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Max. allowable dose of lamictal

Fri, 11/19/2010 - 11:36
In scanning several threads, I've noted that many people are on fairly high doses of lamictal (whether or not combined with other drugs). The highest dose I've read about so far in this forum is 450 mg. I am currently on 200 mg, and potentially will be increased to 250 - 300 mg. I've read that at doses of 300 mg. and higher that lamictal is being used as a med for bipolar (and perhaps depression, but I'm not sure). I definitely don't have either of those conditions, and probably none of you taking these higher doses does either. This leads me to the following questions: 1. What is the max allowable dose of lamictal? 2. Do higher levels of lamictal offer even greater seizure control? PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought lamictal's effectiveness for controlling seizures "plateaued" once you reached 300 mg, and that's why at these higher doses it is considered a bipolar drug rather than an AED. Thanks in advance for any help!

Comments

Re: Max. allowable dose of lamictal

Submitted by rgi2424 on Sat, 2012-06-30 - 23:58
I'm currently on 800mg of the XR. It works well and I know that it is above the "recommended" dose. I'm curious who "recommends" such things. But I can attest that I'm not bipolar and that the XR has allowed me to live a life of monotherapy. Less pills has been good.

Re: Max. allowable dose of lamictal

Submitted by Little Sparrow on Thu, 2012-10-18 - 21:26
I recommend looking at scientific studies conducted on a few thousand patients by the NIH (National Institute of Health) and the NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health), both government agencies that do not accept advertising dollars from drug manufacturers. Even though they are government agencies, they offer consistent advice like that found in most non-governmmental websites which do not take advertising dollars from drug manufacturers insofar as I can tell. Like most AEDs, someone with Bipolar Disorder cannot handle the higher dosages that someone with E (but no BP) can handle. I ersonally know someone on 800mg Lamictal. I was on 400mg Lamictal (I have BP and E) and it was ineffective for E but at even 200mg was my best med ever for BP. When I was raised to 400mg, due to blurry vision, I thought two was three and for a time was taking 600mg Lamictal. My seizures went away but the side effects were aggregious. At least in my case I really could not tolerate more than 400mg Lamictal for E. Research is better than word of mouth. And I think neurologists guess, and are leary about prescribing anything above recommended levels for fear of lawsuits in case something bad should happen. Good luck! Little Sparrow

Re: Max. allowable dose of lamictal

Submitted by mikeshetter on Thu, 2013-08-15 - 14:19
i CURRENTLY AM ON 600 DAILY OF LAMICTAL AND 2700 DAILY OF GABAPENTIN. tHE SEIZURE HAVE LIGHTENED IN SEVERITY BUT ARE STILL HAPPENING 3 TIMES A WEEK. THE GAB JUST GIVES ME A HIGH FEELING AND WOULD RATHER TAKE SOMETHING ELSE. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY RECOMENDATIONS

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