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

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 and Lamictal (generic Lamotrigine) the Thread on My meds are working….

I just did a post called My Meds are Working- there are some fantastic comments under the post. I have learned a lot from readers.

Here are the facts on generic Lamictal (Lamotrigine). There can be problems with the generic formula. This does not mean it won’t work for you- it does for many people. It does mean that you will need to monitor your moods once you switch. It’s a gradual change if the meds are not working- it seems to be around five weeks.

I really want to stress that generics are good things in many ways- costs, availability, etc. But as people with bipolar disorder, we have to take charge of our own health care. If you use my Health Cards treatment system, it’s a good idea to read your normal card while you take the generics.

Doctors can prescribe ‘brand’ Lamictal if the generics don’t work for you. I can’t believe [ Read More ]





Bipolar Disorder: My meds are working!

Hello to Everyone,

Wow, thanks so much for the nice comments. It has definitely been a tough week. I made it to all of my appointments- saw all of the people I said I would see and basically kept functioning, but work definitely suffered. I started with the correct meds two days ago and I’m already feeling better.

I receive a lot of blog comments with questions. Please feel free to offer tips to the person asking the question  as I think that we all have ideas on what can help manage this illness- and advice for those we care about people with the illness! I will answer all I can in the next week.

I will be back in action soon. I know the new meds will really help. I have a book proposal due, lots of email to answer and an article to write for BP Magazine. I have to get myself in [ Read More ]





Finally… some answers

If you read my blog below, you can tell I’ve really had trouble lately in terms of getting my work done. I always have struggles, but I use the ideas in my books and just keep going. When it’s hard for me to even sit down, then I know something is not right physically.

My friend Sherri called last night and said, “Are you ok! I just read your blog and I’m worried about you!”

Hmm.. I didn’t mean to sound that bad! But it has been pretty bad. I have many ways to figure out what is wrong when I’m having mood swings- the first is to check the triggers. I know that troublesome relationships cause me a lot of trouble- which leads to mood swings- book deadlines that are too intense can also make me quite ill, but I always keep working.

This time, nothing is going on. There are no triggers. Yes, [ Read More ]





I am really struggling today… ick!

I’m really struggling today. I swear I would do anything just to get rid of these constant mood swings. I have friends with bipolar disorder who have a lot of normal days- by normal I mean that they aren’t in some kind of mood swing. I rarely have a normal day. Today seems to be a mixture of mild depression, worry, lack of focus and a definite concern that my meds aren’t working correctly. I have a big writing project due and it feels like climbing Mt. Everest even though I only need a few more days to get it done.

Every day since I came back from a trip to Texas and Florida has been difficult. Not it a bad way- in other words I didn’t have a terrible depression when I got back- but there is always something to deal with. I just feel physically uncomfortable and can’t seem to find a [ Read More ]





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