Lamictal and mood swings

I too have been taking 100mg Lamictal for about a year for rapidly cycling Bi Polar, and am very concerned about my short term memory loss. I lose my train of thought in the middle of speech, can't remember what I did on the weekend when asked on Monday in conversation, and generally wonder if I have to put up with this somewhat debilitating and frustrating symptom just to have the plus of controlling my mood swings...Also recently have notice trouble spelling words - this was my pride and joy that I could spell pretty much any word and now that seems to be going too. Anyone know if these symptoms will dissipate if I stop taking Lamictal?

Lamictal with lithium was the latest sentence for a lifetime of depression. Not only did the depression then intensify over anything I've dealt with for the last 40 years, but anger, rage, weight gain, memory loss, difficulty communicating, (could this be dementia at 60 yrs?) and loss of taste especially coffee and chocolate were now defining my life. I had been a happy, productive, exciting, witty, professional self-employed woman. So, I've been reducing my 250 mg dosage for the last 6 weeks with Dr. oversight. My last dose of 25 mg was last Wednesday. Throughout this experience, I've experienced confusion, head aches, zombie days, spatial disorientation, muscle weakness, muscle spasms, jumbled speech and thinking, and THE FOG. But, guess what? Today, I'M BACK. My head is clear, I have a plan for the day and I'm 4 pounds lighter than I was last Thursday. The surprise about the weight is that we went to dinner in restaurants twice in this last week and I haven't taken any special steps to lose the pounds. I knew it was time to evaluate myself without medication when the Dr. wanted to add just one more medication to level off the mood swings. Of course, this is a continuing drama, but it's great to be able to see me without the drug-colored lenses. I would not have done this without Dr. supervision, and I'm so glad he co-operated with my wishes. Sometimes you just have to throw the project away and start fresh. Have a beautiful day.

I was prescribed Lamictal around this time two years ago (July '07) for Borderline Personality Disorder. At first I thought it was great and I felt like it'd been a miracle drug -- the drive back home from the psychiatrist's office that day was such a feeling of relief because I was going to get my miracle drug, finally. Later the next month I moved away from home and began college in the lower half of the state and stopped taking the medication because I noticed that I feeling any difference, or experiencing any change in my moods. Infact, I felt exactly the same as I had before. I looked up the medicine derivative drug and found out that it has a "placebo-like effect with highly addictive qualities".... which made me think that once again, my problem is all in my head. I still feel like I need to be on some kind of medication, but I am not willing to part entirely with my authentic self just to make some other people's lives easier. If they think my mood swings and attempts at self-destruction effect them negatively, just wait until you are the one having them and you can't control them! I don't want to become a zombie, I don't want to lose my hair, and I don't want to gain 30 lbs, but I feel like there's nothing else I can do. But then again, there doesn't seem to be any drug that can help without the drastic side-effects.

Sheesh.

I was diagnosed as having Bipolar Disorder/with severe panic and anxiety disorder in 2000. I had been sick realistically since I was around 11 years old. Suicidal thoughts, and uncontrollable mood swings. I have been on Lamictal (200-400mg) per day along with Klonopon for my panic disorder, since 2001. I do experience a slight memory loss from time to time, but feel that it is not the medicine but that sometimes I am not really focused on the conversation, or my environment. I have also experienced very vivid dreams, sometimes nightmares that are overwhelming. But I think it is cool that I can remember my dreams now, because sometimes they are worth remembering. I would never consider going off of the medication, for it has saved my life. I am a completely different person now. I am very happy. I do experience sleepiness a few hours after taking Lamictal, but if I take it at around 3pm, by the time I get off work at 5, I am not tired yet and have no problems driving. Some of you should try this method. I think a lot of other side effects are just in people's heads.

