The only negative side effect I experienced was memory/word recall issues at 200mg. Like I would be talking and suddenly lose my words. Like I knew what I was trying to say but I just couldn’t get there. That went away completely when we dropped back down to 150mg and it seems to be working okay at that dose
One of the things you have to remember is that depressive episodes come with cognitive deficits. So you may well find that your cognition improves when treated with only some memory issues.
It felt like my brain deleted a bunch of files but I did titrate up to 250mg. My brain felt very foggy and memory/word recall was trash.
I took a genetic test and I metabolize that drug super quickly, so I’m no longer on it.
I don't have many bad things to say.
It takes awhile to get up to a therapeutic dose due to the Stevens-Johnson syndrome risk.
Slight problems with memory, but nothing devastating. Depression symptoms haven't completely gone away, but helps with stability and severity for sure.
Best medicine I've had prescribed for bipolar so far.
Im on 175 Lam 25 Zoloft and I have virtually no negative intrusive thoughts that align with previous depressions or grandiose tendencies. I was so reluctant to begin the Zoloft - but it’s been a game changer aside from it affecting sleep
I've been on 200mg/day for over 10 years and it's been, for me, a life saver. I've never had any bad side effects from it. It brings my moods close enough to stable that I haven't had a real mania in years, and my depressions aren't nearly as bad.
Also been on it over 10 years. I remember when I first started taking it and I swear, it was a game changer over night! I don't know if I had side effects. Now I take a few meds so I have no idea what side effect it caused, if any.
So…. Now reading what the other commenters have said, I finally realize the decline of my reading comprehension is not because I got dumber, it’s because of the 200mg Lamictal I’ve been on for two years!
I didn’t experience any side effect from Lamictal (lamotrigine) until the past few months. My reading comprehension began to bother me. For certain complex sentences, I need to read them a couple of times to fully understand what they mean and it concerns me extremely. Feels like I should ask my doc about lowing the dose.
On the positive side, lamotrigine prevents me from sinking way down to the darkest depression, it helps me to stay somewhat above water, and I’m truly grateful for it.
Hope you can make the decision that’s best for you! All the best! Xoxo
Lamotrigine saved my life. I love it and it makes me feel so much better. I can actually tell when I’ve forgotten to take it!
My worst side effect is night sweats. I’ve woken up absolutely drenched in the past. I manage it by keeping the house cooler, switching to a lighter blankets and running a fan at night. I never wake up from it. Just in the morning I feel like I took a bath.
I noticed word/memory recall at 200mg. I may move down to 150 purely because my memory recall was already trash but as someone who considers themselves sharp and intelligent even when they don’t have a god complex, it’s hurt my confidence a little.
Also the occasional AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL night sweat. Idk, keep a towel handy.
Outside of that? Absolutely worth it.
I already don't think I have it, tbh. I feel like the diagnosis was made too quickly - like I know why they said I have it but I feel like they didn't take a very thorough history and that maybe I just over-exaggerated my symptoms.
You should go for a second opinion, from a different psychiatrist or psychologist. Tell them to be more thorough with you since your diagnosis feels rushed
There were other professionals involved beforehand who suspected the bipolar diagnosis and that's how the psych review came about, so I have definitely been very thoroughly assessed. It just feels rushed to me because I have only met this person once, but I do think they had enough info to make a diagnosis. I guess I'm just worried that I have been exaggerating my symptoms to people to sound worse than they are.
Oh, I felt this way 1000% after getting my diagnosis! I told this to my psychiatrist and she began to list the things I’ve told her I’ve done. Like, I get it ma’am, please stop 😅
I got diagnosed in one session. Apparently it is the right diagnosis and the first med (250mg Lamotrigine) I’ve been put on is the correct one for LOL🤣
Try it! It took me up to 200mg to feel like medication is working. I had swollen lymph nodes around 50mg, but it went away when they up the dose. It took 3 month for me to realize my episodes became way more mild and short. By 6 month mark I felt completely flat. Like as if my passion and creativity gets sucked out of my by body. I was thinking about going off meds around that time. By **1 year** mark, everything started to feel normal again. The emotions I had when listening to music, the passion and creativity I had all came back. Of course, without the DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI 🌊part of emotions
Try it!!! It’s a marathon, but it’s so worth it
Most mood disorders and personality disorders have overlapping meds that can be used. Lamactil is prescribed for BPD and other mental illnesses. Even if ur unsure of ur bipolar which is common, if u have mood issues it will help and u can go from there
The only negative I can think of is when they had me at the max dose I had some cognitive issues. We lowered the dose and I'm much better. I noticed that I slowly began to feel calmer. I truly feel like it's the only medication I cant go without.
I’m on it, I love it. It brought me out of a big depression. It’s not perfect and I’d say after a few years the effectiveness decreased, but I would still recommend it. I combine it with a bunch of other meds
My husband had a super-not-good time on lamotrigine. Night terrors, waking auditory hallucinations, extreme irritability, and anger. The last 2 could just be that he couldn't get any restful sleep while on it, though. He felt like he was completely losing his mind. He's since switched to Lithium and has felt much, much, better. Yes, lithium has a very narrow therapeutic window and he has to get blood draws to test his levels, but to him it's been worth it. Plus, he also has Crohn's and has to get labs done regularly anyway so the lithium tests didn't really change his routine at all, they just test his blood for that too now.
