r/Lamotrigine

▲ 5 r/Lamotrigine

Everytime I have to take lamotrigine I get more angry

Every time I go to the doctors I just want to tell him to fuck off. Every day I get slightly more annoyed and pissed off because I have to take it. I take it for just one seizure that I had. Sick of forgetting. Sometimes I forget if I took my medication like 5 minutes after I took it. I’ve just turned stupid and stuck in my bed. Unless I smoke weed throughout the whole day then I can’t be bothered to do anything. I’ve been skipping job interviews, leaving everything till the last second and I couldn’t care about it cuz one day I was fine working next day I’m in the hospital pretty much forced to take these medications. Ive lost all energy all motivation. Just scraping any fun I get off games and fucking wanking 2 hours a day. When I haven’t smoked weed I can’t eat a single thing and I can’t sleep at all and I can’t be arsed to go through that. I’ve just given up and I’m aware and I don’t care anymore

u/Fit_Raccoon_4871 — 22 hours ago

▲ 4 r/Lamotrigine+1 crossposts

Withdrawal symptoms from quitting

I’ve been taking Lamotrigine for epilepsy. Recently I was admitted to an epilepsy monitory unit to assess my condition, and of course they took me off of this, so now I’m on 0 mg.

I’ve been here for about a week and I’ve gone through some terrible emotions here. I don’t know if I can attribute it to the Lamotrigine withdrawal or just being here. I feel a layer of brain fog, extreme anxiety, fear, obsessive thoughts, a degree of hopelessness. The worst part is I have almost no appetite.

I’ve also started having seizures daily. Prior to coming off Lamotrigine, the seizures were almost controlled.

Do you guys think I’m experiencing withdrawal from Lamotrigine or I just hate being here…

u/kittymiaooo888 — 1 day ago

▲ 7 r/Lamotrigine+2 crossposts

Classic bipolar success story lamotrigine

So i know when ive been depressed how much success stories meant to me so for anyone feeling bad i wanted to share the great effect lamotrigine has had for the 3 years ive been using it. I added “classic bipolar” to the title and i use it as the definition from this video: https://youtu.be/UQSBVZoEFU8?si=BhHMKTWQKUpRx2H-

And if you want a TLDR: Lamotrigine is incredible! Side effects was a mild allergic rash when I started but we redid the titration and went slower and then there was no problem. Other than that no side effects at all and approximately a 30-40% general better well being when stable - less anxiety, less irritation and negative feeling dissipate faster. No depression and no hypomania since ive started.

When i read bipolar stories from others ive often found myself it hard to recognize many of the symptoms people describe, especially it seems many people have very rapidly changing mood which is pretty much the polar opposite from my experience. Most of the time in my life ive been “stable”/euthymic/hyperthymic with bouts of hypomania lasting for 2-4 months followed by depression for 6-12 months. Hypomanic symptoms include euphoria, increased creativity, sex drive, impulsivity, confidence, sociability, grandiose thinking and decreased need for sleep. More than once ive been described as having something “special” when ive been hypomanic, even been described as having “jesus-like” qualities (this most surely adds a lot of fuel to the hypomania!). I would argue i have been borderline manic at times but i also always had a logical part of my brain that told me that the thoughts im having are just thoughts and not the truth. I have no other comorbidities and have been “well adjusted” in most aspects through most of my life. I have no known psychiatric diagnoses in my family but with what I know now it's very likely my grandfather had it and both my father and my brother have tendencies towards it.

Background: I had a generally good childhood, i mean there was things that wasnt perfect such as a father who drank to much and a period in middle school when i was bullied. But other than that nothing super out of the ordinary. I was social and had friends, maybe a little shy (especially with the opposite gender). I had low motivation in school and often skipped classes but i had an interest in learning and generally did well on tests, exams and assignments.

Symptoms of bipolar started when i was about 20, i had my first relationship with what happened to be a very abusive partner. It lasted about a year and after we broke up i had a lot of anger and was in a weird emotionally state, it took about one year after it ended until i started feeling “normal again”. But it was also after this i had my first episode of becoming super confident and social - i started a new school and for the first time i was the popular person in class - usually before this id prefer to be more in the background but now i was the one people gathered around! Ofcourse i didnt question it i was just very surprised! It didnt last though and after a while my social energy dwindled and people asked if i was okay and why i suddenly wasnt social or talking. The symptoms here was pretty mild though so it wasnt anything i thought alot about.

After this periods of depression started to appear - i assumed it was seasonal depression as i tended to be social and outgoing half the year and the other half kept to myself. I could still manage life in the depressive periods so i didnt really think alot about it.

