Uses of lamictal

Hi, just making this post because my psychiatrist said the medication I’m on isn’t commonly used to treat anxiety at the moment, but she prescribed me it and it has helped tremendously.
For context, I’m diagnosed with ptsd, asd, bipolar, and bpd; you might be able to tell that that combination causes me to have a lot of anxiety. I have been constantly anxious for as long as I can remember, I’ve been having panic attacks for over 10 years now, I've started having what my psychiatrist refers to as "stress seizures" — I've tried so many antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, and regular anxiety medications, and none have truly helped much until recently.
My psychiatrist talked to me about a month and a half ago about a medication called Lamictal/Oxcarbazepine. It’s an anti-convulsant medication, obviously used to treat seizures, but it’s written off label for anxiety as well. She said she had never prescribed it to a patient before as the research for it being used for anxiety is fairy recent, but that she wanted to at least try it with me as sort of a last resort. I’d been using Xanax/Klonopin for a long time by then, and I was so tired of being on those meds as I felt I had personally grown too dependent on them. I had actually had to attend a few AA/NA meetings because of that.
Well, I’ve been on Lamictal (75mg) for over a month now combined with Hydroxyzine HCL (25-100mg as needed, can be used every 6 hours) and I’ve genuinely felt the best I’ve felt in my life (anxiety wise). I’m not constantly overthinking, not constantly anxious. I feel.. at peace? I feel good for once, like there’s nothing to really panic over, and I love this feeling.
My psychiatrist said I’m the reason she believes in Lamictal for anxiety, as I’m one of the more “severe” cases she’s had in her words, and that she’s going to consider the medication moving forward for other patients.
I’m just making this post because I know there’s gotta be someone else that’s in my shoes, how I was feeling and how many meds I’d tried without success, and I want that person to know about this medication they may not know about. It’s an anti-seizure medication written as a prescription for anxiety as well, and of course my experience is just my own but I’d suggest talking to your doctor about Lamictal if other medications don’t work. It’s also pretty cheap compared to other meds, only around ~$20 for a month.
Edit: grammar mistake

Important info is in bold. Rest of it are what I am experiencing right now and maybe an idea of having someone close to sleep near or by you. It helps a lot for anxiety and when you wake up in panic.
I've been sleeping next to my parents as lame as that sounds since I become confused and constantly going into panic attacks once my seroquel kicks in. The akathisia is much worse at this time and for hours. I have to take gabapentin a little before my dose to make it somewhat bearable. I'll still be rolling around for hours in a confused and anxious state with what feels like RLS on steroids.
Sleeping next to my parents gives me some peace since I can see them when I feel like I'm starting to slip into a panic attack during my incoherent and panic attack filled phase. I've tried to sleep by my self but I can't stand it as it sends me into full blown panic attacks and just much worst anxiety overall being by my self. It feels like I'm sinking into my bed because my mind is awake but my body feels like it's not there. So I sleep on the floor. It helps me feel grounded.
The worst feeling is my blood pressure drops or at least it feels like it and then tightness and congested feeling of my chest starts once the seroquel is fully working. It feels like I need to manually breathe and it feels like I'm out of breath too. It also feels like I'll die in my sleep from not being able to breathe properly or breathe at all. That's what really sends me in to a panic attack. The inconsistent heart rate and blood pressure doesn't help either.
I will also sit up right in panic sometimes gasping for air or making a sound while sleeping every 20-30mins or every hour or two if I'm lucky. Scared my dad a couple times because of this.
Tardive dyskinesia symptoms have been showing a lot more often too. Woke up several times not being able to control my limbs. Almost fell over once after getting off my bed because I could barely control my legs or arms.
The akathisia during the day started getting worse as days went by. I was desperate because this feeling is horrible. I saw that a good portion of what is used to treat akathisia is already prescribed to me which is clonazepam and gabapentin.
Gabapentin is definitely what works the best. I am also tapering off klonopin and was doing all right with .5mg but now it feels like it's not enough because I am much more anxious than I was a month ago. It still definitely helps with the akathisia though.
Mirtazapine also seems to help a good amount. I'm taking .5mg of clonazepam, 1200mg of gabapentin spread throughout the day, and 15mg of mirtazapine.
Mirtazapine and 250mg of vitamin b6 early in the morning, gabapentin 3x a day, and the clonazepam I take half in the day and half late night. I have to time my doses correctly so I don't experience any akathisia.
Vitamin B6 is supposedly effective but I'm not too sure if it really is.
I also take 250mg of lamictal split into day and night, and 2mg of risperidone which I am tapering off of and will be off completely soon.
I did as much research as I could since it started getting a lot worse soon after I saw my doctor. So I had almost 30 days till I saw my doctor again and I definitely would've gone to the ER. I almost called the ambulance when it started getting bad because I didn't know what the hell was going on. I also didn't know what was going on with me till someone else told me what it was I was experiencing in another post I made which was after I already met the doctor.
It feels like I have to jog around my place without these medications I listed above. It also makes me extremely prone to panic attacks which would occur every few minutes.
Hope this info helps anyone else.
Ask your doc for propranolol and gabapentin. Try mirtazapine. Klonopin should be a last resort.

