Lamictal

[ColoradoDawg]

My doc wants me to try Lamictal for anxiety, and as a general mood-stabilizer. The only other drug I've taken for this was Neurontin, which worked well for those symptoms, as well as other issues, but some side effects made me unable to continue. I take 40-60mg/day Adderall XR, and I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with this drug (taking Adderall, or not).
-thanks

[Andrew]

I take Lamictal, which has been an excellent mood stabilizer for me. If you're dealing with anxiety, I might question the doctor about your adderal, as its a stimulant, and stimulants have been known to actually make anxiety worse for some people.

[ColoradoDawg]

good points Andrew, however, I was having detrimental anxiety and insomnia issues early this summer (during which didn't take Adderall once... for 3 months). If anything, Adderall has helped me with generalized and social anxiety, as I am much less introverted, and more confident in social situations, and in general. I did switch to ritalin for about 2 months last year and that really screwed me up w/ anxiety, made me depressed, etc. Adderall has seemed to have mild mood-stabilizing effects on me.

If ya dont mind, what has your experience with Lamictal's side-effects been like. I'm reluctant to start taking it after reading the potential side-effects, as I have issues with some of the most common problems such as double vision and tremors (both pre, and not affected by adderall). I'd love a little insight from someone taking it.

[Andrew]

I don't recall experiencing any side effects from Lamictal, though my experience may not be representative of the general population.

[ColoradoDawg]

thats good. I just seem to be the guy that'll start taking a med and really something odd will happen. I'll check the drug info-sheet, and sure enough, its one of the rare, weird side-effects. I'm sure I will be fine, but it's supposed to be a drug to try after other things haven't worked, and it seems like a bit of overkill (being one of the top Bipolar II treatments). Anyway, thanks for your thoughts. btw, what's your dose?

[Andrew]

I take 250 mgs of Lamictal.

[Gourmet]

ColoradoDawg....love that name

I've been taking Lamictal for 6 years now. It has done great things for me, but I am taking it for a seizure disorder. I take 600 mgs of Lamictal each day....which is a lot particularly for my size and close to max dose for anybody.

The side effects I experience... I take 200 in the mornings and 400 in the evenings. The larger night dose makes me clumsy for about an hour. I feel clear in my head, but my motor skills are a little off and I jumble up words. I also have a touch of blurred vision that only bothers me if I need to read. As I said, this lasts an hour, maybe two after taking. I consider it insignificant.

I took an ssri with it for a short period of time for anxiety and had no problems.

I now am taking 80 mgs of strattera for AD/HD and am having no reactions or side effects other than a little nausea in the mornings. Both meds are doing their jobs and both of them I take with food.

[ColoradoDawg]

Thanks, I'm not too sure how fond I am of the name though... it does get across the point that I am in Colorado, and a Ga. Bulldawg fan (ladies can interprete the dawg anyway they want ie: all men are dawgs...etc )

My doc wants me to work up to 200mg/day. What I'm concerns are is being clumsy, as I'm known to be. Having a clear head is key for me, and my motor skills are are already sktechy. I can deal with all that no prob. My main problem is keratoconus (progressive cornea defect) which already causes blurred/double vision im my left eye, as well as potentially MS caused double vision (binocular diplopia)... no dx yet,but several symptoms. The vision stuff is why I'm reluctant to take something that could add to that problem. Its hard enough studying with my eyes the way they are now (not correctable at this time...by any method). However, I had slight visual gains while on neurontin, so I could very well have no problem with Lamictal.

Did you have any weight changes? I gained some on Neurontin, and have read that this can affect weight somewhat.
I've taken ssri's, and really dont like 'em but have thought about trying again
Anyway, thanks for the insight... much appreciated... (*by the way, I took an Ambien before I decided to respond, so if my post turned into garbled junk... sorry

[Andi]

I am VERY med sensitive and Lamictal, over time, has been a godsend for me. I will admit that in the very beginning I did encounter a few side effects that aren't nearly as bothersome now as they were in the onset of treatment. The first thing that hit me were the euphoric states with each increase. These lasted from a few days to about a week. Then there were the muscular twitches. At times these were mild and then there were days that they became bothersome but overtime they did subside. At one point and time I was up to 450mgs. My doctor and I discovered that at a higher dose, I actually begin to lose cognitive function and became emotionally numb. I could not shake the feeling of just not "being" there. Decreasing the dose and switching med time took care of these problems. I have not experienced any weight gain due to the Lamictal but as we all know, reaction is individualized.