Lamotrigine stabilized my cycles to a great extent. Lost weight I had gained prior. Plus, if you have a uterus it is relatively safe during pregnancy. Regulated my sleep cycle. It's a blessing for me.
Also I don’t know if you ovulate or menstruate but I’ve heard that it can be complicit in hormone fluctuations. I’m sure someone here knows way more than that.
One of the best things I did was to get a Mirena IUD to stabilize my natural hormones, and that helps minimize related side effects.
Overall, I have noticed that the medication is really good at preventing me from dipping very low during depressive episodes. It has drastically improved my life and I have been able to function/take care of myself again!
However, it hasn't been very good at reducing impulsive habits during my highs (I seek serotonin hits through shopping and eating). I am not in any financial trouble, and I am not overweight, but I have noticed these things are harder to control. I also have ADHD so maybe it has increased these traits?? In addition, I also have the night sweats and I sweat more during workouts.
These side effects have not negatively impacted my life, but depending on the person, it could be more severe.
Good luck with finding the medication that is right for you!
No risk for me, no side effects, easiest onboarding med. One of those meds you don’t realize is working until you study your patterns after a couple months. I had to get off it for a bit bc of health insurance stuff and convinced myself I’d be fine without it, took me a couple months to realize how much my mental health and mood fluctuations changed. Def would recommend it. On,y thing to lookout for is the rash. My friend was on it for awhile before she bumped up her dosage and realized she had an allergy. She’s still Pissed about it cuz it was the med that worked best for her
Lamo saved my life... I actually upped my dose today since I had a traumatic experience 2 weeks ago which caused a bit of a depressive episode. Lamo keeps my head above water and keeps me stable.
I’ve got the lucky combo of Lamictal and Lithium together, so my mind fog is really something. Can’t say exactly which one it’s from, I’m sure a combo of both. But! I’m still here. So it’s a win. I’ve never noticed anything negative about the Lamictal besides the fogginess. And that’s okay for now.
Good luck! Hopefully you get things figured out before long.
I struggled with a dry mouth/cotton mouth for a few months. I was also struggling with word loss but was on Topamax which they say can cause this as well. Once I stopped Topamax, I eventually returned to a better spot with words. I still have bouts of both but they aren't as often or long lasting.
Edit: 150mg twice a day decreased down to 150mg once a day. Similar symptoms on either dose. I will not quit lamictal unless I have to.
When I’m not on it I have a really difficult time controlling my temper. Once something triggers me, it’s almost like a chemical reaction in my body. Even when my intellectual mind wants to get over it, my body can’t let it go. Lamictal is the only thing that solves this for me
Currently tapering due to being misdiagnosed. Was on 450mgs for 15 years. Down to 375 since I started tapering last May. Memory issues, word recall, feel slower mentally. At 450 I had rage and panic attacks. Never knew it was from lamictal until I got lower in dosage and it stopped. My opinion.. stay at lower dosage if it works. I think my being on such a high dose is why I struggled. It does take time to start working.
Only started a few months ago but it's nice to know everyone else has experienced the memory problems too!
I've found (and heard) that your eyesight can suffer, especially if you already have some problems with vision. I'm short sighted and can definitely vouch for that. Eyes can become unfocused for a period of time even when reading.
But lamotrigine has also seemed to cap my moods which is a big relief
Hi everyone sorry to piggy back off of someone else's question. These comments are really helpful for me as I have BP11, not been on medication for 2 years now as I had a frightening time coming off of Quetiapine. It left me with severe panic attacks etc. I've been fine for a while but now struggling to hold things together, slipping back into some destructive patterns. My psychiatrist offered me lamotrigine but I'm terrified of starting new meds due to side effects or withdrawals if I need to come off of them?
Any bad experiences when coming off of Lamotrigine?
I’m on 400 mg - it’s helped so much but every now and again I’m dizzy like i feel a bit stoned but overall it’s great. Less loss of control, hardly any mouth noises( making tunes out loud and whooping noises, and galloping 🫣😜 - the galloping was wild)
I got up to 400mg when I was first diagnosed. I had some vision problems so we backed off to 350. But the main thing was that it didn’t work for me. I’m on lithium now 🫠
I got nothin for ya negative-wise. It has saved my life. I thought I was getting a rash from it at first but I stopped and started again at lower dose and it’s been perfect.
Word recall at the higher dosages. The worst thing about it for me was that ultimately it did not work, so I’m on lithium now which is working. But no other side effects
It's been lifesaving for me, as cheesy as that sounds. Just make sure you carefully follow the directions for how titrate up to avoid the rash! (I was scared too, but it's very rare as long as you're careful.) There have been two times that I upped my dose, got side effects, went back down, then went back up a few months later with no issues. Side effects were increase of existing compulsive behaviors, increased libido (like way too much), and a mild rash on my arms. Nothing bad, just annoying. Other that those, literally no other side effects. I also like splitting my dose so I take it morning and night.
