Marijuana.com

SoCalPenguin

Okay, okay. I don't like what I'm reading here at all.

I've been a daily smoker for about 1 year. About 3-4+ bowls a day. I love the stuff. I was diagnosed with Bi-Polar II about 5 years ago. I did a 'lil prozac for a while. About 40mg daily. It worked for a while, then seemed to stop working. I let my therapist know about it, he suggested that I talk to my Psych. I did. He told me that there is better meds out there to treat depression today. My meds have been changed. I started Lamictal (25mg scheduled to ramp to 100mg daily) and Lexapro (20mg daily) today.

I'm worried about the combination of these meds and herb. I never had a problem with the Prozac and the herb. I looked up the Lexapro and found that it's a SSRI as well, like the Prozac, so I'm not as worried about the Lex.

I have been considering quitting the herb, but I can't imagine life without it. Not only do I enjoy it, it helps to take the edge offa the temper that I have and to be at peace with things that are out of my control (I HAVE to work, I HAVE to take care of my kids, I HAVE to do housework, etc.), it seems to (if you can imagine this) HELP me to be motivated where the depression keeps me down.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!!!!!! Ease my mind. I'm looking for some EDUCATED suggestions. Should I quit, should I cut back, should I keep tokin'? I know that everyone's chemistry is made up differently, so I'll spare everyone the time of writing that. I'm just looking for anyone who can provide some information to aid me in my decision. I'm looking for FACT based or EXPERIENCE based suggestions.

Thanks in advance to all who respond!!!!!

Oh, and sorry for the threadjacking!!!!!

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As always, good luck, hope this helps.

 

MaltbyJ

Ok, I'll keep it short-I have been smoking weed everyday forever with no health or mental issues from it, was recently diagnosed with BiPolar disorder (would have been years ago if i wasnt so weak and admitted it)

I do not think this is related, but am wondering if anyone else has experienced this...

Whenever I smoke now (or try to because its intolerable) I have what I can only call ''Vein Spasms'' or ''Nerve Spasms" in my left chest, back of my leg arms shoulder and back and now in the temple area on the left of my head...and they hurt sometimes, and are really scaring me. Its to the point where it looks like what we would call a ''frog'' when we were kids: You can actually watch the area of the body pulsate as if a miniature version of alien is trying to pop out.

It occurs normally when I havent smoked, but its very subtle and not nearly as noticable and drastic. I cant for the life of me remember if the issue coincided with the start of the Lamictal- but reading this thread now makes me wonder.

Of course, I am looking into vascular issue, blood clot, or diseases that affect circulatory....but would rest far easier if it was a nerve thing. If there is someone out there who has experience this crap, please chime in.

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Hrico14

If you guys go to walgreens.com you can check med interactions, i have check lamictal with marinol (which is THC in pill for ) and there is no interactions with the 2 meds

MMJNoob

Interesting. This makes me wonder, is using marijuana causing acute manic symptoms in some folks on Lamictal? It has been found to be more effective for controlling depressive episodes than manic ones.

Some symptoms described in this thread could be accounted for by the side effects of Lamictal itself. It sounds like in some cases, the marijuana is obviously triggering some adverse reactions.

Here's a bit about common and uncommon side effects of Lamictal itself:
It's not even known exactly how Lamictal works. Interactions with most prescription and over the counter drugs are unknown. This leads me to assume nothing is known about it's reaction with marijuana.

This is good to be aware of:
It would be interesting to compare those who had adverse reactions to those who did not. Off of the top of my head I'd look at: length of marijuana use, length and dose of Lamictal use, caffeine and nicotine use, previous experience of similar symptoms on other meds/no meds, other illicit drugs, prescription drugs, over the counter drugs, dietary supplements in the picture.

chilly1249

I have been on just about every type of SSRI's, augmentors (taking multiple meds to increase the effects - like lithium), welbutrin (in a class by itself), benzodiasapenes, and on ALL of them I reached a tolerance. This is over the last 10+ years (of official diagonosis) with atypical depression / anxiety / rejection sensitivity. For the past 7 years I have been on parnate (MAOI) at 120mg's (a high dose). It has been losing it's effect over the past 14 months, so I started a regimine of Lamictal (up to 150 mg / day) - which is also used for people tolerant of every other drug. AND - now have started an MJ regiment (not often - maybe 2x a week) and it suffices. I have not had any issues, but that is due to a combination of dosage, my body chemistry, and the like. So - I don't have bi-polar, but now hearing all this info, I am definitely going to discuss with my doc. I hate being on these meds and would rather just use MJ, but i am totally afraid of coming off the existing meds because it has taken me 10+ years to get to this point.
I just want to hear of anyone has had a GOOD experience with Lamictal or can comment on my entry..?

