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I'm currently on a cocktail of Seroquel XR at 600 mg and Lamictal at 150 mg. My Seroquel dose got this high because of a mixed episode, so as of now, thats likely where I'll stay for a while to keep things stable. I was at 400 mg which not only lacked the sedation of lower doses, but also came with a lessened appetite. But that all came back when I bumped up to 600 mg. I've put on 10-ish pounds or so in a month, and I'm not thrilled. I asked my doctor for a Metformin Rx to help with the metabolic side effects. She was hesitant, but agreed I may need something and actually leaned more towards Topamax instead. She wants me to try 1 more month of dieting and exercise to see if I can manage without adding another med. Now I'm leaning towards Topamax, since maybe it could have mood stabilizing properties to it, in addition to curbing appetite and helping me lose weight. I'm not overweight by any means, but I'm definitely hyper-vigilant about my body and tend to...obsess. Has anyone taken Topamax and found that it (1) helped with appetite or weight control and (2) had positive effects on their illness?

Hello all, I'm looking for some med experience/anecdotes! I am bipolar and also have anxiety, ADHD, and PTSD. Currently I'm taking Lamictal (400mg/day), Geodon (80mg/day), and Adderall (25mg/day). I'm looking to change it up because I am seriously struggling with the side effects. Since starting Geodon I am tired all the time (it doesn't help that I'm in the midst of a depressive episode) and I've gained 20+ pounds in two months. I think it's helping with the manic side (or maybe that's just because of the depressive episode I'm in?) but I can't deal with these side effects. The Adderall works great for my ADHD but I think it's making me too edgy/irritable for my liking. On top of it I have been having terrible anxiety lately. I'm meeting with a new PMHNP next week and I like to research my med options ahead of time so that I feel more informed and can advocate for myself. I'm interested in Wellbutrin because it doesn't have weight gain associated with it, it helps with binge eating and supposedly helps you quit smoking (both current concerns of mine), and can work for both depression and ADHD. I'm also interested in Buspar as a possible anxiety med? I like that it also isn't associated with weight gain and that it isn't supposed to be sedating. I've also taken Abilify in the past (before I took Geodon) and didn't experience any terrible side effects other than it making me sleepy but maybe combined with the right thing that wouldn't be as much of an issue? Anyone have experience with this combo or a similar one? Any and all feedback appreciated! The med game is so overwhelming.

I made the prolonged mistake of not refilling my meds for about 3 weeks. Whoops! I'm on 20 mg of aripiprazole (Abilify) and 200 mg of lamotrigine (Lamictal), which I've been on for about 2 years in varying doses. So my friends finally took me to the pharmacist today to pick them up, but I want to make sure I'm safe about going back on. Should I slowly increase dosages? Or can I just start back on my normal amount ASAP? I would go to a psychiatrist to figure this out, but I there aren't any appointments for another 2 weeks.

I am diagnosed bipolar 2, OCD, GAD, and at one point ADHD although the psychs can’t decide if it’s true or not. my cocktail: wellbutrin xl 450 mg in morning lamictal 200mg at night lexapro 10mg morning for the GAD and OCD my OCD is the obsessive thoughts type. My issue being mainly that I lack motivation and am tired all the time as well very hungry and have gained weight but can’t find the hunger control to diet and can’t find the motivation to exercise. yes it’s terrible and could be affecting all of this but for years it’s the only way I can function half a pot or a whole pot of coffee in the morning and occasionally a monster or two in the afternoon I practically live on caffeine. i sleep ok usually about 7-8 hours a night. luckily I have a job currently although I’m a serial job hopper. somehow I have a wife and daughter who put up with me. I’m on my 20’s im 6 foot tall and was originally 225 when I was exercising but after wife’s pregnancy and post partum and life of course I’m now 289. just trying to see if anyone has experienced similar cocktails because although I’ve been under treatment off and on since 15 I have honestly not tried many meds more so favoring trying different doses of the same med because I have enough of a hard time holding a job without the med game happening. i have tried seroquel which is a never again strattera which messed with blood pressure. Gabapentin which is absolutely not. Adderall which was obviously awesome but is likely bad for the bipolar. Abilify which made me feel mentally handicapped. Buspar which made me practically forget my own name. Just found this place and basically looking for any experiences, thoughts etc.

