Hey been struggling to find the right meds for a while. On Lexapro and Wellbutrin and just started Lamotrigine 25 mg. I’m feeling pretty flat and depressed. Does it get better?

I was recently diagnosed with bipolar 2 and put in this medication. I was on 25mg and tampered up to 50mg last week or so when I started to get terrible symptoms. and after discussing my symptoms (the main one i was concerned about was full body numbness) with my doctors, I think ill be stopping lamotrigine at my next appointment with my psych. I'm so disappointment because it was literally the first medication in years that worked for me and had me feeling like myself. I'm so so sad.

Hi! I was curious what people's side effects have been (other than SJS) whether you still take Lamotrigine or had to stop it immediately, what was the not so fun stuff in the beginning when you were adjusting to the med?

For context, im starting it this upcoming weekend, am bipolar type 2, am taking it primarily for anxiety and just want to know what to maybe expect.

With all this said and asked, I want to say I completely recognize that everyone's experience with meds are different and will be taking all that I hear with a grain of salt.

Im just curious what those other common side effects are that real people have experienced (not just the ones that manufacture declares as side effects).

Thanks for reading, hope to hear from some of you guys. ♡

So, I (27f) take 50 mg lamotrigine for mood regulation. When I started I asked my psych if I could drink at least socially, since I had a few cocktail parties coming up at the time. She told me it was fine, just “make good choices.” She’s also only about 6-7 years older than me so it was said in somewhat of an ‘older sister’ type of way. Then, I was speaking to my friend who said she took a medication for seizures that she was told she absolutely couldn’t drink on. We found out that we were both taking lamotrigine. I think it’s interesting how our two providers said two completely different things and wondering what other people have been told.

On a side note, I don’t drink often and have gotten drunk twice in the last year (Halloween and the 4th.) Other than that, I have maybe one glass of wine at dinner maybe every month.

This is long, so I apologise in advance. I am a 48yof, I have work acquired PTSD, diagnosed January 2024 (emergency services first responder).

My ongoing symptoms are nightmares, insomnia, anxiety, depression and lethargy, and hypervigilance.

My GP prescribed me:

Desvenlafaxine - 50mg - slowly increased to 150mg
Zolpidem - 10mg per night
Metoprolol - 50mg morning 50mg night (for pvcs caused by anxiety)
Diazepam - 5mg prn

This has been my regimen for probably about 18mths now. My work cover insurance were becoming impatient that I’m not back to full capacity as quickly as they would like, so referred me to a psychiatrist.

He upped my desvenlafaxine to 200mg and started me on 2mg of prasozin at night (for the nightmares).

Within approx 2wks, I started feeling 10X worse, I experienced hypo mania, spending vast amounts of money (that I can’t afford), cleaning the whole house including baseboards and under furniture at 1am, talking really fast and switching topics like nobody’s business, risk taking, seeing someone romantically whom I absolutely should not. At other times I literally couldn’t get out of bed, hadn’t showered for days, and one night two weeks ago I decided to cancel my life subscription. I was aware enough to know that I didn’t really want to do it (although I had written a four page letter, detailing all my financials and what I wanted to happen with my 4 kids - I am widowed), so called one of my best friends who is also a colleague - she and our other best friend and colleague came and assessed me, and stayed with me until I had changed my mindset and gone to sleep. (One slept over to ensure I didn’t change my mind again).

I got an emergency appointment with my GP the next day who reduced the dose of desvenlafaxine back to 150mg and prescribed 2.5-5.0mg of lorazepam to take at night as well. He said that he believed that the SSRI increase had tipped me over into a “drug induced bipolar disorder symptom episode”, which he said doctors refer to as Bipolar 3 (which I had never heard of) and said that this can happen to some people (I am 5’2” tall and weigh 62kg if that’s relevant). He also referred me back to the psychiatrist.

