I too have been on lamictal but only about a year and only 100mg a day. I started experiencing nightmares and felt extremly tired upon waking up, in addition to short memory loss, but didn't realize it could be a side effect. I'm now tapering off to 50mg a day for 2-3 weeks and then 25mg for 2-3 weeks. If need be, I'll go to 25 every other day for a couple of weeks. My doctor is great, but doesn't seem to know much about the side effects other than the rash, so advised me on how to try and taper off. I take these for anxiety but haven't seen a significant change while on the medication. It's time to start walking again to help relieve my stress! All the posts are great and very informative.
I wish I knew what I know now when I was originally prescribed this drug. As someone else mentioned above, my psych is a "bipolar expert" and, I suspect, everyone that goes to him has bipolar disorder. Subsequently I've seen 3 different doctors and none of them agree with the bipolar diagnosis.
I originally went to him with a diagnosis of Adult ADD and depression. I was on Celexa and Straterra. He didn't like either of those drugs and he decided I was bi-polar so he moved me to Adderal & Lamictal. Soon after that I went into some sort of "crisis" I'd never had before and he hit me with zyprexa which was like an elephant gun.
Bottom line, with every new symptom he added a new drug. Finally I said enough when after 4 years my wife said that I was far worse off than when I started. In the end I was on:
Lamictal - 600mg
Carbamazapine - 600mg
Addrerall XR - 20mg
Provigil - 400mg
Clonozepam - 2mg
He had been trying to get me up to 800mg of both lamictal and carb. but I just couldn't tolerate them. He wanted me to take the 600 of both at the same time before bed. I did that exactly once, I fell asleep on the couch watching TV and by the time my woke me up awhile later I didn't recognize her. I didn't know where I was or who I was.
Finally I shed the bipolar diagnosis (with other psychs) and started cutting back on the drugs. I'm now down to the Provigil and 250 mg of the Lamictal. But... I wish I'd known about this thread months ago, I am suffering. I feel like I can't give up the Lamictal because every time I go down I get worse until I start feeling a little better. I guess I should have realized these were withdrawl symptoms but I didn't.
I am exhausted all the time, I often feel suicidal (though I know I won't, I tried it once when I was a kid, not going to do that again).
I finally convinced my new psych that Lamictal was evil for me but that I couldn't give it up without something to give me a soft landing. He prescribed welbutrin which was great for my mood but I ended up in the ER with heart palpitations. He took me off that and said "there is no reason for you to have any kind of adverse reactions if you miss a dose of Lamictal or if you start getting off it." He would not give me anything else and just said that I had to get off Lamictal (if I wanted to) before he'd give me anything else.
Over and over I told him that when I forgot a dose I ended up sitting with my head in my hands until I got some more into my system. After fighting him for an hour of him telling me that it must be my imagination, I left dejected and found this and other threads. He actually was so convinced he was right that he was going to get a pharmacist to create random pills of placebo and lamictal so that I did not know which was which. This would prove to him and to me that my reaction to missing a dose was all in my head.
Now I've dropped them Welbutrin and have gone to 250 from 300 of Lamictal. Since I started Welbutrin 2 weeks ago I've been showing up to work but haven't been able to work. Now even though I'm off the Welbutrin, I'm still not able to work and I'm starting to get worried about my job.
I originally went to him with a diagnosis of Adult ADD and depression. I was on Celexa and Straterra. He didn't like either of those drugs and he decided I was bi-polar so he moved me to Adderal & Lamictal. Soon after that I went into some sort of "crisis" I'd never had before and he hit me with zyprexa which was like an elephant gun.
Bottom line, with every new symptom he added a new drug. Finally I said enough when after 4 years my wife said that I was far worse off than when I started. In the end I was on:
Lamictal - 600mg
Carbamazapine - 600mg
Addrerall XR - 20mg
Provigil - 400mg
Clonozepam - 2mg
He had been trying to get me up to 800mg of both lamictal and carb. but I just couldn't tolerate them. He wanted me to take the 600 of both at the same time before bed. I did that exactly once, I fell asleep on the couch watching TV and by the time my woke me up awhile later I didn't recognize her. I didn't know where I was or who I was.
Finally I shed the bipolar diagnosis (with other psychs) and started cutting back on the drugs. I'm now down to the Provigil and 250 mg of the Lamictal. But... I wish I'd known about this thread months ago, I am suffering. I feel like I can't give up the Lamictal because every time I go down I get worse until I start feeling a little better. I guess I should have realized these were withdrawl symptoms but I didn't.