Hello, I was prescribed Lamictal 150 mg for racing thoughts, generalized and social anxiety, and rapid speech. While on Lamictal 150 mg I got a routine blood test and my PCP (Primary care Physician) asked me if I was sick when I got the blood test, because I had a high White blood cell count, and had a high Lymph count. I told her no, but that I started a new med a few weeks ago (Lamictal 150 mg), and at times I felt kind of crappy on it, and that what I think was causing the increased white cell and lymph counts. A few weeks later she followed up with another blood test to make sure my WBC weren't increasing or changing, but they were staying at the same level. I'm 99% sure the increased WBC and Lymph counts are from Lamictal 150 mg, because the same thing happened with Lamictal 150 mg a few years ago. So, I read online that anti-convulsants can cause increased white blood cell counts. I'm ok with this, because the Lamictal is helping me (On a side note- actually now I'm taking Lamictal 175 mg without my psychiatrist's knowledge or prescription, because I wanted to see if it would help me more than 150 mg, and it has- but she wanted me to go on Latuda 20 mg and to go down to Lamictal 100 mg.) But I wonder if having the high WBC is healthy. BTW, the highest my WBC count should be is under 10.8, and mine's 12.1, and the highest my Lymph count should be is 3.1, mine is 4.4 (On Lamictal 150 mg). I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this happen to them on Lamictal or on another anti-convulsant/mood stabilizer, and is it ok or healthy to have this side effect. I will be sure to bring this up with my psychiatrist on our next meeting. Thank you in advance, Lisa2712

I was discharge from the Psych hospital on November 9th. While in the hospital they started me on lithium to manage the bipolar and also suicidal ideations. Since I have felt horrible my side effects: -internal restlessness (akathesia)- I take a bath 2-4x a day to help my body calm down. -weight gain -acne and skin going from very soft to rough -irritability -social anxiety -labile emotions (crying at everything to road rage when people drive like jerks) -inability to focus and work -sexual dysfunction (goes with the akathesia) -headaches and nausea when my levels are too high - I cant keep my levels in a normal range at 1200mg they are too low @ .6 and at 1500 mg they are too high @ 1.2 After a month of trying really hard to be medication compliant and stay on lithium I begged my PDOC to switch me. She finally agreed today. I was hoping to get opinions on medications that have been the most effective at managing your Bipolar. If you have any info on lamictal I'd really appreciate it.

Hello everybody, I started on Lamictal a few weeks back. My doctor had me up the dose by 25mg every 10 days. The first 10 days were okay aside from an intermittent sore throat and a few random aches and pains. When I went up to 50mg though, things got a bit weird. The first day, I woke up with a few tense muscles. And then a few days later, I had some noticeable swelling on my tongue. I ended up stopping the medication. My questions are, do you think this is the result of me going up too quickly? Has anybody else experienced this and was then able to successfully titrate at a slower pace? Should I be willing to give Lamictal another shot?

Does anyone know what actually causes Lamictal-induced acne? Lamictal gives me the most god-awful acne on my back, shoulders, and chest. I got off of it for a few years after I had just totally had it with the horrendous, almost cystic acne that it caused. It cleared up finally after a few years, but not completely, and finally cleared up almost completely after I got off Zonegran. But when my pdoc recommended recently that I give Lamictal another try due to my recent decline in mood, I reluctantly decided to give it a try, with the idea in mind that my physical appearance (covered by shirt nearly 99.99% of the time) was less important than my mental stability. Sure enough, after about 3 weeks or so, these zits are popping up on my back, shoulders, upper arms (even over my tattoo), and chest. They're not as bad as it was when I got off Lamictal last, but they're definitely there, and they're definitely getting worse. I'm only on 25 mg bid (twice a day), and she may want to increase the dose the next time I see her (here in a few days), as this dose isn't doing anything to help my depression. I saw a dermatologist for years while I was on it the last time and she couldn't figure out anything out to help it. I tried the following medications: Oral doxycycline (Vybramycin) 100 mg bid (didn't really help at all) minocycline (Minocin) 100 mg bid (helped mildly for a little while, then quit working) sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (Bactrim DS) 800 mg/160 mg bid (this was the only thing that put a dent in the acne but I wasn't able to take it long because it caused blood test abnormalities) Topical salicylic acid (no help) adapalene gel (Differin) 0.3% (helped mildly) BenzEFoam Ultra (micronized benzoyl peroxide) 9.8% (no help) benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin gel (BenzaClin) 5%/1% (worked decently, but bleach-stained my clothes) benzoyl peroxide wash 10% (both generic and PanOxyl brand) (no help) tretinoin topical cream 0.025% (no help) clindamyycin phosphate lotion 1% (Cleocin T) (some help combined with benzoyl peroxide and adapalene) erythromycin gel 2% (A/T/S, Emgel, Erygel) (no help) I don't think topical medications are really the answer, really. Plus it was a PITA to reach around my back applying these topical meds on my back and shoulders every day twice a day with some of them. There were several medications we tried to try, but my insurance wouldn't cover it... like dapsone topical I think was one of them... I was just wondering if anyone knew the root cause of Lamictal-induced acne so I could address it with my dermatologist when I start seeing her again. Or is it just something I would have to just deal with?