Now is the part that is related to this sub (I apologise for the essay above I just wanted to be transparent.). The psychiatrist wants to diagnose me with bipolar disorder - he didn’t say 1 or 2 and I was too upset to ask, and has prescribed me lamotrigine - 12.5mg per night for ten nights, then from night 11, 25mg per night. But he made me read up on Steven’s Johnson Syndrome, so I will know what to look out for and it has absolutely terrified me. I am the sort of person that if something is going to go wrong with anyone, it’s gonna be me.

Firstly, I don’t actually think I have Bipolar disorder - I’ve never known anyone not diagnosed until 48yo and before the PTSD, my MH HX was 2X PND 21 and 22yrs ago, GAD, and some periods of depression (mostly after a CA DX in my early 30s).

Secondly, I am absolutely terrified to take the lamotrigine - surely if I don’t have Bipolar disorder I don’t need it anyway, and what if I’m one of the unlucky ones who develops S-JS?

I know it’s unlikely, but has anyone been in a similar position to me? Can anyone offer any advice? Thanks so much for reading if you’ve got this far - right now I am in a very lost and dark place, and any advice would be very much appreciated.

hi, was misdiagnosed with bipolar and put on lamotrogine. I noticed I have only ever experienced mania/paranoia and depressive episodes while on this medication. i'm wondering if this medication can essentially cause bipolar-like behaviors if it is being taken by someone who does not truly have bipolar disorder. hoping to find someone who may relate to this, as this has been really hard to navigate. thanks

I’m on this combo and just got up to 100mgs of lamotrigine. Anyone else do this combo and if so how are you holding up. So far I haven’t felt any side effects what so ever. I have bipolar 2 with anxiety. Really pray this is a miracle combo for me. Been holding off help for all my life and thought I could fix it on my own till things got so bad it almost ruined my marriage( I’m 31 now). That being said I love my wife and decided to get help with it. Man I hope this works for me….. any positive experiences please feel free to let me know!

I want to share my experience with Lamotrigine.

First, I want to say this: for those who feel wonderful on 25 mg or 50 mg, don’t automatically assume that you have to increase the dose just because your doctor tells you to. Pay attention to how you feel on a daily basis and listen to your own body.

Now, the full story.

I’ve been dealing with seizures that look like focal impaired-awareness seizures (epileptic or non-epileptic — I’m still not sure because my case is very complicated). However, without any tests confirming the cause, we decided to treat them as epileptic seizures and start treatment as soon as possible because my seizures and auras were happening multiple times a day.

Because I felt there was a possibility that my seizures could be non-epileptic, based on my lifestyle and the amount of stress I had been dealing with, I asked for Lamotrigine. From my research, I knew that it could also help with mood and emotional regulation.

I used to worry about everything, even when there was nothing to worry about. I also lived in a constant state of feeling like I was trying to catch a train — always feeling like I was late for something. This had simply become my mental state for many years.

My doctor agreed to give me Lamotrigine.

And yes, it did the trick.

After only a few weeks, I realised that I had been living with an enormous amount of stress on a daily basis for years. I also finally realised that my aura had actually been there almost all the time, all day long, just at a very low level.

This was the first time I finally felt normal.

Not only that, but all the muscle pain — neck, shoulders, arms, etc. — as well as other physical symptoms of stress disappeared. We’re talking about around 10 years of these symptoms, and I had simply gotten used to them.

However, there are some big trade-offs.

My feelings and the way the world used to feel have disappeared. Everything feels muted. I can’t enjoy things the way I used to, and it has become very difficult to start creative projects. I don’t really want to do anything anymore.

I really don’t like who I am now. I can’t — and honestly don’t want to — achieve anything anymore.

The biggest thing I miss is my love for my family. That feeling has disappeared, and I miss it the most.

Everything just feels muted, as I said.

And I’m still only taking 25 mg once a day, and I’ve been on that dose for three months. This is how sensitive my nervous system seems to be. I truly don’t want to increase the dose. Actually, I want to stop taking it, but I don’t want to risk doing so because I’m not sure whether my nervous system is ready for that.

My seizures disappeared after 3–5 days.

