A blog for anyone who needs to know they are not alone in raising a bipolar child.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Follow Up on Lamictal Problem
The blurred vision and other weird visual disturbances, as well as the dizziness and nausea, were caused by the higher dose of Lamictal after all. So she is back down to 400mg a day. If her moods shift downward, we won't be able to an increas in Lamictal to help, so I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it. She has previously been on Welbutrin, and I think some other AD, but with bad results (mania.) We will just have to see what happens in the fall especially. I am hearing that some women are being prescribed super high doses of Vitamin D, like 20,000 mgs, to fight seasonal affective disorder. We are giving her 2000 presently. Might need to look into the mega doses. Lifeguards get something like 50,000 mgs of Vit D from the sun in the summer, so I guess it is safe. Does anyone out there know about this?
You can easily have a serum Vit D3 level drawn. Mine, as well as my affected dd's blood levels are low, due to a genetic defect in the vit d receptor gene. I have taken 10K daily for a couple of years and my dd takes it 3X a week in addition to getting sun (she's a swimmer.)
ReplyDeleteIt's really not as "toxic" as the literature of the past may have you think. If she does test low, just add in Vit D3 (the 3 is important.) As a side note, it helps fight viral illness and studies indicate it helps to decrease the risk of colon and breast cancer, too!
Good luck!
Thanks Carla for the info on Vit D, and the blood serum. Caroline hasn't had a Vit D test yet. But we really need to do it.
ReplyDeleteYou know a whole lot more about psychiatric drugs than I do. I actually think that my daughter has never been adequately treated medically for her mental issues.
ReplyDeleteWhen you get a chance, I would appreciate your comments on my latest posts. Beth is home and behaving in a non threatening manner so far.
You have the perspective of loving and dealing with mental illness. That is a valuable perspective for me. Most of the 12 step people tell us to wash our hands of our kids if they use drugs. I would like to here more from the mental health perspective.