Lamictal panic attacks, crying, decreased appetite, etc.

For those who've taken Lamictal, do you remember if you experienced panic attacks, rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, decreased appetite, constant crying within the first few days of taking it? I'm freaking out big time. It was mild this morning but seems to have gotten worse. Dunno if it's just me or the drug.

I also can't sit still. Pacing back and forth, worrying and trying to calm myself down. My psychiatrist didn't prescribe me anything else to deal with this except Horizant, which I'm beginning to think is BS.

You call your pharmacist? I'd call them and then call your pdoc. If it gets worse go to the er. Could be a bad fit for you. I take a low dose of Lamictal, 150mg. At 300 mg I couldn't stop itching. I took Buspar and it actually caused anxiety in me so my pdoc took me off it. Be safe

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Thanks for the advice! I've experienecd symptoms like this before with Celexa and was prescribed Xanax for my panic attacks. I don't have any Xanax now and I'm a hot mess. I'm at a really small dosage (25mg) and I've taken it for three days, which isn't very long. No itching so far, which is good. Let's keep it that way.

I hope it doesn't get worse. I've heard some people say that they had to titrate very slowly with Lamictal

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Yeah, I'm probably going to call my psychiatrist on Monday and beg for some relief. I can't start a new job in this state.

Decreased appetite? yes

The panic attacks, rapid heartbeat, pacing, and sweaty palms are all anxiety related. I don't think Lamictal causes anxiety to be honest. If it does, then it's a rare side effect that I've never heard of.

I was fine when I started taking it.

Do you think you are anxious about trying a new drug? When I first tried out Lexapro, it was the first medication I had ever taken. I became very nervous because I didn't know what to expect, but at the time, I had thought it was causing anxiety. Now looking back on things, it wasn't causing anxiety at all. I was just very nervous about taking medication in general, and I was afraid of getting nasty side effects. In other words, it was all in my head. I was unintentionally making myself anxious.

Do you think you're nervous about Lamictal in general? Like maybe you're worried about the side effects or something? What about underlying anxiety?

I took Lexapro as well but had already been prescribed Xanax since I developed similar symptoms with Celexa, which was the first medication I had been prescribed. I think I was extremely anxious about taking a new drug. That and I developed a terrible rash that spread down my arms, which was ruled out as stress-related eczema. I definitely have anxiety about being on this drug since day one due to its possible side effects. That and I don't have a crutch to lean on. I will be calling my psychiatrist on Monday. Hopefully, it'll be somewhat better by then. Fingers-crossed!

Yeah, it sounds like you're just anxious about taking a new drug. It doesn't sound like Lamictal is causing any anxiety. I sort of figured that was the case since I had a similar experience.

But either way, I can't blame you for feeling anxious, especially since you had a rash in the past and you don't want it to come back again. And Steven-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) is nothing to sneeze at either.

Some kind of anxiolytic will probably be useful for you... but keep taking the Lamictal. Lamictal is a really good drug because it has virtually 0 side effects. The only real side effect is SJS. It does suppress appetite (or at least it does in my case), but I think that's a rare/uncommon side effect.

I can't actually think of any bipolar drug that *causes* anxiety. The anxiety is almost always caused by an irrational fear or by unsureness.

Glad you are calling Monday. It could be just anxiety over taking a new med like blue said, but you never know. Like I said I took Buspar for anxiety, and it actually worsened my anxiety. Everyone reacts to meds differently.

If it helps at all the rash is not a big deal really. You do have to watch and report rashes and they tell you to be cautious for a reason but a real Lamictal rash is quite rare. It's more common to get rashes for other reasons coincidentally. If you get a rash get to a dr and let them see it. Often they are able to re-start the lamictal with a slower titration.

I know a good bit about this because I was one of the rare (I think it's like 1:1000 or less) people to get true lamictal rash. And even then had I not taken another dose after a couple of bumps showed up I wouldn't have had it nearly as badly. I'll tell you a little just because that knowledge helps me with anxiety about such things.

The rash is distinctive so you are not going to miss it. It's hivey/blistery and hot. It burns when it is touched even by water. It's like no other rash I've ever had. You really have to ignore a lot to get into real trouble. It's like a rash with a sunburn on top. For me it spread pretty rapidly but I had the worst location (face, lips, around an eye, down the neck) and those areas are more sensitive than other parts of the body.

