Just can't figure it out..

[bpchrisb]

The other day, the pharmacy could only fill my 200mgs tablets of Lamictal, but had to order in the 50mg tabs. I took my 250mgs on Saturday and then, on Sunday, I took 200mgs in the morning, received my refill of 50mgs at noon and took it then. I'll tell you after taking that 50mg dose, I felt the best I have in months. I felt the way I initially felt when I started Lamictal; calm, evened out and just generally kosher.

I talked to my shrink about splitting up the doses between the morning and noon; 200mgs in the morning and 50mg at 12pm. Yesterday, I took my 200mgs in the morning and continued to feel good. But, when I took the 50mgs at noon, I stayed even for an hour and then became very, very, agitated... I have no idea what was going on.

I woke up feeling terrible, but took the 200mgs. I evened out in a hurry, but again, an hour later, I became really agitated and have remained so since.. I see my shrink at 1pm today and am going to talk to her about it..

I just cannot figure this out.. How did I go from feeling to good and normal (not hypomanic) for two days and now I am suddenly agitated? Am I withdrawing between doses? Do I need to give it more time? I just don't know how much more of this I can take; it really has been a case of take a PRN benzo and calm down, or go to the hospital because I am suicidal. I am not a big fan of my PRN medications; I don't like taking the benzos to calm down; they're just an easy fix and I can't tell if other thins are working or if I am just stoned.. But if this takes a week or so to even out, I am going to have problems with the benzos.

[ILADVOCATE]

As medication works for a specific half life (with Lamictal it depends, I when I was on it I took it once a day, other people I knew had to take it twice a day) when it runs out it can cause a flare up of the symptoms it is treating as can adjusting the dose. Keep track of it and speak to your psychiatrist as well. If that doesn't work out you can just take it the same way you did before. But that might be one issue occuring.

[bpchrisb]

That's what I don't really get... The Lamictal has a long half-life; a minimum of twelve hours.. I was dosing every 24 hours, so it accumulated in my system fast.. You would think, that by dosing bi-daily, it would smooth things out even more. I mean, when it first hits me, I even out for awhile, but then I get really, really agitated. I just don't know what the h-ll is going on.