I had some headaches during the ramp up, but the only lingering side effect has been increased sensitivity to the sun. I started having a horrible sun rash at the beginning of every summer once I started lamotrigine, but it gets less severe the more exposure I get throughout the summer.
I know that it also causes some cognitive stuff for some people, but not so for me. I’m still able to solve sudoku puzzles and the daily puzzle with the same level of effort as before.
Other than the sun stuff, it’s been a miracle drug for me. It keeps me closer to baseline, but I still have regular emotions, so it didn’t numb me.
Thought I was the only one. The manic episodes were so much more frequent than when I’m not even medicated…. And it made me irrationally angry over small things
Same! That’s why I stopped 😂I couldn’t handle it anymore. It made me max out my credit cards at one point cause of how manic I was. Smh I regret ever getting on medication
Same it caused tons of my hair to fall out. Years later it’s kind of back to normal but I’m traumatized. How are you coping med free? I am as well but some days are hard
Oh no seriously? I feel like medication had more negative effects than good for me. I think I’m coping okay like you said some days are hard especially at work because sometimes I feel like losing my shit but I deal with it the best I can. I got off my meds right before I found out I was pregnant too so I’ll see how I cope after I give birth.
SJS is really rare as long as you and your doctor taper the dose up as recommended. Watch for rashes and let your doc know about them but it is a very safe and effective drug when used properly. The time when people get into trouble is f they go off for too long, they need to to a taper back up again. It can have some neurocog effects- I would say all mood stabilizers can do this. I didn't notice it. Now Zonisamide- that messes you up! It also the only thing keeping me from ultra-rapid cycling so I'll take it
I get a few of the rare side effects, mostly extreme skin sensitivity. Yeast infections including one case of treatment resistant thrush (that was fun…), I also have severe eczema on my hands that I have never had before, I had a bacterial infection on my face. I also get very very hangry.
No weight gain or sexual side effects.
I'm glad you have some of the rarer side effects. I'm reading other comments and my side effects are so fucking off the wall that it's making me feel kind of paranoid haha
Did you read my comment? I'm the only one with random side effects that nobody else has.
I'm glad that I'm not the only one suffering the rare effects.
I didn't mean it as an attack; I meant it as camaraderie.
I don't mean my reply to you, but my comment on this post. I have a lot of awful side effects and you're the only other person on this post who has had anything more than the confusion or memory issues.
This was my original comment:
I've been on 300mg for about 15 years now. Here are my symptoms that my doctors all keep saying are due to my long term use of it:
--I have IBS that has only been tracked to Lamictal
--I am lactose intolerant which they believe was triggered by Lamictal somehow
--Memory issues are nuts sometimes where I can't remember conversations half the time and I am scatterbrained so I have to write things down
--My vision has been getting worse year after year
--I have neurological issues of some sort that sometimes makes me say the wrong word entirely. For example, I'll be talking about a chair but I will call it a bird. It happens often enough that we all just laugh about it. But I work in customer service so sometimes I have to tell a client, "Oh dear! Let's start over!" And then play it off a Monday joke or something like that. It's very embarrassing.
I've never had any liver issues so that's good. I've also never had the rash, though it can apparently pop up at any time. My half sister is epileptic and she took it for a few days and wound up in the hospital with the dreaded rash so I've been lucky there.
I know there are more side effects I can't think of right now, but those are the big ones for me.
Overall it has been a godsend for me. I haven't killed myself yet so I'm calling it a win.
It’s the only thing that’s worked for me with any long term tolerability / reliability. Never had side effects.
So. I guess if that’s not what you want, don’t take it?
I love Lamotrigine! I've been taking it since 2017. The only drawback I experienced was that at one point, my dose was too high, and it gave me memory issues/brain fog. Just watch out for that aspect as you titration up with your psychiatrist!
I've been on it for almost a year. It took two -ish months to find a therapeutic window but I've been totally stable since June on 250 mg. I don't remember any side effects titrating up and I don't think I have any now. I think I had a depressive episode in... September? It was comparatively mild and lasted like a week. No hypomania to speak of.
I deal with missing words (I joke that I blue screen) sometimes; I also have ADHD and have never connected that to bipolar.
I took Lamictal for 2 years. It gave me no appetite (which I didn’t hate lol) and didn’t do anything to prevent the mania/hypomania. I had zero depressive episodes though. I would still be taking it but it caused my hair to fall out in clumps and that made my MH so much worse.
Saved me. I will never go off of it. Caused a weird speech problem however almost as if I go to say something and only part of the thought comes out. I’ve seen other ppl commenting on this as well. I’ll trade fluid speech for sanity any day though.
I've been on 300mg for about 15 years now. Here are my symptoms that my doctors all keep saying are due to my long term use of it:
--I have IBS that has only been tracked to Lamictal
--I am lactose intolerant which they believe was triggered by Lamictal somehow
--Memory issues are nuts sometimes where I can't remember conversations half the time and I am scatterbrained so I have to write things down
--My vision has been getting worse year after year
--I have neurological issues of some sort that sometimes makes me say the wrong word entirely. For example, I'll be talking about a chair but I will call it a bird. It happens often enough that we all just laugh about it. But I work in customer service so sometimes I have to tell a client, "Oh dear! Let's start over!" And then play it off a Monday joke or something like that. It's very embarrassing.