Hi, I have been reading all the postings and my heart goes out to everyone. I been there, done that. Myself, I have a seizure disorder and been on Lamictal since 2003 (I can't recall/remember) - I had tried 5 other seizure meds that didn't work for me. For quite a while now I take 600mg a day and Keppra 250mg to control my seizures. I lost my driver's license twice so far (I know that is the rule in CA) , and once not long ago (I got my license back) I got totally lost in my town, which I used to know like the back of my hand. I thought I had lost my mind. I asked my doc if I was getting demenia and he said oh no you are too young (53). I have also learned doctor's (for the most part) are idiots too. They don't think outside the box for us. I can't spell anymore, get depressed easily. I really want to work, but I can't. I have tried time and time again, but (yesterday) it just about did me in...people explained to me how to do things on the job many many times but I couldn't retain any thing. People just looked at me as if to say what planet did you come from. I cried on the job so hard I wanted to disappear. I am so sick of my family saying "I know you can't - don't remember this or that..... I can hardly bare that. Now I have a potential kidney problem. Suppose it is from these meds? I am really scared.

My mood swings have improved dramatically. I have been on for 4 months now and I feel better than i have in years. But once i upped to the 150 my vision has been blurry. I think i will back down to 100 and pray my vision comes back and I continue stay stable with my BP

When I started my little emotional rollercoaster @ age 35, they classified me as being bi-polar with generalized anxiety disorder. I put myself into a treatment center after feeling like I was going to go crazy. I used to work in the medical field and I should have known better. They doped me up on 1000mg of Lithium, and 9oomg of Depakote. Lithium can be hard to regulate and dangerous; coming from a person who can sneeze and lose two pounds Depakote just turned out to be a fat pill (180 to 210 in three months). I went through the guinea pig stage Every SSR they put me on had a very bad side effect, Paxil being the worst. After two days of taking it the racing thoughts and feeling out being out of control made me want to jump out the window. I could not even call 911 as I felt I would go even more insane. I really almost did not make it through it. I discussed it with my new Dr. and he suggested Lamictal. I have been on Lamictal for over 4 years at 300mg a day. It has stabilized my moods but I still argue with the doctor about my diagnosis as I feel I am more Cyclothymic , my mood swings are not as pronounced and can last from a few hours to a few days. Since first taking the med I noticed the memory loss, my train of thought going out the window, bloated, the feeling of having a fever, but not. One of the most important affects, if I am an hour or so late from my regular scheduled dose I get dizzy and my shoulders and neck start to tingle and get numb. Just two weeks I requested an increase in the dosage to 400mg to see if it would help with my underlying depression that every other combo has not addressed. Since then I have been a bit more of a whack job. (Emotionally)Two days after the increase I had a very hyper mania day, I had to leave work early for fear I would lose control of my mouth, do or say something very ADHD. I took two days off and seemed to be fine after that. This Sunday I went downhill as soon as I woke up. I wanted to cry, but couldn’t and I did not know why; I felt void of emotions except for sadness, lacked the energy to want to deal with people, even my other half, wondering why I was even here. (Physically) I have noticed heart palpitations and muscle spasms in my face and arms. I looked up side effects and found this site and wanted to add to it. I have tried just about everything out there that I can and nothing will really work as good as this one. Combos with it do nothing for me either. It really freaks me out that the thing I am taking so I do not feel the way I do is making me feel that way to the extreme. I am letting my Dr. know that I will be taking myself off this dosage.