25M here,
I've been taking Lamictal (Lamotrigine) for the last 17 years and Briviact for the last 2 years. Everything was going smoothly, apart from side effects like fatigue and restlessness. But in the last couple of weeks, my sleep got messed up. I used to sleep more than 8 hours before.
My cognition is heavily affected, as is loss of appetite and extreme fatigue, drowsiness and irratability, agitation, and a small focal seizure today. Before 2 weeks, everything was fine.
My blood work is fine and optimal, and I've been taking supplements for the last 4 years. They include multivitamins, vitamin D3+K2, magnesium, and B-complex.
What went wrong suddenly? Why a drastic decline in my health within a couple of weeks?

Hello everyone,
I've recently reached a point where my doctor has decided to start me on lithium as a last resort. After numerous trials with other medications, including Lamictal and Zyprexa, which unfortunately didn't work, I find myself feeling quite hopeless. The future side effects of lithium don't concern me much at this point; I'm more focused on finding something that actually works.
I've read that lithium can sometimes produce quick results, which gives me a glimmer of hope. I'm looking to hear from those who have had success with lithium. How long did it take for you to notice improvements? Which symptoms did it help alleviate?
Any personal stories, tips, or advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm trying to stay positive and could really use some encouragement and firsthand insights right now.
Thank you all in advance for sharing your experiences!

Hello everyone,
I've recently reached a point where my doctor has decided to start me on lithium as a last resort. After numerous trials with other medications, including Lamictal and Zyprexa, which unfortunately didn't work, I find myself feeling quite hopeless. The future side effects of lithium don't concern me much at this point; I'm more focused on finding something that actually works.
I've read that lithium can sometimes produce quick results, which gives me a glimmer of hope. I'm looking to hear from those who have had success with lithium. How long did it take for you to notice improvements? Which symptoms did it help alleviate?
Any personal stories, tips, or advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm trying to stay positive and could really use some encouragement and firsthand insights right now.
Thank you all in advance for sharing your experiences!

I have been asleep for the past few hours. I slept well enough Monday night, but my Lamictal increased from 50mg to 100mg Tuesday evening and I think that's what knocked me out while I was on Reddit earlier, nothing else is new or different except for that. Geez, hope I get used to the increased dose and the sleepiness wears off.
I woke up to a lot of notifications too, some of the accounts were temporary and have already been deleted. I'm not much for chatting anyway, maybe tomorrow.
Still groggy.

Hello! I understand this is the subreddit for epilepsy and not bipolar, but the bipolar subreddit doesn't allow medication talk so i wanted to ask this here. My apologies if this is not allowed.
I take 200 mg of Lamictal daily for bipolar 2, and my dumbass didn't realize I was out. I had just stopped weaning myself up to 200mg, so my last dose was yesterday at 150mg. I've missed doses in the past and nothing has happened but this is higher than normal so I'm scared of a seizure. I don't have epilepsy, but it's my understanding that Lamictal is used to treat mood disorders as well as epilepsy.
Is there anything I can do to prepare for a seizure? I'm calling my doctor's office when they open tomorrow. Not sure if this is the best place for advice, but any is welcomed.