I have been titrating lamictal, was at 25 for 2 weeks, and just started 50 today. I have been having increasingly worse sleep, and the past few nights couldn't sleep without taking klonipin, and still woke in the middle of the night. My question is could this be a temporary side effect that goes away once I am on a therapeutic dose for awhile? I have called my pdoc to see if they can subscribe something to help me sleep. I also take zyprexa (which usually helps sleep but not anymore) and gabapentin. Very stressed out bc I really want lamictal to work for my bipolar depression, and so far no other side effects. I feel like my mood is already better and things are going well except for the sleep issue. Thanks for any input!

About three months ago, I was prescribed Lamotrigine for General Anxiety Disorder. I have had no other issues aside from my anxiety. As would be expected, my dosage was gradually increased. However, after about four weeks something just didn't seem right. I ended up stopping at 75mgs per day. I continued that dosage for about a month. Sometimes, I'd wonder if my vision wasn't quite right. About four weeks ago, I was out on a walk with my son and realized that I could barely see more than twenty feet ahead of myself. Something just was not right about my vision. If I tried focusing on something, it would almost feel like I could go cross eyed. I did some reading on other people's experienced with this medication, and was alarmed to find a lot of information on vision issues. I decided to taper off the Lamotrigine. There were a number of medical sources saying to reduce by 50% per week. I figured going with 25% per week would be safe. I also met with a doctor, who confirmed that 25% per week was super safe. About four or five days after decreasing my dosage, my eyes began to feel immense pain. Especially my right eye. It felt like the most intense sinus pressure, or a migraine, or some incredibly severe tension. The issue with not being able to focus became much worse. I saw an eye doctor, and also had an eye exam done. I was told both times that my vision was completely fine. They did mention that I had really dry eyes, and I'm currently using a heat compress that they had recommended for treating this. However, the eye pain has been constant. I have barely been able to interact with my family, work, or even read. At times I can hardly look at the page of a book, it is so incredibly difficult to focus on. Yesterday, I was in such terrible pain that I could barely handle being awake. Now, I have a constant ringing in my ear. My ears also feel very clogged, almost like sinus issues. I'm honestly not sure how much more of this I can handle. Does any of this sound familiar to any of you? I could sure use some peace of mind. I am pretty concerned that I have permanent hearing issues, let alone that my eyes will never feel normal again. Any insight would be much appreciated.

Hi, im not a forum person and also from Sweden so if theres already a thread about this or info somewhere point me in the right direction anyway, i was diagnosed with cyclothymia alittle more than 2 years ago and been on lamictal since. worked wonders since im able to have friends now and on the verge of joining the workforce again anyway, seems lamictal doesnt work for me anymore :/ been having bad headaches and feeling shitty overall for over a month, stopped taking them for 5 days and headache/feeling shitty went away, started taking it again today (at lower dose) and got headache and feeling shitty again... and ive never had issues with headaches at all in my life before and im actually having a pretty healthy lifestyle these days so i see no other connection than it being the lamictals fault so it seems i have to switch meds. im seeing my psychiatrist again in two weeks and of course i will make decision in discussion with him but I wanna go there prepared so... anyone have suggestions/experience what med(s) to take instead of lamictal? ive been googling alot and reading on crazymeds so im somewhat aware what meds are out there but its hard for me to tell which ones would be similar to lamictal tried virtually all SSRI's, SNRI's and Bupripone (together with lamictal) and they all make me crazy and/or feel awful, also been on aripiprazole and wasnt pleasant either. sorry if rambling/broken english. /Nils

Since upping my lamictal dose (only to 75) I gradually noticed increading strange muscular pains and cramps, akin to what I imagine arthritis to be like. I obviously have noticed that lamictal side effects tend to dissipate after a while after a dosage change, and of course had much more intense pains, headaches and other such things around the increase time howhever these particular ones appeared after the initial S/E subsided and have progressively worsened. These are focused on my legs, primarily my calf and knee joints, and have affected my gait. Alongside this I've notices strange muscular twitches and sharp pains, primarily in the leg areas but occasionally other muscle areas. I have noticed there is some info and muscle pain does seem to be a known side effect of lamictal, but was wondering if anyone has experience in treating this? Am wondering whether to reduce dose, which is a difficult choice as 75 is the highest dose I've been able to tolerate and is still pretty subtherapeutic. I should probably note on the list of odd side effects that I also have a crazy range of odd head, neck and jaw pains, alongside ocular aura w/out migraine (like a dull pain behind the eye accompanied with a feeling of a round orb or spot sorta behind vision), although these are harder to pin on the lamictal... Fun times...

