Lamictal

Anyone else feel a little fuzzy on Lamictal? My pdoc today said my mind seemed a little more disorganized. My temper is better in check, but I think my driving is worse, maybe I'm just a little less "with it" in general. I don't really care that much about being super sharp anymore. I mean I'm not in a competitive academic environment or anything. My goals in life are pretty domestic. I see my pdoc again this coming Tuesday, but I'm not sure what if anything I want to adjust or try. . . I'm thinking raise the Topomax cause maybe that will give me some more energy or same with the Welbutrin. Or just stay the same. Part of me wants to Raise the Lamictal even more just so I'm on the same in the PM as I am on in the AM, but that may be a little of obsessive. The rationale for that would be to have a steady supply of Lamictal in me so I'm at the same energy level throughout the day and not grumpier or hungrier at any one time. . . I also was thinking of starting an SSRI again.

I'm diagnosed with Schizoaffective Disorder
150mg Topomax
300mg Lamictal
15mg Zyprexa
90mg Buspore
150mg Welbutron

When I am fighting through a depressive episode, my thinking always becomes a bit "fuzzy." Every time I see my pdoc, I tend to complain about my cognition. I really can't attribute it to any particular med but like you, I am on 300mg of lamictal and have been for years. I was just put on Wellbutrin as that is suppose to help with both energy and minimizes cognition issues. Too early to tell as it has only been a few short weeks. Hope you start feeling better soon

hi. lamictal can dull the mind a bit. i have an acquaintance...she had to have her dosage reduced, because she was having trouble finding words towards the end of the day.

topomax has a -very- bad reputation for slowing cognitive function, so that could be part of the problem, too.

I find that just about all (maybe all??) psych meds do what you've described.

Wow Laurie! That is a sweeping generalization. I would expect a member of NAMI would be better informed. It might feel like that if you are on the manic side of bi- polar, but other than that too much of a generalization.

Everyone reacts differently to psych meds especially as everyone is also usually on a different med combo, which can be at play too. I never had issues with Lamictal, but one time in graduate school, I was on a med cocktail that caused me to forget the names of very commonly used tools in my area (microbiology). This was bad as I was a TA/RA and had to teach microbiology lab to undergraduates 3 times a week. It got so bad, I had to get a med change. I just couldn’t teach in that state!

Except for the nightmares and teeth issues, lamictal has worked wonders for me.

How rude.
Perhaps it feels to you like a sweeping generalization but to me, with the experience I have of being on over 30 psych meds in the past 32 years, I have had the sensation of almost all psych meds having the effect of causing me to be somewhat light-headed/fuzzy-minded. Regardless of what you post, or what you think about my NAMI work, I feel what I feel. It is thought that perhaps I have some type of seizure disorder; perhaps that could be responsible for the way my brain feels.
At any rate, whatever the cause, I have told the truth about my experience and I would appreciate if you don't run me down for doing so. Thank you.

i agree that -most- psych drugs tend to numb the emotions and slow the mind. its not always terrible, but...it is what it is. the only major exception i can think of are the stimulants, and those of course can cause psychosis and agitation. awesome.

i do appreciate the lamictal because having 200mgs of lamictal on board=lower dose of a tranquilizer, while still getting things under control. of course...some people have horrible reactions to the anti-seizure drugs, including suicidal stuff and agitation...so that's not always a good fix for some people.

the psych drugs are known to slow people down and numb emotions. that's why the tranquilizers are used at high doses as "chemical restraints" in psych hospitals, why vets use the old school tranquilizers to make animals docile, and why Thorazine is still sometimes used as part of pre-operative sedation cocktails. the anti-seizure drugs are also used to help agitation and anger, as an alternative to (or to boost) tranquilizers.

A good, informative post, still_crazy. I am fully supportive of taking med when needed (I certainly need them). But, yes...the side effects are very real.

Could be symptoms or could be side effects from meds. You have two things working against you — anti-epileptic/mood stabilizers tend to cause cognitive slowing/dulling and Topamax is one of the b biggest offenders (some call it "dopamax")

I take Lamictal (100 mg) but haven't had this issue. I took Topamax in the past and got very fuzzy. As others have said it could be your mental illness itself. Hard to tell really, may take some trial and error with meds to figure out. I hope it gets sorted out soon.