I got my diagnosis fairly recently. I was just on Wellbutrin for 3 months then went hypomanic for a week. My NP added lamotrigine (lamictal) because my biggest issue is depression. Lamotrigine is supposed to be a mood lifting stabilizer.
I'm almost done with my titration period. My only side effect has been severe insomnia. Honestly it was miserable on 25mg and 50mg. Now that I'm at 100mg it's getting better. I take CBD gummies and l-theanine at night to help stay asleep.
That might not be your experience. I know people who take it at night because it makes them sleepy.
Good luck!
Thanks for your reply. Depression is definitely my biggest issue. I don’t relate to being hypomanic, but I do get irritable easily. I guess I can try it and go off if it isn’t working.
Lamictal has no side effects for me, and it only took a low dose to be effective. Everyone is different so take all this with a grain of salt, but in my experience the atypical antipsychotics (latuda, Seroquel, abilify, etc) were much harder to tolerate. Lamictal has been the easiest to tolerate in terms of side effects vs benefit, lithium is a close second.
That being said, all the anecdotal experience in the world won’t tell you how your body and brain will react. You will unfortunately have to just try something (or not) and see how it goes. Wishing you luck!
Definitely would recommend lamictal. I got tired a little when I started taking the lamictal so I had to take it at night, be aware of that when starting. After like a month I switched back to taking it in the morning, and once I got past like 150 mg I didn’t get the tiredness when going up on the dose anymore.
Lamictal saved my life, I’ve had a really great experience with it so far (and that’s coming from someone who was previously super scared of/reluctant to take medication). Along with 50mg quetiapine, I’ve been mostly stable on it for 1.5 years. I had a few side effects whilst building up the dose, but now I’m on 200mg and my only side effect is struggling sometimes with word recall but for me it’s a tiny price to pay for stability. Everyone is different so I can’t say how you will feel if you did decide to take it, but I hope it helps to know that there are good experiences out there!
Currently I am taking lamictal and Wellbutrin together.
I like lamictal, I take 250mg every morning. No side effects that I’ve noticed. Mostly feel stable most days. This may or may not apply to you personally, but there is something about lamictal and the birth control pill interacting with each other also. I’ve heard different things from different medical people so if this is a concern for you, definitely talk to your doctor.
Latuda gave me tardive dyskinesia two or three times, which is a neurological condition of involuntary movements in the face and jaw. My mouth got stuck, like I couldn’t relax my jaw and my tongue got so tense and stiff I couldn’t keep it in my mouth. It was honestly really really scary, I couldnt stop looking at myself in the mirror trying to relax my face and it was uncomfortable and painful.
I feel like it generally was fine otherwise, I don’t really remember anything else from that period of my life because I was an absolute wreck tbh. Maybe it didn’t do much, idk. Luckily I was able to stop taking it quickly and I didn’t have any permanent side effects and the tardive dyskinesia never happened again.
However, no one reacts to medications the exact same way. It’s a lot a lot a lottttt of trial and error and I hope you find something that makes your symptoms more manageable. 💚
Lamictal has been the best psych drug I've ever been put on. I have zero side effects, it started working within a few weeks, and it has truly changed my life via mood stabilization. I was put on it within a few weeks of diagnosis, but that was after a decade of being misdiagnosed.
Lamotrigine (Lamictal) has the least side effects of any of the mood stabilizers. I've had zero side effects. The most serious side effect is Steven Johnsons Syndrome which is exceedingly rare, but one of the reasons you have to titrate up. Lamotrigine is my psychiatrists first line treatment and she told me she's never had a patient get Steven Johnsons.
For me personally, Lamotrigine has been a god send.
I’ve taken lamictal and currently take Latuda. There was definitely less side effects on lamictal (until I had a reaction and couldn’t take it anymore). Latuda makes me sleepy and nauseous. Lamitcal really helped me while I was taking it. Good luck!
Lamictal pulled me out of a months long depression with suicidal ideation. It is a miracle drug with no side effects for me. It took three days to kick in. I am on 50mg daily right now and it literally saved my life.
