Lamictal and pms

I get depressed for a week. I cry every night. I don't go out and feel worthless. Then I get super happy. Like right now, I'm so happy that I can't even concentrate on revising and I have my finance final in a week. I'm always out. I drink. I feel oblivious and don't care about college. I'm so horny. I'm very outgoing and impulsive. I can't sleep. I want to reinvent myself, buy new clothes, pick up new hobbies... and then boom I hit depression again.
I doubt it's my menstrual cycle because there have been multiple times I was depressed when I'm ovulating. But I'm almost always depressed during PMS. 21 Female. 400mg lamictal

I already messaged my dr. but figured it couldn’t hurt to get other opinions lol.
So I’m nonbinary and have been on low dose testosterone since November or so, 2 pumps of gel a day. I typically a pump an arm in the morning (and am a night showerer), but every once in a while I’ll switch up time or location if I forget.
I just did bloodwork yesterday and learned my T levels were 2.88 ngl/mL, whereas they were 3.82 ng/mL in December and 0.245 in October.
My estradiol results were 66.2 pg/mL, but in December they were 28.6 pg/mL. Besides starting Lamictal about a month and a half ago, I haven’t made any changes to my medicine or anything.
Could this be due to poor T gel absorption? I’ve seen some gradual changes (a little more facial and body hair, voice dropping, some bottom growth) but it definitely seemed to have hit a plateau earlier this year — and now I see why lol. I’ve also been more fatigued than usual lately, but it could just be PMS. I may try to switch to shots if the gel seems to be absorbing poorly, but my one minor concern is it’ll be a major change in pace from gel, which has been pretty gradual. If that’s the case, couldn’t I just stop once I’ve reached the changes I want?
Thanks in advance for reading and your input 🤍

Hi folks. What impact does Lamictal have on hormones? My doctor recently bumped up my lamictal from 100mg to 200mg, and decreased my lithium from 900mg to 750mg.
I started experiencing really bad PMS symptoms around 1-2 days after ovulation. Exhaustion, nausea. It lasts for about a week.
I normally walk 90 minutes daily (or run for 60 minutes), I generally have great endurance and stamina… but the last two months I could barely walk 45 minutes, and when I do, I’m dragging most of the time.
I know that lamictal impacts estrogen; given these symptoms, I’m thinking it impacts progesterone, too?
Can you provide any insight, share any papers or web resources that explains the interactions between hormones (especially fluctuations in menstrual cycle) and lamictal?
Thank you so much.

Hi everyone,
So I also have a bipolar 2 diagnosis - in addiction to ASD/ADHD Dx - and especially struggle with dysregulation during PMS and at 45 my hormones are changing and it's all worse.
Long story short, was on Strattera 80 mg for 1.5 years, got off a month ago due to mild-moderate digestive issues, this month the rage and emotional dysregulation was too much.
Like an hour ago I felt so impulsive like I was going to go off to a fancy hotel for two nights for a staycation I can't afford and drop out of my life for two days - it was the only solution I had to deal with my bizarre "I can't Anything" mood. Had a massive meltdown (alone) in the car with an unexpected traffic jam today and I still haven't recovered from the rage spell. Been on shutdown, low lights, feeding myself good food... so glad I live alone.
It was so bad this night I just wound up taking a Straterra 80 mg. And within like one hour night and day - I'm already calmer and without 100 thoughts screaming in my head and I no longer have this feeling like I want to crawl out of my skin. Also: I don't feel hopeless about life.
Strattera may help with focus and task initiation for some - but the main thing it does for me is regulate emotions, cut down rage. I need the Vyvanse for task initiation.
I'm also on lamictal and bupropion.
Wondering if any of you feel this. Most subs everyone hates on strattera nonstop - kinda baffles me, but all the psychotropic drugs I take usually do exactly what they're designed to do perfectly. Sometimes I wonder if it has to do with TSH level.

Hello. Im 26(f) and i would like to hear mostly women opinion/advice/experience because its a question about Birth Control. Im sorry if its weird to ask here but I dont know what to do. So I noticed in the last 2 years my PMS symptoms has drastically increased. 2 weeks after ovulation is just pure hell of mood swings, anger, cry spells, gi issues, bloating, breast pain, insomnia, fatigue and just extreme acne(face, back, chest). I always had pms but it wasn’t that extreme and at this point it interferes greatly with my life and connections with people. I’m just exhausted to feel this way every month. I want to point out that i suffer from GAD and depression for years and have been on couple of SSRI and now Im back on paxil 40mg +lamictal 50mg its been almost month and i just increased the dose I think it helped just a bit and too early to judge based on previous experience. Anyways, I also want to point out since my period began at the age of 13 I experience extreme pain everytime to the point I faint and cannot even stand. It last for day or two and I have really heavy flow. I mentioned this to couple of obgyn and all of them just said “its normal” or “after birth it will be easier”. I never got offered BC which is idk good or bad but lately I have been thinking about this option. I know everybody experience is diff and I have read a lot of bad and great things. The issue is that as much as it lowers risk of certain cancers i also understood it increases the risk of breast cancer. I have fibrocystic breasts and benign lumps since the age of 17. In november 2023 i had a surgery to remove intraductal papilloma and keeping up with check ups every 6 months. This is the only thing that stops me from trying the pill. 1 out of 8 women gets breast cancer and I have higher risk. As much as its treatable nowadays its still scary to receive such a diagnosis. But im also very tired to go through hell every month. So please can anybody advise me what should I do? Should I risk or no? Thank you.

