Has anyone found lower doses of Lamotrigine, like 25/50mg, to be effective? At reducing rumination, overthinking, emotional dysregulation, etc, and found no major side effects with the higher doses, like inability to communicate? Thanks in advance!
Has anyone had bad experiences of this combination? Or more specifically, titrating off Effexor when starting Lamotrigine?
Has anyone had bad experiences of this combination? Or more specifically, titrating off Effexor when starting Lamotrigine?
Has anyone experienced the nocebo effect with Lamotrigine? I’m paranoid I “psyched” myself into experiencing adverse side effects now…
How often do you guys track your moods? Twice? Three times? I’m struggling a bit with consistency, though I’ve tried setting alarms and reminders before. But I really want to get a consistent practice in so I have hard data of my mood patterns. Is the morning and evening good to start with? And for a third, I guess mid-day?
Has anyone noticed any difference in their reaction between manufacturers? I don’t know why, but I realized now that I’ve been switching between APO-Lamotrigine and Mylan-Lamotrigine over the time I took Lamotrigine. Just wondering. Would love some people’s experiences.
For patients with increased anxiety, do some patients still benefit from an anti-anxiety even with engaging in holistic management practices, like meditation, mindfulness, journaling, practicing DBT, walking, exercising, supplements, etc.? Or would engaging in a combination of both still be effective.
Hi everyone. I was diagnosed with unspecified bipolar by my psychiatrist a year and a half ago, with speculative BPD, and got started on Lamotrigine up till 200mg, and was on it for about 10 months including titrating on and off of it. Shortly after starting Lamotrigine, I also titrated off the SNRI I was on for a year, which was Effexor 37.5. I also believe I experienced withdrawal from the Effexor. However, I found that throughout the period of being on Lamotrigine, I experienced difficulty with my communication. It felt like all of a sudden, I couldn’t think, write, or speak clearly at all. I also felt some kind of dissociation, and agitation and restlessness. So, after about 9 months on Lamotrigine and 6 weeks on the 150mg and then after another 6 weeks on the 200 mg, when I saw my psychiatrist I asked to be weaned off of it. And the months immediately after stopping it (November 2025-present-ish), I’ve felt intense anxiety. However, I felt my communication started to clear up, people even mentioned they noticed improvements, though it hasn’t fully returned to how it was before the Lamotrigine.
It’s a bummer though since I’ve read Lamotrigine seems to have helped many with BD and BPD.
I brought up the increased anxiety to the psychiatrist, and they suggested Buspirone, to which I agreed. However, due to cold feet from my past experiences with antidepressants and withdrawal, I didn’t take the Buspirone. I instead tried to go “all-in” with other means to deal with the anxiety, like practicing ACT, consistent meditation practice, strictly eating clean, journaling, praying, and exposure therapy. However, I still feel the rumination, hypervigilance, overthinking, and my head still feels a bit crowded. So over the past couple of weeks, I’ve revisited taking the Buspirone.
Would anyone recommend taking it? I’ve also been in my head that this is just anxiety or the BPD, and that I need to expose myself and continue to live despite feeling the anxiety and practice living more with the discomfort, which I question if I’ve done since I’ve been on antidepressants since I was a teenager. Also considering that medications aren’t effective in treating BPD.
I’m also doing lots of back and forth, and trying to reframe what would make the most sense in helping my current self, and taking my future into consideration as well considering I’m in my early 20’s. I’m viewing this decision of taking it or not as either an opportunity to build and apply the skills of emotional resilience I haven’t been able to when I was a teenager, or an aid to help get myself more in order, and not feel so hypervigilant/ruminate/be fearful all the time.
Apologies for the long post- I think it’s just reflecting my mentality around this decision. I’d really appreciate anyone’s thoughts and experiences on this.
Hi everyone. I’ve started meditating consistently since January, aiming to do 1-2 guided sessions both in the morning after waking up, and right before bed for about 10-15 minutes at a time. However, I’m wondering how long the “ideal” meditation practice is to experience more benefits, like improved focus and with cognition. I also use the Calm app.
Hi everyone. I (22F) was diagnosed with unspecified bipolar about a year and a half ago, just because the dr and I are uncertain about the timeline of the hypnotic episodes I had identified in my past (which was maybe 5-8 years ago, and not fully clear in my memory.)
How many of you were diagnosed with bipolar by just 1 psychiatrist/medical professional? Or were you diagnosed by multiple who landed on bipolar?