I am 20F, and a college student. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder the day I turned 18, and have been treated for it since I was 15 (my dad has it and I’ve always shown symptoms). I have been taking my meds for 5 years (lamictal, latuda, prozac). As a bit of a backstory… my first suicide attempt was last November, after my birthday. It was in response to my then abuse boyfriend breaking up with me. I took my entire bottle of Prozac and overdosed (I was told by doctors if I would’ve taken 10 more, I wouldve died).
Ever since, my life has not been the same. I quite literally can not function without my boyfriend, I don’t miss him, I miss the stability I had for two years of my life. EVERYTHING is different now. Every. Single. Thing. Waking up in the morning is my daily reminder that my suicide attempt failed. It’s humiliating.
In the start of 2024 in college I was introduced to cocaine for the first time. It was a social thing, but later became a daily thing. I got laced with fentanyl because I wasn’t careful, and ended up hospitalized. (I was fine within a few hours, just throwing up and rejecting the drugs in my system). My parents obviously found out through hospital bills, and they dragged me out of school immediately, made me come home, and demanded rehab. I somehow begged them out of it, given I don’t think I have an addiction. It was two weeks I was clean, now im back to using everyday. I can live without it, but knowing it makes me feel better, I use it. I’m trying so hard to not purchase any again, and just finish the bag I have.
I am unmedicated (for the absolut first time in my life) and struggling so badly. My parents want rehab, but I am fucking terrified. I’ve always been better at figuring things out by myself. I’m having issues with self esteem and boys. Ever since my ex and I broke up, everything has just been fucked.
I am so incredibly suicidal. To me, cocaine is better than death. That’s a shitty mindset, I know, but to me it’s true. I am in college for english and have dreamt of being an author since I was a toddler. For the first time in my life, I don’t care about my dreams.
Another HUGE issue I am fighting is the feeling that no one will ever love me. Boys are assholes, I just always seem to get entangled with the wrong ones. I don’t deserve to be loved. It’s just all I have ever wanted.
I don’t recognize myself. I am such a good person. I love people so deeply. But I am disgusted with who I have become. I’m stuck between wanting my old self back, and just wanting to end my suffering. I don’t have any plans or anything, but suicide is all I think about.
I don’t know what to do with my life. I feel like it’s over. If anyone relates to even the tiniest part of this, please comment. I’m truly at a loss.

Hi, I basically went through some kind of like mental health episode (don’t care much to share details) and didn’t take my meds for 2 months. I used to take 40mg celexa and 75mg lamictal daily. I don’t know how to start again or if it is safe to just go full throttle.
Please help me figure out what to do.

(drug use, SH, mania, not eating, etc...) I have a virtual appointment tomorrow. I started lamictal recently (on 100mg now) and ik she's going to ask if I've had episodes recently. I am about to start strattera for adhd. (Diagnosed bp2 and adhd)
I (hypothetically) had a manic episode last week. I got drunk with my friends and it triggered a manic episode. After everyone decided to leave/ go to sleep I went ro my room and relapsed with SH. Then I (still drunk) walked around my campus (tried to print a paper, didn't work). I then went back to my apt and waited until I sobered up, had caffeine/ nicotine, and took some concerta given to me by a friend a while ago. I wondered the fields behind my campus listening to music in the middle of the night. Around 6am I went home, took my lamictal, and presented my final project. I had barely eaten in days bc I have been sick. The rest of the day I was so nauseous/ dizzy, and in so much pain I could barely eat/ move. I also shaved my head since our last session💀
My question is... if I tell my psych, can I get in trouble? Will she not give me adhd meds? Strattera isn't a stimulant so I feel like it would be okay. I desperately need adhd meds and I don't want to push it back further.
I used to be all for telling ur psych EVERYTHING, but now idk what to do.

I am bipolar type 2. My anxiety and especially social anxiety is very debilitating and a little more crippling than the depression which is also severe. I take lamictal at night and it seems to help me sleep. However I was wondering if taking it in the morning instead of at night would be better for the social anxiety? Does anyone have experience comparing how night/day time use affects anxiety? I have titrated up to 100mg over the last 4 weeks. I appreciate this community. ❤️

A new patient(F45) mildly obese was brought in who was planned for ECT in a week. Though she might actually be bipolar (atleast on the spectrum). She was terrified of ECT.
She had severe depression including suicidality and severe agitation.
She was on Lithium 600mg/day (Started recently), Lamotrigine 200mg, Lexapro 20mg and clonazepam 1mg with quietiapine 50mg for sleep.
Since 2023 she'd been experiencing strange episodes according to her family.
Here's all the history and symptoms provided about these episodes since 2023 :

• Agitation/Inner restlessness: Unable to remain calm/sit still. Blaming all of her symptoms on this restlessness. When this comes the other symptoms which I'll mention come along too:
  
• Crying and shouting loudly (simply can not control this to sorta escape)
  
• Excessive anger and snapping at/blaming others for no reason: Involuntarily blame people for the most random and petty things who've been the most helpful and kind.
  