I'm 41. My wife is 39 years old. No kids, although she wants to have one within the next year or so (how realistic that is remains to be seen, given everything else). We've been married for 5 years, dating for 7, and friends for over a decade.
She's always struggled with depression, but the past year has been awful for her, and by extension, for me. I almost don't know where to start. When we started dating, she was diagnosed as bipolar II with generalized anxiety disorder and was on a combination of medications (Wellbutrin and Lamictal) that seemed to keep it largely under control. Medications changed and were adjusted over the years, but she was an independent, functional adult with a job and hobbies and friends. She'd be depressed occasionally, sometimes severely, and she would occasionally engage in some self-harm behavior, but she actively worked on it all with a therapist.
Things started to spiral a bit in 2021 during the height of the COVID lockdowns, leading to two hospitalizations with one serious suicide attempt, leading to her quitting her job. She recovered from those and found a new job. In November 2022, she had a Mirena IUD implanted because she kept missing work due to horrible period cramps. Within 3 months, her depression and anxiety were uncontrollable. She quit her job. She ended up hospitalized twice in 2023 for suicide attempts. The IUD was removed in April 2023 because it was clearly making everything worse.
By this point, she was on Cymbalta, Lithium, Depakote, Latuda, Ativan, and probably more that I'm forgetting -- the entire pharmacy of medications from psychiatrists who shrug and throw more medication at every problem. We attempted Ketamine therapy for months. None of it worked. She had no motivation. She slept 14 hours a day. She gained 60 lbs. And she was still depressed.
We found a great doctor who identified a few problems:

1. She's not bipolar.
2. She has a massive hormone imbalance. Every suicide attempt was immediately before her period.
3. She's overmedicated
4. She has Lyme disease

So, we've been working with him for the past 9 months. Her medications are currently Ativan, Progesterone, Latuda, Pristiq, and clomipramine, although she's weaning off of clomipramine because it doesn't do anything for her. She's also a week into Buspar and beta blockers to help combat anxiety and wean off of benzos. She's made great strides, but we're still not out of the woods. Just last weekend, the combination of PMDD/PMS and clomipramine withdrawal caused a major depressive episode that required me to keep blocking her from leaving the house to go jump in front of a car.
Her current state, mostly, is bored and anxious. One of the only consistent sources of relief she has is THC, so she's high all the time. She hasn't left the house on her own for months. She won't go anywhere with me except family functions and doctor visits. Even the prospect of a walk around the park can trigger her. Her doctor is great, her therapist is great, but I feel like we're not making enough progress.
We're trying to address the anxiety issue, but we've now learned that we cannot adjust her medications anywhere near her period, as that has a high likelihood of causing a severe depressive episode. Unfortunately, she was habitually using Ativan to combat anxiety even before all of this, and her usage has increased to the point where she has a prescription for 4 mg a day, and needs that 4 mg to function. It does nothing to cut anxiety anymore.
I'm hoping Buspar helps, but at this point I'm pretty low on hope.
Now, about me...
I have a great WFH job that's allowed me endless latitude -- they understand that at any given time, on any given day, I might just have to stop working and be completely unresponsive. There are days where she needs babysitting from the moment she wakes up to the moment she goes to sleep -- my job those days is to keep her distracted as much as I can.
I'm just exhausted. I do all of the housework. I care for the cats. I work a full-time job. I have to constantly monitor her mood and dispense medications; everything is locked up and only I have the key. I get no time to myself and can't really leave the house except for brief jaunts to the grocery store to pick up essentials or medications when she seems stable. And I've learned at this point that I have to act like everything is okay at all times, because suggesting that she do something that she doesn't do can be enough to trigger intense feelings of self-loathing in her, which usually comes out in some sort of self-harm. And that's been my life for months with no end in sight.
When she's severely depressed, it's incredibly physically and emotionally stressful for me -- she is absolutely a danger to herself. However, I refuse to call the police and have her hospitalized for a fifth time. The first four experiences were so traumatic and unproductive for her that I can't bring myself to do it to her.
The crushing daily anxiety of whether her mood will shift has me constantly on edge. I have no specific purpose for posting here other than to vent a bit and hopefully get some other perspectives. Thanks for reading.