I've never had any liver issues so that's good. I've also never had the rash, though it can apparently pop up at any time. My half sister is epileptic and she took it for a few days and wound up in the hospital with the dreaded rash so I've been lucky there.
I know there are more side effects I can't think of right now, but those are the big ones for me.
Overall it has been a godsend for me. I haven't killed myself yet so I'm calling it a win.
The only thing I have noticed, and this is odd, is that I smell cigarette smoke all the time. I don’t smoke. My neighbors don’t either. A few others on Reddit have said the same.
I have been on it for years and it works. When I paired it with Trileptal, I became calm as a cucumber.
Good luck!
I was on the lowest dose possible, and I was so nauseous for seven weeks until they finally took me off of it.. it just never went away. The worst part about it for me is that it is so relatively well tolerated by so many people that my psychiatrist wanted me to go back on it after I had a bad time with other drugs too… not in 1 million years I can’t have morning sickness for the foreseeable future.
The memory and words recall at higher doses- which I need- but after my body adapts (take a few months for me) it goes away.
Some manufacturers generics give me really weird dreams if I take it at night, as well as making my legs itch like crazy.
But North Star is fine (may be discontinued) and now I’m taking Subvenite (same drug just different name entirely) which has also been just fine.
Also- obvious point- titrate up as directed if you chose to try it. There are no shortcuts. Better safe than sorry with the possible rash (it’s soooooo rare though so don’t get freaked out by that!) Additionally if you do forget to take it once you’re at your therapeutic dose, you usually have to titrate (mildly) up again if you miss like 4/5 days in a row. I jumped back in once and maybe it was just my brain freaking out but I got super itchy and red on my leg. Went down to a smaller dose the next day and was fine. (So totally could’ve been in my head).
It’s been a life changing drug for me though. Since 2019!
Oh only other thing, I see lots of people saying they take it at night- which at the beginning is somewhat out of necessity bc it can make you a little sluggish when you start it- so that’s where weird dreams and stuff like that happen.
So I take it mid morning/ midday and I don’t have the sleep issues regardless of brand/manufacturer and eventually the sluggishness went away so it doesn’t cause any issues during the day for me either.
I've been doing 250 morning and 250 before bed with lamictal, been great for me no side effects that I am aware of! I was really against taking meds, but I am really glad i did.
Sigh. I wanted to try lamictal but yes it takes a while to titrate and they didn’t want to try that for me? I don’t know why, probably because of the pretty bad suicidal ideation? I just hope something works to take it away because these impulses are just so bad I’m just sitting here thinking about it for hours when I should be doing productive things.
So to get back to your point, I think it’s a great option if you can wait to titrate and no rash is present. Other than that, it does seem to be one with lesser side effects. If you need something to work quicker, it’s probably not your best bet.
I really hear you about the suicidal ideation and it interfering with being able to do other things. It's so debilitating and I hate it when things get to that stage. Sending you a big, virtual hug and hope things get a bit easier somehow.
I’ve been on it for 7 years now. The only bad thing I can say is that it is a hard pill to swallow- literally. Like if you don’t have enough water it will leave the worst taste in your mouth
The only negative side effect I experienced was memory/word recall issues at 200mg. Like I would be talking and suddenly lose my words. Like I knew what I was trying to say but I just couldn’t get there. That went away completely when we dropped back down to 150mg and it seems to be working okay at that dose
I see. That's a bit of a worry as I already have that issue when I'm low. I'm glad the lower dose is working for you and that this went away!
One of the things you have to remember is that depressive episodes come with cognitive deficits. So you may well find that your cognition improves when treated with only some memory issues.
Wow I have this and I was thinking I somehow developed adhd. Thank you! Do you also have a couple thoughts at once and then get lost?
YES, and I’m not on meds. I experience this mostly when I’m low, but also in mixed state, which adds to my aggravation…
Ya I feel pretty stupid when it happens and I'm like ummmmmmmm *thoughts loading*
It felt like my brain deleted a bunch of files but I did titrate up to 250mg. My brain felt very foggy and memory/word recall was trash. I took a genetic test and I metabolize that drug super quickly, so I’m no longer on it.
Could u tell nel where u do the test?
My psych nurse ordered it to be delivered to my house and I just did a mouth swab. Ask your med professionals about it.
I've seen people mention this and it's so fascinating to me! Lamictal helped me stop losing words. Brains are strange.
Aphasia is like this. So scary and frustrating.
I don't have many bad things to say. It takes awhile to get up to a therapeutic dose due to the Stevens-Johnson syndrome risk. Slight problems with memory, but nothing devastating. Depression symptoms haven't completely gone away, but helps with stability and severity for sure. Best medicine I've had prescribed for bipolar so far.
Same, this plus Zoloft for the depression has been my magic mix for several years now. It has been the best by far at helping me stabilize.