• Very Irritable.
  
• Suicidality (to escape the restlessness). Suicidal attempts in aggression where she had to be stopped with a lot of physical force.
  
• Guilt and worthlessness
  
• Irrational/Questionable decisions and behaviors were almost always noted by family members during these periods accompanied with extreme impatience.
  
• Energy: Being fatigued and unmotivated that she can't even move or do stuff. But at the same time having so much Energy to shout so loud and rip her chest open to escape the "agitation".
  
• Pupils were dilated when I saw her.
  

After her lexapro was increased to 20MG her symptoms have been just worsening and worsening including suicidality.
Benzos would do nothing even injectable ones for the agitation.
Then today when she came to me during the severe agitation I immediately thought of a mixed state. Gave her zyprexa and asked to taper down the lexapro.
After she took the zyprexa (sublingual) in about 2 hours experienced tremendous relief - felt calm, brain went silent and took a long nap quite refreshing. She wasn't bothered by people talking. She wasn't irritated. She just felt normal. The relief seemed never-ending.
It makes sense now how being put on lamictal back in 2023 put her into remission and it kept masking Lexapro's rebound effect(in bipolar)
I'm honestly unsure why high dose Lexapro was continued over a year (even though there was a clear worsening of symptoms with dosage increase) and why high dose benzodiazepines were constantly being used to control the agitation despite having little to no effect. Even effexor was started in cross-titration with Lexapro which further worsened her suicidality etc?
Sorta leaning towards ECT and later on adjusting the medications because it does seem to be severe and ECT it is quite effective though the patient wants to try the no-ssri approach.
If we do go with the latter approach, I plan on : - Switch to Vraylar for its good evidence in mixed states. Cariprazine is dirt cheap here.

• Stick to Lamotrigine and increase Lithium/ Switch to Valproate(Good evidence in mixed features).
  
• Wellbutrin for depression if it does not or only partially responds to psychotherapy.
  
• Gabapentin.
  
• Low dose Trazodone for insomnia.
  

Perhaps the increased energy from the (hypo)mania and the activation from the SSRI is resulting in the restlessness which explains the relief from Olanzapine. I've seen many hypomanic patients who'd get so restless that they wanted to crawl out of their own skin.
What's your go to treatment for mixed states? What about the efficacy of Lithium in mixed bipolarity? Which mood stabilizers seem to work best?

A new patient was brought in who was planned for ECT in a week. Though she might actually be bipolar (atleast on the spectrum). She was terrified of ECT.
She had severe depression including suicidality and severe agitation.
She was on Lithium 600mg/day (Started recently), Lamotrigine 200mg, Lexapro 20mg and clonazepam 1mg with quietiapine 50mg for sleep.
Since 2023 she'd been experiencing strange episodes according to her family.
Here's all the history and symptoms provided about these episodes since 2023 :

• Inner restlessness:Getting EXTREMELY restless (CAN NOT sit still). Inner restlessness that makes her want to slap /kill herself just to escape it. She'd beg her family to kill her so she can escape this.This comes and goes daily during these episodes and is the main symptom. When this comes the other symptoms which I'll mention come along too:
  
• Crying and shouting loudly (simply can not control this to sorta escape)
  
• Excessive anger and snapping at/blaming others for no reason: Involuntarily blame people for the most random and petty things who've been the most helpful and kind.
  
• Very Irritable.
  
• Suicidality (to escape the restlessness)
  
• Guilt and worthlessness
  
• Irrational/Questionable decisions were almost always noted by family members during these periods accompanied with extreme impatience.
  
• Energy: Being fatigued and unmotivated that she can't even move or do stuff. But at the same time having so much Energy to shout so loud and rip her chest open to escape the "agitation".
  

