Lamictal Depression And Medication

Lamictal is a GlaxoSmithKline product and is described as an anticonvulsant medication. While Lamictal is the trade name, it is also known as Lamotrigine.



Lamictal is prescribed for quite a few conditions such as:

• BPD or bipolar disorder
• Seizures of various kinds
• Epilepsy and
• Depression

Lamictal also comes in a few forms and each of them is prescribed differently. Mainly speaking, this medication can be found as:

• ODT or orally disintegrating tables
• Tablets
• Chewable Dispersible tablets

Use in depression
One of the main uses of Lamictal is in treating depression. In fact, in the year 2003, the FDA had approved the use of Lamictal in treating bipolar disorder. In the recent past, the drug has shown some benefits in treating patients with unipolar depression too. A doctor will prescribe Lamictal based on the patient’s condition and health history but the one thing to watch out for is the fact that Lamictal will take a long-ish period of time to start showing its effects. Similarly, when coming off Lamictal, the medication has to be tapered off gradually.

How does Lamictal depression treatment work?
Very simply put, this drug is capable of affecting the way the brain functions via neurotransmitters. By altering this mechanism, Lamictal is able to bring down attacks such as seizures and reduce the occurrence of depressive disorders too. In fact, one of the ways in which it helps in reducing the occurrence of depression triggers is by reducing the amount of glutamate produced by the brain. This action on glutamate levels is one of the hallmarks of the way Lamictal works in treating depression.

Why is Lamictal depression treatment slightly different?

• One of the things about using Lamotrigine is the fact that does not have the same chemical nature as other anti- convulsant drugs and this makes its workings slightly more difficult to study.
• Apart from the fact that it works on glutamate levels, Lamictal depression treatment is also known for its action on preventing the activation of nerve cells based on sodium presence. This results in the nerve cells being unable to release chemicals that otherwise go on to cause depression
• Lamictal has also shown to be greatly effective in treating depression that has resisted other medication or treatments. This is especially true while treating BPD patients who have not had effective results with anti-depressants.
• Bipolar disorder treatment with the help of Lamictal has also shown very effective results when the patient is in the depression phase of the cycle.