[SingDanceRunLife]

I went to the pdoc for the first time today, was DXed as BP II and prescribed Lamictal (whatever the generic is)...

I probably won't start it until tomorrow because I'm supposed to be doing this fast tonight to tomorrow night to raise money to send to a local food pantry and Japan with one of the group's I'm involved with on campus...but I'm not sure if I should do it (for other reasons), so we'll see.

It's my first mood stabilizer, after having pretty bad experiences with ADs, and also using Xanax as needed. Hopefully it works for me!

[SingDanceRunLife]

I decided I'm gonna go for it tonight. I'm breaking the fast because I need to be fully functioning (well, as fully functioning as I can be) this weekend anyway, and starting new meds on the weekend is always best because there's less that you have to do like work and classes and such so...tonight will hopefully be the start of a new, and better era.

[salukigirl]

Hey Sing. I'm glad you decided to take it starting at the weekend. You're totally right - it is very wise to do it over a few days where you don't have much going on.

I'm on Lamictal (lamotrigine) for epilepsy and the first time I took it I think I passed out in like 30 mins (that was at 50 mg/day). Now I'm up to 200 mg/day and it doesn't do that to me anymore. However, during my whole doc visits extravaganza that was me trying to get a Dx - I learned that my seizures are triggered big time by lack of sleep. So I would be having seizures in my sleep and not know it and would be SO tired the next day. This stuff actually allows me to sleep through the night without feeling groggy the next day.

Another thing - it actually made me lose like 10 lbs in the first month or so. I talked to my neuro and he said that is a side effect. So if you were wanting to lose a few lbs - you're in luck! lol

Yet another thing - I don't know if you're a big drinker but....you won't be anymore lol. I used to be able to put at least 6-7 away before even feeling a buzz. Now - give me 3 and I'm out!

Hope it works out for you and keep me posted!

[SingDanceRunLife]

I can see what you mean about being knocked out by it! I took 25mg maybe 20 minutes ago and I'm feeling it. That's good though! I need something that'll help me sleep!

Weight loss is something I am not looking for! I'm already at my low end of "good" from my anxiety and depression, or I guess, apparently bipolar which has caused all that...

I don't drink. I have I think maybe half a dozen times ever...as in my entire life...and I'm a college student, so that says quite a bit, especially at a school like mine where people are known for going out Thursday-Saturday, and then drinking some random weeknight as well! So, no drinking is no big deal.

I'll definitely update.

[salukigirl]

About the college thing - that's every school haha

Where I got my BS.....its where the Belushi brothers went and the school Animal House is based on haha

Another thing I forgot to mention - you should take a multivitamin. I started taking a prenatal. A lot of it is because, even though I'm on bc, if I were to accidentally get preggers, this stuff can do serious harm to the baby so he said to take folic acid. Also, my neuro warned me that this drug can cause bone loss and told me to take calcium. Then he added vitamin d in there so I just got a prenatal. Hit like 18 birds with one stone.

Let me know if you have any questions about it. I've been on it for almost a year now.

[SingDanceRunLife]

The chances of me getting pregnant are currently nil. Quite literally, the only guys I ever hang out with are gay.

However, I didn't know about the bone loss...that's no good! In that case, I should definitely take calcium because I don't drink milk (but I do eat a fair amount of cheese and yogurt).

I woke up about 20 minutes ago, and I feel better rested than I have all week. I did wake up multiple times last night (probably about 4 or so), but that's quite common...what was different though is that I fell back asleep almost immediately instead of being awake for at least a half hour and up to about 2 hours.

[SingDanceRunLife]

Night 2: Slept like a baby! Was asleep within probably about a half hour to 45 minutes of taking it (which isn't bad at all considering I didn't get in bed til probably 15-20 minutes after taking it)...and I slept through the night for the first time in at least a week So far so good...I'm feeling positive about this, even though it's been 2 days, just the fact that I've slept well is enough to make me feel good about it.

[sugahorse1]

Hope this works out for you.
I'm on Lamictal too. I take 100mg in AM and 150mg in PM.
I have lost quite a lot of weight on it too, and like you, it's not an ideal situation for me; but better than putting on weight.
Glad you're also managing to get some sleep

[SingDanceRunLife]

I hope it works too! But I guess I know at the very least it'll make me sleep better which is actually a great concern of mine.

On the weight thing, unlike you, gaining would be better than losing for me. If I lost more than 5-10 pounds or so (don't know exactly how much I weigh now so this is going off what I've weighed in the past couple of months), I would be considered underweight...but I could gain like 20 pounds or so and still be considered a healthy weight.

[SingDanceRunLife]

Day 3: I feel a lot more alert this morning than I did the last two mornings...this is good! I did wake up once last night, but it was because I really had to go to the bathroom (which is what I get for drinking a large mug of tea right before going to bed), and it took me about an hour to get back to sleep (not uncommon when I've gotten up and done something after waking up)...so things are still good so far.

[SingDanceRunLife]

Intelligent me went out for bubble tea with my friends and got a drink that has green tea in it...sometime around 10:30pm...

Although the Lamictal made me tired when I took it, it still took me forever to fall asleep...and then I woke up about 2 hours later and still haven't gone back to sleep.

