Is Lamictal the reason for my sleeplessness?

Background story:
So I have a problem I'm facing recently. After being without medication my Bipolar 2 for a year, I decided to try a new one with lesser side effects. The weight gain, increase apatite, hair loss and drowsy + zombie feeling all day was a big turn off(when I was on Valproic x750mg and Risperidral x2mg).
So there I was, trying out Lamictal x25mg for the first time as my pdoc promised it will never cause weight gain(which was my biggest problem) and will lesser the above side effect. But he described all possible side effect including a life-threatening one. He said he will increase the dosses further few weeks later.
I was taking an Anti-Depressant called Amitriptyline x10mg for my migraine for a month which I stopped on doctor's order 2 days after I started on Lamictal, still taking Propranolol x20mg for the migraine though.

The Good:
This meds by far seems to be helping me fight my depression and I feel as if I'm finally getting my life back together. Able to think clearly, don't feel dull or heavy headed. Able to socialize. Even my anxiety has gone to almost zero! Weight gain and apatite wise I'm more in control than ever.

The Bad:
It has been a week to be exact and I'm wondering if it is the reason of my insomnia. I did not slept for last 2 days and still functioned well with few minutes of nap and just today had 2 hours of sleep before I woke up being wide awake and couldn't sleep at all. And most of all, I'm keep having severe anxiety when I try to sleep where I become so conscious about my breath as if I'll forget how to breathe if I do not focus on it. So weird..
Moreover, I'm getting worried sick after finding out how extremely severe it's life-threatening side effects is (Steven Johnson rash)!

Doubts:
- So is Lamictal the main cause of my insomnia and anxiety?
- Is it possible that I'm hypomanic it's making it worse?
- Can it be a withdrawal symptom of stopping the anti-depressant?
- Is it possible to cure the rash fast by stopping taking lamictal when it first begin to appear or will it keep spreading and last a long time before I can get better?
- Is this drug worth taking the risk? I can really try to live without any medication as oppose to putting chemical in my body that may harm me in long term you see.

I know I should ask this questions to my pdoc, but I'll be seeing him a week later and I really needed to clarify all those doubt asap. So please help me out. Thanks!

I've been taking 300mg for 10 years for PTSD. (My dose is higher because of the birth control pill). Lamictal does not cause insomnia. I take 150mg in the am and 150mg in the pm. Maybe it's just not right for you.

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I take Lamictal. 25 mg is a very low dose. On 100 mg I felt activated, which caused some anxiety. So I now take 75mg and that is working for me. It is my understanding that the rash is not that common and in the case it does happen if you just discontinue the drug immediately and if it gets severe seek medical attention and you should be fine. Depending on how long you've been off your anti-depressant, you could still be having withdrawal effects. I don't know much about hypomania. I personally think it's worth the risk and that you should stay on it a little longer unless a rash occurs. 2 days of insomnia could be from something else, I'd give it a little more time.

Thanks for your replies! Yes I'm also wondering how could such a low dosage make me insomniac. So best bet is the anti-depressant withdrawal. And it makes me less anxious to hear from someone who takes the medicine and to know about the risk. I'm gonna see my pdoc tmr.

I was on Lamictal and it would make me kinda hypo manic. It could be. I'm on lithium now and it seems to be working ok with the exception of the confusion and constant need to drink water. I've lost weight on lithium though so yay! I'd ask your doc before you go too hypo/manic.



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After my emergency appt with the doc, he concluded that it was the anti-depressant I was taking rx with Lamictal, thus I was hypo manic. He prescribed Quetipine(Seroquel) 100mg dose that calmed me down and put me to sleep in matter of an hour.
And that sounds like a good reason to change to Lithium as I'm really worried sick about the deadly rash on Lamictal. So far I've not gotten any on 25mg dosage. Gonna up my dosage to 50mg tomorrow, really anxious about that.

My opinion - by adding the mood stabiliser, your base line is lifted. The anti depressant effects are now extenuated and pushing you into hypomania.
Remember, for BP the first line of treatment is a mood stabiliser. Anti-depressants should be used cautiously due the risk of them making you manic or hypomanic.
I've been on 200mg of Lamotrigine (Taken all at night) and will now be adding 50mg for the morning. With an anti-depressant on top. I think I'm becoming a bit too resistant

Not a doc, but I'm a nerd and am on Lamictal myself. Researched the s--t out of it. Up to 200mg now and have been on some dose of it since September of 2015. Very well tolerated.

1. I'm not sure about the anxiety, but it has been reported for sure than Lamictal can cause sleep problems. I wouldn't doubt it with anxiety though given everyone has unique brain chemistry.

2.As for hypomanic, I wouldn't doubt it. Titrating to 200mg induced ultradian cycling (within the day, in a few days) in me. So it could be.

3. The anxiety could be (if I'm correct in thinking that's what you're asking about regarding the withdrawal symptom) a side effect of anti-depressant withdrawal. Cold turkey or did you wean off? Sometimes even weaning can cause withdrawals, especially if done too fast. It is listed as a possible side effect.