I was on Gabapentin for almost 5 years when suddenly it stopped working and instead of chilling me out at night so I could sleep, it was making me have hypomanic episodes. My therapist suggested Lamictal and I had read so many good things here about it so I made the switch and was excited. Everything was going fine during my titration period until I hit 100mg.
Suddenly I noticed that my hands, feet and sometimes even my lips would be swollen or feel tight in the morning. Then a knot showed up on the lymph node in my neck. I've had swollen glands before due to illness but never a knot. Additionally I had a rash pop on my legs and of course that awful dry throat. So I called the Nurse Line and told them what was going on, she said it didn't seem like an Emergency but to go to an Urgent Care clinic just to be sure. My provider network doesn't have a Clinic so I had to use a different hospital and LEMME TELL YOU - I was not impressed.
First of all, the PA felt my neck and then told me that I have "acne" and that was what's causing the knot on my lymph node. For starters - I do not have acne. I do however have large pores and use a shit ton of hair products so yeah - the pores get a little clogged, but its not pimples (like an infection) and I've been dealing with these large pores my whole life and have never gotten a knot on my lymph node due to it. I used to see an esthetician, but that didn't really help so whatever.
Then - I showed her the rash on my legs and she said they were just ingrown hairs. I wish I could show you this rash. It is NOT ingrown hairs!!! Its all over my legs!!! In spots where there is no hair and also you can feel a damn ingrown hair. These are flat and larger than a hair follicle. But at this point this lady wasn't listening to me at all so I just gave up. I told her I would go back down to 75mg of the Lamictal, she said that was probably fine, gave me an antibiotic and I went on my way.
I noticed the next morning (yesterday) after going back down to 75mg the swelling in my hands, feet and lips didn't happen. It also felt like the knot was gone too (could have been the antibiotic) but suddenly there was now a blister in my mouth. Additionally the rash was still on my legs, possibly getting worse. I tried to just ignore it because I assumed my psychiatrist would call me this the morning, but she didn't. So about 2 hours ago when I hadn't heard from my psychiatrist I called the nurse line again and now they want me to go to the ER.
I am just so pissed off. I'm annoyed that my psychiatrist didn't call me. I'm annoyed that the PA didn't listen to me and most importantly I'm annoyed that this medication isn't going to work for me (at least that's what I assume). I feel so failed by fellow women doctors who I would expect wouldn't treat another women the same way most doctors who are men do. Wasted money going to Urgent Care and now I have to go to the ER on top of that on a busy Monday evening after work.
I'm just screaming into the void right now (its also PMS time) but I guess I just expect better in 2024.
Thanks for reading (Edited for Typos)

17f, taking 1000mg Diamox, 100mg Lamictal, 10mg Propranolol, 50mg Trazodone, 20mg Omeprazole. I have a few diagnosed health conditions (IBS, inappropriate sinus tachycardia, idiopathic intracranial hypertension). So for background I am a heavy bleeder, more than average, and I always have had severe painful periods. This includes cramps, leg pain, back pain, headaches, etc. I have NEVER missed a period and it's always been this way, causing me lots of problems. I also get insane bloating, nausea, etc. Ever since November 2023 my cycle has been off. I got my period November 17th and it was extremely lighter than usual. I had no cramps. I didn't think much of it, I just assumed I got lucky, although I was abnormally bloated. My bloating and PMS kinda symptoms never went away, and my entire period skipped December completely for whatever reason. I understand this can be normal so I tried to just shrug it off. Although I was feeling bloated, having mood swings, feeling really warm, having cramps, etc. Then my period came in the beginning of January and again it was very light and lasted literally like 1 or 2 days. My cycle is always 4 days.. And now my period isn't here again this month. I did not ovulate this month at all. I have been having severe cramps as if my period is here for a round 4 days now, and I'm extremely bloated and moody. I had a pelvic ultrasound back in 2022 that was normal and I had my androgen levels checked and everything was okay. My doctors (endocrinologist and gyno) will not do any more testing on me and say it's fine and nothing is wrong. I do not have PCOS or any other conditions. I am not stressed and no diet changes...What the hell is going on 😭 Is this normal?? I am in agony right now with these cramps and I didn't even ovulate. I am so confused. Could I have a different hormone imbalance? Idk someone please help 😭 I can't deal with this

17f, taking 1000mg Diamox, 100mg Lamictal, 10mg Propranolol, 50mg Trazodone, 20mg Omeprazole. I have a few diagnosed health conditions (IBS, inappropriate sinus tachycardia, idiopathic intracranial hypertension). So for background I am a heavy bleeder, more than average, and I always have had severe painful periods. This includes cramps, leg pain, back pain, headaches, etc. I have NEVER missed a period and it's always been this way, causing me lots of problems. I also get insane bloating, nausea, etc. Ever since November 2023 my cycle has been off. I got my period November 17th and it was extremely lighter than usual. I had no cramps. I didn't think much of it, I just assumed I got lucky, although I was abnormally bloated. My bloating and PMS kinda symptoms never went away, and my entire period skipped December completely for whatever reason. I understand this can be normal so I tried to just shrug it off. Although I was feeling bloated, having mood swings, feeling really warm, having cramps, etc. Then my period came in the beginning of January and again it was very light and lasted literally like 1 or 2 days. My cycle is always 4 days.. And now my period isn't here again this month. I did not ovulate this month at all. I have been having severe cramps as if my period is here for a round 4 days now, and I'm extremely bloated and moody. I had a pelvic ultrasound back in 2022 that was normal and I had my androgen levels checked and everything was okay. I do not have PCOS or any other conditions. I am not stressed and no diet changes...What the hell is going on 😭 Is this normal?? I am in agony right now with these cramps and I didn't even ovulate. I am so confused. Could I have a different hormone imbalance? Idk someone please help 😭 I can't deal with this