As i grew older the depressive phases became more intense, i never questioned the “up” phases, i just assumed that was my “normal” self. Before this i had also had a hard time to accept that actually was depression - in my mind that wasnt an option so i never really consider that it could be the case. But at the age of 24 it came a moment when i felt i didnt want to live anymore so i decided to search medical care for depression. I was put on SSRI which “numbed” the anxiety and depression - this was atleast better then the feelings i hade before so we slowly increased the dose to the max dose.

Then something happened, not only was i no longer depressed, i felt great! And i mean really great! The world had more colors, everything was beautiful, i was extremely confident, social, creative and i also only needed to sleep about 3hrs per night. I did think this was weird but hey i was feeling great so why question it? From here on out the the ups and downs became more pronounced.

For the next years i kept about the same cycle of 6 months stable or sub hypomanic, 6 months down but the phases where more intense. I was very confused because objectively nothing really changed in my life, i had the same job, same partner but in period i was social, confident and the next period i was very depressed and had high anxiety. I just couldnt understand how the same situation could feel so different. But i did what i could and started to take better care of myself, prioritizing my mental and physical health at all times - but it didnt seem to make any difference.

Then after a period with more stress and a lot of edibles i once again got to a very hypomaic state where i didnt need to sleep. I was once again very surprised but didnt really question it, cause i felt great! I discussed it with people and a colleague who was a psychologist mentioned for the first time the word “hypomania”. I didnt think alot about it then but when the depression came it was bad…. real bad. For close to one year I had intense anxiety and depression - i literally didnt have on second when i felt even close to okay. I was in a state where it was hard for me to even talk, I could answer yes and no questions but anything more than that I had a hard time to formulate an answer. I remembered that hypomania had been mentioned and looked it up and for the first time i saw the diagnoses bipolar - when i read the description i felt intense dread - it was pretty much verbatim what I had experienced. But i refused to accept it and was able to convince myself that it wasn't the case. After a year I felt good again… only for the cycle to repeat.

New job, a lot of stress and experimenting with psychedelics triggered another bout of hypomania. For about 4 months i worked tirelessly in a new company with great success. I got alot of praise (this is definitely something that adds fuel to the fire) but it ended with me trying to buy the company and then quitting to start my own company.

Que depression - about 7 months with the same symptoms. Now i started to be more open to accept that i had a bipolar diagnosis, and i knew for a fact that no matter how good hypomania felt i couldnt handle these intense long periods of depression. So i looked up what kind of treatments available but reading that medication was the primary treatment and what the side effects were made me disregard searching help for it. Instead i decided id try on my own by being very careful of my lifestyle.

For 1 year I basically only went to work, exercised and meditated and I kept stable but felt very constrained and bored. Slowly i started to push the limits with doing more stuff to see what i could handle without triggering an episode. I managed to keep increase my activities and keep stable for about another 2 years. With 3 years stable my confidence grew that i had it under control so i started a bigger project that i was excited about. And guess what happened? Hypomania again…

This time i was aware of it but i felt confident that i could “ride the wave” for a little bit. Ofcouse that didnt work i was hit with another 7 months of depression.

Now i was desperate for anything that could help me. And within 2 months of going to the doctor for a referral i was diagnosed and put on medication. A great decision!!!

I was given lamotrigine and except for a mild rash that went away with a slower titration i had no side effects. I was very afraid that i would feel numb, lose my creativity or any other of the other side effects you read about. But i just feel a general increased well being, reduced anxiety. And due to having less anxiety and no depressive bout i have a higher executive function and arguably increased creativity! 10/10 medication!

I can still feel hints of hypomania sometimes but i know not to lean in to it and i have no depressive symptoms anymore.

u/FeeNovel5069 — 2 days ago

▲ 3 r/Lamotrigine+1 crossposts

Anyone else having issues with period?

So I have ALWAYS been a heavy bleeder and my period always comes when it’s supposed to. It did come when expected this time too - but it’s SUPER light, more like a spotting thing and it comes on/off for 4 days now.. I still have like this dull pain in my lower abdomen but not intense. It’s weird because my body is acting as if I am having my period now, but the bleeding is nearly non existent.

Relevant information:
- I had 700 in prolactin (normal levels are 500) but my doc said that it’s not something to worry about because it can fluctuate due to stress and bad sleep, and since I don’t have any symptoms (fender breasts, lactation) he’s not worried

- I reached therapeutic dose 5 weeks ago.

