
Q
Posted by Phillipa on April 18, 2008, at 18:58:42
In reply to Increased to 50mg, posted by Quintal on April 18, 2008, at 13:16:01
Q you sound well. Phillipa
Posted by Sigismund on April 18, 2008, at 18:59:50
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal » Quintal, posted by kaleidoscope on April 14, 2008, at 15:25:32
Sunjai
Posted by Sigismund on April 18, 2008, at 19:02:04
In reply to Increased to 50mg, posted by Quintal on April 18, 2008, at 13:16:01
>my neuropathic pain has almost vanished
You want to speak a little more about your neuropathic pain?
I don't really know what questions to ask.
Posted by Quintal on April 19, 2008, at 7:22:12
In reply to Re: Increased to 50mg » Quintal, posted by Sigismund on April 18, 2008, at 19:02:04
Well I don't know whether it is neuropathic pain for sure because I've never been diagnosed with anything, but then the doctors haven't taken it seriously. It's general nerve pain, as if the nerve endings are sore and inflamed (or perhaps hyper excitable?). Tactile allodynia seems to be a good match - extreme sensitivity to light touch, as if my skin is raw and burnt. I also get a lot of joint pain, perhaps from early onset arthritis like both my parents. Anywyay, it's much improved since starting lamotrigine. Within an hour of taking the first dose my skin started tingling and the raw feeling went away. I can still feel a certain amount of joint pain, but it manifests as more of a cold metallic feeling than actual pain.
Q
Posted by bulldog2 on April 20, 2008, at 16:29:18
In reply to Re: Increased to 50mg » Sigismund, posted by Quintal on April 19, 2008, at 7:22:12
> Well I don't know whether it is neuropathic pain for sure because I've never been diagnosed with anything, but then the doctors haven't taken it seriously. It's general nerve pain, as if the nerve endings are sore and inflamed (or perhaps hyper excitable?). Tactile allodynia seems to be a good match - extreme sensitivity to light touch, as if my skin is raw and burnt. I also get a lot of joint pain, perhaps from early onset arthritis like both my parents. Anywyay, it's much improved since starting lamotrigine. Within an hour of taking the first dose my skin started tingling and the raw feeling went away. I can still feel a certain amount of joint pain, but it manifests as more of a cold metallic feeling than actual pain.
>
> QInteresting I got that same sensation from neurontin..
Posted by bulldog2 on April 20, 2008, at 16:30:17
In reply to Starting Lamictal, posted by Quintal on April 11, 2008, at 12:02:41
> I just got back from my pdoc appointment. I saw his understudy today and he agreed that Lamictal was a good choice since it worked well in the past. He refused Parnate for now because he wants to discuss it with pdoc in chief, since it's such a powerful drug and all. He made an appointment for me to see Big pdoc in two weeks, which is very fast for the NHS. In the meantime I'm supposed to be titrating up to 100mg of Lamictal, but I think the titration rate he's given me is much too fast. Now I'm wishing I'd said something at the time, because the patient information leaflet says to alert the doctor if you've ever had a rash during previous lamotrigine treatment, and I got a rash on each occasion I tried Lamictal.
>
> I can't remember for sure, but I think I started on something like 12.5mg the first time, and I got a rash even on that low dose. This pdoc advised me to start on 50mg tonight, then move up to 100mg tomorrow. I'm really not happy about that, but I'm afraid of being perceived as 'difficult' if I don't take the dose he has prescribed. This is what held me back from saying anything during the appointment. In any case, it's Friday evening now and they'll be closed, so I can't even ring the mental health team for advice. I'll either have to wait till Monday, risk taking the full 50mg (don't think I'll dare raise it to 100mg until I'm sure I'm having no reaction to 50mg), or split a 50mg tablet into halves, or even quarters. Decisions, decisions....
>
> QDid tianeptine hlep with your neuropathic pain?
Posted by Quintal on April 20, 2008, at 16:35:47
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal, posted by bulldog2 on April 20, 2008, at 16:30:17
Yes, tianeptine eased the pain. Not quite as well as lamotrigine though.
Q
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