I just found out recently that I likely have PMDD at age 26 (almost 27). I've probably had it since my early teens. I was diagnosed with bipolar 2 disorder and thought that's why I had mood swings, I didn't really connect it to my cycle. I got on nexplanon a few years ago, my doctor said it might help with my mood swings, didn't mention PMDD or anything but I thought hey why not and went on it without doing any research. I didn't really notice that it was helping with my mood, because I was still often depressed, but my period stopped, and I was happy about that, so I kept it. I didn't have a period for 3 years and it was great, but it came back, so I got it replaced. I had the new one for a year and I was spotting all the time and had a ravenous appetite. I decided to get it out. My first period after getting it out, I hit the absolute depths of despair. I was so tired, so hopeless, and just wanted to die. Then I binged on a bunch of food. I remembered thinking that it used to be like this, that I'd forgotten it was so bad every time. A while after that, I came across a video on PMDD, and everything she was saying was just me to a tee. She even said people with PMDD are often misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder. Something about that diagnosis never fit quite right. I took lamictal to stabilize my mood, but it didn't seem to do anything. Prozac helped me though.
Since then, I've had a few more cycles, all terrible, flipping my life upside down every time. I think I didn't connect it to my cycle because to be honest, I wasn't familiar with the menstrual cycle until recently. I think I knew vaguely that there were different phases, but it didn't seem important or relevant to me, lol. I thought PMS was just something that happened one week to a few days before ones period, so I probably discounted anything outside of that as not related to my cycle, even though I now know the luteal phase is around two weeks. For me, when the PMDD hits doesn't seem to follow a particular pattern each time. This time it was the entire luteal phase, last time it was during my period, the time before that it was just 3-4 days before my period, so I think to me it probably just seemed like random mood swings. I don't know if I ever would have put it together if I didn't come off birth control and seen that video. My Mom said it was clear to her that it had something to do with my cycle, and in fact she encouraged me to go on birth control in the first place. She had never heard of PMDD though, but she probably had it as well, but her issues have gone away in menopause.
I'm probably going to try another birth control soon, probably Yaz, because I can't do this anymore, I really can't. It's ruining my life. I wish nexplanon worked for me as well as it did those first three years, but even when I got it replaced and was bleeding and hungry all the time, that was better than this, to be honest. I've been trying so hard to do everything right-- meditation, yoga, journaling, healthy diet, lots of exercise, supplements (dim, vitex, evening primrose), sleep, and those things normally help me (when I'm a normal human being having normal human being problems), but seem to do nothing in the wake of PMDD. Prozac is the only thing that helps a bit. Since getting off nexplanon, more than half the time I've been either extremely irritable, or borderline suicidal and exhausted.
On the one hand, discovering I have PMDD has been a huge a-ha moment that has explained so much and I guess I'm glad I know now, but on the other hand, this really sucks. How and at what age did you find out you had it? What was your reaction to finding out? Has anything worked for you to make it more manageable?

Me: 39F, appendectomy in April ‘23. I have an IUD (it was replaced in May because it was discovered to be implanted during my CT for appendix). Meds- lamictal 200mg, adderal XR 20mg (when I can get it). Occasionally take THC gummies to help sleep ~5mg. Moderate alcohol use, a little higher during the holidays but I’ve only had about 3 drinks in the last couple of weeks.
I had a suspected ovarian cyst on the right when I was 19 that I was hospitalized overnight for. I think I had another one when I was 22 but didn’t go in for it.
Problem: A few months ago I had some pain in my lower right abdomen but it resolved in that day. 2 days ago the pain came back and lasted pretty much all day, pain level ~6/10 but more like 7 or 8/10 when I pushed on it. For the last 2 days, it’s been ~3/10 and I don’t always feel it but it’s worse when I move or bend in some positions.
I was ready to go to the ED the other day if the pain increased or continued at that pain level. Since it’s decreased, I figured it’s not an emergency.
The first thing that comes up on google is obviously an appendicitis, which is impossible. My husband joked that it’s phantom appendix pain, which is what it feels like.
What could it be or why would it come and go? I don’t get my period or have any pms symptoms due to my IUD. At what point should I get it checked out?
Thanks in advance

Not sure if this is the best place to ask this. But I am on lamictal and I’m sure there’s several of you here that are on that too or have been. My dose was increased to 100mg about 1.5 weeks ago. I have been a little nauseous the past few days. I attributed it to PMS or something. But today my HR has stayed above 120 a vast majority of the day. Even when sitting. And then increases upon standing. And dizziness. Is it possible this related to lamictal? Or maybe just my underlying anxiety? I didn’t really feel anxious enough to warrant such a HR… so idk.