- I’ve had MUCH anxiety the last month

Could this be temporary because my body is adjusting to this higher dose, or should I be worried? I’m kinda not complaining about the light bleeding, but it also kinda stresses me out 😅

u/amix97 — 2 days ago

▲ 2 r/Lamotrigine

Tapered off

Hi! I was taking lamotrigine for mood stabilization and 3 weeks ago I tapered completely off. I tapered for about 6 months after having been on 250mg ER for about 5 or 6 years. I'm now experiencing being VERY tired. I'm very tired and unmotivated. And my muscles and joint hurt???? I don't want to go out for very long periods or do a whole lot of anything. Is this normal? It started about 2 weeks ago. Has anyone else experienced this? Does it get better with time? Yes, i am in contact with my doctor and psychistrist about this, i just want other people's experiences.

u/Discreet-rose03 — 2 days ago

▲ 6 r/Lamotrigine+1 crossposts

Forgetful/Brain fog

I have been on Lamotrigine for 5 months now and on my therapeutic dose of 100mg. I noticed lately I am being forgetful like I am about to say something and totally went blank in an instant and can't remember what I'm about to say. Then after a while I will remember it. Does anyone here have the same experience? Is that a normal side effect? Also there are times I feel queasy.

u/AmmaGemini — 3 days ago

▲ 2 r/Lamotrigine

New to lamotrigine

Hi everyone! Recently diagnosed with bipolar. I’ve tried meds like latuda and abilify which gave me bad side effects. My current psychiatrist has prescribed me lamotrigine at 25mg to titrate up to 50mg in a couple weeks.

Just want to know everyone’s experiences when they first started the medicine. And how’s it going for you now?

u/ZebraDry9226 — 2 days ago

▲ 24 r/Lamotrigine

I think it’s working, guys

I’ve been on it about 8 weeks with current titration to 100. I’m feeling like my rages are popping up maybe a little less and are easier to use. I work as a dancer and being at the club has been upsetting and unbearable in recent months. The last two shifts I’ve raked up because I suddenly feel more confident and I feel like I’m giving off a happier energy. I feel a bit more able to think about positive things and to kill the negative intrusive thoughts a little better. I’m dreaming every night all night and occasionally have headaches but other than that no side effects. I think it’s finally working and I’m feel very happy that I took a chance on it.

u/StarsInTheRoof111 — 4 days ago

▲ 3 r/Lamotrigine

Is it worth it?

How can you tell what's a side effect and what's an existing symptom the Lamotrigine is supposed to be treating?

Taking for depression and mood swings. Before Lamotrigine, I was in the pits.

For the first week at 25mg and 50mg I felt better, before feeling bad again. At 75mg and 100mg, I'm not feeling relief.

I'm feeling a bit worse than I did before Lamotrigine, but I was feeling really really bad before starting this med so I have no idea if it could be worse because of it, or if it just hasn't reached a therapeutic dose yet.

To be honest, I'm having some unsafe thoughts, which I also had before Lamotrigine but they are a little worse right now. So I'm taking this seriously.

For how long should I push through this titration?

At what dose did you find relief for your mental health?

Did you experience worse mood as a side effect and did it go away?

If so, how did you know it was even caused by the Lamotrigine?

u/ProbablyMunchausens — 3 days ago

▲ 1 r/Lamotrigine

Porn addiction

31 Male
Watched porn since my early teen hood. Started lexapro about 2.5 months ago. I decided to go cold turkey on porn and not masturbate daily like I was for the past so many years. Felt like I was getting increased anxiety from stopping and my psych wants to prescribe Lamotrigine to help with the urges of it I guess. Does anyone have any input on the idea of using this for that reason?

u/Yasiolugna — 3 days ago

▲ 2 r/Lamotrigine

Inhibition of ADHD meds

Do you guys feel like Lamotrigine masks the effects of your adhd meds? I’ve been on 60 mg IR MP and don’t really feel anything, but I have in the past. Not asking for medical advice just wondering about other people’s experience.

u/Dish_Slayer — 4 days ago

▲ 14 r/Lamotrigine

My memory is gone

I’m literally at loss of words. I think of something and I just can’t grasp it. It’s like going to a grocery store and forgetting what you were gonna buy. It sucks. It’s helping with depression and anxiety, but I don’t know if it’s worth this much.

