# Lamictal [Mood Stabilizer]



## Monroee (Aug 26, 2009)

How are people's experiences with this drug?

I think its my favorite drug that I've yet tried. I'm on Effexor, Abilify and Lamictal. Been on Lamictal twice in my life, and its been amazing every time. I have Borderline Personality Disorder and its really stabilized me. I feel practically normal! I have no depression, mood swings, anxiety, black & white thinking etc. The only thing that bothers me is slight psychotic thinking that the Abilify has yet to help with.

Surprisingly the only thing apart from benzos that help eliminate my social anxiety is Lamictal! A surprising off-label usage.

Any other Lamictal users here? What's your guys' opinion of it?


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## JohnG (Sep 3, 2010)

A very good medication for mood disorders. Saved my life, a lot of time :b


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## LostPancake (Apr 8, 2009)

If I can get past the side effects I think it will be great. I started at 25mg and even that seemed helpful with depression and irritability, but after 2 weeks my eyes were *really* hurting and my vision was getting a bit blurry so I had to cut back. I've been slowly ramping it up again and just got back to 25mg without any problems, but split into morning and evening doses.

It seems to give me a physical sense of well-being. I can only imagine what it will be like at higher doses (50 or 100mg), if I can make it that high.

And I just saw my psychiatrist yesterday and she dismissed the eye pain as not being caused by lamictal, even though it went away as soon as I cut back to 12.5mg, and I've never had such problems before. And I mentioned that it comes up on various forums (eg http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/21475-lamictal-eye-pain/), and she said "well that's just on forums" (as in not in reality).

Seriously?? What is with doctors? I wanted to bash my head on the wall.


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## JohnG (Sep 3, 2010)

In my experience works well as an antidepressant at 100 mg, at higher dosage works as mood stabilizer.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

I to have BPD along with SAD and GAD. Let me just say, Lamictal worked very well for me and it has antidepressant properties as well. I had to stop taking it due to the assistance program I was on.

I had mood swings from hr. to hr. sometimes and the other traits of PBD came back. I was able to get back on it and now I'm titrating up slowly.Every time you stop and restart the drug;The higher chance of developing Steven Johnson life threatning rash if not treated immediately.


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## Medline (Sep 23, 2008)

Good vs. moods swings (especially working on the lows), BPD, to augment ADs sometimes. For people who have "just" SAD it's not an effective drug in general IMHO.


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

I am interested in trying this, and hopefully want to be put on it when the effexor withdrawals subside :um
Its good that lamictal is working so well and better for SA than other drugs and if its helping as much as a benzo then its worth a try 

i have read positive reviews on lamictal by people on another website aswell,:yes its a shame its not prescribed more commonly but antipsychotics are okay :mum


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## Monroee (Aug 26, 2009)

Arisa1536 said:


> Its good that lamictal is working so well and better for SA than other drugs and if its helping as much as a benzo then its worth a try


It doesn't work as quickly or efficiently as a benzo. A benzo has an extreme effect, this is more subdued. There's not even any research that proves a correlation between Lamictal and social anxiety. All I'm saying is its worked for me and my psychiatrist admitted for a few of his other patients as well.

I wouldn't advise anyone to go on just for social anxiety. It's first and foremost for treatment of mood and personality disorders.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

Lamictal is a mood stabilizer. It is used of label for this. The thinking goes that it prevents excessive electrical activity in the brain and it reduces the release of glutamate,the excitatory transmitter. Benzos target specifically GABAa receptors to cause its anioxylitic effects. These are two completely different drugs in different classes of medications.


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## JohnG (Sep 3, 2010)

metamorphosis said:


> Lamictal is a mood stabilizer. It is used of label for this. The thinking goes that it prevents excessive electrical activity in the brain and it reduces the release of glutamate,the excitatory transmitter. Benzos target specifically GABAa receptors to cause its anioxylitic effects. These are two completely different drugs in different classes of medications.


Benzos improves GABA activity, that is the big brain's break, so indirectly it reduces the release of glutamate too. (with NE,DA,5-HT, that's why Benzos can cause depressive states.)

