Posted by Bonnie_CA on July 27, 2007, at 12:18:48
I visited my pdoc about an hour ago. My meds are staying the same (200 of Lamictal, 10 mg of Lexapro, .25 mg of xanax as needed). He says that the inability to sleep and lingering anxiety is most probably caused by the Lamictal. He wants to try taking me off of Lexapro eventually, and just have me take Lamictal and xanax. He said it's because with BP, SSRIs can cause the mood to shift upward too much, causing hypomania. Maybe with a slow taper I could have less anxiety with Lamictal alone? I'll try it, especially since this guy isn't just throwing drugs at me and sending me on my way. He's not having me do it yet, because he wants me to just be stable for awhile. I haven't had any complaints with how well it is working. I've been figuring out the little kinks, like how Lamictal just TEARS up my stomach (I take it in the morning with a glass of Ovaltine), so I didn't have any desire to get off of it. I had a post earlier about trying a sleeping aid. He gave me a script for ambien, if that doesn't work out for me, I can call in and he'll give me trazadone, and then seroquel. At least he's got something lined up in case things don't work out. I really like this guy. He also commends that I take the time to research my drugs and drug choices. It makes me an informed consumer! He also isn't benzophobic. He thinks that I use xanax wisely, and he perfectly okay with giving me a prescription for it (with refills even!). I actually kinda wouldn't mind getting off of Lexapro, just so maybe I can drop this SSRI weight! Lamictal apparently isn't a drug that puts on weight, but I'm sure everyone is different.
As usual, wait 'n' see.
-Bonnie
poster:Bonnie_CA
thread:772328
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070719/msgs/772328.html