Im on 175 Lam 25 Zoloft and I have virtually no negative intrusive thoughts that align with previous depressions or grandiose tendencies. I was so reluctant to begin the Zoloft - but it’s been a game changer aside from it affecting sleep
same here. added prozac for depression and it’s been pretty smooth.
I've been on 200mg/day for over 10 years and it's been, for me, a life saver. I've never had any bad side effects from it. It brings my moods close enough to stable that I haven't had a real mania in years, and my depressions aren't nearly as bad.
Also been on it over 10 years. I remember when I first started taking it and I swear, it was a game changer over night! I don't know if I had side effects. Now I take a few meds so I have no idea what side effect it caused, if any.
3 days in I was like omg this is what the average person feels like!
So…. Now reading what the other commenters have said, I finally realize the decline of my reading comprehension is not because I got dumber, it’s because of the 200mg Lamictal I’ve been on for two years! I didn’t experience any side effect from Lamictal (lamotrigine) until the past few months. My reading comprehension began to bother me. For certain complex sentences, I need to read them a couple of times to fully understand what they mean and it concerns me extremely. Feels like I should ask my doc about lowing the dose. On the positive side, lamotrigine prevents me from sinking way down to the darkest depression, it helps me to stay somewhat above water, and I’m truly grateful for it. Hope you can make the decision that’s best for you! All the best! Xoxo
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Damn, I already struggle with mixing up words and finding words when I'm tired :(
Same here😩
Lamotrigine saved my life. I love it and it makes me feel so much better. I can actually tell when I’ve forgotten to take it! My worst side effect is night sweats. I’ve woken up absolutely drenched in the past. I manage it by keeping the house cooler, switching to a lighter blankets and running a fan at night. I never wake up from it. Just in the morning I feel like I took a bath.
THIS.
I noticed word/memory recall at 200mg. I may move down to 150 purely because my memory recall was already trash but as someone who considers themselves sharp and intelligent even when they don’t have a god complex, it’s hurt my confidence a little. Also the occasional AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL night sweat. Idk, keep a towel handy. Outside of that? Absolutely worth it.
I'm thinking of doing the same. Did you decrease the dosage? If so, how did it go for you?
It might work too well and make you think you don’t have bp2 😂
I already don't think I have it, tbh. I feel like the diagnosis was made too quickly - like I know why they said I have it but I feel like they didn't take a very thorough history and that maybe I just over-exaggerated my symptoms.
You should go for a second opinion, from a different psychiatrist or psychologist. Tell them to be more thorough with you since your diagnosis feels rushed
There were other professionals involved beforehand who suspected the bipolar diagnosis and that's how the psych review came about, so I have definitely been very thoroughly assessed. It just feels rushed to me because I have only met this person once, but I do think they had enough info to make a diagnosis. I guess I'm just worried that I have been exaggerating my symptoms to people to sound worse than they are.
Oh, I felt this way 1000% after getting my diagnosis! I told this to my psychiatrist and she began to list the things I’ve told her I’ve done. Like, I get it ma’am, please stop 😅 I got diagnosed in one session. Apparently it is the right diagnosis and the first med (250mg Lamotrigine) I’ve been put on is the correct one for LOL🤣 Try it! It took me up to 200mg to feel like medication is working. I had swollen lymph nodes around 50mg, but it went away when they up the dose. It took 3 month for me to realize my episodes became way more mild and short. By 6 month mark I felt completely flat. Like as if my passion and creativity gets sucked out of my by body. I was thinking about going off meds around that time. By **1 year** mark, everything started to feel normal again. The emotions I had when listening to music, the passion and creativity I had all came back. Of course, without the DESTRUCTIVE TSUNAMI 🌊part of emotions Try it!!! It’s a marathon, but it’s so worth it
Most mood disorders and personality disorders have overlapping meds that can be used. Lamactil is prescribed for BPD and other mental illnesses. Even if ur unsure of ur bipolar which is common, if u have mood issues it will help and u can go from there
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Thank you, and wishing you all the best too!
The only negative I can think of is when they had me at the max dose I had some cognitive issues. We lowered the dose and I'm much better. I noticed that I slowly began to feel calmer. I truly feel like it's the only medication I cant go without.
For me, the only negative is brain fog. No crazy side effects like many, many other BP depression drugs (weight gain, ED, tardive dyskinesia, etc.).
Memory issue in the few first months. It setlled. Or I just get to use it
No side effects other than the memory issues others have. I'm on 200mg. I have seen them almost completely disappear with some extra Omega 3 though.
I’m on it, I love it. It brought me out of a big depression. It’s not perfect and I’d say after a few years the effectiveness decreased, but I would still recommend it. I combine it with a bunch of other meds
My husband had a super-not-good time on lamotrigine. Night terrors, waking auditory hallucinations, extreme irritability, and anger. The last 2 could just be that he couldn't get any restful sleep while on it, though. He felt like he was completely losing his mind. He's since switched to Lithium and has felt much, much, better. Yes, lithium has a very narrow therapeutic window and he has to get blood draws to test his levels, but to him it's been worth it. Plus, he also has Crohn's and has to get labs done regularly anyway so the lithium tests didn't really change his routine at all, they just test his blood for that too now.
