2 Short Questions/ Pls Feedback

                                                       2 Short Questions/ Pls Feedback

If you are NOT depressed, you DON'T take antidepressants hence you DON'T get manic (unless manic by origin, rare). Therefore one needs mostly to combat depression (mania is easily combated by anti-manic/AP agents).

The tactic becomes to take a mood stabilizer with or without an antidepressant to annihilate its manic outcome/mixed states/rapid cycling etc... Or best to take a mood stabilizer alone. My two questions are

1) Does Lamictal TRULY help in depression OR an antidepressant should be added. If it helps alone, then at what dose can it start to kick in (forget about therapeutic dose in books) i.e. whether 10mg, 50mg, 100mg, what ….?? You start to feel the CHANGE usually

2) Did lamictal ever drive you manic? Again at which dose: 10mg, 50mg, etc…Is 10mg say impossible to drive you manic?

3) For the expertise: Can you combine lamictal (lamotrigine) and anafranil (chlopramine a tricyclic AD) together ?? interactivity, etc…??

Many thanks
EZZ  

[ILADVOCATE]

  Best to ask a clinician for these kind of questions. Any answer I post comes from sources on the internet that are written by psychiatrists or statements made by my psychopharmocologist who has specific knowledge not my own judgement and must ultimately be answered by your psychiatrist. Yes anti-depressents can potentially worsen mania. All psychiatrist would agree but sometimes an anti-depressent is neccessary in bipolar as an adjunct. Mania is rare by itself. That's true. But a good mood stabilizer treats both mania and depression. Sometimes two mood stabilizers are neccessary (including for me in the past). As for question 1 Lamictal does have anti-depressent properties for myself when I used it included. As for question 2 I was taken off Lamictal because it had worsened mania but that was at 325 mg. and also after it worked many years without worsening mania and it was quite helpful. Give it a chance As for question 3 Anafranil is an SSRI anti-depressent. As a person with schizoaffective with the manic phase it made me psychotic and manic. I'd be concerned. As for a direct question as to whether it interacts with Lamictal that has to go to a provider. Please understand none of us can answer direct medical questions. And if you've signed up to other sites and not gotten direct answers go onto any of the websites we linked up or other clinically accurate ones (ask if they are first, many appear to be but aren't, anything posted here has been cleared and approved and is accurate fully) and speak to your providers about it but don't act on your own.
  I would reccomend a book (if its been updated) "Instant Psychopharmocology: A Guide for the Nonmedical Mental Health Professional" by Ronald J. Diamond. I found it quite of use but its an old edition. If they updated that book its readable and might give you some of the answers you are asking for and was directly suggested by my psychopharmcologist. Then you could understand what's going on better. But if you have direct questions about your own treatment ask your psychiatrist directly.

[adel_ezz]

Alright.
thanks
I went to see my new pdoc this morning he's in the next block
Right afterwards, he flew to LA to attend a psych symposium and will be absent for 10 days
I forgot to ask him if lamictal is pro or con anxiety.i.e. whether lamictal helps with anxiety or increases anxiety. Could one comment here not from website but from his own experience

thanks in advance
ezz