Fluffypinkbunny Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 (edited) Omg, I've been through hell these past few days. First day nothing. Day 2 and 3 were terrible. It was like agitated depression with anxiety through the roof. The depression was so severe, I don't think I've ever been this bad. Day 4 was a little better and today we'll see . My sleep is very strange too. I'm waking up every few hours with pretty bad anxiety. I'm taking Lorazapam like clockwork and it does help. Thank goodness for that. I have no desire to eat and think I've lost a few pounds from this. Is this common? How long will this last? I'm in no hurry to go up at this point. In fact, when I do go up I'm going to see I can do half doses. Edited May 22, 2015 by Fluffypinkbunny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 What med are you taking that you're having a hard time with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluffypinkbunny Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 (edited) It's the Lamotrigine/Lamictal. I was reading old posts here and looks like I'm not the only one. I asked my pd if it would affect my anxiety and he said no. Big liar! Edited May 22, 2015 by Fluffypinkbunny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonderful.Cheese Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Yes it can be a rough ride at first. But for me it was worth it in the end. It has really helped lessen my depressive and manic episodes. It doesn't take care of them completely but they occur less frequently. Unfortunately it can take 10-14 weeks for you to feel the full effect of this med. which sucks I know. Hang in there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluffypinkbunny Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Thank you so much cheese! I'm very hopefully that it will help me in the long run so I'm going to tough it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 I found that the anxiety and mood swings would settle down in about a week. Unfortunately, it was just about in time for me to do the next increase in dose which would trigger a new round of anxiety and mood swings. Things leveled out after I got above 100 mg, and it became much better (as in no additional anxiety or mood swings) once I hit my target dose and didn't change it. It's just something unpleasant that you need to push through and it will be worth it in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfly23 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 shit, worst titration I have ever experienced. Hang in there if you can, it can be a very effective drug. Might want to ask your Pdoc for an increase in your benzo to help you out while you move up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluffypinkbunny Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Thank you all! Really this is the pits. My timing sucks with this too. I've only been on Prozac for a short while. I should have waited 6 weeks or so, before adding the lamo. I'm so desperate for something that I'll try anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tryp Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Took me a few weeks for the worst of it to pass. Some of the cognitive stuff (word finding, memory issues) took at least 1-2 years, but the anxiety and acute discomfort was only a few weeks. I forget if I've told you this (I tell everyone) but I had WAY less trouble with Lamictal when I take my dose half in the morning, half at night. If I take it all at once (and I found this even when I was only on 25 mg), I have crazy mood swings and headaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluffypinkbunny Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Thank you for that info tryp! I've been taking it in the morning. I'll split up the dose to see if that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tryp Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Ask your doc first just in case, but it's something that worked well for me. I don't know if it's just me or if others have had that experience too - but my last doc told me that it's intended to be a twice daily med, although some of her pts take it once a day and are fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluffypinkbunny Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Thanks! I'll hold off changing anything until I'm seen by the new pd, in two weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnaBanana Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 It was up and down for me til I got til 100mgs. Well, I had a bad reaction to it the first time I took it, so we took it really slow the second time. I stayed at 25mgs for a month. 50mgs for a month. etc. The side effects lasted a couple of weeks each time, but once I got to 100mgs, I stopped having them all together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluffypinkbunny Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Thank you Anna! I wish I had started on a lower dose but it's too late now. Sounds like it works well for you and many others as well! Hopefully, it will work for me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Like tryp, I also split the dose. Taking it all at once, by the end of the day I didn't know what to do with myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fluffypinkbunny Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 I split the dose and I was so much better today! Hopefully the worse is over for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan77 Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 Like Tryp and Mellissa I split my dose and always have. My pdoc told me it was better that way and reduces side effects and it was intended to be taken twice daily. I was lucky enough to never have side effects Even at the very beginning he told me to split the 25mg tablet I take 300mg now. 200mg in morning 100mg in evening. Try to hang in there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brainacious Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 (edited) Yes it can be a rough ride at first. But for me it was worth it in the end. It has really helped lessen my depressive and manic episodes. It doesn't take care of them completely but they occur less frequently. Unfortunately it can take 10-14 weeks for you to feel the full effect of this med. which sucks I know. Hang in there!I'm on 200mg/day now. My overall state of mind is trending up, but boy does it seem like it takes a looooong time. And I thought when I was on SSRI's that took a few weeks it was long! I found that the anxiety and mood swings would settle down in about a week. Unfortunately, it was just about in time for me to do the next increase in dose which would trigger a new round of anxiety and mood swings. Things leveled out after I got above 100 mg, and it became much better (as in no additional anxiety or mood swings) once I hit my target dose and didn't change it. It's just something unpleasant that you need to push through and it will be worth it in the end.I just went to 200, and I have been experiencing a lot of up/down that has increased. I'm going to give it some more time. I hope to report back good things.So my pdoc said I could just do the 200 in the morning. Would it matter if I took 100 in the morning and 100 at dinner? Seems like that helps a lot of people. Edited July 16, 2015 by Brainacious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 So my pdoc said I could just do the 200 in the morning. Would it matter if I took 100 in the morning and 100 at dinner? Seems like that helps a lot of people.Splitting the dose really helps me, but I'd run it by your psychiatrist (pdoc) first. If I don't split the dose it doesn't carry me over until the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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