Reading over some of these posts and wanted to share my experience w/Lamictal. Been on it over 2 year, 400mg/day. Sever bipolar with mixed & rapid cycling episodes. Oh YEA...I have side effects too: blurred vision that comes and goes, super klutziness, confusion, hard to complete sentences sometimes (just can't find the words sometimes for the simplest sentence!), dizziness, prone to broken blood vessels under the skin when bump into something or carry loaded grocery bag over my arm, jittery, short term memory loss, feeling really stupid like my brain isn't working sometimes. BUT...I will stay on this med because it rally works for me and the above effects are and bad, just frustrating. It took me a good 5-6 months for the meds to work as they should. Be aware that it won't make things perfect, mood swings and even moderate episodes can be expected. I am pretty much in a constant state of mild/moderate mania (2 hr sleep/night, hi energy, talk to fast, mind racing,etc), which is fine for me, as it really curbed the depression (maybe only 1 day every 2 months now and its NOT a BAD downer) I have found the drug is a good "stabilizer" keeping me mostly in a normal to moderate swing...never any severe swing. If the side effects are not unbearable, stick with the med, just be patient. It sure works for me. Learn to laugh at the klutziness and stupid moments and understand its the med and you. GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!

I have been on Lamictal now for almost 3 months for bipolar. I'm still not sure if it is helping or not. My husband says I seem better, but I feel almost the same as before if not worse. Has anyone noticed any major changes in their menstrual cycle? I'm on the pill and it would usually last 4-5 days with moderate bleeding. Now I get more annoying cramps than before but my period only lasted 2 days and it was more like spotting than a period. This makes me nervous, but my doctor said that it is more likely the risperdal that I had taken for a month when I also started taking the lamictal, but I don't agree. I recently went up to 200mg (1 morning, 1night). The morning one knocks me out but the night one has been keeping up!? I also feel less coordinated (hard to balance, knocking stuff down, klutzy). Also, it has been hard to put words together and recall correct information. Now I have to say" I think I heard or I think I remember". If I really need to remember something I have repeat it or really concentrate on the information. I used to not have to do that. Another thing I've noticed lately is hand and knee pain. Makes it difficult exercise to lose the 20 lbs I've gained. I don't know, personally I think I will give it one more month and if I still feel the same, I'm going off of it and looking into natural alternatives.

45 years old, female, diagnosed bipolar II in 2006. On Lamictal for 2 years. Initially, very positive effects of Lamictal - felt "normal" and stable for the first time in years. Didn't notice any side effects. Gradually increased from 200 to 400 mg per day 6 months ago as I still experienced mood swings with a tendency towards depression. I have been on 400 mg/day since August 2008. It is difficult to say what are the side effects of the medication, and what are "natural causes". Since doubling the dosage, I experience memory loss and increasing cognitive problems (slow thought process, difficulty putting together coherent sentences in discussions, fumbling for words. I have spent more than one hour on this posting!). I sometimes wake up during the night drenched in sweat. It could be that I'm menopausal, but I find it unlikely. Mood swings have perhaps become less pronounced, but I would like to regain my mental capacity. I plan to cut back to 200 mg of Lamictal - and perhaps some day learn to live with bilpolar II without medication and a lot of help from my friends and loved ones.

I have taken Lamictal for 2 years now, I increased my dose a few months ago. It curbed my rage issues, and continued to stabilize my mood swings.I have had the side effects of some memory loss, problems recalling things in the past, minor things, like what happened in movies I may have seen in earlier months. I have hair loss, more than usual when not on the drug. I have definite speech issues, I can never relay what I am trying to say. I feel stupid. I am consulting another psychiatrist to discuss the side effects. I really don't like not being able to remember things as much as I did before I took this drug. I really, really don't like the lack of the ability to speak fluently or even to get the words out. It is embarrassing, it makes me look almost like I have a mental retardation. It sucks. I also am disappointed that my spouse seems to think all "our" issues are because of my mood disorder and if I somehow when I disagree with him and want to address these issues, then my medication is not working. I know if I am raging more or if I have an increase in anger, then I need to go on higher meds or change meds. But, as my psychiatrist said to me, not all my issues in life are all my fault.
Generally, lamictal is working, but I would like to have a greater memory recall and I would definitely like my speech problems to be resolved and it sure would be nice if my hair would become thick again.Also, I have some twitching problems occasionally, it is annoying too. I still have racing thoughts and panic attacks too, it has not changed those issues. Oh, and another side effect is headaches in the back of my neck at the top where my head meets the spine, they are annoying and if I take ibuprofen, I get even more stupid and spacey, almost like I am checked out. My older kids notice more than my spouse does. My older kids also let me know when I am raging more, in a better way than my spouse does. My advice, let those whom you can trust be the one's who give you feedback on how you are doing, rather than someone who doesn't want to take ownership for their own issues, that way you can truly trust if the med's are working or if they are at the right dose. This along with your psychiatrist's help and help from family and your own assessment will keep you on the right track.