Background: I've been on all of the SSRI's and SNRI's, including atypicals and they didn't work for my depression (they either flatlined me emotionally, rendered me a sedated zombie, or made me a super irritable/aggro insomniac) They all caused some degree of sexual issues. I finally found some relief from Depression with Lamictal - It completely evened out my mood, and I still feel like myself. No more mood swings, severe crying spells, I don't get bothered or upset by things. From what I've read, most people do not have any sexual side effects from it. Problem: No orgasm at all on it. Even more tortuous, psychologically, my libido is still there, I have desire and other things (if you know what I mean) but no matter what I do I cannot orgasm or get any physical pleasure from sex. It's like all my sensitive parts are totally "turned off" I also noticed that I no longer have that "runners-type high" I used to get a nice tingly-endorphin rush from intense exercise and since I started Lamictal months ago, I feel nothing! Wellbutrin does not do anything for me (no effect at all at 450mg), I've also tried Maca for 2 months (no effect) I don't want to take a sedating med that makes me a zombie. I don't know what to do! Can anyone here tell me whether anything helped you (particularly vitamins, supplements, Ginko, goat weed?) I'm afraid to go off this med and get crazy again but I cannot tolerate this side effect longterm.

I'm currently on Seroquel & Lamictal max doses and had a rather nasty mixed episode in June. My psychiatrist is now talking about adding a subclinical dose of lithium. Has anyone had this combo? (I'm also on Welbutrin if it applies)

I have mild reflux, something like GERD or LERD, for the past six months or so. Mostly no pain, just really bad smells at the back of my throat and occasional vomit burp. It recently (past couple months) started giving me vague gut pain and bloating after meals, so I saw a dr, got scoped, and was diagnosed with reflux. No erosion/ulceration was seen though, just stomach juices bubbling up my esophagus a little. So, I got some prescription strength probiotics and started putting chia seeds in my drinks. (The goo really soothes all that mess.) My reflux was more or less under control with just that, until I finally decided to go to a psychiatrist for my (years long untreated) depression. Now, after a week at 5 mg escitalopram and 25ish mg (I'm trying to quarter 100 mg pills, it's not so accurate) lamotrigine in the AM, my stomach is MAD. Putting anything in my stomach makes it bloated and painful. And the past couple days it's even worse. Last night, probably two hours after eating I had a wicked vomit burp. Like the food in my stomach wasn't moving down AT ALL. This morning I even woke up bloated. I have a long history of gut unhappiness, but it's usually my bowels/large intestine and this stomach pain shit is really making it hard for me to do anything. Like, I'm so bloated I'm scared if I get up and move around I'm going to vomit. (But I don't have nausea, weirdly enough.) And I think all this clenching my stomach against the bloating and pain is making my asthma worse. Is this a start up side effect that will go away? Anyone know of anything besides PPIs that can help it? I think the problem is that my digestive tract just isn't moving, not that I have too much acid, and besides PPIs give me wicked diarrhea. When I had a big cup of coffee with breakfast yesterday morning, my big hearty breakfast didn't cause me any problems at all. Coffee usually makes my digestive track tweak the fuck out and puts me on the toilet, I think in this case it brought my gut back to normal speed. But I can't do that with dinner. My doctor actually wants me on 10 mg escitalopram already and I'm scared to go up because I don't want this to get worse. Also I have medication phobia and want to stay at the lowest doses possible for everything. But I really want to give the meds a chance to work.....

I have finally decided to go off Wellbutrin (Bupropion/Zyban) as I just cannot live with this anger and rage attacks any longer. I spend my day swearing, (I can’t fit enough swear words in a sentence), clenching my hands until they are rigid, screaming and hurting my throat, telling myself I wish I was dead and having even more intrusive thoughts than normal, even thoughts that wake me up in the middle of the night and I respond by telling myself to fuck off while I‘m laying there in bed. The anger has alarmed me and I can feel the cortisol surging through my body. I’m getting off this medication by myself without help because I went to see my psychiatrist the other day sand he virtually dismissed me and was clearly annoyed with me for having too many side effects and he was frustrated at how difficult I was to treat. There was no sympathy whatsoever. He said we’ve exhausted all avenues. I felt like a fool for not responding correctly to medications that he thought should work. It was a waste of money seeing him and I’m sick of doctors telling me it’s worth having numb genitals or inability to orgasm if you find a pill that gets rid of your depression. The doctor was frustrated with me before for all the pills I’ve been on that I couldn’t tolerate because of sex issues. The Wellbutrin didn’t do anything negative for me sexually (it seemed to have a big improvement on me sexually, actually), but the insane anger is just too much to live with. The anger was over the most minor of things, such as the vacume cleaner cord getting tangled, or losing internet connection. I’m currently on Lamotrigine 200 mg by itself which I hope will help my depression/anxiety.

