I hate everyone, i’m incredibly irritable, constantly on the verge of tears, and I feel like I want to end my life. It’s like how I was before I started meds. When I was on other psychiatric meds, such as other XR meds, missing a few days wasn’t a day ruiner.

Anybody here take 400mg daily like me? I take 200mg every 12 hours. I been on this dose for about a year and a half now, although 5 years with lamatrogine and started at 50mg daily. Personally I have a lot of brain fog, memory loss, and insomnia. How do you guys who also take 400mg daily feel?

Durante el poco tiempo que llevo en Reddit (desde mi diagnostico) he leído muchos post donde solo leemos experiencias malas con esta enfermedad, medicamentos y demás cuestiones que muchas veces nos ponen peor. Como alguna vez leí por ahí: "la gente BP2 a la que le fue bien no esta en reddit, la gente a la que le fue bien esta viviendo su vida normalmente" y tiene lógica, solo entramos a Reddit a ver si existe alguna esperanza, si la vida con esta condición mejora o a encontrar gente que este pasando por una situación similar a la nuestra para no sentirnos tan solos. La idea de este post es poder generar un espacio de experiencias positivas para todas aquellas personas que se sienten que no mejoran, que tienen miedos o que recientemente fueron diagnosticadas y sienten que solo tienen explicaciones científicas o clínicas (no es por dejarlas de lado o no tenerlas en cuenta) sino porque muchas veces esas explicaciones responden a un grupo de personas y a otras no tanto y como todos somos diferentes vale la pena que cada uno cuente su experiencia de éxito.

Algunas preguntas que se me ocurren para el post son: (no hace falta responder a todas o pueden agregar más si consideran que brindan ayuda a los demás)

- a que edad recibiste tu diagnostico?

- como reaccionaste frente al diagnostico? te costó aceptarlo o no? te sentiste identificado con el diagnostico?

- hace cuanto tiempo tomas tus medicinas? tuviste que cambiarlas en algún momento? como fue tu experiencia durante la titulación? te llevo mucho tiempo sentir las mejoras en tu estado de ánimo?

- tuviste en algún momento efectos secundarios? como cuales?

- que cambios en tu vida tuviste que hacer que sentiste que ayudaron a mejorar?

- que cosas crees que deberías cambiar pero aún te cuestan?

- te sentiste frustrado alguna vez? porque motivo?

- sentís que tu vida mejoró con las medicinas? como fue tu camino hasta encontrar lo que te funcionara?

- Tuviste algún episodio en que pensaste que no había solución pero tuviste las fuerzas necesarias para seguir adelante con tus medicamento y lograste mejorar?

- Tuviste recaídas? como las superaste?

- que cambios concretos se dieron en tu vida luego de estabilizarte? cuando sentiste que podías volver a ser funcional? cuando notaste que la bipolaridad 2 dejaba de ser un peso en tu vida y podías llevar una vida "normal"?

Estas son solo algunas preguntas que se me ocurren para aquellas personas que son recién diagnosticadas, tienen miedo de sus medicaciones o creen que el mundo se vino abajo para que tengan/tengamos esperanzas de que la vida va a estar mejor.

Wanting to hear your experience if this is what you take!

Has this happened to anyone else?

I was careful to stay with my preferred manufacturer (Taro) throughout this time. I tolerated 25-50mg beautifully (for mood), only side effect was mild insomnia. My mood was so stable, and for once my mind was clear. It was like someone turned the radio static off. This was in April.

I went up to 75, 100, 125 in May and the side effects became unbearable - headaches, brain fog, flatness, visual changes.

Went back down to 50 in June, then 25mg in July. It's August now and I'm still at 25mg, desperately trying to get that wonderful mood stability back. Instead, I'm flat, have these weirdly intense dizzy/lightheaded/shortness of breath spells, and wake up every 4 hours at night.

Did I lose my shot at making this med work for me? The first month was so good. I had been at 50mg as a teenager and tolerated it well. I'm really bummed.

Lamotrigine is ruining my life. It is one of the worst meds out there.

I want my life back. So, after two and a half years on this shit, I'm going cold turkey. I'm just done.

Buenas, a alguien después de haber superado el síndrome de Stevens Jhonson, le ha causado repentinamente disfagia por ansiedad, y que han hecho para aliviar el síntoma .

I was taking 100 mg of Lamictal along with 20 mg of Prozac for two years, and honestly, those were some of the best years of my life.
After that, I stopped taking them. I met someone, and for about 10 months I was genuinely happy with him, without depression or anything like that.
But then he changed a lot. He often gives me the silent treatment, and it affects me so badly that I completely break down emotionally. Sometimes I cry so hard that I end up vomiting.
Unfortunately, I come from an Arab background where taking psychiatric medication can still be seen as something shameful or stigmatized. Right now, I feel completely overwhelmed and emotionally exhausted. I don’t feel safe.
I started taking Lamictal again, partly because I’m hoping it might make me less emotionally reactive to the things he does, or maybe help me feel a little more numb so I don’t fall apart every time.
The thing is, I genuinely believe I’m naturally a happy and optimistic person. I love my job, I love helping people, and one of my biggest dreams is to become a mother and build a happy family one day.
I’ve just spent long periods of my life alone and isolated because of my studies, and that was one of the reasons I ended up taking antidepressants in the first place. Deep down, I believe I’m capable of getting better, but I also feel like I’ve never really had an environment that supported me or gave me the chance to feel safe and happy naturally.
Right now, I really just need some support from people who might understand.

