Posted by SLS on September 12, 2021, at 13:16:23
In reply to Re: Why do meds constantly stop working for me?, posted by rose45 on September 12, 2021, at 5:46:44
Hi, Rose.
Lamotrigine did very little for me at 200 mg/day. 300 mg/day produces results, but not by itself. When I first started it as monotherapy, it helped substantially, but only for a few weeks. I tried going up to 450 mg/day, but with zero results except major memory impairments. For me, memory problems appeared almost immediately. However, they were tolerable. It didn't take very long for them to mitigate with continued treatment.
I'm surprised that lamotrigine helped you for so long before quitting on you. Before doing anything else raise the dosage of lamotrigine gradually to 300 mg/day. Maybe add 50 mg every two or three weeks. Try not to pass judgment on memory impairment right away.
Keep taking lamotrigine in the background at 300 mg/day for as long as you continue to trial other drugs. That you responded so well and so long to lamotrigine indicates to me that you are most likely bipolar, which would explain your manic reactions to antidepressants. As you move forward, consider taking the newer drugs that have been found to be effective in bipolar depression. These include two newer antipsychotics, asenapine (Saphris) and lurasidone (Latuda). Latuda is approved for bipolar depression, but I think asenapine will work better for some people.
One last thing. Lithium works for me as an adjunct that I have kept in the background for years. However, I found that low dosages (300 mg/day) helps to reduce the severity of my bipolar depression, while higher dosages - the dosages necessary to treat or prevent mania - make me feel worse.
Two recent findings:
1. Lithium bimodal activity in bipolar depression. Clinical investigations confirm my observations that people with bipolar depression feel good at low dosages and relapse at higher dosages.
2. Lithium has bimodal activity on glutamate activity. At low dosages, lithium increases glutamate while high dosages decrease it. Glutamate is the brain's most widespread excitatory neurotransmitter, and its activity is tied to mood state.
Low glutamine = depression
High glutamate = maniaThe main reason why I decided ten years ago to keep taking low-dosage lithium is that there are enumerable investigations that indicate lithium prevents Alzheimer's Dementia, which, coincidentally, my mother developed just 2 years ago.
- ScottSome see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
poster:SLS
thread:1116886
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20210723/msgs/1116922.html