I am exhausted all the time, I often feel suicidal (though I know I won't, I tried it once when I was a kid, not going to do that again).
I finally convinced my new psych that Lamictal was evil for me but that I couldn't give it up without something to give me a soft landing. He prescribed welbutrin which was great for my mood but I ended up in the ER with heart palpitations. He took me off that and said "there is no reason for you to have any kind of adverse reactions if you miss a dose of Lamictal or if you start getting off it." He would not give me anything else and just said that I had to get off Lamictal (if I wanted to) before he'd give me anything else.
Over and over I told him that when I forgot a dose I ended up sitting with my head in my hands until I got some more into my system. After fighting him for an hour of him telling me that it must be my imagination, I left dejected and found this and other threads. He actually was so convinced he was right that he was going to get a pharmacist to create random pills of placebo and lamictal so that I did not know which was which. This would prove to him and to me that my reaction to missing a dose was all in my head.
Now I've dropped them Welbutrin and have gone to 250 from 300 of Lamictal. Since I started Welbutrin 2 weeks ago I've been showing up to work but haven't been able to work. Now even though I'm off the Welbutrin, I'm still not able to work and I'm starting to get worried about my job.
I've been on 200mg of Lamictal for about 2 1/2 months now, after ramping up fairly slowly. It is doing absolutely noting for my bipolar II mood swings, but my doctor and I wanted to give it a fair shake. So, I'm going to try another med. I went down to 100mg in the morning and 50mg in the evening, about a week ago. My goal was to drop by 25-50mg every two weeks.
I'm already getting lethargic, I have short term memory loss, and some generalized confusion. I just generally feel like I'm in a fog. I do a lot of writing for my job, and it has been hard to concentrate on the task at hand.
FYI Any doctor who says that it's no biggie to miss even one dose of this thing is lying. I ran out of meds and had to wait for a 24-30 hour period before my prescription was eventually called in and filled. I felt like a drug addict waiting for his next fix. Cranky, irritable, I even got mad at the pharmacist who wouldn't give me a few pills to tide me over until my doctor could be contacted, knocking stuff off of a shelf onto the floor. And I never would do something like that, even on my worst mood swing before taking this medication.
I can't wait to get off this med!!!
I'm already getting lethargic, I have short term memory loss, and some generalized confusion. I just generally feel like I'm in a fog. I do a lot of writing for my job, and it has been hard to concentrate on the task at hand.
FYI Any doctor who says that it's no biggie to miss even one dose of this thing is lying. I ran out of meds and had to wait for a 24-30 hour period before my prescription was eventually called in and filled. I felt like a drug addict waiting for his next fix. Cranky, irritable, I even got mad at the pharmacist who wouldn't give me a few pills to tide me over until my doctor could be contacted, knocking stuff off of a shelf onto the floor. And I never would do something like that, even on my worst mood swing before taking this medication.
I can't wait to get off this med!!!
I have been on Lamictal for several years for bipolar. It is the only drug that has worked for me to keep my episodes down. Unfortunately, my insurance ended and I can't afford the $200 for a prescription so I stopped taking it 3 days ago. I'm wondering if the lightheaded feeling and tingling in my hands and feet are withdrawal symptoms. I also suffer from sleep apnea and the cpap machine I was using was removed due to no insurance. I'm not sure how much of what I am feeling is due to the lack of oxygen or medication. Any suggestions?
I've been on Lamictal (200mg) for BP for over a year. I ramped up to this level very slowly, but it took a while to get to a good place. My mind doesn't race anymore, I don't have the anger flashes, or the spiraling anxiety and sleepless nights. It's been a great, dare say, wonder drug. That was until two days ago.
Because of a snafu by my wonderful (sarcasm) doctor, there was a two day period of time where I was without these light blue wonders. My brain went to Hell in under 24 hours. I was nauseous, and mildly lightheaded. I've been very easily distracted. It's made writing this challenging. I write for a living, and I'm having trouble typing, let alone stringing cohesive thoughts together. To say that I've been irritable is an understatement. I keep snapping at people. Every damn thing that used to set me off is doing it again. And, I'm so freaking tired.
