Any take lamictal šŸ’Š?

Iā€™m on 200mg Lamictal per day. My pdoc prescribe it as a mood stabalizer. This med helped me out of my suicide ideation some years ago. I am using it ever since.

Do you have the flat affect that Notmoses warns of or do you find it energizing?

I do not experience any flat affect nor would I say I find it energising. It merely stabalise my mood in that I do not have suicidal thoughts and severe mood swings.

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I donā€™t know. I was forced to take Lamictal when I was a teenager, and I experienced the allergy but no one knew to take me off it, and I guess I told them about the face rash. They said that the face rash would disappear and I should continue taking Lamictal. I did not continue taking it. The face rash is now known to be a sign of a fatal allergy. The allergy can kill you. Did you sign a document that agreed that you know of the risks of the fatal allergy? When I was asked later if I would try Lamictal and given the document to sign by a new psychiatrist at the same facility I told her about the allergy and she decided that she couldnā€™t give me Lamictal.

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No there wasnā€™t a document to sign.

My son took Lamictal 150mg and lexapro 10mg for years starting in his teens. It helped but in the long run he really hated that he was diagnosed OCD and ADHD. But at 20 he became bipolar and now at 24 heā€™s sz.

His pdoc and 2 pharmacists said his Seroquil and lexapro are a bad combo for his heart.

But then we tried Charlotteā€™s Web Hemp Oil 6 months ago and wow did THAT help! Itā€™s main claim-to-fame is helping kids with severe epilepsy - Charlotte Figi went from 300 seizures a week to 1 a week when she started using it!!! Tons of people flooded to Colorado to get it. Itā€™s made from cannabis but it is TOTALLY LEGAL in ALL States except New York and Florida. See Congressional House Resolution 5226.

Regular ā€œstreet potā€ is awful for bp/sz. The THC causes psychosis, but the chemical compound called CBDs (cannabidiol) REDUCES psychosis and helps mood stabilization. It seems lamictal is reasonably good, and you may want to try both.

Go to the Realm of Caring wwwtheroc.us for info. Your doctor will probably not know much about it. The KEY is the ratio of CBDs to THC. Charlotteā€™s Web is 30:1 CBDs to THC. Thereā€™s NO high effect from it. Itā€™s a dietary supplement. The liquid or smokable strain, ACDC, is 20:1 CBDs to THC. Stick with those. Itā€™s been great for my son, so long as he doesnā€™t also smoke regular THC pot. That messes everything up. CW helps me with sleep, too. :smile:

I was prescribed Lamictal again.

Iā€™m going to take it again, but at a very low dose.

My depression is crippling, hopefully this will help.

Iā€™m still taking it. Still at a low dose. Boy does it take forever to get up to a real dose. Iā€™m at 75mg. I think my pdoc is being extra cautious about prescribing this to me based on what Iā€™ve read about other people experiences on the internet. I go up to 100mg on Thurs. No change in my mood yet. Also upped my wellbutrin dose to 300mg. I seem to have more energy, been more active the past few days instead of sitting around. Still crying but not as much.

I used to take it for moods but it didnā€™t work.

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I have taken it many times. At first it lifts my depression in matter of hours, then it makes my mind race, destroys my judgement and maybe it also makes me overtly talkactive and al over the place and generally obnoxious .
many people like it though, rather for the depressive side of bipolar, not much for the manic side. I think it makes me manic.

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Sorry to hijack the thread but I wanted to share my experience of lamictal and wellbutrin combo. I am starting to feel better, and have more energy. Almost manic-like maybeā€¦ keeping an eye on itā€¦ not euphoric but better, more talkative, active. Iā€™ve been getting up earlier and doing stuff most of the day. I forgot to eat and drink yesrerday, was so busy outside doing fall cleanup. I seriously havenā€™t been outside in about 2 months. I didnā€™t cry at all yesterday. And I havenā€™t had any alcohol in a week. I hope this lastsā€¦

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I dont know if I will be taking Lamictal, Im changing my mind.

The bright light therapy seems to be working for me a bit.

My depression seems to be lifting a little, the only thing is I start getting very tired at around 6 pm and crash on the couch at this time, but my depression seems to be a bit better.

There is a Synergistic effect between Lamictal and Risperdal - Risperdal plasma levels are increased some because of the Lamictal. This can cause an increase in side effects. I dont need this added problem.

Besides in the past Lamictal has made my moods cycle and I became more manic and anxious.

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Maybe a 2nd light therapy session at noon would help.

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I was thinking of adding a second session, noon sounds ideal.

Thanks for your input @Skims :smile:

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@Wave How long have you been doing your light therapy and how do you like it? I got a small full spectrum light box with ionizer recently too but when I tried it I got a headache and nausea which the booklet said are possible side effects. Did you get any side effects and if so did they go away?

I felt a bit hypomanic initially, but now no side effects.

The light therapy is not really helping me out so much with liifting my depression - I am now splitting my time using the lightbox. 20 minutes 12pm 30minutes 5pm - I go to bed at 6pm! everyday like clockwork - my body shuts down when 6pm rolls around. Ive been sleeping a lot lately.

My 24 year old son was diagnosed ADD/OCD and took lamictal + lexapro since he was in 8th grade :frowning: . Bad idea in my opinion, in retrospect. He added in Zyprexa when he started bipolar disorder at age 20, and then switched to Seroquil 300+mg, Lexapro 10mg, and Lamictal 125mg. Then he took it upon himself to go off meds altogether. YIKES. Hospital time. Two pharmacists said lexapro and Seroquil together are bad for the heart.

He went back on the Seroquil and 25mg lamictal. We started him on Charlotteā€™s Web Hemp Oil back in July 2015, and it is fabulous! CW was featured on CNN (and I think 20/20) about medical cannabis. But beware, ā€œmedical cannabisā€ is NOT medical in the cases of bp/sz because even moderate amounts of THC create psychosis.

High-CBD cannabis oil is non high-inducing, very calming and better than lamictal, from my observation, with NO side effects. CW is 30:1 ratio of CBD (cannabidiol)-to-THC. The smokable strain, ACDC, is 20:1 ratio CBD-to-THC. Thatā€™s the key. Itā€™s different than ā€œmedical marijuanaā€ that helps people with nausea, migraines, insomnia, etc.

I take CW (legally shipped to 48 states with no Dr. recommendation needed) at night for better sleep and morning for less anxiety. Lots of info here: www.bipolarhealthgroup.com I would love to know if anyone else has good results from CW or ACDC. :sunny:

i have ben on Lamictal for about 12 years. i take a very high dosage (300mg) and it totally changed my life for the better. it helped me with my mania and impulsive behavior. it calmed me down but has never made me feel tired. i just feel more stable and better able to concentrate on what others were saying as well as the crazy thoughts i my head.

i have never gotten the rash from it nor had any adverse reactions, so i suppose i am very lucky to have found it.

daisy mae

Thought Iā€™d update my progress with the lamictal. Now up to 150 mg. Am able to smile and laugh at things now. My bf says he sees improvement which is usually the 1st sign, that others notice before you do. But am still pretty sad most of the time. Will this ever go away?

Just had a med review with the insurance company. The nurse said that hormonal birth control pills decrease the effectiveness of lamictal. So your pdoc needs to adjust your dosage to account for the birth control. Then should you decide to stop taking your birth control pills the lamictal can rebound and come up to toxic levels in your body.