I have been taking Lamictal for about 2 1/2 years now. I have been taking 200 mg for two years. I have experienced very few side effect. Except vivid dreams and not sleeping well. I have always had vivid dreams but there is one I have had since the medication it was so awful that I can't stop thinking about it and it makes me feel suicidal. I have had many ups and downs in my life but never thought suicide to be a positive option. I don't think I would do it but I can't stand these awful repetitive thoughts. I have had less and less energy in the last 6 months or so. I thought it was because I was working to much. I have quit doing most the things I love. I have always been a high energy person. So I thought it must be the Lamictal. When I had complained to my doctor he said that it sounded like depression and normally they would increase the dosage but he would decrease it if I wanted. I went to 150 and then 100. I felt awful just like I used to before the drug. So I went back up to 200 and at least I didn't feel so awful. So I increased it to 250mg and I started to fell less depressed. Sometimes I have taken to much in the past because I forgot I had taken it and repeated the does. That is when I had the first bad dream that has haunted me since. Then I started to forget to take my medication off and on and that is when the depression started. Now I took the 250 and I had another haunting dream. This drug really has been a miracle for me. I have never felt this stable in my entire life! In the past I was trying to self medicate but since the Lamictal I have quit smoking pot and drinking. I don't like alcohol and drugs anymore because I don't like to feel altered anymore. Most of the symptoms everyone has described are how I felt before Lamictal and I feel better since. I will never go below 200mg or above again without a suitable alternative. I still can't get rid of the repetitive thoughts on 200mg. Typical anti-depressants have the opposite effect for me. Has anyone found a suitable alternative. I have heard that other drugs for bi-polar such as Lithium and Depakote have a sedative effect and I don't like that. I want to be my normal energetic self!

My doctor prescribed lamictal after I reported hypomanic symptoms from prozac. The first couple of days on lamictal I thought it was the miracle drug; it really eliminated my mood swings. But as the days progressed, I began to have the following disturbing side effects:
- terrible insomnia (waking in the middle of the night and can't go back)
- horrifying violent dreams (of animals and people being hacked to death with machetes... interestingly, I reported this to my doctor and her response was, that just means your brain is adjusting to the chemicals...easy for her to say, she's not waking up with terrible memories of these disturbing dreams)
- weird pains and stiffness in my neck with swollen lymph nodes in the neck
- increase in anxiety and feelings of panic
- increase in feelings of anger and agitation
- feeling of detachment
- thoughts of suicide and the meaninglessness of life
- carbohydrate cravings and weight gain of nearly 4 pounds in 2 WEEKS!!
(weight had previously been stable for years)

These symptoms all appeared after taking the lamictal after only 2 weeks. Even though my doctor recommended actually INCREASING the dose of lamictal and/or adding prozac, I decided to wean off the lamictal (I was on the smallest dose of 25 mg) as an experiment to see if the symptoms would go away...
YES they did!! Every single one of them went away and were COMPLETELY gone after the second day of discontinuing the lamictal.

I know that this medication is being touted as the new miracle cure for bipolar II especially, but I think more clinical studies need to be done on lamictal. This experience was a very scary one and not unlike that reported by others on this site.