But really, statistically it is HIGHLY unlikely you'll get it and if you do it's generally so obvious no worry ahead of time is needed.

The sad thing is that it did work for me. I had to stop it because of the severity of the rash and that was sad because few drugs work and I was on a 2nd trial of it and it was helping a lot in the 2 weeks before I got the rash (I was I think 8-10 weeks out).

Hang in there. This will pass and you'll be ok.

Sounds anxiety about taking a new drug and not having anything to take to deal with that. When you talk to your pdoc on Monday you can try to get something for that. Why have you run out of Xanax if it is prescribed to you? A lot of that sounds like anxiety but also a bit of Xanax withdrawal?

25mg of Lamictal is a good starting does, you really shouldn't feel all that much from it.

Good Luck, hope you get it all straightened out on Monday.

Oh, no! Sorry to hear you were one of the rare cases! That must have been really frustrating.

But thank you so much for the advice. It really did put me at ease and I've been stressing about it all day. I appreciate everyone's tremendous support!

Here's to the weeks ahead!

I do remember crying a lot when I was on Lamictal for the first week or so and being a little more emotional than usual for maybe a month while tapering up. Strangly enough, it did go away, and now I have a hard time crying, even when I'm in a lot of emotional pain. I do still struggle with anxiety, but that's been always. I would imagine you are still going through the tapering process if you have only been on it for a few days? It took me a month to taper all the way up to my dose, so it takes time to see how you do. I did notice a decrease an appetite....I still don't eat as much as I did before, but it's no longer an issue. Now, I really don't notice any significant side effects. I would definitely still call the Pdoc though to check in. Lamictal seems to work well for me now, so sometimes it does take waiting to adjust. Of course, that's just me though, and it will vary person to person. Just sharing my experience.

Since I've been on lithium, I've realized that lamotrigine didn't do a damn thing for me.
I was manic @ 200mg, and when I fell in the deep dark black hole, didn't do a damn thing to get me out.
I begged my shrink to up it to 400mg and he refused. Adderall was all he gave me. I still have it. Time for a new shrink.
Now this new lady shrinkette is strong. Very. As much as me or more.
"Forget Lamotrigine piri. Lithium is the med for you all with bipolar."
"Yes ma'am but is dangerous." "You're More dangerous being manic or depressed".
"Thanks ma'am, will do." The trouble I could have avoided if I started it sooner is unimaginable.
Hey, it works for millions. I was on it for four years thinking I was alright.
Good luck. Check if you see a mesurable change in your behavior.

BTW, No side effects of whatsoever. Taking vitamin C had more side effects.
Maybe they were selling me sugar pills all those years.

Hi...Lamictal like all anti-convulsive drugs can cause folate and B12 deficiencies..both of which are extremely important in something called methylation. And being MTHFR, I have a really hard time converting folic acid to this metabolically active folate (used, on example, to make the brain neurotransmittors). Lots of people have this MTHFR, and I believe it is cited as a contributing cause to bipolar.

Not diagnosed bipolar but with the kind of dysautonomia in which standing elevates norepinephrine. That chemical can be a stimulant. My psych said I don't have bipolar exactly but may be bipolar in training .

Mileage I'm sure varies in different folks but lamictal did nothing for me.
Have read that some people do experience panic attacks with the drug. It is far more an antidepressant than a mood stabilizer is what I've read.

Anna

I just posted that lamictal did nothing for me

Now on low dose lithium (300 mg) and very very small dose of Paxil. Just started. Don't laugh...only 2.5 mg of Paxil...higher doses and I just sleep the day away but when awake more, worsening anxiety. Am very medication sensitive and will see in a couple if I can titrate higher. Now after one week on the very low dose Paxil, I feel a bit uplifted.

May be the combination of lithium and paxil...without the lithium I might start cleaning, what I do when anxious. May be I am bipolar in training...the psych said she sees just a wee bit of bipolar. Like with any disease--diabetes, cancer, heart disease--there are different grades of disease from mild to very severe.

Anna