 

MMJNoob

Actually, I've had a great experience with Lamictal. I've been on it for about 2 years now. Two of my close relatives are on it as well for depression and had good or neutral reports. Like yourself, I've tried everything for the past 10 years. These are personal cases though and everyone's chemistry is different.

It has few side effects and works better for me than anything else did. The only downfall is it's new so little is known about effects after 18 months. Of course we won't know long term ones for awhile. It's also pricey.

I can't find much in the way of reliable studies yet. I found zip on Lamictal and marijuana and not even presription drugs. Just a bunch of we don't really know yet. We do know that Lamictal isn't an SSRI, it's a mood stabilizer which was original only uses for seizure disorders.

Please share with us what you know about parnate (MAOI)s too.

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chilly1249

well...parnate has been around since the 50's. But, given the the time-period, it had a stigmatism associated with it because it was an 'anti-depressant'. But, now we have over 30 (at last count) of name-brand anti-depressants, they have lost the stigmatism. Parnate works great (for me). The major downside is you have to watch your diet: no aged foods - eat fresh. Tyramine, found in aged foods, can trigger a hypertensive crisis. But, I have never gotten to that point and have strayed many a times off the diet...But, I will say that I eat healthier. I like the parnate (if I HAD to take anything at all) since it has been around so long...and would love to augment with MJ rather than Lamictal...because I have not heard or read anything about concommitance with MJ and MAOI's. I like to research this stuff, and after 10 years, I like to think I know what I'm talking about...BUT I AM NOT A DOCTOR...so please know this is just an opinion...no proof to back it up.

Gally

Hi there guys and gals,

I was going to join the forum anyway but this seems like a good thread to jump in on since I take Lamictal.

Actually, I take a lot:

Lamictal (tittrating to 100mg)
Zoloft 100mg
DHE/Indocin/Reglan/Caffeine as needed
Toradol injections as needed
Axert and Aleve together as needed
Melatonin
Various supplements
Aspirin
Advair
year-long continuous birth control

I have a lot going against me. I suffer from severe, chronic migraine disease, and a large hole in my heart. Recently I had surgery to repair the hole, but the device failed so the hole is only a tiny bit smaller. This hole has been implicated in making migraines worse, so I am participating in a study to see how effective patching the hole is. Since my implant failed, well, I'm kind of stuck since they won't fix it right away...And I am a HUGE stroke risk because of the heart issue and the migraines with aura.

The DHE combo pills make me very sick. Both the Lamictal and Zoloft I use for depression and to prevent migraine, as migraine is a relative of epilepsy and sometimes seizure meds work for migraineurs. I work closely with my cardiologist and one of the two best migraine specialists in the United States.

Anyway, I began smoking weed a few months ago because if I am not suffering from a migraine I am suffering with the side effects of my meds...And I wanted to know if maye weed would help me.

My dad was bipolar and also suffered from severe migraines; to this day I am not sure if I have bipolar either...But he did not take any meds except for tons of Tums and tons of Excedrin.

I spread my meds out over the course of the day...I have an AM to midday course of meds, and then a 9PM to midnight course: Supplements, aspirin, Lamictal, Advair, and finally melatonin. Usually between 11PM and midnight is when I smoke, so it will help me to sleep. I've figured out if I smoke way too much, I get the rapid heartbeat, and maybe a little agitated...Certainly if I smoke too much it will make my migraine much, much worse. I do not get any paranoia or any manic feelings, however, but the Lamictal has not really bothered me much since I started it, either. My Zoloft is a morning med, so I never take the two on top of one another.

If I take a couple of hits, and don't rush it, I generally notice a better analgesic effect and a better overall feeling.

Sorry, I tend to ramble. All of that was leading up to the last sentence!

Anyway, that has been my experience thus far. I am still moving up on the Lamictal, though, so things could change. But I try not to overlap too quickly.