Does anyone have any experience specifically with the Depakote+Lamictal combo (with or without other medications). I've been on Depakote now since about November of last year but we're swapping out the Trintellix for Lamictal because my new insurance in July might give me a hard time about covering Trintellix. And we (my pdoc and I) figured that demonstrating an approved medication doesn't work (if it doesn't work that is) should be something we should try before submitting the step therapy paperwork for Trintellix. For this new insurance, they not only require that you try at least two other generics, but the "Restricted Access" meds also are only allowed to be used for FDA approved indications (i.e. Trintellix is approved for MDD but I'm BP2). I started Lamictal on Thursday. 25mg every other day for 2 weeks. Then 25mg every day for two weeks. Then we'll decide if we want to increase it again to 50mg for another two weeks or if we want to increase the Depakote or Rexulti. I don't recall Lamictal having such a difficult startup when it comes to GI discomfort. I remember the antsy almost anxious feeling, and I remember the headaches, but I'm also having nausea, some mild stomach cramping, diarrhea, but fortunately no vomitting. Has anyone else ever taken Depakote and started Lamictal and found they had a hard time. Better yet has anyone ever taken Lamictal both with AND without Depakote and found it less tolerable when taken with Depakote? I am aware of the medication interaction between these two meds. So I know that Depakote is going to increase Lamictal blood levels and might amplify some of these side effects. It's just more difficult than I remembered from the last time I took it years ago when I wasn't on Depakote and I wasn't really expecting it to be this much worse. Granted, I've only taken two doses at this point. So I might be jumping the gun and might find that I feel better later this week. But I'm also supposed to be discontinuing the Trintellix on Thursday. And if I'm still having a hard time adjusting to the Lamictal, stopping Trintellix at the same time could make me miserable, and I know that. Anyone have two cents?