u/Impressive-Swing-494 — 5 days ago

▲ 3 r/Lamotrigine

how bad did i fuck up

yall i've been on lamotrigine for like the last 5 years. I started off kinda low but been 300+ (daily) for the last 3 years. this medication dead ass SAVED my life mentally.
Anyway, I’m also a huge stoner. Moreso back before I started taking lamotrigine. Since I've been on lamotrigine I've mostly been a "social smoker." like once or twice a week, or a week straight for a friends wedding but rarely do that. a special occasions/ special treat type thing.
In the last year, I got reaaaallllyyyy into pens again and somehow became a daily smoker...
Anyway, I never told my psych that i smoke. Initially because i felt like it was such a small frequency that it didn't matter. idk why i never was honest the last year- it kinda crept up on me. and i also only see him every 9 months for maintenance since i’m so stable.
ANYWAYYY, now i find out that weed + lamotrigine can have really bad effects long term 😭 and i’m scared that i fucked my health already or something
mentally i could get over lol but apparently it's really bad for my liver
someone comfort me pLS

u/Normal_Standard8211 — 4 days ago

▲ 5 r/Lamotrigine

how bad did i fuck up

yall i've been on lamotrigine for like the last 5 years. I started off kinda low but been 300+ (daily) for the last 3 years. this medication dead ass SAVED my life mentally.
Anyway, I’m also a huge stoner. Moreso back before I started taking lamotrigine. Since I've been on lamotrigine I've mostly been a "social smoker." like once or twice a week, or a week straight for a friends wedding but rarely do that. a special occasions/ special treat type thing.
In the last year, I got reaaaallllyyyy into pens again and somehow became a daily smoker...
Anyway, I never told my psych that i smoke. Initially because i felt like it was such a small frequency that it didn't matter. idk why i never was honest the last year- it kinda crept up on me. and i also only see him every 9 months for maintenance since i’m so stable.
ANYWAYYY, now i find out that weed + lamotrigine can have really bad effects long term 😭 and i’m scared that i fucked my health already or something
mentally i could get over lol but apparently it's really bad for my liver
someone comfort me pLS

u/Normal_Standard8211 — 4 days ago

▲ 7 r/Lamotrigine

I’m not bipolar, but psychiatrist prescribes me lamotrigine for regulating my mood

She prescribed it because she claims it will help with my autism and ADHD mood dysregulation. Is there anyone else here who is on lamotrigine with autism and/or adhd and if so, how is it for you?

I feel like it numbs me too much. I feel like i have emotions that i can’t feel. I still get intense feelings though, but everything in between is just numbed.

u/lcm4444 — 5 days ago

▲ 5 r/Lamotrigine

Withdrawal Fatigue

I was on 200mg for 3 years and started tapering off with instruction of my psychiatrist about 6 weeks ago. I'm down to 125 now and I've just had extreme fatigue hit this past week. I can sleep about 12 hours per day and still feel tired. I have so much to do but have not been getting through many of my tasks nor have I been exercising and I feel really guilty for that. I keep trying to force myself to get out of bed after 8 hours but I've not been able to so far. I feel so bad has anyone experienced this? How long does it take to go away? I'm keeping my dose at 125 and not dropping until I feel better.

u/Acrobatic_Tap_384 — 4 days ago

▲ 2 r/Lamotrigine

Erections

Has anyone else had issues with erections whilst you are sleeping??

u/BabblingBrook_2025 — 4 days ago

▲ 1 r/Lamotrigine

undergoing surgery

hey! i’ve been prescribed 25mg for two weeks then 50mg for two weeks now but im worried because i have a rhinoplasty scheduled in two weeks and ill be under anaesthesia, given loads of antibiotics, pain and anti nausea meds. would i be okay to start lamotrigine and continue from now? or would waiting until after the surgery be better? context it’s for bipolar!

also worried about the whole SJS situation my doctor did talk to me about this and i’ve read it can start anywhere between 2-8 weeks of treatment. i would hate to start the medication now and risk getting this rash and it affecting my surgery and overall health. how common is this rash? have any of you experienced it? it’s so scary!

u/TripFalse9534 — 4 days ago

▲ 6 r/Lamotrigine

Is it possible 25mg helped anxiety in 3 days

I have Debilitating anxiety which has caused severe depression

So on 25mg at night for 3 days and I woke up with no physical anxiety coursing through body

Is this normal?

On a bad note I have extreme fatigue and brain fog from it. When will it pass

u/ReasonableFig8954 — 6 days ago

▲ 1 r/Lamotrigine

Down dosing withdrawal?

Has anyone down dosed from 100mg to 75mg? If you hsd withdrawal how long did it last?

Been on 100mg for over a year, but the exhaustion/zombie mode is debilitating. My doctor wants to try me at a lower dose. I cut one of the 25s in half so I am at 37.5 in the am and 50mg in the pm (used to be 50 and 50). I am feeling withdrawal already. :( Little dizzy, nauseous and out of it. Its a really busy time at work and I have my mother in laws celebration of life coming up, so I am hoping this wont last too long...

Anyone have experience with a small down dose? How long did withdrawal last?

u/Everlore17 — 4 days ago