Lamical symptoms and conditions

I'm on Lamictal for minor bipolar, with Adult ADHD, OCD and anxiety. I went on Lamictal around 2005. It has been 4 years. At first I did not like how it made me feel. It made me feel like euphoric almost like all my emotions were caged up inside, both good and bad. When I say good I mean, the normal emotions of happiness and sadness were gone. I became more or less numb. I no longer cry when it is appropriate to cry, and I am no longer a happy outgoing person. Yet the "bad" emotions is what I mean by it holds in the extreme moodiness, outrages, anxiety and depression. Now my attitude is more like, yeah whatever. I accepted the good with he bad because this medication has helped me enormously and I would rather go without the good normal stuff than to have the extreme back. I am not a zombie, I am not high strung or low strung.....just a even keel which is how supposed to be how Lamictal works. It is the first thing since 1994 which has worked and a wonderful doctor who is top notch knew immediately what I needed. Unfortunately I had to go through years of BS and being a guinea pig to get to this point and finding the right doctor. She is a pharma psychiatrist which is better than a psychiatrist. She is a specialist in psychiatry but also pharmacology (medicine), so unlike most doctors that know how to treat, she is a expert in understanding medications.

Side Effects - If I forget to take it I immediately get agitated and get headaches, and twitching in my eye and lip area. Do not mess with this medicine. It can help with seizures, but if you forget, it can also cause seizures! The major side effect I am having is scalp pain, itching and HAIR LOSS . After 3 years of not knowing why I am losing so much hair (and I had a very full thick head of hair), and going to doctors and dermatologists, my psych dr. told me it is Lamictal! Finally I know the culprit. I very upset about this, and I need to seriously think about if I am going to stop it. I do not want to go bald!

Please note to all of you that are new to this drug also, do not drink grapefruit juice or take NSAIDS medications - eg. things with acetaminophen in it. NSAIDS can cause Stevens Johnsons Syndrome. A deadly side effect. If you make it a few weeks up to the right dosage without signs of Stevens Johnsons syndrome you will be ok. But be aware of the signs......... ulcerating wounds. Look it up on Google and google photos. Educate yourself.

This medications has done wonders for me, but at the same time I really have not had a choice. All the other drugs that work for adhd cause a lot of hypertension - causes more agitation, and the other drugs for bipolar and ocd can have side affects like early diabetes or severe weight gain. I wish there was something else out there, without all the side effects because Lamictal is great, but I am not going to be a 37 year old female walking around bald the rest of my life.

Like many patients, I started out on a low dose of Lamictal. Eventually, I was taking 300 mg. This seemed fine for awhile. Then, I started feeling a bit down, so the doctor increased the dose to 400 mg. Increased dosage does not necessarily mean improvement in mood (bipolar). I began to experience a good number of the adverse side effects reported here, including excessive fatigue, gastrointestinal disturbances, cotton mouth and very bad taste in my mouth, muscle tension (particularly in my legs), forgetfulness and confusion, and sinus and chest congestion. At one point in time, I even had difficulty articulating words.

Though I did not suffer from rash, I have been up in the middle of the night with itching all over my body. I had a few episodes of mouth sores and one pimple on my chin. Many of these have improved since the doctor brought me back to 300 mg. However, they have not entirely disappeared. I continue to suffer from the excessive fatigue many of you have reported here.

I recently had a blood test and learned I have very low levels of Vitamin D and Vitamin B-12. I do not know if there is any relationship between long-term use of Lamical and these test results. However, I do know that low levels of Vitamin D can cause fatigue.

Though I am willing to follow through with further blood tests, I am beginning to understand why some people are tempted to discontinue their medications. I am so tired of being so tired and sleeping so much. When I finally get up, I am still tired and drag through the day.

Sometimes, I think I'd rather have a down day or two than take this medication. I should add, though, that my bipolar is not severe, and that I am only reporting how I feel. I'm certainly not recommending anyone discontinue medications for this or any other condition they may be suffering from. If I were to recommend anything, it would be to get a second opinion if one is concerned about his or her treatment.
If I were to make any suggestion to doctors, it would be this: more is not necessarily better. Send your patients for blood tests (mine were ordered by my M.D. and not by my psychiatrist). Increasing the dosage--at least of Lamictal--might result in a host of negative side effects. Your patients might then become disillusioned with their treatment and give up.