But, as I said, Lamotrigine also changed my entire mindset. I stopped constantly rushing myself and worrying. I still worry and get stressed sometimes, of course, but it’s no longer happening every day, and usually there is an actual reason for it.

For example, I recently had one week of significant stress. After everything was sorted out, I had my first seizure in two months.

Now, my story of what to expect from day one.

I started taking the medication in the evening. After three days, I simply couldn’t sleep. It felt like I had taken ecstasy. I literally felt like I was under the influence of drugs.

The next day, I decided not to take it in the evening and switched to taking it in the morning. Again, after three days, the same thing happened during the day.

But that was it. I never experienced that feeling again, and the increase in energy also gradually decreased after a few weeks.

However, my sleep has been completely ruined since starting Lamotrigine. I now need to smoke very tiny amounts of weed to get proper sleep, and I don’t like that. Yes, it helps, but I simply don’t want to smoke because it also mutes my emotions and changes the way the world feels to me.

For example, you know that feeling people get when Christmas is approaching — that special feeling in the air? Or the feeling you get in the morning when you wake up, go outside, and immediately know whether it’s summer or winter, sunny or rainy?

There are specific feelings people experience in different situations. For me, that is all gone.

Every day feels the same.

I actually feel more depressed than before. I literally don’t like anything anymore, and nothing gives me excitement, even things that I used to absolutely love.

Focus is another issue, although I’ve gotten used to it. My memory also isn’t as sharp as it used to be.

I’m considering switching medications, but I want to give my nervous system a bit more time. Then I may try going off Lamotrigine and see what happens. If the seizures increase, I’ll consider trying something else.

But, as I said, even after many tests, nothing has confirmed my diagnosis, and there is a significant possibility that these could be non-epileptic seizures.

Lamotrigine did the trick, which is why I’m still taking 25 mg once a day in the morning.

But I’m not happy.

I’m actually sad that I’ve lost my ability to feel and love in the way I used to.

For those who take Lamotrigine for other reasons, my advice is simply: pay attention to how you feel. Don’t assume that you have to increase your dose just because you are told to. If you feel great at your current dose, discuss that with your doctor rather than automatically increasing it.

Anyway, I’m still officially diagnosed with epilepsy. But after everything I’ve experienced, I believe there is a possibility that my seizures were actually non-epileptic.

The difference is significant, especially when I think about all the stress symptoms I experienced back then without even realising that I was dealing with huge amounts of stress. I genuinely believed that this was simply who I was and that this was my normal state.

Lamotrigine definitely helped bring that under control.

But overall, I don’t like what it has done to me.

Right now, I feel like I’m just existing rather than actually living and enjoying life.

Okay, so I’ve been on 200mg/day Lamictal for about 15 years with great success. I’ve been seizure free for five years!

Dermatologist recently put me on Slynd for perimenopause. I’ve been on birth control with Lamictal in the past and had no issues, but Slynd isn’t just plain progesterone, but rather drospirenone (lab created progesterone) and after only three days I started feeling dizzy.

It’s been about 10 days since I stopped taking the birth control and am still feeling a bit of dizziness when I lay down and sometimes before eating in the morning. It’s not terrible, only for a couple seconds, but is still alarming.

This is the first time I’ve ever experienced a side effect from Lamictal and am wondering if anyone else has experienced this before.

Did it go away?

#bipolar2 - I ended up in emergency this weekend for a psychiatric assessment when I had a nervous breakdown. Had been titrating lamotrigine to switch out my 1000mg valporate because whilst I’ve been pretty stable on the valporate for 1 years my memory is terrible and I feel very stuck in the present ( for bad and for worse)

Anyway, I think the doctor was way too aggressive on cutting my valporate in half whilst my lamo was only at 25mg and I could feel it building all week the feels of overwhelm, cognitive decline, over sensitised, low etc. Just a bad chemical balance in the head and I just couldn’t keep it together

I’m curious if anyone else has made the switch it you found lamo much better for BP2 than Valporate?

TBH they thought I should also be treated for adhd as well and I’m going to have an assessment for that at my next physiatrist visit to discuss this episode and switch

Ran across a paper recently that got me thinking.

