Bubble Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 I have been taking 100mg of Lamictal in addition to 200mg of Seroquel for Bipolar I. From what I understand, these are relatively low doses - sub- or barely-therapeutic. The Lamictal is for insomnia, and to boost the effects of the Seroquel. They're still working well, though, and obviously I don't want to take more of anything that's already working due to the increase of side effects. I have been extremely lucky, since my side-effects have been very mild. However, during the past month - predictably - the insomnia has crept back in. My pdoc's solution is to raise the dosage of Lamictal (possibly temporarily) to 200mg. I've been titrating up by going up to 150mg for 2 weeks, and I'm about a week into that. It's helped a great deal - still having some sleep issues, but I feel like once I reach 200mg, they will stop. Here is the issue... Since I started the increased dosage of Lamictal (150mg, right now), my sleep issues have been better but it has killed my appetite. I take Seroquel, so you think this would be a good thing. I'm sure there are several people here who genuinely wish they had this "problem". The issue is, my current job is very physically strenuous, and that's probably the only reason I haven't gained much weight from the seroquel, otherwise I probably would have gained a bunch. Right now, I am 5'7" tall and weigh 130 pounds. I can't seem to be able to deal with cheese or pasta. A few bites, and I'm done. I can handle rice and vegetables, but even then, I feel like I'm not eating "enough" before I don't want to eat any more. I normally love sweets, and definitely normally eat much more of them than is healthy for me, but last night I didn't even want more than a few spoonfuls of ice cream before I went "bleh". Dinner was a few spoonfuls of macaroni and cheese, and I couldn't eat any more. I wasn't full, it was just that the rest of the bowl was incredibly unappetizing. It's not nausea. It's something close, but different. The closest I can think of is when I had to take antibiotics for pneumonia and it killed my appetite so much that I couldn't even eat a whole piece of toast without gagging. This isn't nearly as severe, but I'm worried about what will happen once I reach 200mg. My question for people who have experienced this side-effect is: will it go away after a while? I'm willing to tolerate it if it will eventually subside after a few months. Otherwise, I may have to change my diet in the long term, as my boyfriend has suggested. It could even be good for me, but I'm worried about an unhealhy amount of weight loss due to my strenuous job. It may even be helpful, once I have a "desk job", which is becoming a real possibility for the near future. I guess I'm willing to tolerate it, since the medication helps so much, but I really would like to go back to being able to enjoy things like pasta, cheese, and ice cream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 I have that same side effect with my combo, mostly from the Topamax. It hasn't gone away, I've been on it since October 2013, but I'm on a different combo than you. It could go away when you hit your target dose of Lamictal. Lamictal is tough to titrate. Once you're used to the combo it might go away. I can't tell, I've never taken that combo. I just did want to reply because I have the same side effect. Sorry I can't be more help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Do you think the appetite loss is caused by something other than a med, like maybe you are slipping into a depression (or mania)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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