experiences with lamictal

Just how good is this medication supposed to make you feel. I started to take it to stabilize my mood swings. especially the irribility. it has definitely helped with that a lot. the first week I was on 25 mg then last week increased to 50 mg. ever since the increase I've been feeling very good and being very social. I say good morning when I come in at work which isn't my normal thing and I've been constantly laughing and joking with coworkers. I've been much more productive cooking and cleaning. my sex drive is also very high. I go to my bf house whenever I can lol. I went to get 2 tattoos impulsive a few days ago. is been wanting them for a while but was going to wait to get them. I also bought a new phone for over $200 which I've always said is a waste of money. especially if your phone is still functioning fine and you have a free upgrade in a month. which is definitely my case. at first I was happy to be feeling the best I've felt in a while. but then I actually started thinking. what if this isn't normal... so has anyone had this reaction and are these normal reaction?

Sounds more like hypo/mania. How is your sleeping? decrease lately?

"Usually" it takes a while to notice a change in mood from Lamictal .. but it is possible that it is working quickly for you. .

Just take notice of your activities .

Stay safe

My understanding is that a therapeutic dosage for Lamictal begins at 200mg and that it's efficacy is minimal before then. It is necessary, paramount even, to slowly step up the dosage over a period of weeks (follow your p-docs instructions without exception, especially in regard to Lamictal/Lamotrigine).

I would suggest you consider that the current experiences you are having are due to an episode of hypomania or mania. It may also be a placebo effect - I personally find it extremely difficult to distinguish between psychological and physiological influences on mood. And, as always, be observant and exercise caution when placed on new medications.

I am on 200mg twice a day, I've never had that same feeling

I agree with Christina, sounds hypo to me

The post above by lastquestion... Spot on. I concur.

Lamictal can be somewhat activating. It was for me in the early going as I was titrating up. The OP definitely sounds hypomanic to me, but whether it has anything to do with the medication is anyone's guess; best to call your pdoc and report how you're feeling.

I think Lamictal works by minimizing the incidence of mood swings, kind of like a prophylaxis. I do not think it actually stabilizes mood like other MS can do. But hey, I may be wrong on this.

Any thoughts on this?

I do agree that this sounds like (hypo)mania to me. Since Lamictal can be activating, I can see where the med can be at least partially responsible for your state of mind.

Subbing to learn more about Lamictal

I definitely noticed a difference when I first started taking Lamictal (even on the very low dose) and it definitely wasn't placebo. My sex drive was ramped up and I felt more loving and caring towards my family. My irritability vanished over night and that was the big thing for me. I used to throw things at my husband and break things, it got that bad. But that was 3 years ago. Now I'm on 300mg and the only thing it has done for me is remove my irritability.

I've been taking Lamictal for close to 5 years now and am up to 400mg/day. At first I had a sense of euphoria but it may have been a combination of lamictal and gabapentin. Gaba tends to give me a false sense of mania/ hyper excitability if I take my full dose during the day. Otherwise it's been extremely effective in helping maintain a slight stabilization in my mood shifts and with my increased dose actually has a sedative effect.

I agree with Christina as well. The sporadic spending and tattoos sound a lot like mania. I've found myself in a manic/hypo state when my medications have been slightly shifted and it's quite possibly from anticipation/over expectations of a sudden effect and change.

I would just keep track of the trend in things you are doing that you usually may not and let your p-doc know. In the past I've done this and my p-doc was the one who recognized the mania pattern.

No, it is not just an episode prophylactic. It does work well as a mood stabilizer for some people, and clinical studies gave confirmed this.

I was in a painful mixed episode for months when I finally went to see a Pdoc and was prescribed Lamictal. As soon as I hit 200 mg, my mixed episode subsided, and I went into a hypomanic stage, which is far preferable!
Once I went up to 300mg, the hypomania has been under control also.

Do you chart your moods ? If can be helpful as you can often see if your going down or up over a few days or weeks .. You can do it on paper of there are phone apps that you can just do on your phone .. Most pods love when people chart moods gives them a heads up also .

For now just enjoy your new phone and tattoo

I was on lamictal for 4 months. It didn't do anything for me. I didn't notice a single change. Most people I've talked with find lamictal very helpful.

I suffer alot from manic depression.. hypo mania.. extreme irritability... been diagnose bp2 slash bp nos.... if my wife tried to start something with me on a disagreement. It was always a bomb.... never physical but I could slice anything up with my words.... I mean down right cold... (I'm as cold as the cold wind blows.. ask me why man I just don't know)... after a month of Lamictal we had an argument that was about to spill over and I just told her whatever.im over this argument. .. walking away into the bedroom I'm thinking what on earth? My wife later told me she was shocked as well....I say it's helped me.big.time... but just.like bp it doesn't always fit perfectly

Lamictal is a great mood stabilizer...I've been on it for ten years. I'm on 200mg 2x a day. It really helps keep my moods leveled out. It sounds like it's really helping you. Good to hear!

I have been sleeping a little bit less but I have learned to force myself to take my trazodone at night to make me sleep. This does feel more than just a placebo good mood. I've tried to keep mood journals/mood charts but I can never form the habit of doing it. I have an appointment with my pdoc in 2 weeks so I'll keep track of my moods and actions until then and let her know. I hope this medication works for me because it has been amazing for my irritibility and rage.

Well I guess it was just hypomania. im headed back down after a week and a half which is about how long it usually lasts for me. at least I got to skip all the irritibilty and short temperedness that usually comes on the way down.

I get really bad irritability and the lamictal helps in combination with Geodon. I went down to 100 mg of Lamictal after being on 300mg for a few years because I felt it was making me head towards mania. Now I'm doing better and didn't realize until I just saw my pdoc the other day that I'm doing really well with my moods. I have some other issues like sleeping too much and not being able to lose weight, but my moods are doing well so he doesn't want to change meds. Plus, I'm already on meds that shouldn't cause weight gain.

My experience with Lamictal has been positive. I was super crabby as I titrated up. I got up to 400 and backed it back down to 250 at pdocs suggestion(memory issues). Big mistake because I developed some OCD, paranoia and social anxiety. Went back up on dosage and am feeling much better. Looking back, I can see how erratic and unstable my behavior has been my whole life. I got away with it because people perceived me as dramatic, creative and at times, fun to be with. My poor husband-I don't know how he has lived with me the last three years. ( I got sober three years ago and that's when things got a little dicey-ironically.) Anyway, I think this med is amazing and I can tell a huge difference in my mood and state of mind even as I increase and decrease doses. I hope you are feeling well and peaceful. I don't know about the hypomania as I am still new to this diagnosis. I don't think your reaction was a placebo affect. I definitely felt something at the early doses. Meds just do different things for different folks.