Lamactil?

[JustAMum]

I took my 17yr old old d to see her psych yesterday. He's thinking about putting her on lamactil as a mood stabiliser. She's on 40mg of Prozac. Has anyone had experience with this drug?

Our objective is to better understand the struggles our child faces and to learn the skills to improve our relationship and provide a supportive environment and also improve on our own emotional responses, attitudes and effectiveness as a family leaders

[raytamtay3]

I took my 17yr old old d to see her psych yesterday. He's thinking about putting her on lamactil as a mood stabiliser. She's on 40mg of Prozac. Has anyone had experience with this drug?

My DD16 is on it.  She was doing pretty well on it until she incorporated marijuana to the mix.  But while she was at her RTC and it was introduced, she made tremendous strides.  Everyone was shocked at how well she was doing when she started taking it.

[qcarolr]

I have been taking lamictal as a mood stabilizer since about 2002, and it really does work for me better than any others that I have tried. It does not cause weight gain or water retention like all the others did. It actually helps my anti-depressant (I am on Zoloft) work better without sending me up toward a more manic state of being. My dx is bipolar II, the fast-cycling form. In 1991 I took an overdose, thinking I was saving my family from the distress I believed was ruining their lives. I continued with a lot of suicidal ideation, though no attempts, until 1999 when I was hospitalized again. The first time there was therapy, this time it was all about getting stabilized on meds. then released to outpatient treatment. This was my first good experience with a mood stabilizer -- depakote. I chose to switch due to the weight gain -- which was at least 70% water retention. My blood pressure was not well controlled either. This is when I started lamictal and it worked well as it still does. It took the volume of any suicidal thinking down to a minor irritation in the back of my mind. My contracts for safety with my family, friends, and psych team could keep those as teeny-tiny whispers. They have mostly been silent for the past 10 years as long as I get enough rest and other good self-care stuff. Sleep deprivation is my #1 mood enemy!

I have not used any street drugs - I just turned 60. I always have said my brain chemistry is enough to manage, I don't need substances to mess with it more. Fear of losing control is strong in me.

My Dd29 has been on many mood meds. and when she takes them without street drugs they do work. When she takes street drugs she tends to not take the rx meds. in the consistent way needed for them to work right. She is doing OK for now and not using substances. I don't know about the rx meds. since she does these on her own. Hmmmm - she has not asked me to get a refill for awhile -- she always asks me to drive her to the mental health center where she gets them. Glad she is doing better with or without the meds.

As my DD reached her mid-twenties her mood issues seemed to settle down a bit -- as long as the stimulant abuse was not going on. I believe she has been clean for about  8 of the past 9 months. One relapse in May. She is managing life OK. Her bf is very important to her stability. When he is at school or work and she does not see him for a couple days -- I mean be face to face -- she is less stable emotionally. More impulsive, sleeps less or sleeps a lot, eats more/less, etc. She recently told me she has friends now that say "Where's bf? You are so much more stable when he is around." They have a 5 year history as friends and he has been clean for about 2 years.

Each person is unique in what things work together best. When teen years are put in the mix, it can get very messy and confusing. Hang in there -- hoping for things to get better without getting too much worse.

qcr

ps. I was very depressed and suicidal between 13 and 19. Then my roommate at college took me home for the weekend and in January I will have been married to her bother for 40 years. He is my rock -- unconditional love no matter what plus he is getting better and better at his much needed personal boundaries with me. There was very little treatment available to me -- my parents were in total denial about the serious nature of my issues. Seems I was very emotional my whole life. Anything you are the treatment team can do to support our teens in finding healthy peer support can have such a gigantic impact on mood and impulsiveness. Maybe even help with not using substances and taking the meds. as prescribed.!

[JustAMum]

Thanks for the replies. My d has self harmed in the past and has tried to OD (once) She's not into drugs. She has had mental health issues for the past 3 yrs. She was diagnosed with an eating disorder at 14. That was the first sign that something wasn't right. I try to be as supportive as I can. She is co-operative with going to her psych and psychologist apps. She can be impulsive and suffers from emotional dysregulation. Her self loathing can be to the extreme. I'm a sole parent so I appreciate the support. Her Dad isn't really present. Although she does have phone contact with him. Is it true what they say that it gets better as they get older?