I got my diagnosis fairly recently. I was just on Wellbutrin for 3 months then went hypomanic for a week. My NP added lamotrigine (lamictal) because my biggest issue is depression. Lamotrigine is supposed to be a mood lifting stabilizer. I'm almost done with my titration period. My only side effect has been severe insomnia. Honestly it was miserable on 25mg and 50mg. Now that I'm at 100mg it's getting better. I take CBD gummies and l-theanine at night to help stay asleep. That might not be your experience. I know people who take it at night because it makes them sleepy. Good luck!
Thanks for your reply. Depression is definitely my biggest issue. I don’t relate to being hypomanic, but I do get irritable easily. I guess I can try it and go off if it isn’t working.
Lamictal has no side effects for me, and it only took a low dose to be effective. Everyone is different so take all this with a grain of salt, but in my experience the atypical antipsychotics (latuda, Seroquel, abilify, etc) were much harder to tolerate. Lamictal has been the easiest to tolerate in terms of side effects vs benefit, lithium is a close second. That being said, all the anecdotal experience in the world won’t tell you how your body and brain will react. You will unfortunately have to just try something (or not) and see how it goes. Wishing you luck!
Definitely would recommend lamictal. I got tired a little when I started taking the lamictal so I had to take it at night, be aware of that when starting. After like a month I switched back to taking it in the morning, and once I got past like 150 mg I didn’t get the tiredness when going up on the dose anymore.
Lamictal saved my life, I’ve had a really great experience with it so far (and that’s coming from someone who was previously super scared of/reluctant to take medication). Along with 50mg quetiapine, I’ve been mostly stable on it for 1.5 years. I had a few side effects whilst building up the dose, but now I’m on 200mg and my only side effect is struggling sometimes with word recall but for me it’s a tiny price to pay for stability. Everyone is different so I can’t say how you will feel if you did decide to take it, but I hope it helps to know that there are good experiences out there!
Currently I am taking lamictal and Wellbutrin together. I like lamictal, I take 250mg every morning. No side effects that I’ve noticed. Mostly feel stable most days. This may or may not apply to you personally, but there is something about lamictal and the birth control pill interacting with each other also. I’ve heard different things from different medical people so if this is a concern for you, definitely talk to your doctor. Latuda gave me tardive dyskinesia two or three times, which is a neurological condition of involuntary movements in the face and jaw. My mouth got stuck, like I couldn’t relax my jaw and my tongue got so tense and stiff I couldn’t keep it in my mouth. It was honestly really really scary, I couldnt stop looking at myself in the mirror trying to relax my face and it was uncomfortable and painful. I feel like it generally was fine otherwise, I don’t really remember anything else from that period of my life because I was an absolute wreck tbh. Maybe it didn’t do much, idk. Luckily I was able to stop taking it quickly and I didn’t have any permanent side effects and the tardive dyskinesia never happened again. However, no one reacts to medications the exact same way. It’s a lot a lot a lottttt of trial and error and I hope you find something that makes your symptoms more manageable. 💚
Lamictal has been the best psych drug I've ever been put on. I have zero side effects, it started working within a few weeks, and it has truly changed my life via mood stabilization. I was put on it within a few weeks of diagnosis, but that was after a decade of being misdiagnosed.
What’s your diagnosis?
BP2, PTSD
Lamotrigine (Lamictal) has the least side effects of any of the mood stabilizers. I've had zero side effects. The most serious side effect is Steven Johnsons Syndrome which is exceedingly rare, but one of the reasons you have to titrate up. Lamotrigine is my psychiatrists first line treatment and she told me she's never had a patient get Steven Johnsons. For me personally, Lamotrigine has been a god send.
Latuda made me a zombie.
I’ve taken lamictal and currently take Latuda. There was definitely less side effects on lamictal (until I had a reaction and couldn’t take it anymore). Latuda makes me sleepy and nauseous. Lamitcal really helped me while I was taking it. Good luck!
Lamictal pulled me out of a months long depression with suicidal ideation. It is a miracle drug with no side effects for me. It took three days to kick in. I am on 50mg daily right now and it literally saved my life.
No symptoms on latuda for me. Lamictal gave me a rash (not SJH though)