I miss the days that caffeine didn't affect me...mostly because tonight's sleep is like a pre-Lamictal night's sleep (terrible and interrupted). Apparently caffeine completely negates the sleep inducing effect of Lamictal

[nicoleb2]

Lamictal does not make me sleepy... nothing really does though, even my ambien cr and trazodone don't work

[SingDanceRunLife]

It makes me sleepy for sure! Within about 15 minutes of taking it I start feeling it, and within about 30-45 I'm out! (Except last night, but I had caffeine, so I'm pretty sure that's the reason).

[maggyjo]

I have been on Lamictal for about a month now. Severe depression, anxiety and ED.

I take it in the evening so the sleepiness doesn't bother me. I feel pretty good during the day, seem to have a bit more energy/ motivation. It did lift my mood after about the first week

The only draw back is that my brain is a bit foggy. I tend to do flaky things all on my own, but now it just seems to be more often. I had a med check today and the Pdoc, said it may get better and to try another month. If not we can go down a dose.

as far as weight, I haven't noticed any change. My weight is mostly stable, I have lost a little, But I am not always following my meal plan either.

Maggy Jo

[SingDanceRunLife]

I love its sleep inducing quality! I need something that helps me sleep because I suffer pretty severely from insomnia. I take it at bedtime because of this.

I hope I see some sort of positive effect soon...obviously it's too soon for anything right now, but honestly, the sooner the better because it seems like things are just going to hell.

[mgran]

It actually made me hyper when I started on it, so much so that I wrote 70 thousand words of the "novel of the century" within just over a week. But fortunately it settled down, and I actually stabilised in the end... I did lose a bit of weight as well.

[SingDanceRunLife]

It's so weird how everyone reacts so differently to the same meds.

To be perfectly honest, I can't wait til bedtime tonight because I know that once I take my pill it won't be long til I sleep.

My friend and I joke that our favorite time of day is Lamictal time aka bedtime, because it knocks both of us out

[SingDanceRunLife]

I woke up this morning and noticed that there's a patch roughly the size of a dime on my stomach that has tiny raised bumps and is itchy...should I be concerned?

[SingDanceRunLife]

Originally Posted by SingDanceRunLife

I woke up this morning and noticed that there's a patch roughly the size of a dime on my stomach that has tiny raised bumps and is itchy...should I be concerned?

I think it was from my pants rubbing...it was right around the area where my pants hit, and it's completely gone now after putting some cortisone on it.

[PleaseHelp]

Intersting facts on lamictal. I take it in the morning - no one ever mentioned taking it at night to help me sleep. But that doesn't seem to be a problem for me. Nice to know about the weight loss, I have lost a decent amount of weight since being on Lamictal. I've also been working out a bit. But maybe the Lamictal is helping with the weight loss, which for me isn't a bad thing. After being on Paxil for almost 10 years, I gained a lot of weight!

Thanks for keeping us updated on how things are going. I know my BF noticed a difference in my moods before I did. Now I totally see that my moods are a bit more stable. Wishing you the best of luck.

[SingDanceRunLife]

My pdoc told me straight up and flat out to take it at night, and it's a good thing!

I have a headache today as well, but I'm not sure if it's from the Lamictal or my period, or just because.

I'm also tired, which I think is mostly from having a headache, but could also be from the Lamictal...the first couple of days I could barely get out of bed from being so fatigued.

[hayward]

After over 30 years of mostly ineffective med tries, taking Lamictyl is the first thing which has actually helped even me out somewhat. My emotional instability doesn't seem to last as long as it use to. So good luck with it!

But... there is something I want to know. People, you have lost weight????? WHY CAN'T IT BE THAT WAY FOR ME??????? Seriously! I want that side effect!!!

[SingDanceRunLife]

I've been reading a lot on Lamictal generics...it worries me a bit, to be honest.

I have the Zydus lamotrigine, but after doing all this reading on bad generics all over online, I'm thinking maybe I should go with the brand when I get my next prescription? With my insurance, generics cost $5, and brands cost a max of $20 I believe...so while it's a $15 difference, the cost isn't bad, and if the brand is that much better, then the difference is probably worth it. Should I ask my pdoc about getting the brand instead?

I realize that there are bad generics of every drug, but it seems like the generics of Lamictal are often among the worst.

[SingDanceRunLife]

I've taken it for 6 nights...

The headaches are getting to me...I think that Lamictal might force me into wearing my glasses more. I can't completely blame my headaches on Lamictal seeing as the weather has been crappy, and I have my period, but since regular meds aren't really helping, I think it's definitely at least partly because of the Lamictal.

I'm still sleeping better though. Like this morning, I woke up around 6:30 because I had to go to the bathroom and was hungry. As soon as I took care of that, it was probably only about 15-20 minutes until I fell asleep again. Before Lamictal, it would've been about 2 hours.

[SingDanceRunLife]

Well, it's been a week.

One more week at 25mg and then I go up to 50mg.

I really hope that these headaches go away soon...I'm tired of having a headache every day

I haven't noticed much change in mood or anything yet, but it's still really early to tell, which I tried to explain to my mom both a couple of days ago and just yesterday...but she doesn't quite get that psychiatric drugs take time to work and make a noticeable difference unlike things like ibuprofen and antibiotics.

Oh well.