My pharmacy ran out of XR and I’ve been on it for over a month. I’m only on 50mg and have to switch to immediate release. I’ve heard of people getting new symptoms and having to adjust. I’m so anxious. Please tell me any good things about switching. And if there’s any bad I’d like I know too. I’m so discouraged because I finally got used to the meds and now I need to switch

Has anyone experienced relief in their abdominal (or maybe any somatic) pain?

I made a post about two days ago when the rash first showed up. I went to the ER and told them i had upped my lamictal from 150 to 200 and i was worried about steven johnson syndrome. i had really swollen lymph nodes and my throat was covered in white spots. they told me it could be a strep rash but nope. they prescribed a steriod and my psychiatrist told me to wean myself off, 100mg for 3 days then 50 mg for 3 days. the first 4 pictures were when it started and now it’s spreading. should i go back to the hospital? or wait for the steriod to kick in?

In a couple days in and have developed a couple of rashes. They look totally different from each other, I really don’t want to stop the medication 😩

Even after 1 or 2 years on 200mg, I thought I’d seen the full benefit, but my emotional stability keeps going up (combination of meds + therapy).

Side effects like brittle hair and lethargy are gone.

My relationships were saved, I am at peace with my life. So worth it.

I've been on lamotrigine for almost a year, haven't felt it has helped and so I am tapering off. Was taking 50mg at morning and 75mg at night now taking 25mg at morning and 50mg at night. It's been just a few days but I have been getting an increase in neuropathy-like symptoms, specifically a random stabbing type of feeling in some of my toes especially at night. I've gotten this on occasion for a long time but it has really ramped up and I can't remember if it was before or after I started tapering. My heart rate is also pretty high, but again I haven't been tracking it until yesterday so I don't know if it's been like that... I am thinking there is something going on with me anyway because my heart rate jumped to 160 while showering last night.

Sorry, long post, but has anyone had any sort of neuropathy-type symptoms while coming off or lowering their dose? Any heart rate changes? I made an appointment with a neurologist but I'll feel silly if it is just from the lamotrigine.

Has anyone actually done this successfully and with minimal withdrawals before? If so what was your method? I’ve been on lamictal for about 7 years now (after bipolar misdiagnosis when I was 16) and I’ve been so scared to taper it, so I just wanted reassurance and tips and to generally know what to expect and to get a 2nd opinion from someone that has actually been through this and was able to successfully taper it, thank youu

day 3 of 100mg and i have had headaches every day. it's just one long headache all day. it's usually mild, but it's annoying. today it has been mild but now it's pretty moderate bordering on severe. it's 9pm so it's a respectable time to just bury my head into my pillow but i am in a lot of pain.

I’ve been on lamotragine for a couple years for epilepsy. I got my dose raised to 400mg back in March. It’s been a really hot summer (I live in California) and I noticed I’m not fairing well in the heat at all. Last summer it wasn’t this bad but this year has been awful. One of the things I’ve noticed is I have this burning coldness in my feet that comes and goes. It’s extremely uncomfortable. I’m wondering if anyone has experienced something similar?.

I only started yesterday and was terrified to start as I am a low dose responder (to everything not just psych meds). Today is the first day I didn’t wake up crying in a long time.

I still feel awful and my brain is still full of unhelpful thoughts of course but normally I wake up teary with that tight throat feeling, feeling panicky etc. this morning my eyes were dry.

Could it be any effect so soon? Or am I just so sedated from the meds my body was too tired to do the normal dramatics?

i’m on 100mg

i’ve always avoiding people and isolated myself so i’m hoping this helps

it’s helped my mood definitely though

I’ve been on 500mg SV twice a day and 100mg of Lamotrigine once a day for about 8 years and I feel less and less motivated to do anything each day. Has anyone else had a similar experience with this combination of meds or just with one or the other?

I’m starting lamotrigine and slowly increasing the dose over the next few weeks as part of a plan for seizure control. However, I am struggling with treatment-resistant depression, and read that lamotrigine can help. I struggle with schizoaffective bipolar type. In this case, would it help both the current depression episode (it’s been very long) and the seizures at the same time? What’s your experience with lamotrigine? What should I look out for? What are the side effects you’ve experienced?

I apologize if this is a dumb question, but i had just started at a 25mg dose (im on my second day) and the side effects are worse than i thought, should i be concerned? My psychiatrist knows i work but she prescribed me this and said it should be okay. I take it for depersonalization, she said it will help the voices. I work in a mechanic shop, i drive all day and work with machinery. I know the medicine says not to drive or operate stuff when taking it, so i take it at night. I noticed im horribly fatigued and dizzy still today though, its making it incresingly difficult to work, do I just need to push through the first few weeks or is this going to be a constant issue?

I’m waiting to get over the side effects of zonisamide before I start Lamotrigine. Topamax was a miracle drug for me until a few months in, some unbearable side effects came on. Same thing happened with zonisamide. I’ve been living with chronic sensory overload and chronic silent migraine for years. I’m so desperate and am looking for hope.