I started taking Lamictal about six weeks ago for epilepsy. Now keep in mind, I was on Dilantin which worked great for 17 years and then suddenly stopped working. I have been in medication hell since then. First Topamax made me dumb as a rock. I would space out all the time. Worst drug ever. Then Keppra which was better in that my memory/ability to speak came back but I had these intense ups and down. I had rages constantly. Now I'm on Lamictal. So far, it's better than the Topamax and the Keppra, however the dreams are very intense as are the night sweats. I'm also experiencing much hair loss. Fortunately I have a full head of hair but I'm afraid I will eventually lose it all.

I've been on Lamictal for about a month now. Started extremely slowly at 12.5 mg, now I'm at 25 mg. I've had minor side effects (cramps in my calf muscles, esp., muscular and joint pain, but not strong). I did have crying spells in the first few days, don't know if they happened because of Lamictal, but it seems likely.

Looks like it's working so far. My mind feels lighter and the mood swings are becoming less severe than before. I've started to think about new work projects I'd left aside before due to depression.

I have been recently diagnosed with cyclothymia, rapid-cycling, with mostly depressive rather than hypomanic symptoms.

I think a very, very important thing to keep in mind is how differently medications will work for different people. While it seems many of you have had horrible experiences with it, I surely don't think this is the case for everyone, including myself. I've been diagnosed with bipolar-II and have been on Lamictal for several months, currently at a dose of 150mg. I've found it had dramatically brought down my rapid cycling and decreased the severity of my depressive episodes. Though I still have mood swings, they are less frequent and less intense/disabling.
As far as side effects go, I've never been one to experience many side effects from any medication I've been on. With Lamictal I've begun having headaches and also difficulty with focus, concentration, and short term memory. I'm much more spacey than usual and often will get distracted while having a conversation with someone and forget what we were talking about. My psychiatrist believes these indicate ADD and has prescribed me Ritalin, which I refuse to take because I'm convinced that these problems are side effects of the Lamictal. I've experienced weight loss, but this also may be due to the 200mg Wellbutrin I am also taking.
Although I've experienced more side effects with Lamictal than any other drug, for me I'm willing to continue giving it a try because of its effect on my moods.

I take Lamictal with Wellbutrin 300 XL for bipolar with OCD tendencies. Some side effects are doubled due to this. Leg pain, especially my hips, forgetfulness (talk about annoying!), off balance and a bit clumsy, and some irritability. HOWEVER, my mood swings are almost non-existent. I still get sad/mad/depressed but it doesn't linger for days/weeks like it used to. I don't like the side effects and they do affect my quality of life but not nearly as much as my condition used to. I simply try to do things to make up for the side effects - stretching, taking things slower, forgiving myself when I forget things and not being afraid to tell people that I forgot something (tho IMO it isn't any of their business why).

I'm having serious side effects currently. The onset of the side effects began after taking Lamictal for over 2 months. I started slowly on 25 mg and gradually increased to 200. I felt a great improvement in Bipolar disorder-mood swings- at 100mg but was told that is not the theraputic dose, so we increased to 200mg.

I had no side effects until the rash began to appear. At first only on legs, then arms, then neck, then face...and surprisingly in private areas. Unbearable itching. Rash continued to rage even after a pack of steroids. Swelling became apparrent in face and entire body. Slight difficulty breathing. Went to the ER and received another dose of steroids intravenously. The rash continues to improve but is still extremely itch. The swelling improved for a couple of days but is back. Had one day of severe headache. It has been 14 days and today I am experiencing blurred vision in the left eye, and new swelling in the tongue.
I sit at home with an Epi Pen next to me waiting to hear back from the doctor.

All of this is so unfortunate because I felt more stable than I have in years while on the medication. I'm feeling very concerned about my continuing side effects. Don't know what to expect.

I started taking Lamictal for bi-polar disorder. I did the starter pack about 6 months ago. Then went up to 200mg. I felt like crap. My head was foggy, couldn't remember things, easy stuff like how to spell words that I know I can spell. Upset stomach, blurry vision terrible headaches abd migraines.
I stopped taking it and went back to my shrink and he said it's like have high blood pressure I have to keep taking it.

So I started the starter pack again and I'm up to 100 mg. I ache all over. My bones hurt so bad and after reading all of the info on here I'm going to talk to my doctor about other trestments.

My primary dr. has sent me for blood work and results were normal so she wants addition blood work done, but I think it has a lot to do with the lamictal. I'm glad I found this site, I don't feel like I'm alone.

It's hard feeling this way and friends and family think your faking or crazy, and I'm not. My mood has stabilized on this med but all the side affects suck.

Oh yeah and the weight gain! And no matter what I do I can't lose any weight. The vivid dreams are wild too. One night I woke up sweating with my heart pounding so hard from a nightmare I was having.

Thanks for all the info. I wish you all well and good luck finding the right meds.

I have been using this med for 18 months going up to 400mg and now back to 200 mg with the hope of coming off totally. I am concerned however with the labwork I had recently as compared to routine labs in April.. My WBC and neutrophils are lower. I just recently had 2 CT's of the abdomen and pelvis with an ultrasound scheduled on Friday. I am so aggrevated with this and I am glad I investigated this drug a little more due to feeling hopeless the physical and mental problems I am having. My mood swings never really stablized and are still the same. Has anyone come off of this with positive results and did they treat your bipolar with a different med with better results? Thanks

Been at 50 mg of Lamictal for 6 months now- went to 150 at one time with bad results, rash, more depressed, spacy, tired and everything that goes along with that. I take it for depression/anxiuety along with 4 mg of clonipin and Ativan mixed daily.. I am not as sharp as I used to be. Searching for words in speach and typing. I am sure for some people this drug is fine. For me it does nothing but make me worse. I am scared to come off it totally. I am at 37 mg right now. My mood swings are worse. I look for vergbal fights, look to get angry and can't stop myself when I am in a verbal fight.. I am not the same person. I have tried every anti depresant in the books with no results. My only savior is Benzos. Clon and ativan. I would not survive without them. Does anyone know the long term side affects of this drug. When stopping this drug do the side affects diminish or go away. I have much more to say but can't remember cuz of this wonderful drug..Good luck to all

I have been taking 200 mg of lamictal for about 3 years. I am on no other medication. I too have the dry hacking cough that never ever goes away. All day and all night. Dry hacking cough that sometimes leads to gagging. It is terrible. I have had chest xrays, breathing tests and no one can find a reason for the cough. It started about the same time I started this medication and I believe it is the cause. I also experience pain in muscles, it's a roving pain that seems to show up in different places daily, sometimes muscle spasms. My stomach is always nauseated. Very little short term memory, runny nose all the time, constant feeling of having a cold, blurry vision, sensitive to light, little red bumps that appear on my skin, itch, then when they disappear, a scar is left like a cigarette burn. I am reducing the amount of lamictal I take as of this week. I am now only taking 175 mg and will for another week then go down to 150 mg. I am hoping some of these side effects will go away, if not I have to get off of it altogether. It's funny, because I didn't have all these side effects when I first started taking it. Seems the longer I take it the worse it gets. Just can't handle it anymore. wf

I really, really regret ever having started Lamictal to begin with. Even though lamictal has greatly helped me with my social anxiety/ocd/gad/whatever it is I have (lol), it has caused too many damn side effects.

I started taking it sometime July and now it's September 21st, so it's been in my system for a couple of months now. When I first started on the starter pack, the 25 mg didn't have any effect on me- and then it started making me really, really anxious. I'd have super big physiological reactions to stress, but then I was advised to take it at night. Of course that started insomnia, and when I increased it to 50 mg I was really sensitive to light. It also caused my eyes to twitch and not stay closed when I tried to sleep- which was really, really annoying.