I have learned over the years that for some, it is not always best to look at the side effects of medications until something doesn't "feel" right. There are those that seem to have a psychosomatic reaction.

Btw...Bipolar II rapid cycling...350mgs

[Gourmet]

Hi again!
I'd like to repeat that I am on a very high dose and that the side effects are usually only after the larger dose which is in the evening and for a limited time. As far as weight..I did gain about
5 lbs which I didn't consider a big deal, but it was harder to take the weight off if I gained any weight due to lack of exercise, diet, etc. I have had no tremors whatsoever.

I was pretty weird on the ssri (weirder) but I am not sure if the lamictal combination had anything to do with it.

Contrary to Andi's report, I am actually cognitively brighter ...like putting on glasses (with slightly blurred vision in the evening ) As said, we all handle things differently and have our own reports. I noticed immediately how much sharper I was. Like Andi, the drug has been a godsend to me too.

But I am taking the drug for a reason other than moods.

The benefits for my personal case far outweigh any side effects. It is the only drug that arrested my seizures completely.

Wishing you the best in your decision.

[ColoradoDawg]

Originally Posted by Gourmet

Hi again!
I'd like to repeat that I am on a very high dose and that the side effects are usually only after the larger dose which is in the evening and for a limited time. As far as weight..I did gain about
5 lbs which I didn't consider a big deal, but it was harder to take the weight off if I gained any weight due to lack of exercise, diet, etc. I have had no tremors whatsoever.

I was pretty weird on the ssri (weirder) but I am not sure if the lamictal combination had anything to do with it.

Contrary to Andi's report, I am actually cognitively brighter ...like putting on glasses (with slightly blurred vision in the evening ) As said, we all handle things differently and have our own reports. I noticed immediately how much sharper I was. Like Andi, the drug has been a godsend to me too.

But I am taking the drug for a reason other than moods.

The benefits for my personal case far outweigh any side effects. It is the only drug that arrested my seizures completely.

Wishing you the best in your decision.

One reason my doc's want me to be on one of these anti-seizure drugs is that they think I might have had a few in the past. BUT they have no idea if it was MS or a seizure or as a couple of the "best" in the U.S. have said "might be something no one has seen" that caused the mri results... So the seizure treatment aspect is kinda a "well, couldn't hurt" attitude

I'm glad to hear that it is such a beneficial drug for you... the fact that it doesn't negatively affect your cognition is hopeful. The doc gave me a choice between Lamictal and Topamax, and pushed lamictal because it doesn't (usually) make you as foggy as Topamax, which is good considering this is an ADD forum and whatnot .

Anyway, after researching the side effects of the two, I'm tempted to forgo trying lamictal for the topamax. This is mostly because Topamax had very few reported visual side-effects (and only 2-4% increase in cognitive issues over Lamictal). Topamax takes a lot less time to start helping (4-5 days I think) as opposed to 4-5 weeks for Lamictal. That makes a lot of difference seeing as I'm having issues right now.. not a month from now... Soooo, my doc's calling me here in a few, and I'll get his opinion on the situation.... Thanks again for everyones insight... and any opinions of Topamax are of-course welcomed.

[Gourmet]

I have a friend on topomax for moods and she is doing well.

It's nice that you have a couple of options to consider. Good luck

[ColoradoDawg]

Originally Posted by Gourmet

I have a friend on topomax for moods and she is doing well.

It's nice that you have a couple of options to consider. Good luck

Well the doc said that he's never had any side-effects w/ starting patients really slow in the Lamictal, and that if I have any issues to stop whenever I want. This doc is great about options. When I was dx'd w/ ADD, he went over every type of med used for treatment, gave the +'s and -'s, said what he recomended, and let me choose.. A stand up care-giver in these times of un-helpful/unwilling to try MD's (I should note that he's a Psych. N.P.). So, as I'm typing, here goes round one of (hopefully many) doses of Lamictal.

Thanks again for all the insight and advise guys, and Gourmet, dont be shocked if I ask a few more ?'s (if ya dont mind, of course )

[Gourmet]

Anytime!

[neuroangel]

Hi Colorado,

I started taking lamictal about three or four weeks ago. I'm up to 25 mg twice a day. So far it hasn't done much for the depression, but I am at such a low dose...I am giving it time. (This is being prescribed for treatment-resistant depression). I'm working my way up to 100 mg twice a day over an eight week period. So far, I've lost 6 lbs since starting it. However, I'm starting to lose hair which concerns me. Other than that....only time will tell. Good luck with it.

Cyndi