LAMICTAL WORSENING MY DEPRESSION JUST LIKE THE SSRI'S DID

I am in a really bad way and don't know if anybody will respond, but if anybody out there can help, I'd appreciate it. Having been in a major depressive/anxiety episode for the past 5 1/2 months, it's been a terrible roller coaster. My system has never tolerated a lot of meds. well, but the past 5 months have been even worse. Antidepressants that gave me no side effects in the past, even if they did not work, never caused me to be overly anxious or feel like poison was being injected into my system. But that's how everything has felt since this bad episode started. I start to feel bad effects within hours of taking a medication. That's how quickly my liver seems to be absorbing the med. & then sending whatever to my brain. I really can't explain it in an educated way. But I feel the effects way before most people do. I started on Remeron back in April & even though it's the only one I've tolerated fairly well, it's not doing the trick with bringing me back to normal or making me productive or even at peace again. My doctor tried giving me Lexapro week before last in addition to the Remeron, but it knocked me to my knees with even worse depression. Yesterday, he decided to try a different "family" of medicine and put me on Lamictal. I took my first dose last night, and today, I have been paralyzed with depression - been non-functional all day. Has anybody else ever experienced this & then improved? Your input means a lot. Thanks.

I was thinking something similar. Maybe you have anxiety about taking meds for the first time. Or taking a new med. Anxiety can knock you to your knees. Can make you feel worse. Just thinking... Medication anxiety. ????? Just kind of throwing it out there.

I would give the medication a chance, but if it gets worse, let the doctor know.

I Hope you feel better.

Hugs, Karen...

Yes, I had that too. The waiting period for Lamictal to kick in was very hard for me. After several weeks and dosage increases it started working. Hope you feel better soon.

Hi, Angel Lisa. Sorry I haven't been on the forum the past few days. My doc says I've got something going on in my system that's causing the medicine to metabolize so much faster than in the normal person. The adverse effect on me of even such a low dose of Lamictal was obvious not only to me but to my family, as well. I can't even begin to describe to you how fast and how bad the depression got. When I quit taking it, my usual level (awful) returned, but it wasn't the over the top, completely-going-crazy-right-this-minute depression eased up. My doc explains that the only thing that might shed some light on why I'm metabolizing meds so fast is a type of genetic testing that deals with metabolic enzymes, but my insurance will not cover it, and I can't afford it. So, it might sound lame to a lot of people, but it seems that only prayer will help now. I'm starting on a new med tonite (it's the generic for Tofranil, I believe), so please pray for me that it doesn't send me off the deep end like the Lamictal and Lexapro nearly did. I'm still on the Remeron. I'm just so desperate for relief. It's been almost 6 months of blackness, and it's gotten to the point that I hate myself and I'm so disgusted I can hardly stand it on top of the godawful depression and anxiety. Thanks for inquiring.

Angel/Lisa, thanks for the info. I might try inquiring here on the forum about anyone who might have done the genetic testing related to metabolic enzymes. My best to you!