Since I’ve been on the fence about it for a while and the process of getting a second opinion is difficult since it’s hard to see another psychiatrist, also because I trusted the judgement of this psychiatrist, just questioning the diagnosis itself for my case and experiences I identified. Honestly I feel like now I’m waiting for time to reveal whether it’s accurate or not. But I’m also scared bc I’m holding out on meds (I’ve tried Lamotrigine which unfortunately didn’t work out, so I was prescribed Buspirone for the anxiety), but I’m overthinking a lot of what I should do right now.
Hi everyone. I (22F) was diagnosed with unspecified bipolar about a year and a half ago, just because the dr and I are uncertain about the timeline of the hypnotic episodes I had identified in my past (which was maybe 5-8 years ago, and not fully clear in my memory.)
How many of you were diagnosed with bipolar by just 1 psychiatrist/medical professional? Or were you diagnosed by multiple who landed on bipolar?
Since I’ve been on the fence about it for a while and the process of getting a second opinion is difficult since it’s hard to see another psychiatrist, also because I trusted the judgement of this psychiatrist, just questioning the diagnosis itself for my case and experiences I identified. Honestly I feel like now I’m waiting for time to reveal whether it’s accurate or not. But I’m also scared bc I’m holding out on meds (I’ve tried Lamotrigine which unfortunately didn’t work out, so I was prescribed Buspirone for the anxiety), but I’m overthinking a lot of what I should do right now.
What are people’s experiences with Lamotrigine and symptoms of aphasia? I was on it for a total of 10-11 months total including titrating up to 200mg then off it, and I couldn’t handle how it made me feel, especially with the inability to communicate both written and verbal. I couldn’t even think clearly and I felt dissociated a lot of the time. However, around the time I started, I also withdrew from 37.5mg of Effexor in a span of 2 weeks, and I’m also convinced I went through withdrawal from Effexor which is supposed to be terrible.
Has anyone come off of Lamotrigine for similar reasons? Or for those who experienced similar symptoms on Lamotrigine, did they ever go away? I was diagnosed with unspecified bipolar, and the psychiatrist was speculative of BPD as well, and I keep kicking myself and questioning if the Lamotrigine would’ve worked for me since I’m seeing so many others with positive experiences on it, and berating myself for why it could’ve possibly not worked on me.
I’ve been seeing a psychiatrist for the past year and a half, and they mentioned a couple of times how I may have BPD, alongside their main diagnosis of unspecified bipolar.
I started seeing my therapist before this, and mentioned the bipolar diagnosis shortly after receiving it. We’ve never had an explicit conversation about the BPD speculation, though I feel they think I may have it, as they’ve recommended to me BPD a couple of times, and constantly remind me of how I think in black and white, and in one conversation, it was framed how I’m scared I would feel abandoned by someone. They also have access to my psychiatrist’s notes.
Since I didn’t start seeing them with the possible BPD diagnosis, is it risky territory to ask them if they think I may have it? or is it better to just ”treat the symptoms“ like the black and white thinking, relationship issues, etc.? I am a bit concerned that I feel I may be holding back, out of fear that they may decide to discontinue with me if they understand that they may be dealing with a BPD individual.
Is it common practice for psychiatrists you’ve seen for more than a few sessions to not call you by your first name to prevent chances of projection, or use the patient’s name sparingly? I’m curious as I’ve seen a few, and have noticed this.
I’ve been seeing a psychiatrist for the past year and a half, and they mentioned a couple of times how I may have BPD, alongside their main diagnosis of unspecified bipolar.
I started seeing my therapist before this, and mentioned the bipolar diagnosis shortly after receiving it. We’ve never had an explicit conversation about the BPD speculation, though I feel they think I may have it, as they’ve recommended to me BPD a couple of times, and constantly remind me of how I think in black and white, and in one conversation, it was framed how I’m scared I would feel abandoned by someone. They also have access to my psychiatrist’s notes.
Since I didn’t start seeing them with the possible BPD diagnosis, is it risky territory to ask them if they think I may have it? or is it better to just ”treat the symptoms“ like the black and white thinking, relationship issues, etc.? I am a bit concerned that I feel I may be holding back, out of fear that they may decide to discontinue with me if they understand that they may be dealing with a BPD individual.
Hi everyone, I’m just looking for some advice. I’ve resumed going to therapy these past 2 years, however I’ve been trying to get my sister to go after speaking with her about some of the burdens she’s carried since childhood.
However, one of the concerns she’s expressed in beginning therapy was how long it can take to find the “right one,” and how many therapists you should interview first to feel comfortable enough to choose and get the process started.
Does anyone have any suggestions for this, and how to get started in finding one that fits?