Hi There, I'm not much of a poster. But, I've noticed when you are trying to look up people's personal experience with meds, usually the reports are from people who have had really bad experiences, and so you don't normally get the full range of experiences. I'm assuming, the people who are fine, on certain meds, don't really post anything, because they've had no problems with it. Also, I wanted to post about Fetzima, because there is basically not a lot of information on it, so I felt like I wanted to share with the community to help others out who are deciding what to do. And, these forums were always helpful for me on my med research, so I wanted to contribute. I was on Fetzima for probably 3 years. My main medicine was Lamotrigine/Lamictal 150mg, which controlled my depression crashes. And, I needed a depression booster because of my dysthymia. I was on 40mg the whole time of Fetzima. I learned over the years, the SSRI's did nothing for me. I tried everything in the book. Finally, this, actually, good psych doctor recommended an SNRI, Fetzima. I remember in the beginning, my only side effect was cold sweats. Like wake up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat. It was not that fun. But, my depression improved and I was finally stable and felt good for the first time in my entire life. And, I told myself, I'll take the cold sweats, if it means I feel like a normal functioning adult human being. But, after a while, maybe 2-3 weeks, the cold sweats subsided. After that, Fetzima worked! It was great, the first depression med that I ever felt good on, didn't feel weird, was happy, held a job, friends, etc. Amazing! Then, I worked really, really hard with my therapist. I did everything I could possibly do to get better. I never wanted to be on meds. I wanted to treat myself and get better, and the end. I have severe trauma as a kid, and in result, suffered from severe depression, suicidal ideation, couldn't move or function, anxiety, social anxiety, and pretty much everything that goes along with that. Although, on the outside, you would never suspect it; I have a master's degree, I'm outgoing, friendly, etc. (Just trying to give you guys a picture of the situation). So, yes, I, personally, would recommend it. And, had no problems with it. Although, because it's a newer med, and no one has ever heard of it, there is no a lot of research on the long term effects. Obviously, medicine is different for everyone, but Fetzima worked for me. I finally felt good enough and stable enough to try to get off my meds, 3 years later. I recently tapered off of Fetzima, 20mg for 1 month, and then off. It was not that fun, but, it wasn't horrible, and it is not the horror stories that I've read from others online. I had one day of a pretty bad depression crash (maybe two), although, I knew it, and I knew what was happening, and I just reached out to everyone to help me through it. And, I know that a side effect of withdrawal is depression! Because your body is used to the meds, and then it doesn't have it anymore, so it takes a while for your brain to even out. The other very seriously difficult part for me- was the brain fog- brain cognition defects. I've never had anything like this before in my life, always good in school, always able to concentrate. I never even pay attention to that one on the list of issues that could arise. But, I was in a class that week, and it was rough! I couldn't concentrate, couldn't focus, fidgety, I felt like my brain was at 80%. It was a big struggle. I was scared my brain was going to be like this forever, and kept having to remind myself that it's the withdrawal. I, also, decided I'd rather deal with the withdrawal, then be on this forever, so I put up with it. And, probably after a week or two it went away. And, that's it! My emotions are okay! No depression! I'm very proud of myself, and I feel like the trauma therapy really worked! (So, I'd recommend that too). A lot of people "poo poo" talk therapists, and honestly, going through a lot of them since I was a teenager, a lot of them are pretty bad. But, once you find a good one, which can take a bunch of tries. It pretty much changed everything for me. Took a solid 4 years, I'd say of serious talk therapy from 2014-2018. But, I am a happy/content human being now! And, it was worth everything! And, I have someone I can check in with now, but don't need to go regularly, which feels amazing too! The meds teach you (or, taught me) what it was like to be stable and content. Which, I had never felt before in my life. And, then once you get off of them, your brain has been trained to know what being stable and content is, (and you've added the skills and tools you need to, through talk therapy to help yourself through), so, it'll go back to where it needs to go. Obviously, some people will need to be on meds forever, and that's okay too. I'm just sharing my personal experience. I'm now feeling strong enough to taper off my Lamotrigine 150mg. Which will be 125mg for 3 weeks, then 100mg for 3 weeks, then 75mg, 50mg, 25mg each for 3 weeks, and then 0! We're just doing it very, very slow. And, I hope it goes well! So, I'll share that experience too, in a couple months. Anyways, that's my review of Fetzima! And, it worked for me, while it needed to.

I just started lamictal yesterday at 50mg ER. I was hoping for appetite suppression which I have heard about on lamictal. But this morning I have a huge appetite. I just took another pill and appetite seems to have calmed down a bit though. Is there a dosage at which anyone has found when the appetite suppression kicked in? I have gained weight from Risperdal and having hard time losing weight.

Hello - I've been on Lamictal (50 mg at night), Prozac (20 mgs in the morning) and on Klonopin (0.5 mg at night) for treating anxiety and depression. I've been on it for 4 years, and during the last 3 I got extreme fatigue and brain fog. It is now debilitating me - I could not go work. I will talk to my pdoc, however, I'm thinking to tapper of from Lamictal or Klonopin. I've read a lot of bad stuffs on the tappering of both and I'm now concerned; however, I can't keep the way I'm now. Is there someone at the same mix? Given the dosage and period I've been on it, what do you think I should tapper off? thanks

In January of this year I woke up with a panic attack completely out of the blue. Despite several episodes of anxiety and depression in my 20s, my last episode was back in 2008! At that time I went through a year or so of therapy, committed to staying on 30mg of Paxil, and I never looked back. I honestly would have said I was cured! The panic attack led to a period of anxiety that lasted right through February. I upped the Paxil to 40mg and worked with a psychiatrist who suggested adding Lamictal. We started at 25mg for 2 weeks, 50mg for 2 weeks, and then 75mg. I started noticing a positive difference at about a week on 75mg. A few days later, the anxiety and depression just lifted! It was like I had my life back. For nearly a month I felt great, and believed the Lamictal must have made the difference. Unfortunately, it didn't last. About a week ago something minor triggered anxiety in me, and again it has lasted! My psychiatrist recommended going up to 100mg of Lamictal, so I started that two days ago. My question is, does lamictal work and then wear off if it's not at the right level? Has anyone had success with an SSRI and lamictal for anxiety and depression, not related to bipolar disorder? Can anyone offer advice on how to keep the faith with these medication changes, or how to overcome anxiety? Looking for others who get it, and want to help!