Recently I started the mood stabilizer Lamictal for depression and it’s worked great. I’m on 50 mg and feel better than I have in years! However, Lamictal’s efficacy is reduced by 30-40% with hormonal birth control.
I didn’t do well with the buffering monthly surge in the medication. I tried taking my active BC pills constantly, but that didn’t work.
So I stopped hormonal BC and it’s been great up until the week before my period. Now that I actually get a period (and not just hormonal my induced withdrawal bleeding) my ADHD symptoms are exponentially higher. I’m due to get my period in a few days, but starting 10 days out I felt a brain fog settle in… now it’s full force!
I’ve been losing important shit, exhausted, mixing up dates, and making all sorts of typos and work mistakes…
I’m prioritizing the Lamictal so my birth control pills (and I think most other hormonal contraceptives are off the table). Any tips on how to combat raging PMS induced ADHD symptoms? Also, I take 30 mg of vyvanse daily. 😒

I’m so new to my diagnosis, barely diagnosed in May. Prior to that my symptoms were very mild, I didn’t believe I was bipolar at all, it felt more like exaggerated PMS symptoms. Overall I was just more of a very anxious person. I was put on Lamictal which immediately alleviated my decade long GAD but that’s when my bipolar symptoms started to shine through. Even in this last month or so, I went about 10 days feel so depressed, asleep or half asleep most of the day, no energy for anything. Then I was normal for about a week or two. Now in the last two days, I can feel the hypomania brewing. I’ve slept about 5 hours the last two nights, mind racing and feeling like i’m on acid every time I close my eyes. I’m spending more money on skin care and random shit I don’t need. My carpet is softer, my bed is so comfy, like I took a microdose of molly, my whole body is buzzing. And yet I still feel like it’s not real because it’ll probably only last a week at most. I hear of people going MONTHS either depressed or manic. I’m scared I’m making it all up.

I was diagnosed recently. This week I started to take Lamictal 100mg, I didn't even get to full dose. I still took 0.25. Though according to my psychiatrist, I have bipolar 1, I didn't have episodes of mania, only light depression and hypomania. Within the last year every month during PMS, I'm getting triggered by something, I break up with my bf, couple days later I understand that it wasn't worth it, convince him that it wasn't me, it's hysteria, PMS or something else. Last hysteria was just awful, I've never felt that way. I was crying, throwing things, saying awful things, beating him while he tried to calm me down. It's getting worse. I just want to know has any woman with bipolar experienced such episodes related to menstrual cycle? I just don't want to hurt people that love me because of my illness. P.S. I haven't shared these episodes with my psychiatrist yet, I will discuss it on the next week.

This wound up being way longer than expected so I apologize! But anyone willing to give it a read and maybe give some insight/share experiences, it would help me tremendously! About three months ago, I was having complications with getting my birth control from the pharmacy. Incredibly frustrated, I gave up on using the pill (which I have been on since 2016) and said I would consult about switching to the nexplanon implant. When I set up a telehealth meeting, this nurse was the first one in the 7 months that I have been on my medications to tell me that the specific birth control I was on was keeping my lamictal from working (in addition to this I am also on Wellbutrin). I was fuming. I would always specifically ask about my birth control and anyone I saw professionally always said it wasn’t an issue. Anyways, they said they would call me back and we could schedule for the implant. They never called. This was also right in the process of me training for a second job, so before you know it, I realized that I never reached out and had started my new cycle without any birth control for the first time since I was a teenager (I’m currently 23). At first, it felt like a drastic difference both physically and mentally in a positive way. I was telling myself that now the lamictal was finally starting to work. But at the same time, I have a bad tendency to get in my head about placebo-ing myself with things, so I couldn’t tell if that was really the case or if I was just in my head (probably a little bit of both). Looking back on it, I think that going off of the birth control incited an episode. I convinced myself that the birth control was a major restriction in my life and that I didn’t want to get back on it. I’m now theorizing this because I have always been incredibly adamant on being on birth control as I do not ever want kids. I also had first gone on birth control as a teen to help with severe period cramps. Well once the first period off the pill rolled around, physically I felt fine. In fact, I barely had any cramping at all. I got super excited and thought that I was maybe in the clear for not having to worry about that anymore. I did, however, have a few very rough days before the period, but the second it started they went away so I just blew it off as usual PMS. Since the next period came around though, it was worse. Significantly worse. I had maybe the worst cramps I’ve had in my entire life, it took me almost two hours just to get myself into my car and to the pharmacy for midol, something I didn’t have because my cramps are never bad enough to need it anymore. I was able to get to a manageable point with the physical symptoms eventually, but the real problem was the mental stuff. The days leading up to that period I was in a state that I was just having meltdown over meltdown. The only thing I can compare it to was when I missed a few days of my meds due to traveling complications. Looking back, I did realize that I always have pretty rough mental PMS but that it was never this bad. I talked to my psychiatrist and she said she definitely thinks I suffer from PMDD (pre menstrual dysphoric disorder). I should also probably note that I am genderfluid, so I deal with a lot of really bad gender dysphoria and I do think that can be enhanced with menstruation as well. She said that some people are given a slightly higher dosage of their meds for those few days before their period. However, since I’m on Wellbutrin and not an SSRI, it wouldn’t be effective in that way. She pitched trying to switch to Zoloft but I just don’t want to jump the shark like that because I’ve always been a little nervous to switch to an SSRI. So the other primary option is to get back on birth control. I now know I need to get back on it, so that’s the first step I’m taking. I’m still leaning towards nexplanon, but figured I would still at least ask about anyone else’s experiences with different types of birth control and their medications. I also wasn’t sure if there was some sort of connection between the bipolar and the PMDD. Has anyone else experienced this? Or does anyone else think that their bipolar mentally has an effect on their menstrual cycle, or vice versa?

