Lamotrigine

[99spottysocks]

What are your experiences starting this. Anyone found it makes things worse before it gets better?

I have bipolar and take quetiapine to control mania. Still suffered with depression. I find lamotgrine has helped level off the extremely of love moods, with no real side effects

I tried quetiapine before but it didn’t work for me. I’ve just gone from 50mg to 100mg and something just feels off!

Lamotrigine made me quite sleepy. I was on quite a high dose though. I came off it a few months ago and think my mood is more up and down now.

Lamotrigine has worked well for me so far, but didn't hit the sweet spot until 150mg. Now on 200mg and it may go higher as post partum hormones of late have been brutal and I'm not sleeping again. I have bipolar and ADHD.

That's an extremely low dose. It doesn't really have any therapeutic effect that low & the only effect is mild sedation. Are you taking the dose that the DR has prescribed for you? If that's what they have prescribed it's worth checking you are on the right dose before adding in anything new.
600mg is a more normal therapeutic dose for bipolar & often people need a higher dose.

Ah sorry I think I misread that as the dose for quetiapine.

I don't know of anyone who is prescribed just lamotrigine, guidelines are that it's used alongside quetiapine or similar.

If you can't take quetiapine or other similar drugs then I think the only alternative is lithium.

Yeah apparently it had to start off low and gradually increase it rather than just going in on the highest or best dose. I take Aripiprazole too if that makes much difference.

200mg is cut off point for point bipolar (lamogtringe) for epilepsy it can be prescribed at much higher doses. However my psychiatrist has prescribed me 300mg off label and I have been on this dosage for approx 2 years ( 150mg BD)
You have to start it slowly because of the life threatening skin rash you can get ( I forgot the name).
Anyway since my dose was increased I feel a significant stability in my moods.

That's a good combination & works for alot of people as less sedating.

In what way is it making you worse? I believe (although haven't experienced it) that it's not great if you have full blown mania so if you are feeling worse in that you feel abit hypo then definitely contact your doctor in case it escalates.

If it's more side effects then persevere as they often wear off. It's probably the best combination for the fewest side effects

I have bipolar and have been taking a fairly low dose (100mg) of lamotrigine for about 10 years now.
I still have occasional ups and downs (usually linked to my menstrual cycle) but nothing like what I used to have. I do miss the mania and the creative energy that went with it, but it's a small price to pay for not wanting to die. I've also found that I can't really drink alcohol with it as it seems to deregulate everything.
I've been taking duloxetine for the last couple of months, which has definitely made me happier (I'm taking it for long covid pain), in part because I have much less pain but also because it's an antidepressant.
Lamotrigine takes a while to start working so it's worth sticking with it for a few months to see if it helps.

(Re missing the mania, no-one else around me misses it 😅😅😅)

I take 150mg lamotrigine twice a day alongside 225mg Quetiapine and have for a few years, for the most part I’m fine but nature of life/bipolar is I have good and bad patches

@Deanthebeanstandard dose is 150mg twice a day for bipolar

This is the best drug I have ever been on no side effects and has really helped me

Oh soz @Vera87
Just going off what my own psychiatrist told me.
No need for the high and mighty attitude

@Deanthebeani don’t think I was high and mighty. Just stated a fact