zef Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 Hey all! I am completely unable to write in my current depressive state. Anything that would help with this would be a total godsend. I'm considering asking about Lamictal but would like to know how it's impacted the creativity of people here, for better or worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berelain326 Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 That's a really interesting question, and I hadn't thought about it until you mentioned it. I've always felt more creative and vibrant when I was manic (bpII), so when I started my Lamictal (Which I wouldn't trade for the WORLD), I was like what the hell, where'd it go...I looked and looked, even searched under my bed, it wasn't there... I came to realize that it was me being "normal." My mood had stabilized, and I wasn't jumping around the house, having thoughts racing at a million miles a second. I'm still creative, but it just takes me time to "get into the groove." I'm still a free spirit and I always will be, I just have to think harder...but the cool thing about that...the lamictal lets me think without all the noise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shigg Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 i have previously been on lamictal. it really helped make my creativity flourish. from a scientific point of view, i might suppose because it is an anticonvulsant, it addresses the temporal lobes to an extent -- dr. amen reports in his 'healing add' that anticonvulsants repair temporal lobe problems, and he names lamictal as one of those. he has brain spects to back his findings. then he reports on his clinical experience how the temporal lobes, among other things, are involved with music appreciation, word processing and getting words out on paper, etc -- my impression was that this area of the brain is involved very much in the creative process. And based on my experience, his findings made sense too. my creativity was more extroverted on lamictal (with an ssri, i am more introverted and like to write more) -- i would come out with ideas while driving verbally, sing more in the shower, etc. my reading comprehension increased and overall, i felt more artistic and poetic. dr. amen consents that reading may improve on anticonvulsants if there are temporal lobe issues. in addition, lamictal addresses certain serotonin nuerotransmitters, which i believe play an important role with utilizing the imagination. when my serotonin is depleted, my senses are dull & i don't feel like doing much of anything when it comes to creativity, i think it comes down to which areas of your brain could use help -- and then certain meds help foster it better depending on the individual's needs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Llamanator Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 Lamictal isn't really impacting my creativity particularly one way or another, even with the cognitive issues I've had with it. The depression I'm currently fighting (experimenting with lowering Lamictal at the moment; doesn't seem to play with me well overall) is much worse on both fronts. My stable periods have always been my best, BTW. So what helps me be stable will help my creativity. Mimi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustAnotherNut Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 Hi there! I'm not on Lamictal but Tegretol, and have to say that it has had a rather bad impact on my creativity. (I'm an epileptic, not BP, so that might change things.) The ideas still come, but the moment I sit down to try and get anything useful down on paper (actually into my mac) I draw a blank. Nothing. Nada. Same when I try to paint. For a short while I was on a way too low dose of Trileptal, and did a lot of writing. The price was GTK's, so I switched back. After that I haven't written anything but a diary. Still trying to paint, but I can't say I impress myself with the results I had a job where technical design was a part of the job description, and that actually worked pretty well. Designing tools was a breeze, writing a short story was not! Before I got epilepsy at the age of 25, I had more or less finished two novels, but after I started taking Tegretol they just stayed on my hard drive. Now they're on a floppy disc somewhere, and if I'm lucky I might find both the disc and a program that will open those old files, not to mention a mac with a floppy drive... I know that up through the years there has been artists with both epilepsy and BP that has chosen to cut their meds because it killed their creativity. Since tegretol also has screwed up my memory I can't tell you who they were. Take care! H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncc1701 Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Heya, I had rotten rotten rotten depression/mixed all rolled up together for 20+ years before I started Lamictal. My hypomanias just made me angry, pressured and good at washing a lot of dishes quickly. I feel now I'm clear enough to be able to use my creativity which I knew was there. Cautiously optimistic. --ncc-- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylixer Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Two comments on this. I tend to find that when working, I am still able to go manic (in the good sense, not delusional, etc.) I gt the periods of super energetic, super creative, super fun, super fast talker, walking and staulker (just kidding)... But, i never get the really low lows. Its pretty awesome. I kinda see it as getting the good without the bad. berelain326, I tooooootally agree with "the lamictal lets me think without all the noise" Its a gift from heaven in that sense. Only thing I've found (without any terrible sides) that silences the psycho inside me I've always felt more creative and vibrant when I was manic (bpII), so when I started my Lamictal (Which I wouldn't trade for the WORLD), I was like what the hell, where'd it go...I looked and looked, even searched under my bed, it wasn't there... I came to realize that it was me being "normal." My mood had stabilized, and I wasn't jumping around the house, having thoughts racing at a million miles a second. I'm still creative, but it just takes me time to "get into the groove." I'm still a free spirit and I always will be, I just have to think harder...but the cool thing about that...the lamictal lets me think without all the noise. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NARS Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Good timing on the question--I was considering starting a post on this. I'm not a writer or poet or anything, but I'm a litigating attorney, which requires its own kind of creativity and a high level of cognitive functioning under a great deal of stress. On depakote I was extremely anxious and would have terrible blocks in thinking creatively; I had to constantly check my judgment calls with my boss or coworkers. I also was often triggered by loaded issues about sex, drug abuse and violence. On tegretol I was dumb, had trouble articulating my thoughts and coming up with words, but I was also terribly depressed, so who knows what was going on. On lamictal I'm enthusiastic and interested in work without any mania, anxiety, or irritability. I'm able to brainstorm freely. I've still checked my judgment calls on big issues (such as the big hearing I've got in 10 days) with others, but they've all confirmed my thoughts, as well as taught me more about evidence and strategy. I've had no trouble retaining the new theories. This is totally new for me as a sustained condition. I used to have spurts of this kind of thing in the middle of hypomania, but always bracketed by agonizing paralysis. I still worry and blush about the sexual content of the testimony, and I'm over-preparing because this is the first witness-heavy sex cases that has gone to hearing so far. But I'm not working compulsively or playing hours of freecell because I'm mad at the other lawyer or anxious. I regularly check myself for symptoms of mania, because I'm just not used to doing this well or feeling smart (no purely euphoric queen-of-the-world manic highs for me). But I'm sleeping much better than when on this kind of stress in the past, I'm not irritable or anxious--I'm just kind of like a normal but slightly driven human being. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sun_zoom_spark Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Having been on Lamictal, Depakote and lithium I would say lithium is the world's worst when it comes to stifling creativity. If you are feeling 'flat' I would ask your doc about reducing your dosage. Being a shell of a person doesn't really cut it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Lamictal has had no direct effect on my creativity, I think, even though they say it can cause cognitive problems. If Lamictal has done anything for me creatively, it has reduced the number of days I was so scared and depressed that I spent half my time managing my illness instead of working or enjoying my work. Perhaps because I'm not so tormented moment to moment, my work is a little easier, and a little better. I guess this answer doesn't help a lot, but. PS: I know lots of very creative people who take Lamictal or Lithium and it doesn't hobble them a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sun_zoom_spark Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 I may be wrong but I believe that your perception of creativity changes as well as your motivation, i.e. you believe you are more creative but you actually aren't. One symptom of depression is lack of motivation. One symptom of mania is racing, grandiose thinking. I have always found that mania allows more productivity and creativity but the results are very haphazard. Stability, on the other hand, produces more 'reliable' results (for the lack of a better term). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zef Posted October 30, 2005 Author Share Posted October 30, 2005 Damn, thanks everyone! You have no idea how much your responses have lifted my spirits and expectations. All this makes much sense and I think I will try this medication with few qualms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NARS Posted October 30, 2005 Share Posted October 30, 2005 I hope you get some relief from lamictal--or any other med, for that matter, but it sounds like lamictal is next for you. One other note on my experience. Like Robby and sun-zoom-spark, I now think that I'm much more functional, productive and creative because lamictal has completely relieved my anxiety and depression. I had mostly mixed manias when unmedicated, but looking back on it, since being on meds I've still been anxious and mildly depressed. Lamictal has lifted the depression and still left me with plenty of energy and a clear head. Best of luck with the new med, and keep us posted. Remember that for the first month or so on lamictal, until you get to a good dose, you may still have problems with anxiety and some manic symptoms, so don't panic if you're not at the top of your game for a little while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wifezilla Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 While he was going up on Lamictal dosage...hubby had to struggle a bit with writing (he owns a small newspaper and write most of the stories). Now that he is stable on 150 mg a day, he seems to be fine. His "old" creativity level has returned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMarshall Posted October 31, 2005 Share Posted October 31, 2005 I'm on Lamictal & Lithium. My gut feeling is that the lithium makes me a little dopey but helps keeps my emothions from running away (which helps stay on task). I think the Lamictal quiets things in my head. I don't have 10 thought streams competing, which improves my focus and allows me to complete projects. I was in a BP2 depression aggravated by Paxil last winter. Once I got on the mix above it slowly started to lift over the next few months. I could hardly string a few sentences together here on the boards. -But that is typical depression! Over the summer with a few med adjustments, my analytical skills have come back. I can see a question here, research it, formulate responses that flow out of my finger tips. A wonderful feeling to be able to produce coherent writing again. The only thing I can fault is the my spelling isn't what it used to be. I just have to slow down and carefully go over each word to check it, and I occasionally have word finding difficulty. Both seem to vary, right now, not so bad. good luck. A.M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elwood Posted November 1, 2005 Share Posted November 1, 2005 P-doc told me that as a rule creative people tend to be more happy with Lamictal than the other mood-stabilizers. So far it has only made me more creative by inducing hypomania. I really hope the creatively holds up even after my mood stabilizes, but I'm not counting on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zomby Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 Lamictal, in the short time I was on it, didn't hurt my creativity at all. Topamax has completely killed my creativity. I used to play music for hours every day... oh well at least I'm losing lots of weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myrkkyhammas Posted November 24, 2005 Share Posted November 24, 2005 actually, i started taking lamictal for just that. within a week of starting it, i was drawing, painting and writing like crazy - and that was before it made me manic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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