Im on lamotrigine (250mgs) and i can feel myself coming down for the 20 billionth time on this med. i dont understand why its not working for me but works for a lot of people.
What meds/mood stabilsers have people found helps, and sorta how to prevent coming down?
x
Seroqeul worked really well for me, but I gained weight, and I know you don't want that. I'm not really sure if Abilify is working for me or not. I know this isn't much help, but I wish you the best of luck in finding the right meds!
I was on a purple one...hang on I will remember...Sodium Valproate 800mg but it made me gain weight so im gradually coming off that and starting on Topirimate which isnt working yet but im only on 100mg so thats probably why. Im also on Seroquel and Effexor.
Have you asked your doctor if you can increase Lamotrigine, When i feel myself dropping i inform my doctor and increase my medication for a short period.
Depakote was the best mood stabiliser for me but I couldn't bear the side effects. It's a good one though. I know you can't go up on lamotrigine too fast because of "THE DEADLY RASH" lol but depakote is great. It helped me the most.
Yeah as i said in the other meds thread i have found a really good combo, venaflaxine/effexor-AD, carbemazepine/tegretol as a mood stabiliser and quetiapine/seroquel as an anti psychotic. I am much more stable and able to do day to day things now!
Keep trying strawberry-gashes, it takes a hell of a lot of time and usually lots of attempts at different combos before u find the right one.
Good luck
xxxx
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift, thats why its called the present!"
Depakote was the best mood stabiliser for me but I couldn't bear the side effects. It's a good one though. I know you can't go up on lamotrigine too fast because of "THE DEADLY RASH" lol but depakote is great. It helped me the most.
Same here, Depakote worked (with Prozac) for me for a while, But i couldn't stand the side effects (it made my hair thin/fall out and other things, don't fully remember)
The early bird gets the worm,
but the second mouse gets the cheese.
Are mood stabilisers the same as antipsychotics? Just most of the drugs listed here are antipsychotics and I always thought they were different to mood stabilisers, not disagreeing with you all or anything, just interested.
They are different Roby, anti-psychotics are drugs like seroquel, rispirodol, ablify, olanzapine- these are mainly used for psychosis, voices, hallucinations and then other uses such as anxiety etc.
Mood stabilisers are the valproates, lamotrigine, Tegratol, topiramate etc. Those are mostly used for Bipolar but also are sometimes used when anti-depressants don't work well enough, Im on them to help with my BPD :)
Some of the anti psychotics also have mood stabilising effects. Seroquel and olannzepine are anti psychotics but also used as mood stabilisers. I been on these both but didn't like the side effects.
I was also on depakote for a whil but gained a lot of weight. The one drug that seemed to help the most, more than any ad's, was carbemazepine. I was on that for a while, but managed to come off all my meds now.
I found the side effects of the carbemazepine were quite bad while i was titrating up but once i'd been on it a while side effects wore off and it worked great. Plus, it doesn't have weight gain as a side effect.
Everyone is different though and sometimes you have to find what's best for you through trial and error and it can take a very long time if you're unlucky.
You should definately talk to your psych about it. Please don't increase the dose without his permission, it could be very dangerous.
Life breaks most of us in the end, but afterwards some of us are strong in the broken places
~ Ernest Hemingway
