I had that same experience with Lamictal. Once you work up to the 100 or 200 mg dosage you will (hopefully) tell the difference. Lamictal is one of those drugs that needs to be amped up slowly to see how you react to it. One thing that is awful is if you have to suddenly stop taking them. I had to because of a rash that turned out to be a reaction from a bug bite, but the doc had to take me off of it cuz it could have been a serious side effect. When I was off of it I felt like I was naked. It took a good 4 months to get back to the level I was at before, and thank goodness becuz those were the worst months ever. Also I find that the generic does not have the same affect as the original brand. I can't take the generic and I notice others have a hard time with it too.