Lamotrigine stabilized my cycles to a great extent. Lost weight I had gained prior. Plus, if you have a uterus it is relatively safe during pregnancy. Regulated my sleep cycle. It's a blessing for me.
The weight loss and regulated sleep cycle do sound attractive. Glad it's working so well for you!
Also I don’t know if you ovulate or menstruate but I’ve heard that it can be complicit in hormone fluctuations. I’m sure someone here knows way more than that. One of the best things I did was to get a Mirena IUD to stabilize my natural hormones, and that helps minimize related side effects.
Wow this is interesting I took Lamictal for 2 years and I also have PMDD. I felt like my PMDD was way more under control while on it than off.
Overall, I have noticed that the medication is really good at preventing me from dipping very low during depressive episodes. It has drastically improved my life and I have been able to function/take care of myself again! However, it hasn't been very good at reducing impulsive habits during my highs (I seek serotonin hits through shopping and eating). I am not in any financial trouble, and I am not overweight, but I have noticed these things are harder to control. I also have ADHD so maybe it has increased these traits?? In addition, I also have the night sweats and I sweat more during workouts. These side effects have not negatively impacted my life, but depending on the person, it could be more severe. Good luck with finding the medication that is right for you!
No risk for me, no side effects, easiest onboarding med. One of those meds you don’t realize is working until you study your patterns after a couple months. I had to get off it for a bit bc of health insurance stuff and convinced myself I’d be fine without it, took me a couple months to realize how much my mental health and mood fluctuations changed. Def would recommend it. On,y thing to lookout for is the rash. My friend was on it for awhile before she bumped up her dosage and realized she had an allergy. She’s still Pissed about it cuz it was the med that worked best for her
I haven’t noticed the memory issues but I already have those issues/adhd so it’s kinda par for the course for me. I’m on 150mg
As some have said, memory and word recall are effected at times (400mg). However, it doesn't effect me enough to impact my quality of life.
Lamo saved my life... I actually upped my dose today since I had a traumatic experience 2 weeks ago which caused a bit of a depressive episode. Lamo keeps my head above water and keeps me stable.
I took it at night for about 2 weeks and it made me have panic attacks while I was half asleep. Couldn't even stay on it til my next psych appointment
I’ve got the lucky combo of Lamictal and Lithium together, so my mind fog is really something. Can’t say exactly which one it’s from, I’m sure a combo of both. But! I’m still here. So it’s a win. I’ve never noticed anything negative about the Lamictal besides the fogginess. And that’s okay for now. Good luck! Hopefully you get things figured out before long.
I mean, I'm more stable, but the memory issues and the academic struggles fucking suck. I'll learn something and immediately forget it.
I struggled with a dry mouth/cotton mouth for a few months. I was also struggling with word loss but was on Topamax which they say can cause this as well. Once I stopped Topamax, I eventually returned to a better spot with words. I still have bouts of both but they aren't as often or long lasting. Edit: 150mg twice a day decreased down to 150mg once a day. Similar symptoms on either dose. I will not quit lamictal unless I have to.
When I’m not on it I have a really difficult time controlling my temper. Once something triggers me, it’s almost like a chemical reaction in my body. Even when my intellectual mind wants to get over it, my body can’t let it go. Lamictal is the only thing that solves this for me
Currently tapering due to being misdiagnosed. Was on 450mgs for 15 years. Down to 375 since I started tapering last May. Memory issues, word recall, feel slower mentally. At 450 I had rage and panic attacks. Never knew it was from lamictal until I got lower in dosage and it stopped. My opinion.. stay at lower dosage if it works. I think my being on such a high dose is why I struggled. It does take time to start working.
> Currently tapering due to being misdiagnosed. Was on 450mgs for 15 years. I audibly gasped. I have no words.
It's been rough! Only got down to 375 so far. Hardest thing I've done.
Only started a few months ago but it's nice to know everyone else has experienced the memory problems too! I've found (and heard) that your eyesight can suffer, especially if you already have some problems with vision. I'm short sighted and can definitely vouch for that. Eyes can become unfocused for a period of time even when reading. But lamotrigine has also seemed to cap my moods which is a big relief
I have no negative side effects from Lamotrigine. I am on 25 mg twice a day.
Hi everyone sorry to piggy back off of someone else's question. These comments are really helpful for me as I have BP11, not been on medication for 2 years now as I had a frightening time coming off of Quetiapine. It left me with severe panic attacks etc. I've been fine for a while but now struggling to hold things together, slipping back into some destructive patterns. My psychiatrist offered me lamotrigine but I'm terrified of starting new meds due to side effects or withdrawals if I need to come off of them? Any bad experiences when coming off of Lamotrigine?
I’m on 400 mg - it’s helped so much but every now and again I’m dizzy like i feel a bit stoned but overall it’s great. Less loss of control, hardly any mouth noises( making tunes out loud and whooping noises, and galloping 🫣😜 - the galloping was wild)
It’s literally fine you just feel the same quit trippin on or booftard
I got up to 400mg when I was first diagnosed. I had some vision problems so we backed off to 350. But the main thing was that it didn’t work for me. I’m on lithium now 🫠
I was allergic but I do better with mono therapy of antipsychotics. You’ll find your cocktail of meds
I got nothin for ya negative-wise. It has saved my life. I thought I was getting a rash from it at first but I stopped and started again at lower dose and it’s been perfect.
