Bipolar Disorder Support Group
Bipolar disorder is not just a single disorder, but a category of mood disorders marked by periods of abnormally high energy and euphoria, often accompanied by bouts of clinical depression. This is the place to talk about your experience with bipolar disorder, learn from others' experiences, and find support.
Usually Lamicital is begun on a "starter Pack" that lasts 5 weeks.
The dosing schedule for the starter pack is as follows:
2 weeks at 25mg
2 weeks at 50mg
1 week at 100mg
after that based on how you are doing your doctor moves you SLOWLY to a maintence dose. In my case I went to 150mg for another week then 200 (starting today) and will eventually wind up at 250 or 300mg.
The purpose of the starter pack is to mitigate the serious rach threat of Lamictal. Usually the rash appears in people just starting Lamictal, and is dramiatically reduced when slowly titrated over the 5 week period to a maintance does. Whie this is happeneing, it is common to have another mood stabilizer to aide you during the titration period. Often this drug is Lithium. After you are at a maintence does, your Doctor may or may not remove this supplimental drug.
The rash side effect should be taken seriously. Lamictal can cause very serious skin rashes and allergic reactions. These rashes can cause large sections of the skin to die and can cause disfigurement or even loss of life.
In adults, a dangerous Lamictal rash seems to be a little less common than children. Up to 0.3 percent of adults taking the drug developed a rash that required hospitalization. The rashes are less common in people taking Lamictal for bipolar disorder and are more likely in people taking Lamictal for epilepsy. Combining Lamictal with divalproex (Depakote, Depakote ER) or valproic acid (Depakene) increased the risk of serious rashes (up to 1 percent).
For this reason, expect that you will not be taking Lamictal with these drugs.
I have been on Lamictal for quite a while and have had to "start" it twice (due to a recent hospital stay). If I can be of any help feel free to contact me.
I am SERIOUSLY concerned over your story!!!
1st to anyone that stops Lamictal for 4 days or longer for any reason, such as hospital stay for ECTs like I did...if you stop for that long it requires you to start all over from the starter pack.
The second I think I will start another thread on called "What type of med doctor do you see?"