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#1
Apr 29, 2014, 08:05 PM
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What's the consensus on stopping lamotrigine cold turkey? I know ideally it's best to taper off, but I'm kinda impatient. I'd like it out of my system before my next appointment with my psychiatrist in June so that I can ascertain if it's actually doing anything beneficial. my symptomatology is more like schizophrenia then bipolar disorder, I recently started an antipsychotic, Latuda, and responded very well to it.
I'd stay on it, but I'm not sure the benefits out weigh the side effects. I've aways had memory problem with lamotrigine, if I recall correctly lamotrigine interferes with folate. I cannot get organized. I barely have any attention span and I can't concentrate. I think lamotrigine is partially to blame for this. |
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#2
Apr 29, 2014, 08:12 PM
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I do not think it is wise to be your own pdoc. But if you decide to do this, I would not tell your real pdoc. Some doctors appear to have issues with non-compliance. In a case with one person here, it was disability related.
I did read somewhere that going off of large dosages of anti seizure can cause induce a seizure. I hope you know what you are doing!
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Bipolar II and GAD Venlafaxine, Lamotragine, Buspirone, Risperidone |
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#3
Apr 29, 2014, 08:19 PM
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It's risky to do it cold turkey. I went off Lamotrigine cold turkey, but that was medically supervised because I got the dangerous rash. I was on 400 mg at the time. I don't remember if I had any ill effects, other then intense mood episodes until we found something to replace it.
I wouldn't advise NOT telling your pdoc though - that just seems to be a snowball effect. What's the saying? "Oh what tangled webs we weave, when we first learn to deceive"? Not telling your pdoc will lead to massive distrust if s/he finds out later on. Not to mention, they won't know how to properly medicate you if they think you're on Lamotrigine. You might end up on a bunch of meds you don't need.
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Bipolar I with psychotic features/GAD/Transgender (male pronouns please) Seroquel/Abilify/Risperidone/Testosterone My Bipolar Poetry Anthology Underneath this skin there's a human Buried deep within there's a human And despite everything I'm still human I think that I'm still human Last edited by TheatreKid; Apr 29, 2014 at 08:49 PM. |
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#4
Apr 29, 2014, 08:42 PM
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Do not stop taking Lamictal without your doctor's knowledge and supervision. Stopping it cold turkey could cause you to have seizures, even if you've never had them before, so you need to let your pdoc taper you off properly to reduce that risk.
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DX: Bipolar 1 Anxiety Tardive dyskinesia Mild cognitive impairment RX: Celexa 20 mg Gabapentin 1200 mg Geodon 40 mg AM, 60 mg PM Klonopin 0.5 mg PRN Lamictal 500 mg Levothyroxine 125 mcg (rx'd for depression) Trazodone 150 mg Zyprexa 7.5 mg Please come visit me @ http://bpnurse.com |
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#5
Apr 29, 2014, 08:50 PM
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Call your doctor and ask about a proper taper schedule. Simply dropping lamotrogine is a very bad idea- risk of seizures being one of the reasons. The risks is not extremely high, but the incidence is not terribly rare either. It would suck if you inadvertently kicked of some kind of neurological maelstrom that you had no idea was just waiting for the right opportunity.
Ask for professional guidance on this. |
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#6
Apr 29, 2014, 09:04 PM
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Another problem with stopping lamotrigine cold is that if you need to go back on it, you have to restart low and increase gradually to avoid sjs rash, so it will take a long time to get back to therapeutic. I agree with the others who said talk to your pdoc
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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"Does the body rule the mind, or does the mind rule the body?" "Those who feel the breath of sadness, sit down next to me. Those feel they're touched my madness, sit down next to me. Those who find themselves ridiculous, sit down next to me." |
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#7
Apr 30, 2014, 08:51 AM
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I stopped it cold turkey because I couldnt keep my meds down due to vomiting all day every day and I had no side effects. I was only taking 100-200mg a day
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Dx: Bipolar NOS BPD Chronic Pain related to Interstitial Cystitis, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Migraines, IBS and Chronic Pancreatitis Medication: Welbutrin xl 300mg Xanax .25mg 4x a day (take it prn though) trazadone 200mg lamictal 300mg aldactone 100mg linzess 145mg butrans 15mcg topimax 50mg |
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#8
Apr 30, 2014, 02:40 PM
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Stressing again.....quitting cold turkey can cause a seizure even if you've never had one and that's not something you want. Talk to your pdoc. You do have a say in your treatment. Be your own advocate.
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#9
Apr 30, 2014, 02:48 PM
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I went off Lamictal because it wasn't causing me to feel agitated and I had a mild rash from it. My p-doc told me to take a week to go off it. That worked well for me...I just dropped the dose every few days.
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#10
Apr 30, 2014, 04:09 PM
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Get weaned off of it. Trying to stop a great deal of our meds cold turkey isn't always a sound idea.
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Perception isn't everything 
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