Hello, I’m new here and I was browsing through a couple threads on symptoms I have but I seem to have a lot of unexplained things that I’m not sure if it’s related to Lamictal or not. BP II. I’ve been on it for 11 years, I think I started at 100mg, wasn’t working so I went up to 200mg. I was there for years but started feeling like I wasn’t as under control and was upped to 300mg and I started experiencing anxiety and panic attacks at that level (could have been my job too, idk). I was prescribed Wellbutrin and immediately started displaying signs of tardive dyskinesia. Excessive lip smacking, facial contortions and the shakes. My pdoc was a bit alarmed and suggested I stop taking the Wellbutrin immediately. The symptoms seemed to stop. I was bumped up to 400mg In the past 2 years or so, I’ve felt it’s become more and more difficult to concentrate on work, almost dyslexic type of comphrension, difficulty finding the right words. I was a straight A student and I have several college degrees in science subjects. So I mean I’m relatively intelligent so to speak and I sometimes feel so stupid I can’t ever believe that was me. If I don’t take my Lamictal every 24 hours like clockwork, I start to feel sick. I shake and feel nauseous almost like a drug withdrawal. I told my pdoc and she said it was a mental dependency because it’s not addictive. I’m light sensitive, horrible migraines and have increasingly frequent panic attacks. I take Klonopin 1mg 2x a day and Ambien 5mg a day (for 10 years). When I drink alcohol, I get those symptoms of tardive dyskensia again. So I rarely do. Klonopin helps to stop it. I’m a 36 yr old female. thanks for reading

So I am currently on 300mg of Lamictal and I take 0.5mg of Xanax as needed up to 2x a day. My Dr. wanted to add in an Celexa because my anxiety is so severe but I'm sooooo scared to add anything I feel like starting meds in the first place messed me up even more than I was. I'm super worried that they won't be effective one day and I'm just gonna lose my shit and end up dead no matter what. Is there anyone that has tried this combo and liked it? I know that it's my anxiety fighting me but I am freaked out by the meds that haven't worked. I just want to feel "normal" just like I'm sure everyone does. Side note I've been on it and I think it was ok, however the sexual side effects made me just feel worse than my depression did so I was taken off of it. And I want to be better than ok. Ok isn't how I want to go through life. Ive been on Wellbutrin 2x (not sure of the dosage) and made me want to kill everyone-literally. Zoloft- anger issues Lexapro- sexual side effects I think Latuda- I was given this when I ended up in the mental hospital and they couldn't have picked a worse drug for me to be on. It made me zonk out and when it really started "working" I just wanted to kill myself. Paxil-can't even remember the effects so it didn't work out. I'm diagnosed bipolar 2, panic disorder and severe anxiety. Like I said I just want to feel better. Any ideas, thoughts, advice are all very welcome.