Lamotrigine (as many mood stabilizer) as you said, inhibits the ability the reach the electric potential to release exicitatory neurostrasmitter. Another way to inhibit the release is as Pregabalin does, blocking the Ca2++ channels. Calcium triggers the release of neurostrasmitters.

Also 5-HT2A antagonism, inhibits the glutamate release, that's why a lot of Neuroleptics as this ability. But I'll never use one of them


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## JohnG (Sep 3, 2010)

Arisa1536 said:


> I am interested in trying this, and hopefully want to be put on it when the effexor withdrawals subside :um
> Its good that lamictal is working so well and better for SA than other drugs and if its helping as much as a benzo then its worth a try
> 
> i have read positive reviews on lamictal by people on another website aswell,:yes its a shame its not prescribed more commonly but antipsychotics are okay :mum


If you decide to use it, start from very low doses. I started from 25 mg, reaching 150 mg in a 6 weeks period.


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## LostPancake (Apr 8, 2009)

JohnG said:


> If you decide to use it, start from very low doses. I started from 25 mg, reaching 150 mg in a 6 weeks period.


I started at 25mg also, but read later that some people start at half that, and I should have as well.


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

JohnG said:


> If you decide to use it, start from very low doses. I started from 25 mg, reaching 150 mg in a 6 weeks period.


Cool thanks 
I am going to ask about it tomorrow


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## Monroee (Aug 26, 2009)

JohnG said:


> If you decide to use it, start from very low doses. I started from 25 mg, reaching 150 mg in a 6 weeks period.


Yeah. I'm epic terrified of the deadly rash. I heard the chances of getting it are raised the more times you go off and on it again. I've done that before. This is my second time being on and raising the dosage. I'm going up to 200 mg.


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## areq1987 (Jul 10, 2010)

I must try it! I have bpd too. And I think this much worse than sad. I suppose that my bpd induce and/or make my sad even worse!


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## puffins (Mar 9, 2011)

my psychiatrist suggested this for mood swings and anxiety, basically i can start whenever i want but im waiting to see how my upped buspar dosage and propranolol work out.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

I would try this medication, but it lowers appetite and I try not to take anything more than would lower my appetite lower than it is as I suffer from Anorexia.


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## EndlessHope (Mar 2, 2011)

Dont think its done jack sh1t for me


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## areq1987 (Jul 10, 2010)

My doctor gave me Tegeretol CR 200mg (Carbamazepine) yesterday. I heart this is very good also like lamotrigine. Does anyone here take it?


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## KoehlerRN (Apr 11, 2011)

I take Lamictal as well. I take 50 mg twice a day. I just wanted to comment about the side effects of this medication. I had almost every side effect except the rash but after about a month I quit having all the side effects. The worst side effects for me were the blurry vision and I had this weird sensation that bugs were crawling on me. I have depression, possibly bipolar type 2 and/or a few personality disorders. Who knows! Every doctor tells me something different. But, since this is a SAD forum I have to say that Lamictal has done nothing for my SA. It treats my depression tremendously. I will never come off this medication!


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## rockyraccoon (Dec 13, 2010)

Monroee said:


> Yeah. I'm epic terrified of the deadly rash. I heard the chances of getting it are raised the more times you go off and on it again. I've done that before. This is my second time being on and raising the dosage. I'm going up to 200 mg.


I was put on this med about a month ago and I had such high hopes for this med. Anyway, I got the rash from this med. I started at 25 mg, and was on this drug for only about 5 days. The rash started on around day 3. I was able to notice the rash, and had it treated successfully. It took about 5 days of ointment to get rid of the rash. But yeah, I was really disappointed that this med caused the rash side effect. I was so eager and sure that this med would do something for my depression.


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## TyrosineKinase (Jan 20, 2010)

I am really pleasantly suprised by Lamictal. I am technically prescribed it for migraine prevention. It hasn't done anything for my migraines, but it is the first medication I have ever been on (around 8 anti-depressants, 2 anti-psychotics, and 1 benzo) that has had any sort of effect on my depression. Though it has only had a mild impact, it still has had at least some positive effect. These other medications I have been on haven't done anything at all for depression or social anxiety.

I'm currently on 300mg.


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