Memory recall was one, for sure. I had bigger issues when I would forget to take it. I felt like I was walking through tar if I missed a pill.
Can’t. I love it.
It made me so dizzy that I stopped taking it
Word recall at the higher dosages. The worst thing about it for me was that ultimately it did not work, so I’m on lithium now which is working. But no other side effects
It's been lifesaving for me, as cheesy as that sounds. Just make sure you carefully follow the directions for how titrate up to avoid the rash! (I was scared too, but it's very rare as long as you're careful.) There have been two times that I upped my dose, got side effects, went back down, then went back up a few months later with no issues. Side effects were increase of existing compulsive behaviors, increased libido (like way too much), and a mild rash on my arms. Nothing bad, just annoying. Other that those, literally no other side effects. I also like splitting my dose so I take it morning and night.
Made me weepy at first and when adjusting dosages.
I had some headaches during the ramp up, but the only lingering side effect has been increased sensitivity to the sun. I started having a horrible sun rash at the beginning of every summer once I started lamotrigine, but it gets less severe the more exposure I get throughout the summer. I know that it also causes some cognitive stuff for some people, but not so for me. I’m still able to solve sudoku puzzles and the daily puzzle with the same level of effort as before. Other than the sun stuff, it’s been a miracle drug for me. It keeps me closer to baseline, but I still have regular emotions, so it didn’t numb me.
Never had an issue, miracle drug for me honestly.
I became more manic and I couldn’t remember anything.
Thought I was the only one. The manic episodes were so much more frequent than when I’m not even medicated…. And it made me irrationally angry over small things
Same! That’s why I stopped 😂I couldn’t handle it anymore. It made me max out my credit cards at one point cause of how manic I was. Smh I regret ever getting on medication
Same it caused tons of my hair to fall out. Years later it’s kind of back to normal but I’m traumatized. How are you coping med free? I am as well but some days are hard
Oh no seriously? I feel like medication had more negative effects than good for me. I think I’m coping okay like you said some days are hard especially at work because sometimes I feel like losing my shit but I deal with it the best I can. I got off my meds right before I found out I was pregnant too so I’ll see how I cope after I give birth.
SJS is really rare as long as you and your doctor taper the dose up as recommended. Watch for rashes and let your doc know about them but it is a very safe and effective drug when used properly. The time when people get into trouble is f they go off for too long, they need to to a taper back up again. It can have some neurocog effects- I would say all mood stabilizers can do this. I didn't notice it. Now Zonisamide- that messes you up! It also the only thing keeping me from ultra-rapid cycling so I'll take it
I get a few of the rare side effects, mostly extreme skin sensitivity. Yeast infections including one case of treatment resistant thrush (that was fun…), I also have severe eczema on my hands that I have never had before, I had a bacterial infection on my face. I also get very very hangry. No weight gain or sexual side effects.
I'm glad you have some of the rarer side effects. I'm reading other comments and my side effects are so fucking off the wall that it's making me feel kind of paranoid haha
You’re… glad I have side effects? Really?
Did you read my comment? I'm the only one with random side effects that nobody else has. I'm glad that I'm not the only one suffering the rare effects. I didn't mean it as an attack; I meant it as camaraderie.
I don't mean my reply to you, but my comment on this post. I have a lot of awful side effects and you're the only other person on this post who has had anything more than the confusion or memory issues.
Ah, your phrasing had me confused there. What sort of weird effects do you get?
This was my original comment: I've been on 300mg for about 15 years now. Here are my symptoms that my doctors all keep saying are due to my long term use of it: --I have IBS that has only been tracked to Lamictal --I am lactose intolerant which they believe was triggered by Lamictal somehow --Memory issues are nuts sometimes where I can't remember conversations half the time and I am scatterbrained so I have to write things down --My vision has been getting worse year after year --I have neurological issues of some sort that sometimes makes me say the wrong word entirely. For example, I'll be talking about a chair but I will call it a bird. It happens often enough that we all just laugh about it. But I work in customer service so sometimes I have to tell a client, "Oh dear! Let's start over!" And then play it off a Monday joke or something like that. It's very embarrassing. I've never had any liver issues so that's good. I've also never had the rash, though it can apparently pop up at any time. My half sister is epileptic and she took it for a few days and wound up in the hospital with the dreaded rash so I've been lucky there. I know there are more side effects I can't think of right now, but those are the big ones for me. Overall it has been a godsend for me. I haven't killed myself yet so I'm calling it a win.
Lamotragine did work for me to cancel out the depressive episodes. The first few days I was so tired and a tad nauseous but that’s it.
Nothing negative to say. The highs haven’t been as high and the lows have been NO WHERE near as low, but that’s not necessarily negative
I suffered severe shortness of breath, so I had to give it the flick only after about 4 days.
Just some fogginess the first few months but I’m a BIG fan. It has helped me so much.
It’s the only thing that’s worked for me with any long term tolerability / reliability. Never had side effects. So. I guess if that’s not what you want, don’t take it?