I've been on and off antipsychotics sporadically for the last 7 years since age 22 (since 2011). I'm extremely sensitive to them and have a very high response to every one I've been on. I've gained 145lbs from an increase in appetite and metabolic changes, have severe akathisia that is utterly insane and makes me want to cut my own legs off, I developed severe gynecomastia from Risperdal and Invega respectively (Won the Risperdal lawsuit, but no surgeon will touch me because of my weight), experience anxiety (The most on Abilify), fatigue, drowsiness, impotence (On Fanapt), anhedonia (From aggravated depression on Haldol), blurred vision (On Fanapt), lack of concentration, mild tardive dyskenesia (In combination with TMJ syndrome, I think it's permanent), dry eyes (Can't secrete my own tears), nasal congestion (aggravated, because I have it anyway without taking APs) , disorganized speech (Literally developed a speech impediment from a combination of Fanapt and Topamax), GI issues, etc I've experienced almost every common recorded side effect from this category / class of drugs. The lack of control over my weight and appearance and the akathisia are the worst (that's why they're listed first and reiterated). These drugs have destroyed the relatively abysmal life I had before I developed this illness and presently cut it down to absolutely nothing. I have no life. I spend the majority of my life either going to multiple doctor's appointments for my medical issues or otherwise eating uncontrollably, and pacing back and forth and smoking cigarettes occasionally. I browse the internet with my thoughts racing. I might try to watch a TV show or play video games or play bass guitar like I used to but I can barely hold concentration or focus long enough. I want this to end, I really want out. I want to experience a fraction of life again. I was previously diagnosed Bipolar 1 With Psychotic Features before my 2nd and most recent episode. As I said, I haven't taken APs consistently for 7 years. I've gone off of them twice for pretty significant periods of time before I relapsed. I usually last about 10 or 11 months (almost a year) without symptoms and perform consistently better in life in general with everything gradually going back in my life to when before I was 22. The side effects and depression usually disappear within a week. At 5 to 8 months I'm very stable, but in just under 11 months I start feeling like I'm on top of the world, become severely manic and delusional, hallucinate, experience an episode, and get into legal trouble. The 1st time around, I resisted arrest during a welfare check called in by my parents and went to the hospital and the 2nd time I successfully eluded the cops by motor vehicle on the highway and got caught hours later and went to county jail. I understand I could be facing harsh consequences but I've never been on a heavy mood-stabilizer before. All they do is overload me with APs. After the 1st episode I stopped taking psych meds completely because of how much I despised how I felt except for Zoloft and resisted almost all treatment. I avoid SSRIs now and will this time because I think it may have been responsible for raising my mood too much before the 2nd incident took place. The key to preventing future incidents for me, I believe, is to make the hallucinations and mania more tolerable to where I won't feel the need to act on them. The delusions are a joke, I can easily handle them. I'm currently taking Latuda 20mg and I'm requesting that my psychiatrist allow me to keep 2 or 3 bottles stored in my cabinet or 1 on me at all times in case any symptoms were to occur while taking Lithium. During the last episode, I was frantically searching for antipsychotics or any appropriate psych medication but didn't have them because I threw all of my former meds away after the first episode had taken place. This time I will have them to back me up and if it turns out that I need to suffer immeasurably on Latuda 20mg or another AP for the remainder of my life then so be it but I deserve a chance on a mood stabilizer simply because of what I've gone through and what I'm experiencing on APs. Has anyone ever tried Lithium as monotherapy for schizoaffective disorder or bipolar 1 with psychotic features? I hear it still has some side effects (would like to know what all of those are) but that it's immeasurably more tolerable than antipsychotics. I realize many people use it in combination with an antipsychotic but this is not in reference to that. Is there anything better than those two that's not an AP? This post is simply to inquire about anyone's thoughts or experiences about using Lithium or Lamictal as monotherapy for schizoaffective mania. A dosage and frequency recommendation would also be appreciated from those that have taken it, although I realize that I will ultimately need my psychiatrist to determine that. I found 1 study on this subject from the early to mid 1980's here: https://watermark.silverchair.com/10-1-30.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAAcYwggHCBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggGzMIIBrwIBADCCAagGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMAypxqSBIPHx7kbXfAgEQgIIBeTskilYIIUxtfy4i-FH7a6BQ4SrsYxqZG44q7kWx1rVJdLbZ4PMxE33_FUje8rDj4FoUYJI27hYGzv-06pCL6xPDrbVg7n-g9QzqTwoPiRxgDv2VnqzwifudoudTuskAGEKItv5TfD1_V9opXCFF7vJXJln8ij8NeNkMLUpe_n-Xbp6TtkU7rXYdPCZ9dObhTfmQ4PEHkwKfcJcOVAjXzelMWD1EPzWPxCK5zu1l1d2w8ojnqH68mbvgaDuvBxyPTY-EEdADh9N0NIUPQCWHXZKWE2gEBsG_AbWS-bkPdgjxtXcn8Y_5KljQbU2Geb_ERYYWuWFMEk6CRs7FYte_16TOiCQVlahMabKxw0BdjlqvdGaPYZTKBoBWb9Poswigg8jbF1whmlo7WWRyCLCLdbKt4xkmZCU0qmv_j5FTFzeXsq05ptOFY10M3jpUft1xV75pMsPtVJ8U7d42OYqMksXhZyrA8B5k9XNhfJGS0XgmTTSLHNOdcTY2

Hey guys. Just looking for some opinions here and see who could relate. I’ve been an insomniac for 10 years now and suffered from depression for 5. I recently stopped seroquel 25mg which I was on for 10 years for sleep since it stopped working and made me sedated all day. Changed to ambien 10mg and can FINALLY sleep and feel some energy during the day. My problem is finding th correct med to deal with my depression. I feel like I haven’t felt my confident, creative self in years and homesick for that person to come back if that makes since. Lexapro I was on for three years. Worked okay, but I was also in a daze, so sedated and tired 24/7. And no sexual interest. I then broke down and switched to trintellix, worked well for depression but anxiety it was HORRIBLE. I picked at my face 24/7 and after 7 months went into another breakdown and was very unstable. I was then switched to Wellbutrin and then pristiq. Both turned me into zombies and couldn’t even get out of bed. Finally took genomind test and found out no SSRIS will do the job. So I was put on adderall for resistant depression treatment. That was a fail, ended up in hopsital because I couldn’t stop crying. So I was then put on lamictal which seemed to be okay until I got the rash and am forced to discontinue. Does ANYONE have any reccomendations? I’m just so exhausted of trying everything and not having it work. But hey at least I can sleep on the ambien and that’s half the battle