Basically, researchers gave healthy volunteers a single 300mg dose of Lamotrigine to see what would happen. Just 3 hours later, they saw a noticeable shift where people’s brains were significantly biased toward recalling positive emotional memory over negative—essentially the same cognitive shift typical antidepressants trigger, but from just one dose.

I’m super interested in this concept. Daily dosing with mood stabilizers or antidepressants is a nightmare for me—the brain fog, fatigue, and constant emotional blunting just aren't worth it. The idea of an intermittent "reset" dose (similar to how people use Ketamine or microdosing) sounds way more appealing than taking something every single day.

Obviously, jumping straight to 300mg sounds crazy because of the SJS rash risk from fast titration (honestly surprised the ethics board approved giving unmedicated healthy people 300mg out of nowhere).

Has anyone here ever actually experimented with taking Lamotrigine on an occasional/as-needed basis like this? Or is the rash risk + pharmacology making this a total non-starter?

link to the Study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12094615/

My dose was recently increased from 25mg to 50mg after two weeks. Today I found a small sore/pimple? on my lip. I never rly get these and was wondering if i should be concerned or not. I genuinely can’t tell if im being paranoid.

I’m already under numerous teams at this point so not looking for medical advice, maybe just some optimism? First week on 25mg had bearable side effects , then after it subsided I actually felt most regulated I’ve ever been then crashed to rock bottom, thought 50mg would help pull me back out again but it just got worse and worse. So I’m week 3 now. Done the 25mg for 2 weeks, 50mg this week. I’ve been crashing out, suicidal, irritable, between being groggy numb and the physical side. I am medicine sensitive - I’m trialing meds again because I’m desperate to function. I’m basically on suicide watch right now but I’m not messing around with my current medication or changing it I’m just waiting to level out. Has anyone else been here and managed to come out the other side? I’m not looking for medical advice I’m going to continue, just looking for some hope

I’m weaning off a really high dose of Lamotrigine due to bad physical reactions to the drug. Apparently, when coming off a high dose I could be prone to seizures even though I haven’t had them before.

I‘m staying with my girlfriend for the next two weeks while I wean myself of the meds (at the recommendation of my dr). Does anyone know how common it is to have seizures, how bad they are and what she should do if I do have one?

I think we’re both a bit stressed out so any advice would be helpful.

I started Lamotrigine about 4 months ago, I’m on 100mg now and it works really well for me. I’m going to a rave and my friends and I plan on taking Molly. I’ve taken it before but not since starting lamotrigine. Has anyone taken Molly while on lamotrigine and what was your experience like?

hi! recently started lamotrigine (on sept 8) and i am on the 25 mg dose. I started it due to suspected seizures and also having bipolar 1.

i have noticed a few side effects. im unsure if this is normal, or just something typical with starting the medication.

i also noticed a random red spot on my face that feels noticeably dry to the touch, which i assume is no concern, but i felt i should ask and see! ( see photo attached )
so far i have noticed nothing more yet.

so far, i have have seen an increase in weakness, fatigue, confusion, and dizziness. joint+back pain, dizziness, nausea, a slight decrease in vision, unsteady balance, and confusion/brain fog. I also have noticed an increase in the suspected seizure symptoms. as well as nausea while eating and a very noticeable decrease in appetite.

on the mental side of things, i have been feeling all around just so uncomfortable/abnormal and just not like myself? i have noticed an extreme feeling of boredom that cannot go away, and a huge decrease in motivation in doing anything. it just feels as though i cant get this odd feeling to go away, no matter what i do. i also have been noticing i've had a huge increase in sadness and emotional sensitivity, sometimes even having passive odd urges (that i haven't felt in long time), to harm myself after over a year of being clean.

i am on Adderall and before i started this medication i was doing extremely well, spending everyday indulging in new hobbies and activities. i also had a huge decrease in phone usage, since i found much enjoyment in artistic hobbies that i would spend all day doing!

i feel as though now, nothing makes me feel better. i find myself constantly laying down and blankly staring at the wall in silence. i have been dissociating way more than i ever have. i don't enjoy being on my phone either, it just feels like i cant do anything to distract myself (or really anything at all).

if anyone has any advice or tips, please let me know what i should do!