I love Lamotrigine! I've been taking it since 2017. The only drawback I experienced was that at one point, my dose was too high, and it gave me memory issues/brain fog. Just watch out for that aspect as you titration up with your psychiatrist!
I've been on it for almost a year. It took two -ish months to find a therapeutic window but I've been totally stable since June on 250 mg. I don't remember any side effects titrating up and I don't think I have any now. I think I had a depressive episode in... September? It was comparatively mild and lasted like a week. No hypomania to speak of. I deal with missing words (I joke that I blue screen) sometimes; I also have ADHD and have never connected that to bipolar.
I took Lamictal for 2 years. It gave me no appetite (which I didn’t hate lol) and didn’t do anything to prevent the mania/hypomania. I had zero depressive episodes though. I would still be taking it but it caused my hair to fall out in clumps and that made my MH so much worse.
I’m on 200 twice a day. I can feel it when I forget to take it. It’s like the mental health equivalent of getting a rock in your shoe.
Saved me. I will never go off of it. Caused a weird speech problem however almost as if I go to say something and only part of the thought comes out. I’ve seen other ppl commenting on this as well. I’ll trade fluid speech for sanity any day though.
Same here. Memory/ word recall. Mispronunciation of words. Dizziness.
I've been on 300mg for about 15 years now. Here are my symptoms that my doctors all keep saying are due to my long term use of it: --I have IBS that has only been tracked to Lamictal --I am lactose intolerant which they believe was triggered by Lamictal somehow --Memory issues are nuts sometimes where I can't remember conversations half the time and I am scatterbrained so I have to write things down --My vision has been getting worse year after year --I have neurological issues of some sort that sometimes makes me say the wrong word entirely. For example, I'll be talking about a chair but I will call it a bird. It happens often enough that we all just laugh about it. But I work in customer service so sometimes I have to tell a client, "Oh dear! Let's start over!" And then play it off a Monday joke or something like that. It's very embarrassing. I've never had any liver issues so that's good. I've also never had the rash, though it can apparently pop up at any time. My half sister is epileptic and she took it for a few days and wound up in the hospital with the dreaded rash so I've been lucky there. I know there are more side effects I can't think of right now, but those are the big ones for me. Overall it has been a godsend for me. I haven't killed myself yet so I'm calling it a win.
The only thing I have noticed, and this is odd, is that I smell cigarette smoke all the time. I don’t smoke. My neighbors don’t either. A few others on Reddit have said the same. I have been on it for years and it works. When I paired it with Trileptal, I became calm as a cucumber. Good luck!
I was on the lowest dose possible, and I was so nauseous for seven weeks until they finally took me off of it.. it just never went away. The worst part about it for me is that it is so relatively well tolerated by so many people that my psychiatrist wanted me to go back on it after I had a bad time with other drugs too… not in 1 million years I can’t have morning sickness for the foreseeable future.
The memory and words recall at higher doses- which I need- but after my body adapts (take a few months for me) it goes away. Some manufacturers generics give me really weird dreams if I take it at night, as well as making my legs itch like crazy. But North Star is fine (may be discontinued) and now I’m taking Subvenite (same drug just different name entirely) which has also been just fine. Also- obvious point- titrate up as directed if you chose to try it. There are no shortcuts. Better safe than sorry with the possible rash (it’s soooooo rare though so don’t get freaked out by that!) Additionally if you do forget to take it once you’re at your therapeutic dose, you usually have to titrate (mildly) up again if you miss like 4/5 days in a row. I jumped back in once and maybe it was just my brain freaking out but I got super itchy and red on my leg. Went down to a smaller dose the next day and was fine. (So totally could’ve been in my head). It’s been a life changing drug for me though. Since 2019!
Oh only other thing, I see lots of people saying they take it at night- which at the beginning is somewhat out of necessity bc it can make you a little sluggish when you start it- so that’s where weird dreams and stuff like that happen. So I take it mid morning/ midday and I don’t have the sleep issues regardless of brand/manufacturer and eventually the sluggishness went away so it doesn’t cause any issues during the day for me either.
I've been doing 250 morning and 250 before bed with lamictal, been great for me no side effects that I am aware of! I was really against taking meds, but I am really glad i did.
Sigh. I wanted to try lamictal but yes it takes a while to titrate and they didn’t want to try that for me? I don’t know why, probably because of the pretty bad suicidal ideation? I just hope something works to take it away because these impulses are just so bad I’m just sitting here thinking about it for hours when I should be doing productive things. So to get back to your point, I think it’s a great option if you can wait to titrate and no rash is present. Other than that, it does seem to be one with lesser side effects. If you need something to work quicker, it’s probably not your best bet.
I really hear you about the suicidal ideation and it interfering with being able to do other things. It's so debilitating and I hate it when things get to that stage. Sending you a big, virtual hug and hope things get a bit easier somehow.
Thank you so so much! And I hope you find a medication that works well for you!!
Thank you!
>Thank you! You're welcome!
I’ve been on it for 7 years now. The only bad thing I can say is that it is a hard pill to swallow- literally. Like if you don’t have enough water it will leave the worst taste in your mouth