Lamictal / Lamotrigine for bipolar?

Do any of you know how lamictal/lamotrigine works for bipolar II? Bad side effects? I am taking lithium and celexa right now. How is it compared to lithium? my psychiatrist is thinking of switching me, but I'm a bit scared given that it is an anti-convulsant.

My daughter who is 16 is taking Lamictal for bi-polar- she has had no side effects and is feeling great..

I took lamictal for several months and saw no side effects at all. Unfortunately, I didn't see any improvement from the drug, but that varies from person to person I'm sure.

Lamictal is effective for BP-II, addresses the depressive end quite well.
I had converted over to that when my pdoc had recommended I give it a try, and over the few years I've been using it, I have had no problems with it. Where, my brother, who is BP-I, who leans towards mania more than depression, didn't do well with Lamictal, it just caused him to become more manic.
He had been on Lithium for over 30yrs but had to switch due to recent health problems. After Lamictal was tried and his mania went over the edge, they put him on Tegratol, it's been a few weeks and he's adjusted to it quite well.
We are keeping our fingers crossed that this new alternative will give him stabilization as well as the Lithium had all these years.
The change to Lamictal was good for me, cause AD's(one was Celexa too) sort of pooped out, and being DXed as BP-II mild, I really needed an AD more than something for hypomania (which I hardly ever had) so I tried Lamictal, in fact from 200mg I'm down to the lowest therapeutic dose of 150mg.
Lithium, is great and also was used as an anti-convulsant in a certain way.
As the old saying goes, some meds work for some and some don't work for others, so you'd need to try it out before you and your pdoc will know if Lamictal is the better alternative. To reduce side effects, it must be titrated slowly. I haven't had any side effects, but some people do.
I like that I didn't get drowsy or have any extra weight gains, like some other mood stabilizers cause.
I'd give it a try if I were you and your pdoc suggested to do so, but that has to be your own decision first.
Lots of luck with whatever way you go.

I currently take Lamictal. I have no side effects from it at all. I've been taking it for three years along with other meds including Lithium, however, I went off of Lithium a year ago because of the weight gain.

I take lamictal, but not for bipolar. I do not have side effects. Seems like a pretty clean drug.

I took Lamictal for a short time, but got such a bad rash from it (one of the minority) that I had to stop taking it.

Hope it works for you.

Mary Alice

I took the entire starter pack sample from my pdoc. I have GAD, Social phobia, panic disorder, and rapid cycling bipolar.

The Lamictal completely wired me out. It mad me a nervous wreck.

Pdoc changed to 400 mg Seroquel along with the Zoloft, Xanax, and Ambien, just to name a few.

Most people have little or no side affects from Lamictal. It's just not for me!!!

I have been on Lamictal and Lithium for five years now. This combo seems to work well for me. I had a little weight gain from the lithium until my body adjusted to it. (I have since lost the weight I gained) How meds affect a person is different for everyone. I can't take any anti depressants period. They put me in an extremely bad mania that is hard to control.

I have been on Lamictal and Luvox now for the past 10 months and I feel great. I have the usual breaks in my cycling, but that's because I needed an adjustment on Lamictal. I have a new pdoc who's wonderful and very reknown in his field. I like him. He had to double the dose of Lamictal as I was only getting 50 mgs. a day. So far, so good.
I have Bi-polar 1 disorder. Before being properly diagnosed I was a basket case. Did things I can not today understand why. My T and I are exploring those areas, and trying to make sense of them. I'm getting excellent care.
I can't complain.

I was on both Lamictal and Topamax. Here is what I experienced:

Lamictal: Very painful mouth sores (I'm prone to them though) and these stopped immediately after transitioning to Topamax. I was also angrier at night much like I experienced taking Wellbutrin.

Topamax: Best advice is to take this in the evening when you do not need to focus. I do have ADD and take Adderall and Prozac for depression already but this drug put me in a state of complete fog.

I couldn't put words together, I zoned out at work and in fact, I am way behind now because of that. This is mainly when I took it during the day (25mg 2x per day). Switching to nighttime helped a little but now that I have been off of this for a few weeks now, I feel much much better and can work, focus etc.

Also, I hesitate to post this because I don't know for sure if either of these drugs caused this but I developed purplish-dot like spots (some raised and most not raised) in the genital area.

I have vascular issues so my OB said it is probably related to that but honestly, this has NEVER EVER happened to me before taking either of these drugs.

I've seen my OB twice about this and she says they are nothing more than the raised blood clot like type bumps we get on our arms or legs and not an STD of any kind.

I'm waiting to see if these disaappear as they have not yet. Again, it may not be the medicine causing these but I didn't have them ever in my 37 years on this earth until I started on these two drugs.

Hope this helps

I've been on Lamictal (with Abilify & 4 more drugs) for bipolar 1. I'm now taking 300 mg.daily & it seems to help combat the depression. I haven't had any bad side effects from it, like I did with Lithium (impaired kidney function, hair loss, fatigue), or Geodon (incredible sleepiness--fell asleep driving & dizziness). Lamictal seems to be a good drug for me. Many people in my support group are on it--both bipolar & schizophrenic.--Suzy.

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