4. If you have a rash of any kind, call your doc IMMEDIATELY. It may not be SJS, given it's super rare. And you really lessen the chance if you titrate up slowly. It's like .03% of patients that develop it, but with rashes on mood stabilizers like Lamictal, need to be careful. SJS is tricky. Try not to scare yourself though. Like I said, super rare. Again though, any rash. Call doc immediately or go to ER/Urgent care and tell them you're on Lamictal if weekend or can't get a hold of them. Need to make sure. If it would be SJS, you can't stop if once it's started. It's quick. Once it appears, it spreads fast. Fast fast. So you'd know, but again, if it's concerning, get it checked, and regardless of that, call doc ASAP.

5. For me personally, it was. It got me back on track. It evened me out, stabilized me. I got two As in university as a Junior of the four classes I took after not having had an A in a class since my Freshman year. It's FDA approved particularly for BPII but also for BP in general and is considered a "miracle drug" by many psychs.

Again, no doc, but a lot of med experience and person research done. Spend a lot of time asking docs questions, reading my med inserts, and I'm a clinical psych major. I hope I helped you some rather than freaking you out.

THIS, very informative response! Thank you so much for making things clear about this medicine! I did more researched after reading it and reading responses for my similar thread in Bipolar section, I'm convince and really confident in taking Lamictal for the long run. Moreover, no.5 is the real deal as I'm entering uni soon.
Thank you so much for taking the effort to write all that down, I appreciate it immensely

Of course! I'm glad I could help you out! Taking new meds is always scary. I get you there. >-< I was nervous as all hell when I started taking it myself, but doing the research, I discovered that it was really well tolerated by a lot of people. My brain chemistry hates EVERYTHING, and I mean just about EVERYTHING, and I'm doing pretty will on this medication. I hope you do as well on it as I did! You'll do great in university! I'm just glad you got your diagnosis and meds before uni; I was misdiagnosed four times before and screwed up my GPA.

That being said, if anything, and I mean ANYTHING at all, feels wrong with your meds, let your doc know so you can try and work it out. Don't let it mess with your GPA. :333 Wishing you well my friend! <3

Taking it at night made it hard for me to sleep. Switching it to the morning took care of that.

I didn't have a problem with the lamotrigine at night. Didn't affect my sleep at all. It did induce ultradian cycling at 200mg though. That was weird. Freaking topirimate kept me awake for the first month and a half though, and it was a night med. It was weird, given Topamax (brand name) is often called DOPamax for the exact opposite reason.

Thanks for the well wishes! I'm sorry to hear about your misdiagnosis:/ I must say things are pretty good already so far. I don't know if small dosage as 50mg is enough to make a difference but it certainly is for me lol. I feel somewhat myself again. I'm able to enjoy music like old times, motivated to lose weight and just many things that I was missing out on before this. I don't know if it would get way better when I increase the dosage. So far not much of side effect. Little hair loss, itch on my back and pimples popping up, but I have skin conditions so I guess its normal(I will discuss this with my doc).

Oh and, as for sleeplessness, I'm able to sleep 5 to 10 hours a day! I don't take Seroquel for my insomnia(and hypersexuality) anymore as things seems leveled. But I do wake up few times in the middle of the night due to vivid dreams, but able to fall back to sleep.

I'm currently on 350 mg of Lamictal and have taken it several years. My highest dose was 600 mg.

It's a great mood stabilizer for my bipolar. It doesn't give me insomnia or any significant side effect. It helps the depressive side, in my experience. Definitely hasn't caused weight gain. I take 100 mg in the morning and 250 mg at night.

I've been taking 200mg at night for a while now. Pdoc has added another 50mg, and advised me to take it in the morning (Just the 50mg and the balance at night).
I am worried it will make me sleepy? Thoughts?

I'm not a doctor, so this is just based on my experience taking it and my knowledge being a healthcare professional....but I hope this helps a little.
-It does not typically cause insomnia and anxiety. I never noticed this.

-The hypomania could be that your BP symptoms are "leaking through" the meds. Lamictal is shown to be more effective in preventing full-blown episodes rather than treating acute mania or hypomania when used as monotherapy. A few of my add-on meds with the Lamictal helped wipe out some of the residual symptoms and did not give me side effects. I'm not on stabilizers like Depakote or Lithium due to Lamictal having less side effects for me.
-I do believe insomnia and anxiety can possibly be withdrawal affects from the antidepressant. I absolutely experienced this.
-As far as your last question, the rash usually occurs in the beginning of treatment or when you aren't tapering up correctly. If you've been on it for a little while and the rash did not occur, then you are more likely to be someone who will never get the rash. However, this does not mean Lamictal is right for you. Maybe give it time?

Today is my first day having to be at work with the extra 50mg Lamictal in the morning on top of my normal night time dose. Here's hoping I stay awake.