If anyone out there has suffered from B-12 and D deficiencies, let me know. I'll let you know what I find out.

And remember, most doctors are really trying to help us.

I feel like I should share my positive experience with Lamictal to balance the negative reviews. I am on it for bipolar II. I sought help because of a mixed state that was causing me to deteriorate to the point of seriously considering suicide. I titrated up on Lamictal from 25 to 50 to 100 and now 200 mg. I started the 200 mg last week, and suddenly yesterday and today, it's like a cloud has lifted. I feel like myself again.

I've had very few side effects. I have the relatively-rare yawning issue--I yawn every few minutes even though I'm not tired. My dreams have been especially vivid, which I actually enjoy. My facial acne seemed to be a bit exacerbated at first, but it's calmed down. I have a couple of small blemishes on my chest and shoulders, which is unusual for me, but it's minimal and responds well to benzoyl peroxide. My weight has stayed the same.

My bipolar has affected every aspect of my life, and I feel more stable now than I have in years. I'm sure there are still rough times ahead, but the relief Lamical has given me is a huge gift. I feel hopeful for the first time in months.

Also, it seems to have increased my libido. Like, a lot. I'm not complaining about that!

I am going to begin taking 25 mg of Topamax at bedtime tonight. After reading all of these posts I am a scared. I was prescribed Topamax for bipolar disorder. I am currently taking Lamictal as well. I always gain weight on psychotropic drugs and need to lose about 15 lbs (all of which I have gained over the course of being on Lamictal). Any who-my psychiatrist said that this medication may help counteract the weight gain I have experienced. Although I do not consider my self an overeater now. I do hope that it helps me to not like the taste of sodas though. I am addicted to Mt. Dew and caffeine, which I wouldn't mind stopping. Anyway, I am supposed to increase my dosage by 25mg per week until I reach 75mg per day. I am also supposed to go back and see my doctor before I increase the dosage beyond 75mg. I just hope I do not have the horrible side effects I have read here. Some of them I know I can deal with especially if they are temporary but the anxiety/depression/shortness of breath/lack of energy/morbid thoughts are the main ones that concern me. My psychiatrist said that with this medication I should drink plenty of water. He said that it could cause headaches and other side effects if I'm not sure to drink plenty of fluids with this medication. So, I am planning on hydrating myself really well today before taking it this evening. I'll post back and let you know how the side effects are going. Is anyone else on a combination of Lamictal and Topamax or on it for bipolar disorder? I'd like to hear more of your experiences.

13 year old daughter is on lamictal for seizures. Hse has experienced the loss of memory and the muscle aches in her legs, another side affect that she has had was anger and aggitation and one day she actually got so bad she started to hit kick and bite me
anyone else have that side affect?
good luck all

56 y/o female recently diagnosed as bi-polarI with dissociative features. Dr. started me out on the standrd regimen of 25 mgs. per day and today went up to 50 mgs. per day. The Dr. says that I will have to go up to 22 mgs per day. The change from 25 mgs to 50 has been noticeable. Today, I felt grumpy and miserable. She also put me pn abilify which made me eat like a termite and which titrated myself off of after 2 weeks. I probably gained at least ten pounds on that stuff. I have also been experiencing increasinly worsening vision which is of extreme concern for me since I had two episodes of narrow glaucoma using zyban/wellbutrin and have lost a good deal of my central visiual acuituity as well as a lot of peripheral vision. I abslutely do not want to lose anymore vision. I am already at the point of considering that driving may be dangerous. Two years ago I was in Mexico and used HGH. Human Growth Hormone and I felt better tha I had felt in years at the time I was taking Lexapro...was able to go off it entirely. I plan to go back to Mexico soon and will get more HGH and see how it works with the Lamictal and if it doesn't work well then the Lamical will have to go...I have yet to know anybody who has been able to maintain cconsistently on any one drug regomen with bi-polar disorder...perhaps it's because so many of usgo off the meds because of the miserable side efects.