r/Lamotrigine

Even after 1 or 2 years on 200mg, I thought I’d seen the full benefit, but my emotional stability keeps going up (combination of meds + therapy).

Side effects like brittle hair and lethargy are gone.

My relationships were saved, I am at peace with my life. So worth it.

I only started yesterday and was terrified to start as I am a low dose responder (to everything not just psych meds). Today is the first day I didn’t wake up crying in a long time.

I still feel awful and my brain is still full of unhelpful thoughts of course but normally I wake up teary with that tight throat feeling, feeling panicky etc. this morning my eyes were dry.

Could it be any effect so soon? Or am I just so sedated from the meds my body was too tired to do the normal dramatics?

im on a prescription getting 17.5mg a day for a whole month without changing the dose

i cant know for sure and psychiatrist didnt tell my diagnosis but i probably have generalized anxiety disorder and dpdr for sure

I have bipolar2, ADHD, and OCD. I recently got up to a therapeutic dose and I could cry about how much better I feel. I was severely mentally ill before this. It took up all my energy to barely make it through the day and survive. I so desperately wanted to get better and I knew what coping skills/ activities would help me. I was in therapy. But I simply could not get myself to engage in them. I finally feel capable of doing these things. It’s become so easily throughout the day to notice negative thought patterns, obsessive thought spirals, shame, etc, and I’m able to be mindful and shift to a healthier perspective. I actually feel happy. I feel calm and regulated. I am so sad that I spent years struggling so badly and missing out on life. I think I will be grieving for a while. To anyone else looking for hope- I hope this encourages you. The titration process of this medication can be rough- but it is well worth it if it is a good fit for you

I keep seeing these ‘it changed my life’ comments, I’d love to know- how so?

Hello All,

I just took my first 25mg dose about an hour ago and I can’t sleep because I am feeling a huge euphoric wave. Is this normal? I don’t want to complain because I much prefer this to any nasty side effects but I want to sleep. Can you please share your first dose experiences? Thank you!

I’ve never forgotten to take them this late, it’s currently 7am for me. I take 100mg lamotrigine and 5mg abilify. I usually take them together at 7:30pm. Do I just wait until 7:30 tonight to take my normal amount?

I've been on 100mg of lamotrigine for about 6 months now. This is in addition to Lexapro and a small dose of Abilify.

It's working to a degree, but I'm still having breakthrough anxiety. Has anyone had any serious side effects from going over 100? Or should I just double down on my DBT?

For those of you who take lamotrigine for cyclothymia and/or BPD (I’ve been diagnosed with both), I’d really like to hear about your experience with missed doses.
I take lamotrigine twice a day, and yesterday was the first time I completely forgot my evening dose.

Yesterday was also an extremely difficult day emotionally because I’m currently grieving the loss of my father (4 months ago), which is actually why I forgot my medication in the first place.

This morning, I felt absolutely terrible. My mood dropped dramatically and I felt really, really unwell emotionally. Then I took my usual morning dose, and about two hours later I started feeling noticeably better. I know it could absolutely be a coincidence, especially considering how difficult yesterday was, but the timing really surprised me. It genuinely felt like missing that one dose had a significant impact, and then taking my morning dose seemed to help fairly quickly.

For those of you taking lamotrigine, especially twice a day: have you ever missed a single dose and noticed a pretty drastic change in your mood or emotional state afterward?

I’ve been taking lamotrigine for about a year (although I stopped taking it on my own for a while and then started taking it again a few months later), and I feel much better compared to how I was before I started taking it.

But I honestly don’t know what my problem is, and my psychiatrist hasn’t told me anything about it.

I’ll ask her the next time I see her, but I want to know for myself in the meantime what kinds of things it can be prescribed for.

Hi everyone! 25, F here

I am currently under the 'right to choose' pathway in the UK for ADHD and Autism.

Today I had a hospital appointment with a psychiatrist who was, to put it simply, amazing. It felt like for the first time that I wasn't labelled 'depressed' or 'anxious'. Instead I was offered actual support and a plan moving forward.

The psychiatrist has suggested that he could prescribe me a low dose of Lamotrigine (used for Epilepsy and Bipolar) whilst I am currently awaiting my assessments. (I am currently abusing weed and have been for 4-5 years to cope. He would like me off of weed). He explained this is to stabilise my mood and suicide ideations whilst waiting for further help. He has also referred me to the CAT programme (cognitive Analytic therapy).

He has said he won't put me on anti - depressants and would never send me back to CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy). He couldn't understand why they would have ever suggested that with the symptoms I present.

My questions are:

Has anyone else been offered or prescribed Lamotrigine before? How did you feel? Did you not like it? Did you swap to anything else?

Has anybody tried CATS? What was it like? Did it help? How are you now that you're no longer in the programme?

Any advice or information is very much appreciated. Whilst feeling support I also feel so alone in doing this all by myself. It's a lot of mental pressure to stay consistent and keep up with all of these appointments.

Thanks guys

Hi!

I should have taken my dose 6 hours ago. I feel
withdrawal symptoms.
I am able to take my dose right now. I take it 2 times a day 11AM and 4PM.
It’s 9:30 PM and I should have taken it at 4PM.

What to do? The time for next dose will be at 11AM. I’m on vacation and I’m scared of the symptoms.

I’ve always been sensitive to SSRIS side affects and having adverse effects, I can tolerate and do well currently on Ritalin and quietapine 25mg but I think I wanna try a mood stabiliser, ive seen a lot of people getting along well with Lamotrigine I’m just worried about adverse side effects, can anyone recommend a good mood stabiliser without crazy side effects?

Hey all! I've been on Lamotrigine for 18 months or so as treatment for seizures, stable dose of 2×100mg daily. While it has been very effective at episode prevention, I'm somewhat confused by the effects on my mood, though I'm sure it's a combination of life factors as I've had a few ups and downs the last year. I have clinical ADHD and take Dexamphetamine at 1-2×5mg daily, sometimes more depending on the daily requirements.

I experience emotions more regularly, it's almost like a tap got turned on and stuff comes flooding to the surface more and more. They can also be more intense. I know I've suppressed emotions for a good chunk of the last decade. I can get my emotions under control faster than I used to be able to, for sure, but they seem to turn up more often and escalate just as fast as before - I'll have flashes of frustration or sadness and I still feel intense emotional reactivity. Other people have remarked that I feel aloof, distant, yet it really doesn't feel that way. I suspect it's just ADHD and life stressors, or maybe hormonal changes.

It's also interesting that it has only started to become predictable the last month or so, I can notice when emotions are rising, though they still turn up so much more often than I feel they should be. Maybe it's just somatic work actually having an impact.

I guess I just wanted to ask if others had similar experiences and actually if people have experienced changes later down the track too.

I’m a low dose responder, just wondering if anyone has just stayed at their 25mg and found it to be helpful?

I’m on 75mg. Was convinced it didn’t do anything but I realised I don’t fall into pits of depression anymore.

Doctor said I should reach 200mg because I definitely still experience some emotions way too intensely and I’d love to go higher to fix this but I tried to increase to 100mg three times each time I lasted only two weeks. Fatigue was so bad that I could barely do anything and it completely cancelled out Vyvanse I take for ADHD.

I wonder if it might be because of high sensitivity to meds? I tried to learn about it more.

My psychiatrist said that the dose is so low that it seems more like a placebo to her and I’m just confused. But if it doesn’t hurt I don’t think I want to stop idk