Bipolar Support Group

I read somewhere that Lamictal is supposed to keep yuo stable for 18 months. Well...what happens after the 18 months??? You have to get on somthing else?

I don't think any medication can say that it keeps you stable for x number of months. People are too different.

Hello

As I understand it, Lamictal is a long term maintenance medication for bipolar disorder. Because of the nature of bipolar disorder, any medicine or medicine combination may need to be changed throughout your life, but Lamictal (lamotrigine) will work past 18 months. I have been taking it for years now. You may have heard that the FDA approved Lamictal after an 18 month study? I don't know if this helps at all.

I should also mention it is also prescribed for epilepsy, and I think that was its original purpose (epilepsy), so variation in one's response to the medication is more related to the person's illness and less related to the actual medication.

Post edited by: crustything, at: 07/30/2009 10:07 PM

Ditto from crusty thing. I have been on Lamictal since 2006. No problems here either. It has surely kept my "manic/hypomania under control all of this time. Works for me. If you just started on this med, give it time to "kick in" so to speak.