I was prescribed Yaz but I am so scared to start it. I had the Mirena IUD before and it was absolutely awful. I gained a lot of weight, was moody, and didn’t feel like myself. So, I got it removed, felt great and back to normal then got pregnant of course.😵‍💫 So now I have a 7month old, I really don’t want to get pregnant again for a couple years, but I also don’t want to feel awful with birth control. Yes, I know everyone has different experiences, but I haven’t seen any positive reviews or stories with Yaz and I’m trying to decide if I want to risk the side effects and disrupt my good mental state that’s hard to keep. I currently take Lamictal for mood disorders so I am prone to emotional turbulence already! I know Yaz is FDA approved for PMDD, but I see so many reviews saying women experience crazy mood problems and PMS anyways. Idk, Im just stressed. Pull out method and condoms are not something my partner and I are great at doing/ remembering (obviously) so yeah anyways. sos

39/f, 5’5” 138 lbs. I’m on oral birth control pill, Lamictal and Lexapro (for depression and anxiety, which is well managed right now). None of these medications are new. I also have mild sleep apnea.
On 6/14 I was diagnosed with strep throat after a day of feeling lethargic/sore throat. I recognized the white spots right away, got swabbed at urgent care and started amoxicillin. About four days after starting the meds I felt 100% better. I continued the course of antibiotics until it was done.
On 6/29 I started feeling sick again. Exhausted, lethargic, body aches, sore throat, lots of post nasal drop. No fever. I went back to urgent care on 7/1, was re-swabbed and strep came back negative this time. I didn’t have white spots. (And a few days later the sample they sent to a lab came back negative as well). The doctor thought it could be symptoms lingering even though the virus was gone. I noted that my husband had also been sick with some kind of virus when I had strep and he had tested negative. So we assumed that I had just been unlucky and caught another virus. I was pretty sick from this, it was worse than the strep, which was mild.
I finally started feeling better around 7/6 or 7/6. Felt like my normal self for a few days, until around 7/10.. I had a few days of extreme exhaustion, which I thought was due to pms. But then by 7/13 I was feeling pretty sick again. The symptoms were very similar to the last time. Exhaustion, body aches, post nasal drip that keeps me coughing at night, scratchy throat (NOT a sore throat, no swelling. I can tell it’s from the post-nasal drip, not swollen tonsils or anything). No fever but I just feel hot and sweaty all the time.
I’m getting depressed that I’ve been sick on and off so long. I haven’t worked out much in the past few weeks, which I usually do regularly. I’m having trouble getting anything done because I’m so tired. But I’m not “laying in bed sick”. I’m still getting out of the house and getting things done, just feeling super shitty while doing it.
It kind of reminds me of mono, but I had that when I was a teen and I wasn’t sure if the fact that we know it was strep initially makes that unlikely. I plan to call and make an appt with my regular doctor this week but I would love to hear any thoughts or ideas. Could this all be related or am I just really unlucky and have a weak immune system?
(I had a negative COVID test)

