For those who have taken lamictal -

how did it affect your intelligence and creativity? Did it make you slow, dull, numb? And if you did experience negative effects, did they ago away after stopping the drug?

My therapist keeps pushing it on me but I've never been on a mood stabilizer and am scared I will lose 'my edge.'

[luvyrself]

Originally Posted by thepterodactyl

For those who have taken lamictal -

how did it affect your intelligence and creativity? Did it make you slow, dull, numb? And if you did experience negative effects, did they ago away after stopping the drug?

My therapist keeps pushing it on me but I've never been on a mood stabilizer and am scared I will lose 'my edge.'

------if you are truly bipolar, you almost have to have a stabilizer. There are many. All bipolars are afraid of losing their edge, but many incredible people we all have heard of did better with a stabilzer. If you become numb, the dose is probably wrong. You need a regular doctor w lamictal. This is a coincidence because my t suggests it but my docs are more hesitant because i get stress confusion and mess up dosages.

[Sad Mermaid]

It did not do anything for me, but also did not take anything away. The biggest accomplishments on my resume happen to be from the time I was taking Lamictal. You cannot know until you have taken it, though, and titration is very slow with this drug, so just monitor yourself closely.

[fishin fool]

I have been on it for a while now and I do think I have some confusion issues
and I have always been a creative person and I love the fact that I am but I have
been dull for a while now as well. It could be Lamictal or the Effexor or a combo of
both but I hate the dullness and lack of creativity it pi$$es me off but I am fairly
stable so I just don't know what the answer is.

[LucyG]

I wouldn't say it took my creative edge off, but it did cause my jaw to lock at least 3 times for 14 hours at a time, caused such horrific anxiety that I was afraid to close my eyes and sobbed for days on end, caused horrific bruising and made me very clumsy and finally triggered a receding hairline so I went off it.

If you're bipolar and need a mood stablizer to keep you from being bumped into hypomania or mania, why not look into using the mineral supplement lithium orotate? It a natural form of lithium that is very safe unlike lithium carbonate, and has worked like a charm in keeping my mood under control--I have bipolar 2.

Here's a good article about it.

Natural Treatment for Bipolar Disorder and Alzheimer's Ignored! - Natural Health Blog | Holistic Health Blog

[PenguinExMachina]

It lifted me up slightly but then there was nothing...but it also didn't make me lose anything, like my creativity.

[vintagexsoul]

I still have my above average IQ.

But all these medications really affect my memory in the worst way. That's my biggest struggle, whether its LamICTal or the Saohris or a combination. My memory is like that of a 60 year old. But intelligence isn't measured by that. I'm getting back into art, drawing and photography and I write on a near daily basis. So...a stablizer doesn't have to take away your creativity and intelligence.

[xRavenx]

I'm just as sharp and creative with Lamictal. I am able to stay productive and keep good energy (unless I'm in an episode, but that's separate from the Lamictal itself). I find it to be a good medication overall. I have no side effects, and that's rare for me when it comes to meds.

[Bigmike727]

Well I can only relate my experiences, cause a drug affects everyone differently. Lamictal has done nothing to hamper my creativity or intelligence. It has been a very good mood stabilizer for me, and certainly better than the Depakote I used to be on. The only side effect I ever experienced on it would be insomnia, back when I used to take it in the night, but I switched to the morning and haven't had a problem since. Depakote on the other hand, didn't lower my intelligence/creativity per se, but I was so drugged up/zombified it was hard for me to get anything done, and man does it make you sleep, I used to sleep around 14 hours a day. Can't do that when you have uni/work so I switched to Lamictal and I live a relatively normal life since. I would highly recommend it.

[Unrigged64072835]

When I was on Lamictal, I was a lot more creative. I was switched to Depakote and it killed off my creativity. I'm now on Latuda and I'm slowly getting it back.

[newtobipolar]

Lamictal has made me even more sharp, more creative and just a better thinker all around. It has changed my life. One weird thing though... It almost makes me too aware of my favorite weird quirks (some OCD stuff) and I feel like people are noticing them.. Odd symptom, but other than that, it has awesome