Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with lamictal

Does going off psychiatric meds make me more crazy, or less?

TheBones — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:00:01 -0800

Another depression meds question Currently I am on 100 mg of zoloft and 200 mg of lamictal. I have been on cymbalta in the past (60 mg). I just switched psychiatrists and my new psychiatrist has suggested that I try going off of meds, first zoloft (very slowly- 1/2 dose for 14 days, half that 14 days, etc) and then the lamictal (very slowly as well).

I definitely feel over-medicated, like there is a layer of lacquer over me keeping me from really feeling anything. I also really don't have much drive, other than to sleep, right now.

This seems like a good idea, but it also really scares the hell out of me!

I have had a really bad 6 months and have finally started to get my life back in order- going to a therapist once a week, not drinking any more, finally moving closer to my wife, etc.

I was in a great place a year ago, but this past year was really bad, mentally, emotionally and physically.

I know you are not my psychiatrist and you are not my doctor, but am looking for anectdotal information on coming off of these drugs and how you best handled it. What were your issues with each drug, what went well.

Any sort of reassurance, or scary stories, would be great.

Thanks!

A cheap replacement for Seroquel?

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:04:56 -0800

PsychMedFilter: A cheap replacement for Seroquel? I'm bipolar. I take Lamictal, Lithium and -- my favorite -- Seroquel. I just lost my job. And my health insurance.

I can find the Lamictal and Lithium for fairly cheap without insurance. But the Seroquel, and even its generic, Quetiapine, is killing me.

My doc is set on keeping me on the Seroquel; I can't blame him -- the stuff works wonders. I'm looking at different state and nonprofit programs for possible assistance in covering the cost.

But I'm curious. Have any bipolar MeFi-ers switched from Seroquel to something else and found it to be as effective?

Heart racing/pounding upon waking up.

desjardins — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:07:15 -0800

Heart racing/pounding upon waking up. This happens in the morning and also when I take naps. Relevant info: female, 34, no tobacco, moderate drinker, slightly underweight, no chronic physical issues. Blood pressure is usually on the low end of normal range. I almost always get 7-8 uninterrupted hours sleep/night and have no trouble falling asleep or waking up.

I am taking Lamictal, Zoloft, and Klonopin for anxiety/depression. Klonopin slows down the racing heart, but I dislike taking it in the morning because it makes me drowsy. I can't pinpoint when this started, but it seems like a few months ago. I do have panic attacks, but the racing heart has never been a symptom before. Besides, most of my panic is related to social phobia, so it doesn't make sense that I would feel that immediately upon waking. Note that this happens while I'm still lying down - I'm not getting up too fast.

I called my psychiatrist; he doesn't think it's related to the medication, and doesn't have any solid ideas. I got a pretty thorough workup in the hospital in July (was there for neurological stuff, not heart related, though they did do an EKG) and got a clean bill of health. Where should I go from here?

I've got the opposite sleep problem!

dithmer — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:12:21 -0800

Instead of not being able to get up in the mornings, I have a problem with waking up TOO early. Typically I go to sleep around midnight-1:00 am (it's when I start getting tired) but for the last 2 months or so I've been waking up anywhere between 5:00 am to 7ish, and my alarm doesn't go off until 8:15. Usually it's when I wake up because I have to go to the bathroom (and I don't drink anything before bed) but once I wake up I'm awake awake. If I try to close my eyes and fall back asleep, it's useless. I'm still getting 5-7 hours of sleep a night but this happening every night is catching up with me.

Stuff that might be important:
I was diagnosed bipolar about a year ago. I'm on Wellbutrin (300mg) for the depression and Lamictal (200mg) for the manic behavior.

I just recently lowered my Lamictal to 150mg because it's giving me (I think it's responsible) digestive problems.

I am between psychiatrists because my last one didn't listen to me at all (so any meds adjusting I'm doing is on my own, I know, terrible idea).

I drink no coffee at all. I do drink a can of diet soda a day, usually, but it's no later than 2 in the afternoon. And that's been the case for months before these problems started.