I'm sorry this is a really long post I'm sorry but I need your input here. I would really appreciate if you read it!
I am kind of at a loss.. I've struggled with emotional regulation and my mood for a few years now. I struggled with "rage" for about 8 years now and I thought it was because of cptsd so I went to counseling and I was still struggling. Last year I was sitting in bed with my daughter and all of a sudden, it felt like my mind switched. I was having suicidal thoughts. I had rarely experienced those and my period was coming up so I thought it was pms. I started going to the gym and was going all out and I was feeling awesome and then I would feel severely depressed and then my period would come. I thought it was maybe pmdd so I met with someone and they put me on Zoloft. It wasn't helping. I felt worse.
I have struggled with bad insomnia majority of my life as well. I would fall asleep around 9 or 10 then wake up at midnight or 1 and be up for hours with a lot of energy and ready to wake up but I wanted to fall back asleep so bad but I just couldn't so I would just be in bed for hours waiting for the sun to rise. I was completely fine for the day day in and day out. Suddenly, those suicidal thoughts and extreme crying spells became ALL THE TIME. It was like my mind was obsessed with hurting me but I didn't want to die and I tried to go to the gym and literally couldn't keep it together I never went back. I didn't want to leave bed my husband and family were constantly receiving calls from me because I was so scared I was going to do something. I met with a NP and she asked about my mood struggles and I shared I had really bad postpartum and I would find myself fixating on somebody one moment wishing they would care about me and want to be my friend then I would be furious and vent to my husband about how terrible they are. Things like that. I thought a lot of my mood shifts were from trauma but I couldn't describe how badly my mood controls me and I feel so disconnected.
She started me on Abilify and it threw me. I wanted to spend lots of money, I had a lot of energy and then I swung the other way into severe depression. She upped my dose and the obsession with hurting myself continued. In January of this year, She changed my medication to Lamictal. I went on a major book obsession I read about 12 books over 400 pages each which was weird for me I've never been into reading and I was joining all the book clubs on social media everything. It lasted exactly 7 days and then I was not interested in reading at all. I still haven't picked up a book since.
In March I again was feeling really spendy and financially very generous. It lasted about 2-3 days and then later one evening I had so much energy I was crawling out of my skin. I was pacing, hyperventilating, sobbing couldn't pull it together. I didn't experience a low after that I did feel like I had a hangover though for about two days.
I met with another doctor and she believes I have bipolar 2 as well as ADHD. My aunt on my moms side and about 5 of my cousins have bipolar. She believes I definitely have it. So she upped my medication. I got very spendy again. Spent about 5000 on furniture for our next place we are moving to. This lasted about 3 days.. I was in the kitchen later in the day and all of the sudden I felt a switched in my mind and got very angry. I was mad at my husband our dogs just randomly. I then bursted into tears again with suicidal thoughts. I began to panic telling my husband he is going to be sick of me and leave me or I'm going to end up taking my own life and not see my daughter grow up. I broke down really bad. The next 2 days I had nothing to give. My energy was very low. I didn't want to get out of bed. On the 3 sad day I felt suicidal again and broke down. The next morning, completely fine. Didnt even think about the days before. I just woke up feeling happy, productive and ready to go. This is how things have been going to me. I am wondering if my medication has caused these "fake" hypomanic episodes, or if my medication isn't working at all or if I dont even have bipolar and I need to start over. My family doesn't believe I have it but they haven't lived around me for years so I really am confused. I dont think I've had hypersexual or risky behaviors in any of these times. I refer to these episodes as mental breakdowns. I struggled with not leaving my house because I was scared of getting kidnapped for about 2 years. I've not come close to that. I do have trauma from growing up but my life is so great and my relationships are great I don't know what the crap is happening. My mood will sometimes be appearing as an episode and last exactly a few days and sometimes my mood will just switched and Ill just burst into tears. I don't know what I should do.
Thank you!

Has anyone been prescribed Lamictal for PMDD or extreme PMS/hormonal issues? After an ER visit from feeling suicidal, restless, and out of control the day before my period, my psych prescribed me 25 mg, which I'm starting tomorrow. I get extreme mood swings starting about a week before my period which usually culminate in an extreme breakdown with suicidal thoughts, self-harm urges, impulsivity and irrationality, and completely uncontrollable moods a day before my period. The day of my period I start to swing the complete opposite way, and I almost go hypomanic with a sudden zest for life, extreme interest in random hobbies and topics, and fast talking. After at least 5 cycles of this, my psych finally suggested Lamictal since my symptoms around my period are a little similar to bipolar symptoms. If anyone else has any experience taking Lamictal for this, I would really appreciate how it made you feel and if it made any difference.

Hey guys.
I just wanted to say that I’m more than halfway done ketamine infusion therapy, and so far it’s been the most helpful thing I’ve ever done in my life.
I’ve gone through DBT so I have the framework, but talk-therapy just… didn’t do anything.
I was on Lamictal until it made me suicidal and gave me a life-threatening rash.
I was switched to Trileptal and it was alright, but it made me gain a lot of weight and made my hair fall out. That made me feel worse than not being on it, so I stopped taking it.
I was rotting in bed for weeks because I’m still suffering from losing my FP 6-months ago when I came across a recommendation for ketamine therapy.
I talked to the doctor who ran the clinic and it didn’t seem woo-woo or sketchy or anything so I decided to go through with it. It’s not like life was getting any better anyways.
I’m on 4 out of 6 treatments so far and nothing in my life has ever made me feel so… normal? It feels like being on mood stabilizers without the hair-loss and numbness. Nothing is as big a deal as it has always felt like it’s been. Everyone isn’t out to get me. I don’t feel as envious and possessive of everyone I love. I was able to go to the park today and just write about my feelings in my journal for a couple hours… I’ve literally never been able to do that in my entire life. Like, not only could I identify what I was feeling, I was able to look at it objectively and describe it and not let it consume me.
The other night I went out with 2 of my close friends (and their boyfriends) who are also close friends with each other and occasionally they would exclude me in conversation (they went to college together and I didn’t). I was able to recognize that it wasn’t on purpose and it wasn’t a reflection of their love for me or of my worth as a person??? Normally that would trigger the fuck out of me. But, like, I was able to realize that when there’s 3 people hanging out who haven’t seen each other in a hot sec, each person will want their one-on-one time. Like, I was slightly jealous when I wasn’t in the conversation, but I would just talk to someone else and then the conversation would naturally flow back so I could be included, and sometimes it would flow where one of my friends would be slightly excluded and that wasn’t me being manipulative or vindictive, it was just…. conversation! Lmfao! (I think everyone with BPD can relate to this and anyone without BPD reading this might think I’m insane.)
I have co-morbid PMDD and I’m currently PMS-ing and, yes, there’s a dip in my mood and I’m a little tired and irritable, but I don’t want to throw myself off a bridge.
However, the caveat is… at least the place I’m going to… it’s expensive. 6 sessions (the recommended amount) is $3300. Insurance doesn’t cover it. I’m paying out-of-pocket.
I also don’t know how long this normalcy will last… but my brain REALLY feels different, I don’t know how to explain it. My thought patterns aren’t the same. Usually at night I want to ruminate and dwell on every single upsetting thing that has ever happened to me, but the impulse is… gone?
Even if I have to get a single infusion yearly ($550) for the rest of my life… At least I’m living life.
And tbh it’s cheaper than talk therapy, which has never actually worked for me because I just wanted the therapist to like me and I would always charm them and they would never actually make me feel better. I’ve been trying to find the right therapist for literally 20 years, and I haven’t had any luck. I know exactly what’s wrong with me. I just can’t (couldn’t?) control my emotions. I physically felt too terrible all the time to ever use my DBT skills to make myself feel better.
Anyone else have this experience? Anyone considering doing ketamine therapy? AMA about the process

