[Alpaca125]

Hi, all!

My 15 year old daughter has been diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and depression. She’s doing CBT with a great counselor. She’s tried a variety of drugs with no effects. First it was Zoloft/sertraline which gave her stomach issues. Then it was Lexapro/escitalopram which had no effect. Her nurse practitioner’s next suggestion was Lamictal/lamotrigine which she’s taken for two weeks now at 25 mg per day.

I take name brand Lamictal for bipolar 2. It’s been a game changer for me and has kept me stable for almost 10 years. My insurance company forced me to try the generic earlier this year, and I had a negative response. Luckily, my prescriber fought to get me a prior auth for the name brand.

The ARNP said prescribers are starting to prescribe lamotrigine for mood disorders other than bipolar. Has anyone out there had a positive experience with this drug for conditions other than bipolar or seizures?

Thanks in advance!

[Wild Coyote]

I have seen many people with depression do well on lamotrigine/Lamictal.

I think it will be used more and more.


WC

[avlady]

I am on celexa for depression and anxiety both. i love it but i am afraid for some reason my doc whom i saw today wants to take me off of it.

[Edgy2018]

I was taking Lamictal by itself for depression at 400mg and it worked well, EXCEPT for anxiety....

The only problem is/was, it absolutely destroyed my memory in certain ways. Many many tip of tongue moments, and I absolutely could not learn new directions. It was really odd.

*Edit: your story of the generic not working scares me. I have that experience with Prozac and Effexor. Going from working great to not working at all (generic) OR one generic working, then getting switched to another and it not working. Very frustrating.

[downandlonely]

I take lamictal for depression and have found it helpful. 25 mg probably won't do anything though. Are they planning to raise it? I am on 200, but I know with lamictal you have to start off low to make sure you don't get the rash.

[nmzol]

I think lamictal is only approved for children with epilepsy. It would be a good idea to consult a psychiatrist. Usually lamictal, antipsychotics and other drugs (like lithium, T3 hormone, trazodone, buspirone, ) are augmentation strategies for treatment resistant patients not first line choices.
For SAD and MDD (Major depression disorder) Moclobemide appears safer than Lamictal for instance, but most guidelines would recommend trying another SSRI (like fluvoxamine or fluoxetine), switching to another class (like Milnacipran) and only if that fails you could perhaps see with your doctor about augmentation(2 or more drugs). Since it's a kid drug interaction and side effects should be carefully studied