When I knew I wasn't getting any for a few days I thought, "No big deal, it took so long to get to where it made any difference, how bad can it be to be be off for 24-48 hours?" I started back on a few hours ago, but I was feeling so crappy that I started combing the web trying to figure out if this might have anything to do with Lamictal. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one, but this still sucks. I have an appointment with Dr. Genius in two days. If this stuff hasn't kicked back in by then it could get a bit heated.
Because of a snafu by my wonderful (sarcasm) doctor, there was a two day period of time where I was without these light blue wonders. My brain went to Hell in under 24 hours. I was nauseous, and mildly lightheaded. I've been very easily distracted. It's made writing this challenging. I write for a living, and I'm having trouble typing, let alone stringing cohesive thoughts together. To say that I've been irritable is an understatement. I keep snapping at people. Every damn thing that used to set me off is doing it again. And, I'm so freaking tired.
When I knew I wasn't getting any for a few days I thought, "No big deal, it took so long to get to where it made any difference, how bad can it be to be be off for 24-48 hours?" I started back on a few hours ago, but I was feeling so crappy that I started combing the web trying to figure out if this might have anything to do with Lamictal. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one, but this still sucks. I have an appointment with Dr. Genius in two days. If this stuff hasn't kicked back in by then it could get a bit heated.
Hi I've actually went on Lamictal for 4 years. I took it for seizures and just recently came off it about 5 months ago since I have been seizure-free for 2 years (yay!!). I had no problems with anxiety, depression, headaches, or irritability before taking this drug. This drug actually caused me to have more seizures at first and made me nauseas. Since I have been off it, I have increased anxiety when I'm alone, I'm depressed randomly, I get really bad sinus headaches every day, and I'm irritable. The skin around my eyes also became dry and red and peeled and my pediatrician gave me contact dermatitus medication and it went away. So from a person who did not have any of these problems before taking Lamictal, I don't believe when someone comes off it they are going back to their regular symptoms. I have never been so disinterested in my life. I can be sitting in the car laughing and then suddenly I feel sad and lonely. These must be the withdrawal symptoms since I was never like this. My thoughts don't always string together either.
I was on Lamictal for 5 months. I had hoped that the medication would help for my depression. It did lift me out a little bit, but the side effects which included itching, vision problems, extreme aggitation, sleeping problems, really out weighed the benefits. I stopped it 5 days ago cold turky with no problem. I am very sensitive to medications but there was nothing to indicate withdrawal symptoms.
I have only been on lamictal a few weeks (it was great for my moods) and was taking my first dose if 100mg.
From at least 50 mg I started a fever and sharp stabbing headaches. Yesterday it was climbing past 104 deg. I ended up in emergency. After an xray, bloodwork, a CT scan and a spinal tap they agreed that it was the lamictal (generic) and told me to stop immediately. This is my second day without it and a little worried about going cold turkey.
If I was only on it a few weeks think the withdrawl symptoms will be less?
From at least 50 mg I started a fever and sharp stabbing headaches. Yesterday it was climbing past 104 deg. I ended up in emergency. After an xray, bloodwork, a CT scan and a spinal tap they agreed that it was the lamictal (generic) and told me to stop immediately. This is my second day without it and a little worried about going cold turkey.
If I was only on it a few weeks think the withdrawl symptoms will be less?
I have been on 100mg Lamictal once daily for....9months-ish. I decdided about a month ago that I wanted to stop taking it. My doc said 'no'. So I agreed,at the time,to stay on it for another three months and then we'd re-evaluate. I decided last week that I didn't want to do that after all. So I've cut back to 50mg once daily. It has not been fun. I have also had mild to moderate headaches DAILY and I've been nauseated and when I do eat I get very bloated and my stomach hurts.
I am also very sleepy and dont really feel like doing much. Work sucks because I can't fully concentrate. I also feel dizzy like I"ve had a couple beers pretty much all the time. My head feels "floppy" and very full. I don't like this at all and I got sick of it tonight. I started crying for the first time in a long time and said "why does EVERYTHING have to be soooooooooo hard??!?!". I then realized what I was doing.. nothing was any harder than it was a couple months ago and the crying spell was entirely new. More lamictal withdrawl.
Yucky! I don't think this is going to be fun. How long do these symptoms last????