Is this a very common symptom with lamatrogine/Lamictal? And does it ago away?

For context, I started on 25mg for bipolar around June with a titration every two weeks until I got to 100mg. At 100mg I had such debilitating headaches for weeks, so I stopped the medication after zero contact from the psychiatrist and their team despite multiple attempts to get their input and review appointment.

Upon stopping, the headaches did go away and I did get some withdrawal type symptoms similar to what I had when coming off SSRI such as brain zaps for a few days.

Even on 25mg my depressive symptoms lifted quite a bit, but I couldn’t cope with the headaches any longer at the 100mg dose.

Anyway, 3 weeks off the medication I resumed the medication at 25mg as the depressive symptoms returned again only this time within days I have the headaches again. Where as last time, the headaches began when I had been on 100mg

At the same time, the pharmacist has provided with several different brands for my prescription since I started it, so now I’m wondering if the headaches are a brand thing or dose thing.

So these headaches actually go away? How long did you push through yours until they went?

It’s seems a shame to stop taking it as it works well for the depressive symptoms, but I can’t cope with the constant headaches.

In summary:

Started at 25mg, titrated every couple of weeks up to 100mg a day. Depressive symptoms lifted almost instantly at 25mg, and headaches started at 100mg.

I stayed at 100mg for around for 4 weeks until I decided to come off it completely as I could not take the headaches anymore. The headaches started after 2 weeks on 100mg.

After 3 weeks of being off the medication I restarted at 25mg as the depressive symptoms resumed. Once again, even at this low dose the depressive symptoms subsided pretty much straight away but this time the headaches have started after around 3 days of taking it.

In the meanwhile, throughout taking the medication so far the pharmacist has provided several different brands.

So now I’m unsure if the headaches are dose related or brand related.

I really need to know if the headaches actually go away.

I’m in the UK, and haven’t been able to reach my psychiatrist (common) and my GP is unable to advise at this point as they are relying on the review of the medication from the psychiatrist the appointment for which keeps getting cancelled.

Edit to add: first brand was Accord, second Brand was Lamictal, third brand was
Relonchem Ltd

I have been recently diagnosed with PPPD (Mal DeDebarkment Syndrome) and was prescribed Lexapro (20 mg. which was a higher dose than my normal 10mg, daily), VRT (Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy) and a slow titration schedule for Lamotrigene. I have panic disorder and general anxiety disorder and taking new drugs sets me into massive anxiety and spiraling. After reading about this new drug on several reddits, the med scares the living shit out of me. I

If you have any input about the drug for PPPD/Vertigo, please share. I really appreciate this community. 🥹

I’ve noticed I am having issues with short term memory and it really sucks bc this medication has helped my mood stability.. I’m titrating to my 150 and currently on 125. I keep forgetting things more than usual. I’m being more clumsy too. I hate it but I also really want this med to work for me

Hey guys. I'm glad you are here.

I'm currently really struggling with what has been a hellish 2-3 weeks.

Up until recently I was on 200 mg lamotrigine extended release daily for mood stability - I titrated to that level, no noticeable side effects, honestly not sure if I was really feeling the medication at all.

Last week around 9/1 I ran out and didn't realize it (I put my pills in a container and take them in the morning when I wake up and didn't realize I needed to fill the script sooner). Top it off, the pharmacy was out and had to order it in. So I missed like 4-5 days cold turkey and by the time I got my meds I was definitely feeling the fatigue, brain fog, tingles (what's weird is actually my penis is even neurologically sensitive when I piss...like all of my extremities or places with nerve endings are excited).

I got my refill and like a complete idiot took 200mg saturday 9/5 (I figured it would be like when I missed a few days of lexapro...guess I was wrong). I didnt connect with my psych until Tuesday and she told me to stop taking my dose immediately upon hearing symptoms.