I've never been one to sleep in. I think the latest I've slept in years is 9:00 a.m.

I have a medicinal marijuana card. I was smoking it fairly frequently for a period of time after a long depressive episode, and I began to realize it really helps stabilize my moods. My swinging is way less frequent and extreme. And it also helps me fall asleep at night, which can be a problem for me too.

Every sleeping pill I've run into helps you FALL asleep, not stay asleep. I'm a morning person so I'm not terribly worried about drowsiness - I have a lot of energy. But what meds to turn to? Or is there something else I can't think of (Non-medicines and the like).

Thank you!

Legs, lower back, neck pains. What's happening to me?

onepapertiger — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 06:49:29 -0800

Since Saturday, my lower back and legs have been in a lot of pain. The pain is making my legs weak. Both of my legs and my lower back feel weirdly sore. My neck also hurts, as though I've had whiplash. I can feel two swollen lymphnodes on the sides of my neck.

I'm finding that the pain it's not so bad in the morning, but in the late afternoon, it just hits again. I've been trying to ease the leg pain by lying down, but it doesn't help. Ibuprofen isn't helping either.

I was on Lamictal (100 mgs), which I cut out once I saw the body rash. The rash is nearly gone, but the pain in my legs, lower back and neck aren't gone yet.

My GP isn't available this week. I'll see my psychiatrist on Friday. In the meantime, should I go to the emergency room?

What's with this inverse correlation?

jammer — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 13:29:38 -0800

I recently increased my dosage of lamictal from 100mg/day to 200mg/day. I was prescribed 100mg pills, whereas before I had 25mg pills. For a month's supply of 100mg/daily in 25mg units, the bill sent to my insurance was over $500. For 200mg in 100mg units, it was just under $300. Why would more of the active ingredient cost less? I know the difference in pill count can't account for that much of a differential. What's the creative economics here?

Am I losing my mind while trying to save it?

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 04:24:59 -0800

What are the more serious side effects that can come from taking Lamictal? I have just been placed on Lamictal after a prolonged struggle with bipolar disorder. I’ve hesitated going on it because of reports I’ve read of cognitive side effects including “fuzzier thinking,” memory loss and problems with word recall. I work in linguistics and am very concerned over this. I’ve searched bipolar forums and seem to see nothing but testimonials in relation to the drug, but 99% of the posts have the most atrocious spelling and punctuation mistakes that I’m beginning to wonder if I’m risking my livelihood by taking it! I know 99% of posters on Internet forums in general have atrocious writing skills (with the remaining one percent belonging to MeFites, of course), but still, I find it worrisome. Does anyone out there have any insight into this? Thanks in advance…

Is bipolar mis/overdiagnosed?

Anonymous — Fri, 20 May 2005 14:18:58 -0800

In your personal experience, do you think it's possible (or even common) to be mistakenly diagnosed as bipolar? I've spent the past few years--first on lexapro, now on effexor xr-- coping with what I believed was life-long depression/anxiety, and these diagnoses/prescriptions were given by my primary care physician. I finally decided that I would benefit from talking to a psychiatrist about the medication, and would seek some form of talk therapy.

The psychiatrist told me, based on what I told her about my behaviours and my lifestyle while on the meds (some sexual promiscuity/compulsion), that not only were these drugs the wrong class of medication for me, but that it was likely that I might be bipolar and that I could possibly benefit from Lamictal.

I told her that I was familiar with all the flavours of bipolar disorder but that I didn't consider myself at all bipolar and had never experienced any real manic episodes. I am meeting with her again in a week to talk about weaning off the Effexor and trying something else (though not necessarily Lamictal). Part of me thinks I should get a second opinion. But another part of me is (perhaps foolishly) hoping that this could explain the years of feeling torpid, lazy, uninspired, easily distracted/discouraged.

Are any MeFites willing to share their experiences, either as bipolar or being mistakenly diagnosed as such? Am I right to be circumspect? I've read all the other AskMe bipolar threads but haven't found an answer to this particular question. Thank you.