I am also very sleepy and dont really feel like doing much. Work sucks because I can't fully concentrate. I also feel dizzy like I"ve had a couple beers pretty much all the time. My head feels "floppy" and very full. I don't like this at all and I got sick of it tonight. I started crying for the first time in a long time and said "why does EVERYTHING have to be soooooooooo hard??!?!". I then realized what I was doing.. nothing was any harder than it was a couple months ago and the crying spell was entirely new. More lamictal withdrawl.
Yucky! I don't think this is going to be fun. How long do these symptoms last????
ive been on lamactil for probably 3yrs. 400mgs i was just switched over to ODT but i dont have any issues that i know of however i take many other medicines either way its worked for me
I was on Lamictal for exactly 10 days. A rash started to appear on my left hand. I went off of it with my doctor's approval. The tremors are back. I am also Bi-Polar. I take Lithium and Prozac for that. I have had success with these two particular meds for almost 20 years when I was first diagnosed. I took the Lamictal for Hyperekplexia, a condition marked by a "startle" response. Now that I am off of that I am looking for an alternative medication. Any thoughts on Depakote?
I just wanted to share that I was on Lamictal for about 6 years for Bipolar II. I decided to go off of it in order to have children. I'm thirty eight and really wanted to get started with having a child so I went off rather quickly. I was at 400 mg and went down to 300 mg for two weeks, then 200 mg for two weeks, then 100 and then I titrated very slowly breaking the pills in half going from 100 mg to 75 mg to 50 mg to 25 mg and then even less. I took about six weeks to get off completely. I felt horrible once i hit 100 mg. i was tired, had headaches, my bones ached, I wanted to cry or got angry for no reason. The main reason I am writing this is just to give people hope. I had what seems to be a short withdrawal from Lamictal. The month and a half of withdrawal was hell! But, I got through it and am good now. I would not recommend going off of it as quickly as I did if you have a choice. I would probably take four to six months. I actually did very well on the drug as well. Although, I would always prefer not to be on drugs at all. I plan to be drug free for the rest of my life. Good luck to all of you who are going through this. My compassion goes out to you.
Hang in there. The symptoms only last a couple of weeks for me after I was completely off of the lamictal. I would recommend going off of it very slowly. I was literally breaking pills up into tiny little pieces at the end.
I understand this post is a year old, but people should understand that the way this person handled their situation is basically an example of "WHAT NOT TO DO" in regards to Lamotrigine related complications. If you are taking Lamotrigine and you develop a rash, you should go to the ER as soon as possible. Secondly, if you wish to taper off Lamotrigine, unless a professional advises you otherwise, it should be done very slowly (a quarter full dose every 3 or 4 days, or 1/2 full dose over a week period). Lastly, if you stop taking Lamotrigine for more than three days, you are supposed to sstart taking it at or near beginning dose (at 25mg) and go up 25mg per week. Not consulting your doctor in regards to major changes in your Lamotrigine dosing is irresponsible and dangerous.
Ive been on Lamictal for almost 3 years now due to epilepsy. I was warned immediately, before taking it that if I was to develop a rash of any type, to immediately stop as the rash is life threatening. The good news is that I did get the rash. I feel the medicine helped me. The side effects of lamictal or specifically one that I always notice is feeling sleepy after taking it. Doesnt matter how much sleep I had the night before or how much (or little) coffee I had that morning. Within 2 hours of taking it, Im yawning like crazy.
I want to give you some bad news but its not related to Lamictal perse. Any drug that you have taken for some time, will cause your body to go threw withdrawals. Its the nature of the beast. Some cases, you are not able to be weened off it because of health issues. The thing you need to do is listen to your body and educate yourself on how you feel. If you know you are running low, get that refill order in so you do not experience any withdrawal symptoms.
The reason i am writing is to see if people had been on it for a good length of time and slowly stopped taking it. Did you experience any side effects related to hearing? I have a constant ringing in my left ear. I cant say (and will not say) that Lamictal is the cause. The timing however works.
I want to give you some bad news but its not related to Lamictal perse. Any drug that you have taken for some time, will cause your body to go threw withdrawals. Its the nature of the beast. Some cases, you are not able to be weened off it because of health issues. The thing you need to do is listen to your body and educate yourself on how you feel. If you know you are running low, get that refill order in so you do not experience any withdrawal symptoms.
The reason i am writing is to see if people had been on it for a good length of time and slowly stopped taking it. Did you experience any side effects related to hearing? I have a constant ringing in my left ear. I cant say (and will not say) that Lamictal is the cause. The timing however works.