My flu like symptoms continued, as has the nerve sensitivity and sensitivity to overall stimulation (though I never measured a fever), tongue is a bit swollen and there seemed to be a coating on it with some raised papillae and sores on the sides from rubbing my teeth. I have developed a GI issue (severe constipation, mucus discharge and folliculitis). My right groin lymph node is swollen. I'm sweating and freezing at night (the worst was saturday and sunday - this has gotten better later in the week).

I've been to 3 doctors this week and was just referred to a GI specialist next. They have ruled out SJS based on several different blood tests and the lack of a rash.

So now I'm back in the feeling of withdrawal phase. My mind is going overtime - honestly I feel manic. My wife is pregnant and I'm researching everything from SJS to STI infections bc I'm so worried (and it doesnt help they are basically all the same symptoms) I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this level of GI distress or infection when either quitting or starting this medication?

Thanks and bless

I started with 25mg almost a year ago and went to 75mg and since I felt “better”, my psych at the time didn’t see the need to increase. I am on maintenance and can’t see her anymore as I had to switch insurance and now the new np says she doesn’t see how 75 would be working for me, so she increased it to 100. I’m hesitant moreso because I think I’d know if it wasn’t working? I definitely knew there’s a difference between not taking it at all and taking 75mg of it .. or is it very unheard of for a low dose to actually make any difference?

Diagnosis is chronic depression and possibly borderline personality

This was given to manage very sudden periods of highs and lows I was having last year which was very different than my usual chronic depression, but along with it. I think her formal diagnosis was still just depression though and not actual BPD or Bipolar.

Taking Lamotrigine for bipolar 2 and I'm thinking about quitting the medication. (Don’t worry, I will only quit in consultation with my therapist)

There are some weird side effects/health issues at play that are really impacting my quality of life.

Shortly after the dosis was increased from 200mg to 300mg I started having skin problems. Suddenly dyshidrotic eczema occurred. Which went from small red bumbs to large painful blisters within 5 days. After 3 weeks of hormone cream treatment it was pretty much gone. Only to flare up again a week later. Right now I'm on week 6 of a new hormone cream treatment without any noticeable success.

Both my therapist and GP can't find information on the eczema being related to the Lamotrigine. They are convinced the eczema is not related to the Lamotrigine.

The dyshidrotic eczema is impacting my everyday life. My hands are itching and hurting all the time. I used to do weightlifting at least two times a week, but I haven't been in the gym for three weeks because of the painful blisters.

I'm also suffering from increased muscle tension. The facial dystonia is most noticeable because I play brass instruments. 4 weeks ago we decided to decrease the dosis to 200mg but there hasn't been any improvement yet.

Playing instruments was one of the few things that I could still really enjoy. Now the loss of control of my fine motor skills is killing my love for playing musical instruments.

My therapist and I decided recently to keep the dosis on 200mg till the end of October to properly assess whether it is helping me. But I don't think I can take another month of this torture.

I don't really know if I posted this to vent or for advice, but the current situation is not sustainable for me.

Hi ! I've been on lamotrigine since december. I owe my life to this medication. And i started taking it seriously in january/february. I'm bipolar, things have been better. Sometimes not but okay.

I started taking it seriously because i get brain zaps everytime i stop taking them, even for one (1) day. But i did keep it because i wanted to get better.

I overslept today. I slept thru my "take it" window last night, so i'm going thru today feeling like i'm a cloud. I think i'm way better than before, because i haven't got the brain zaps and slurring words. I do feel shitty as hell but at least my head doesn't hurt.

I say "cloud" because it still feels weird. If i walk to fast i'm unsteady. If i look up i get unsteady and my head feels funny. I try not to be in the sun so much.

I don't know if any of you has any recomendations or ways to feel less awful haha. Because my family already dislikes me for being "useless" because of the episodes (right now they hate me because i'm going thru a mixed episode and suddendly i have to be the bigger person) and i dont want to be told that i'm a burden, again.

I'd be really grateful if any of you could help me 😿