Bipolar Disorder meds:Yikes! I almost made a pretty bad mistake…..

I  had a pretty scary experience today.

I am good about taking my medications. I basically have no life if I don’t use my Lamictal along with my management plan. They can’t work alone- so meds are my lifeline.

I have small amounts of my meds in many locations as I move around town a lot and may forget to put my daily meds container in my purse.

Here’s where I put them:

1. My glove compartment

2. My mom’s house

3. My house

4. My daily dose in my purse- I fill this bottle every night.

Today,I was putting a bottle of meds at my mom’s house and had my daily bottle in my backpack.

I took out both bottles at once.

My daily meds are 700mg Lamictal  (my Lamictal is much higher than most doses),Ativan for sleeping if it’s a [ Read More ]





Posted on September 18th,2011 | Tags:,,,,, | Category:Medications

What is Lamictal (Lamotrigine) and How Does it Help Manage Bipolar Disorder?

As you may already know,Lamictal changed and saves my life.  It’s the only drug I’ve been able to take since I was diagnosed in 1995. I am always singing the praises about the drug.

It comes with side effects for sure-   the main one being a rash that can be serious. But it’s very,very rare.  Many health care professionals are wary of Lamictal because of the rash,but I always remind people that a potential side effect is just that. If monitored correctly,the potential is small. Also,the rash is normally benign. Make sure your prescriber knows all of the history before saying no to prescribing Lamictal or Lamotrigine. A rash doesn’t mean you can’t take the drug. It often means you just need to start with a lower dose and increase is slowly.

What is Lamotrigine?

The generic form of Lamicatal is called Lamotrigine.  Lamictal is the brand name and is [ Read More ]





I need help with a book chapter!

My coauthor Dr. John Preston and I are writing a new chapter to be added to our book Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder. It’s on the topic of medications as I didn’t cover it in depth in the first edition of the book. I spent more time on medications in Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder.

I really could use your help with this new chapter in two ways. I need to hear some medication success stories from partners of people with bipolar.

How do medications help your partner and your relationship?

Then,I need people to finish this sentence:

I’m thankful for my medications because…….

I have plenty of stories in the chapter about the difficulties of taking bipolar illness medications,but I want some positive as well!

I will start….

I am thankful for my Lamictal because it takes the edge off all of my [ Read More ]





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 ]





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 and Focus:How do you do it Julie?

Here is a reader question from Michelle. She asks important questions. How DO we get through the days,weeks,months and years when we have focus problems because of bipolar disorder!

**

Hi Julie 

Can you please tell me how you are consistently productive and living with bipolar disorder? I too,am a writer,and I start projects,but can’t finish them. I have boundless energy for awhile,then I crash. I can’t commit to making long term projects with people because I can’t depend on myself that I can follow through. Where do you get your energy? How do you manage on a daily basis? I wake up each day not knowing how I am going to feel. I have to live day by day,and it sucks. Any positive feedback and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Michelle,

Hi Michelle,

Thanks for your question- to be honest,I go through everything you describe above- [ Read More ]





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