When I was first doing the 100 mg, at one point I became manic (I couldn't stop talking, I had racing thoughts, energetic- felt like I was on top of the world) and then I crashed. It was really hard going from being manic to really depressed, but that's the shit that happens on lamictal lol.(for me at least)

Anyways, so finally the 100 mg started to level me out- but I still have the rapid mood swings. I also feel incredibly spacey all the time and have trouble focusing/concentrating. Oh yeah, and my short term memory is shot. And my libido- which is really important to me. I hate having freakin' vaginal dryness and not really wanting sex- so irksome.

My advice to anyone reading this: don't ever try lamictal- it's not worth it.

I was on Lamictal 125MG at night for PTSD and anxiety for over 4 years - it took over 6 weeks to come off of it and it was very difficult - I felt sick most of the time - nauseaus, dizzy, migraine, tired, joint pain, anxious, mood swings. I have been off of it for 2 weeks now and I am still having headaches, dizziness, tired all the time, horrible dreams, difficulty sleeping and I wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air with out of control heart palpatations. I have not had night terrors in years. Is this a side effect of coming off of the medication? I learned in my research that this had not been FDA approved until I had been taking it for quite some time - is that ethical medical practice?

I used to take Lamictal 150mg at night, no problems, but started feeling anxious in the afternoon/evening. My Dr. Rx'd 300mg lithium at night to see if it would help the anxiety, but I had very fitfil, unrestful sleep to the point where I was not sleeping much and very tired all day. So, the Dr. took me off lithium and substituted Tripletal 300mg in the evening. That worked, but I was still a little depressed & she increased my Lamictal to 200 mg at night. I started waking up after about 4 hours with horrible nightmares. I thought the nightmares were from Trileptal because that was a new med, but even after I discontinued it, I still get the nightmares/panic feeling that wakes me at night. I took 2mg Lunesta for a while to help me sleep, but then I slept too much 10-12 hrs. I take the Lamictal now in the morning & don't get those nightmares & I sleep fine now, but I feel anxious & dizzy and have trouble concentrating, again about 2-4 hours after I take it in the morning. Dr. says I can take ativan to help the anxiety, but I feel like I need to get off Lamictal and try something else. Maybe lithium will help if try to take it now witout the Lamictal.

This is a nightmare. I have been on Lamictal 200 mg, tab in morning, for approx. 5 months. About 3 1/2 months ago I started getting muscles aches and weakness, muscle overuse problems, fluid retention ( like 12 pounds), stayed in a trance with very little short term memory. Thought it was everything but this medicine....I am an avid athelite, yes, even at 51. So, I blamed myself for not slowing down. Quick exercising totally, for 2 months, iced 3 times a day on leg muscles. Finally after making it to the summer without a mental breakdown, I went to the emergency room and a new internist to get checked out. Blood work, thyroid, hormones,ok.... Really don't care what they think , I can not walk, it hurts like hell. The Dr. did tell me to get off Lamictal....ok 7th day and I have some relief but it is not complete. Called manufactures, interesting, yes- these are side effects!!! But the studies are limited. Listen , unless you have seizures, get off this medicine... you read the full disclosure of side effects and then search yourself......It can ba a huge FOOOOOPA.....And you are the fool that will end up holdling the bag, not the manufacturer. Hopefully I will get better. Right now , I just trying to stay calm.

Extreme agitation, racing heart, mood swings, insomnia (recently). Going off this asap. Anyone know how to get off it: quit right away, taper off?

I have been taking lamictal for about two months now, slowly increasing about 25 mg a week to insure that I do not get the serious rash. I am not at about 150mgs a day now. I really do not like this drug. I waited patiently to feel different, better, for my moods to stabalize, and in place of feeling that way, i have been somewhat disoriented, more emotional, at a loss for words and I generally feel "stupider." It is a horrible feeling, i am usually very quick to my feet, and now i am lagging. In addition, I have been having very vivid, intense dreams, that I never had prior to taking lamictal. All I want to do is get off of this drug, however, i have to do so slowly because of this rash, and that too will just be another long waste of my time.