| Mark | Abilify/Lamictal | May 12th, 2008 | Rating: 7.2500 |
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| I am from Sydney, Australia, where Abilify is considered off-label for the treatment of bipolar disorder. I have had severe bipolar for 10 years and been committed 6 times. My bipolar had psychotic features and has now been reclassified as schizoaffective bipolar type (so I can get Abilify now). I have tried just about everything: mood-stabilizers, anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, tranquilizers etc. Since I am medically trained, I have also researched the available medical literature very extensively. The result is the following conclusion: Lamictal is the best mood-stabilizer for bipolar disorder. This is because of its efficacy against biploar depression (which has higher morbidity than mania) and because it is generally very well tolerated (few side-effects) which makes it good for maintenance therapy. However, Lamictal's drawback is its lack of efficacy against mania. Therefore an anti-psychotic is also indicated. There are five second-generation candidates: risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone and aripiprazole. The first two have the most evidence for effectiveness in mania although the others probably have fewer side-effects. The real stand-out however in terms of side-effects (weight gain, sedation, hyperglycemia, EPS, hyperprolactinemia, arhythmias etc.) is aripiprazole (Abilify). Although it has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for bipolar maintenance since 2004, the evidence this is based on is extremely dodgy. Therefore, there is a question mark over whether it really is effective against mania. If it turns out that it can be effective (and I suspect it will be) then this suggests that the combination Lamictal/Abilify may be some kind of "magic bullet" for bipolar disorder. No one in the world to date (Sep 2006) has studied this combination of drugs although there are some trials currently recruiting. I was on Lamictal/Zyprexa but have switched recently to Lamictal/Abilify. The transformation has been truly incredible. I would say now that I am in remission. If anyone out there is also on just these two drugs please post your experience, because there is very little (even anecdotal) information on the Abilify/Lamictal combination. |
| Raven | Lamictal / amblify | September 27th, 2007 |
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| I have been on prozac and geodon for some time now. A new doctor prescribed the L/A combination. I feel restless, and very hungry from time to time. The P/G wasn't working well, and already after 4 days the L/A seems to be doing better. It's hard to tell during the transition stage, but if I'm still taking the prozac doesn't that increase the concentration of the L/A? |
| Anonymous | No Subject | September 30th, 2007 |
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| Just thought I'd say I had a friend on that same combination and she was like a totally different person. |
| Debra | lamictal and abilify | May 12th, 2008 |
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Well I have been on Lamictal for about 2 years now. It has never done anything to help with my mania, but has helped tremedously with my depressive side. Frankly we all just love our mania phases, it is when i get the most done. Anyway, My dr is putting me on Abilify now so I will post and let you know about them together. I am nervous as I always have severe side effects with most meds. Not just mental illness meds but all. So I will wait until I have days off after reading some of the posts here, cause I do work and am a tax preparer. Can't afford to screw up anyone's return because of a side effect. I don't think my mania is that extreme, not like it was when I was younger. Neither does my husband, so I was very surprised when the dr. suggested I try it. I mean, I do have mania phases just not as reckless as when I was younger. Now I am more likely to overshop then do some of the wild and crazy stuff I used to do. Anyway will let you know how it works for me.
Washington State
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| Geary | abilify/lamictal combo | January 13th, 2008 |
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| i have been taking 30mgs abilify with 200mgs lamictal for about four years now, and i'm doing fantastically well. i am 46 yrs old, and have been diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder;bipolar type since 1982. I am now off disability benefits for over a year, i have a great job which i've held for over two years, and i'm about to graduate from university with a sociology major in may 2008. i HIGHLY RECOMMEND this combination & firmly believe in the concept of RECOVERY from mental illness--for anybody, anywhere IF they are willing to get help & do what it takes to get a little better every day. It IS worth the effort! |
| Adam | Lamictal/Abilify | February 7th, 2008 |
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| I have Bipolar 1 disorder/ADHD and a mild form of Asperger's Syndrome. I've been on 500-700mg of Seroquel for 15 months, and Lamictal 100mg for 8 months. I just switched to a new psychiatrist today and he prescribed me Abilify. 2mg a day for 12 days. He want's me to slowly titrate off the Seroquel while increasing the Abilify until I am no longer taking the Seroquel. So eventually a month or so from now I'll be on Abilify and lamictal. I am very worried about possible side affects, but I have been suffering adverse affects from Seroquel for such a long time that I don't care anymore. They are mainly paranoia and hypnagogic/hypnpompic hallucinations. You sound like a very smart educated person when it comes to medication and treatment. If you want to I would like it if you could maybe reply to me about how these two drugs have been working for you since you've been on them. I've heard both horror stories and endless praise for Abilify, and I'm having trouble discerning if it will help me. If you want to I'd appreciate it if we could keep in touch. My Myspace URL is: myspace.com/rincewind69inc |
| D | lamictal/abilify | December 1st, 2007 |
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| Hi Mark, I'm very interested in getting in contact with you, I am on the same combination of drugs. I have the exact diagnosis as you and I feel great on these meds, it is the best combonation so far that I have been on. I am worried however that I may be on too much of both of these meds for it to be healthy, and I was wondering if you could shed any light or maybe tell me your dosage? I am on 30mg of Abilify in evening(maximum dosage) and 250mg of lamictal morning and night. My psychiatrist, although I trust she has my best interests in mind, doesn't seem to know too much about the neccessity for me being on as much as I am. It was me who kept asking for more, as I was experiencing really bad simptoms after being tapered down from 20mg of zyprexa to almost none (there was a reason for that). When i was put on abilify I could not wait to feel better so I kept asking for them to up the dosage...they made absolutely certain that that is what I wanted to do and I told them yes. So that was back in early 2005 and now I am feeling so much better but at the same time I am wondering if I did not give the meds enough time to just kick in when I was only at 20 mgs of abilify and do I really need 30? and now, i'm worried that after being on 30 for all this time, reducing me down to 20 could cause severe withdrawels and my symptoms will come back. What do you think is this dangerous? |
| Anonymous | abilify | November 8th, 2007 |
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| Our son is 16 years old and suffers from severe tourette syndrome. The tourettes combined with OCD, ADHD and anxiety made his life unbearable for most of his exsistence. We have tried 24 different medications in search of finding relief for our son. Some worked short term, others had horrific side effects that made us afraid to try yet another medication. After we had exhausted all medications available to us here in Canada we started looking outside of the country. We were in a desperate state as our son was going through a horrid period of instability due to the Tourettes. He was barely hanging on to the value of living. The tics and OCD consumed his every waking minute. That's when our Dr. suggested we try Abilify. It has been the miracle drug for our son. He started him on only 0.5 mg and within a week we saw amazing results. We then increased the dosage to 1 mg. He has remained on that dosage. It has virtually eliminated his tics and OCD; it has given our son back his life and ours as a family. He has been on Abilify for slightly over a year. So far we have not seen any side effects or he hasn't complained of any unusual sensations etc. The only other medication he is on is Risperidal. We have found great results on very low dosages of Abilify. It seems that most others are started off on fairly high dosages...maybe smaller amounts to start would be more effective. I'm sure most have tried this as well. Also I know that we are using Abilify for Tourettes and its associated disorders, not strictly bi-polar or other neurological disorders that Abilify is noted for. |