Lamactin Medication

The Lamactin medication (known as Lamactil in the US) I've been on since last November has definitely improved my life. I'll only know for sure though at the end of November - the first complete 12 month run. I say this because November has historically been my worst month as far as depression goes. (see here for reasons) . So the next 6 weeks will be the real acid test.

Lamactin is a very new mood stabiliser. It started out its career as a anti-convulsive for epilepsy sufferers. It can be pretty scary when you first take it, as in some cases it leads to bad rashes which, if untreated, can land up in fatal Stephens Johnson syndrome. So you've got to start on a really low dosage and build up from there (and hold your thumbs).

Luckily no rashes broke out on BiPolar Guy, so I've been on daily Lamactin ever since Nov 2004. The changes I've experienced:

• I've been waking earlier ever since. This could be a secondary effect though, as I've always woken early when not depressed.
• When I have "Got-a-Gun?" days (yip, I still get them) , the lows, although intense, are not as desperate as before. Deep down there is an unwavering bedrock of contentment.
• The lows don't last as long. Previously they could hit for weeks at a time whereas now the bad downs ("Got-a-Gun?" ones, not "Pretty Shitty" ones) seem only to be temporary dips.
• I've lost a fair amount of weight (which is a good thing). Once again this could be a secondary effect as "Got-a-Gun" eats 3 times as much as "In-the-Pink". Having said this though, it is a known fact that Lamactin puts on much less weight than Lithium and stuff like that.
• I've developed quite a bad tremor in my hands in the last year. And NO its definitely not from alcohol - I haven't had a drop this year. In fact its quite awkward when I go to coffee shops because the trembling coffee cups DO make you seem like an Alcoholic. Which is why I try and stick to coffee shops that serve in mugs as opposed to those dainty little cups with handles. (Actually, come to think of it, the 8 cups of strong coffee that I consume daily can't be good for the shakes either).

What else can I tell you about Lamactin? My psychiatrist says it's better at controlling BiPolar predominated by downs as opposed to ups. The great thing is that it is recognised as a chronic medication for BiPolar, so my medical aid covers it gratis.

Well, that's it for now. My last few posts have been wandering off topic a bit, something that the Almighty Search Engines penalise you for, so I thought I'd better rectify things a bit so that my rankings don't slip too far down the search results.