I wanted to make this post because I promised myself that if I ever recovered, I would make a post. I remember scrolling through this subreddit when I felt the brain fog, emotional blunting, metabolic crash, exhaustion, hair loss/skin dryness, and of course the sexual dysfunction that was PSSD. I remember what it felt like to tell other people and have no one understand, so I want to pay it forward.
The med that did it: Buspar (buspirone). It's not a common offender for PSSD, but I remember reading that at high levels, it acts similarly to an SSRI. I am a small woman (5'1", 154cm), and I was brought from 0mg (and never took any med in the past) to the max dosage of 60mg in four months. I didn't react well to it, was told by my psychiatrist that I could cold turkey it. I took myself off SUPER fast and crashed. I'm sure the speed at which I was brought up and down played a huge role in what happened after. Perhaps it could have been avoided had I never been on such a high dose.
PSSD period/details: Everything that you could find on this subreddit (symptom-wise) I remember having. My hair was thinning and becoming brittle, my skin looked aged and dried out, I had zero sexual drive or function, no emotions at all, and my brain was dead. Everything had lost its flavor - I didn't care for food (even tho I did eat lol), and I stopped listening to music (and I am trained in classical music). I felt like I was staring at a wall all hours of the day. Early on in withdrawal, I probably did spend multiple hours a day doing that. I couldn't comprehend or do most basic tasks, and I remember starting a job (at a clinic) and being so frustrated that I kept screwing up things that would have come naturally to me before. I actually was unable to hold down two jobs before that one (both due to PSSD). Honestly, I felt like giving up on life, and I did for a while.
My family + another psychiatrist assumed this was caused by depression, and I was started on Lamictal (don't ask me why this was the drug of choice). Lamictal made me angry beyond belief and gave me a painful red rash (I know the Lamictal risk, not sure why the psychiatrist didn't listen). I spent ~3 months on that before realizing that I was constantly having fits of rage, and tapered off of it almost a year ago (and chilled out after lol). The time I spent on lamictal is included in the ~2 year recovery period.
What helped the recovery: I know this is not what anyone wants to hear, but time was the biggest factor. I remember being so irritated whenever I saw a recovery post on here mentioning time, but there is no substitute. I realize I am lucky because people deal with this for far longer than 2 years, and some subredditors believe anything less than 2 years is just a very protracted withdrawal.
I will say that once I began taking DHA fish oil I noticed considerable improvements in brain clarity and thinking. Some people have tried DHA and fish oil supplements and have not seen any results. Who knows, it could just be that time was what healed and the DHA was coincidental, but DHA seemed to work wonders for me when every other supplement did almost nothing. I continue taking it to this day. Additionally, my hair has grown back to full thickness, and my skin looks more normal now. I have been taking a super high dose of biotin, which did not take effect until very recently (3 months in).
What else: Focus on something, anything else. It really sucks to hear this, but it's important to do things until time passes. The time will pass either way, and it will not come back. I was in a set of unideal life circumstances when I had PSSD (as most of us are), and being in an unhappy place made me wanna apply to things (jobs, school) and get my life moving, even though I couldn't enjoy things or feel motivated. Moving my life forward during that time laid a foundation that I'm able to enjoy today. But I will also say I had a period immediately after the crash where I sat and stared at the wall.
I would not assume whether you will or won't get better (I told myself I wouldn't), because your mind will get stuck there. I kept asking myself during my PSSD period if I wanted to leave this earth, knowing I hadn't done at least the best I could, even in my stunted/blunted state. Again, I wanted desperately to be anywhere but what I was.
I'm currently in a Master's program and will interview at the medical school linked to this program in the fall. No, I am not interested in psychiatry, but I will consider doing research on psychiatric drug withdrawal. I was also in a physically intimate relationship recently. It's hard to say whether things are back at full baseline (although I can say my last partner and I had great physical chemistry), but the improvement is absolutely there.
If you're on this subreddit, I'm so sorry this had to happen to you. Truly the best advice I can give is just to keep your life moving until your body (or mind) decides one day to catch up. The only silver lining in this experience was realizing how to listen to and empathize with patients in a way I hadn't before. Hopefully, this can become a norm, and we won't have to hear cases of PSSD in the future.
Take care and godspeed 🙏 I'm open to PMs also!