![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by mogger on September 19, 2009, at 21:31:29
Hello,
I am so bummed as my trial with Rilutek finished. It was phenomenal for depression, GAD and ocd but I couldn't put a sentence together after 4 months! I remember someone warning me that it could potentially have this effect in an earlier post and that person was so right!I think the problem is that it was added to my lamictal 300 mg which gives me a bit of slurred speech already and memory recall problems. I didn't want to come off lamictal as that has been a lifesaver for me (only slight problem with speech and memory with lamictal, folic acid helps it as well) so I opted to stop rilutek unfortunately.
My question is I am interested in trying memantine as I hear it has a similar mechanism (i have no idea what I am talking about) on glutamate? I only worry though that a side effect of memantine is cognitive problems and that adding it to my lamictal might cause the same problem with speech/memory that the rilutek did. Has anyone tried memantine with lamictal and not had a problem? Should I be worried?
many thanks for your thoughts,
mogger
Posted by sam K on September 20, 2009, at 2:06:24
In reply to Failed rilutek perhaps try memantine with Lamictal, posted by mogger on September 19, 2009, at 21:31:29
i tried memantine last week and it caused a manic reaction in me. So i think it has AD effects and possibly really good OCD stuff. But ur on Lamictal so your fine and wont go manic.
Posted by SLS on September 20, 2009, at 7:13:14
In reply to Re: Failed rilutek perhaps try memantine with Lamictal, posted by sam K on September 20, 2009, at 2:06:24
I think that combining memantine with lamotrigine is a great idea.
You can also try adding Topamax to create a three-pronged attack against glutamate hyperactiviety, as each drug works on different aspects of glutamatergic neurotransmission.
1. Lamictal (lamotrigine): glutamate release inhibitor
2. Namenda (memantine): NMDA glutamate receptor antagonist
3. Topamax (topiramate): AMPA/kainite glutamate receptor antagonist.
Lamictal sucks as an antimanic agent. Topamax is probably better for mania than Lamictal.
- Scott
Posted by sam K on September 20, 2009, at 9:36:30
In reply to Re: Failed rilutek perhaps try memantine with Lamictal, posted by SLS on September 20, 2009, at 7:13:14
I think its funny. these meds have good potential, but arnt really dabbbled with. I tried Aricept too, and it was a good AD, caused little mania, and was way more tolerable than SSRIs. OMG, ssris are such in the past for me. Never will I touch another APsychotic/Antidepressant. Only mood stabilizers, and chemicals that dont cause mania
Posted by sam K on September 20, 2009, at 9:37:21
In reply to Re: Failed rilutek perhaps try memantine with Lamictal, posted by sam K on September 20, 2009, at 9:36:30
and mirapex too, but Im not a dopamine guy so it didnt work out.
Posted by mogger on September 20, 2009, at 14:34:52
In reply to Re: Failed rilutek perhaps try memantine with Lamictal, posted by sam K on September 20, 2009, at 9:36:30
Thanks guys so much for responding! Do you think memantine and topamax additions would add to slurring speech and cognitive difficulties? Thanks again I am going to talk to my doctor about them.
Mogger
Posted by SLS on September 20, 2009, at 18:34:34
In reply to Re: Failed rilutek perhaps try memantine with Lami, posted by mogger on September 20, 2009, at 14:34:52
> Thanks guys so much for responding! Do you think memantine and topamax additions would add to slurring speech and cognitive difficulties? Thanks again I am going to talk to my doctor about them.
> Mogger
If you start Topamax at a low dosage and increase it gradually, you might be able to avoid the cognitive side effects it is infamous for producing. I started at 25mg and increased the dosage by 25mg every week to 100mg. This is slower than what is recommended. Titrating this way produced no cognitive impairments at all for me.
- Scott
Posted by mogger on September 20, 2009, at 22:26:14
In reply to Re: Failed rilutek perhaps try memantine with Lami » mogger, posted by SLS on September 20, 2009, at 18:34:34
Well noted Scott thank you. I shall bring this arsenal of information to my psych doc when I visit him in two weeks (maybe I will make an earlier appointment). One question if you don't mind. A year ago I heard that magnesium can have an anti glutamate properties so I tried magnesium glycinate 800mg a day. I had a robust response (depression and anxiety lifted) for about 2 weeks and then got very very tired and flat after that. I wonder if the problem was that glycinate was the wrong form of magnesium (heard magnesium malate is less sedating) coupled with the fact I wasn't taking calcium (I don't drink milk or eat much cheese) at the same time which I hear have a synergy together. Do you have any thoughts about this? Perhaps the whole thing was placebo but gosh it did feel right for 2 weeks and I was bummed to let go of it. Many thanks for your thoughts,
mogger
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.