Cinnamon Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 (edited) My two most prominent mental health issues are bipolar disorder (1) and generalized anxiety disorder. I currently take 800 mg Seroquel XR, 200 mg Lamictal, 300 mg Wellbutrin XL, and Klonopin PRN (up to 3 mg a day), and this "cocktail" has really helped keep my mood stable over long periods of time. What is not stable, though, is my anxiety. My baseline anxiety is way too high, and, in the face of objectively stressful situations, I can become almost catatonic. (I cannot feel my limbs, experience derealization, and find it hard to speak.) Also, my resting heart rate, unless I take a hefty dose of Klonopin, is almost always over 100.Anyway, I saw my pdoc today, and she decided, based on my symptoms, to up my Lamictal to 300 mg/day in split doses. I'm going to give it a shot, but I do a lot of research on the drugs I take, and there is very little support for using Lamictal for anxiety.Does anyone have success (or failure) stories about using Lamictal for anxiety? Edited August 13, 2015 by Cinnamon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcroJack Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Interesting. I've been on lamotrigine for many years and increased the dose to 300 from 200. This was due to depressive symproms. However, it worked in that area and my depression tends to be very agitated, so maybe there is a connection. I hope it helps for you. Anxiety is the worst! I'd rather feel anything else. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Personally I haven't ever related anxiety and lamotrigine, but it doesn't mean it happens with some people. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted August 13, 2015 Author Share Posted August 13, 2015 Personally I haven't ever related anxiety and lamotrigine, but it doesn't mean it happens with some people.Interesting. I've been on lamotrigine for many years and increased the dose to 300 from 200. This was due to depressive symproms. However, it worked in that area and my depression tends to be very agitated, so maybe there is a connection. I hope it helps for you. Anxiety is the worst! I'd rather feel anything else. Thanks so much for your input. AcroJack, your story made me somewhat hopeful. I think she upped the Lamictal because it's the only medication I'm not on the max dose of and she probably wanted to try upping it before adding an entirely new medication into the equation. Obviously, I'll be thrilled if it helps. I'm just a little skeptical. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Unfortunately, Lamictal has done nothing for my anxiety. It doesn't make it worse, but it doesn't help it either. I honestly don't understand the rationale behind using Lamictal for anxiety although I have read elsewhere about Lamictal being used for anxiety. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted August 17, 2015 Author Share Posted August 17, 2015 Unfortunately, Lamictal has done nothing for my anxiety. It doesn't make it worse, but it doesn't help it either. I honestly don't understand the rationale behind using Lamictal for anxiety although I have read elsewhere about Lamictal being used for anxiety.Like I said, I think the rationale was that I am maxed out on all my other non-PRN meds, and she was probably hoping to just up the dose of something I was already on rather than add something new. Also, she may have thought I was "confusing" anxiety with hypomania (since I'm also bipolar, and therefore upping a mood stabilizer would make sense) but I've been dealing with this stuff long enough to know the difference. And, as predicted, the extra Lamictal is doing absolutely nil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts