Bipolar Medication Woes

For an unknown reason, my Lamictal stopped working for a few months.  I do have some ideas on why this happened, but to be honest, they are not great explanations:

1. I really got off track with my dosage for a few weeks. It was hard to remember what I had or had not taken. I tried a variety of ways to deal with this. I have special pill boxes and reminders. I did everything that was needed.  (I got back on track quickly and it seemed like things were getting better. )

2. I have more stress in my life than normal. This can definitely make it harder for my meds to work effectively.  ( I use my Health Cards Treatment Plan for trigger management and dealing with stress.)

3. I had a different bottle of Lamictal. I don’t take generics as they don’t work for me, but the bottle was definitely a new [ Read More ]





Posted on February 15th, 2010 | Tags: , , | Category: About Julie, Lamictal, Medications

Bipolar Medication Side Effects Tip #1

 I take a very high dose of Lamictal  ever day. (The generic form of Lamictal is Lamotrigine.) The basic dose is 200mg and I take 500-550mg. It just shows how differently we all process medications!  A dose that high can naturally lead to more side effects. I have tried so many ways to get the meds in my system while minimizing the neck stiffness, breathing problem and itching I get with Lamictal.

Take Your Meds Over a 24 Hour Period 

 I finally came up with something that works. I do a 24 hour round of the meds. Most of us take meds while we are awake or when we go to sleep. I decided to take them throughout the day and night. I got a 7 day pill box, but instead of using it for days- I use it for hours. I break my Lamictal into sections some big and some smaller and put [ Read More ]





Bipolar Disorder Medication Side Effects: Dry mouth

Try BreathRx Fresh Breath System- this company provides a mint and gum that increases saliva. There are so many drugs that cause a dry mouth, so this is a life saver! (Get it!) SSRIs such as Prozac, Zoloft, Welbutrin and Celexa are known to cause dry mouth.

Dry mouth from bipolar drugs can make your teeth brittle- which means they can crack more easily! So, keeping your mouth moist helps. A night guard is a good idea as well.

Have you been to the dentist lately?

Julie

 Here is a link to the Breath RX products:

https://store.breathrx.com/refresh.php

[ Read More ]