After her lexapro was increased to 20MG her symptoms have been just worsening and worsening including suicidality.
Benzos would do nothing even injectable ones for the agitation.
Then today when she came to me during the severe agitation I immediately thought of a mixed state. Gave her zyprexa and asked to taper down the lexapro.
After she took the zyprexa (sublingual) experienced tremendous relief - felt calm, brain went silent and took a long nap quite refreshing. She wasn't bothered by people talking. She wasn't irritated. She just felt normal. The relief was long lasting.
It makes sense now how being put on lamictal back in 2023 put her into remission and it kept masking Lexapro's rebound effect(in bipolar)
I'm honestly unsure why high dose Lexapro was continued over a year and why high dose benzodiazepines were being used to control the agitation despite having little to no effect.
Sorta leaning towards ECT and later on adjusting the medications because it does seem to be severe and ECT it is quite effective though the patient wants to try the no-ssri approach.
If we do go with the latter approach, I plan on : - Using either VraylaLatuda for their good results in mixed states. Cariprazine is dirt cheap here.

• Stick to Lamotrigine and increase Lithium.
  
• Wellbutrin for depression if it does not or only partially responds to psychotherapy.
  
• Gabapentin.
  

What's your go to treatment plan for mixed states? Is this a mixed state rather than unipolar depression?
A new patient was brought in who was planned for ECT in a week. Though she might actually be bipolar (atleast on the spectrum). She was terrified of ECT.
She had severe depression including suicidality and severe agitation.
She was on Lithium 600mg/day (Started recently), Lamotrigine 200mg, Lexapro 20mg and clonazepam 1mg with quietiapine 50mg for sleep.
Since 2023 she'd been experiencing strange episodes according to her family.
Here's all the history and symptoms provided about these episodes since 2023 :

• Inner restlessness:Getting EXTREMELY restless (CAN NOT sit still). Inner restlessness that makes her want to slap /kill herself just to escape it. She'd beg her family to kill her so she can escape this.This comes and goes daily during these episodes and is the main symptom. When this comes the other symptoms which I'll mention come along too:
  
• Crying and shouting loudly (simply can not control this to sorta escape)
  
• Excessive anger and snapping at/blaming others for no reason: Involuntarily blame people for the most random and petty things who've been the most helpful and kind.
  
• Very Irritable.
  
• Suicidality (to escape the restlessness)
  
• Guilt and worthlessness
  
• Irrational/Questionable decisions were almost always noted by family members during these periods accompanied with extreme impatience.
  
• Energy: Being fatigued and unmotivated that she can't even move or do stuff. But at the same time having so much Energy to shout so loud and rip her chest open to escape the "agitation".
  

After her lexapro was increased to 20MG her symptoms have been just worsening and worsening including suicidality.
Benzos would do nothing even injectable ones for the agitation.
Then today when she came to me during the severe agitation I immediately thought of a mixed state. Gave her zyprexa and asked to taper down the lexapro.
After she took the zyprexa (sublingual) in about 2 hours experienced tremendous relief - felt calm, brain went silent and took a long nap quite refreshing. She wasn't bothered by people talking. She wasn't irritated. She just felt normal. The relief seemed never-ending.
It makes sense now how being put on lamictal back in 2023 put her into remission and it kept masking Lexapro's rebound effect(in bipolar)
I'm honestly unsure why high dose Lexapro was continued over a year and why high dose benzodiazepines were constantly being used to control the agitation despite having little to no effect. Even effexor was started in cross-titration with Lexapro which further worsened her suicidality etc?
Sorta leaning towards ECT and later on adjusting the medications because it does seem to be severe and ECT it is quite effective though the patient wants to try the no-ssri approach.
If we do go with the latter approach, I plan on : - Switch to Vraylar for its good evidence in mixed states. Cariprazine is dirt cheap here.

• Stick to Lamotrigine and increase Lithium.
  
• Wellbutrin for depression if it does not or only partially responds to psychotherapy.
  
• Gabapentin.
  
• Low dose Trazodone for insomnia.
  

What's your go to treatment for mixed states? What about the efficacy of Lithium in mixed bipolarity? Which mood stabilizers seem to work best?

3 years ago I went to see a therapist once suicidal thoughts started to rise, as my mental health was deteriorating.
I was diagnosed with mood disorder being Unipolar.
He prescribed lamictal and I started titrating up to 100 mg and i helped alot.
But recently its cons exceeded its pros,
And that's annoying me so bad, i had perfect hair now i lost that perfection, I used to be the cool but staright As guy but now constant brain fog, can't concentrate at work, while studying even during buying my weekly groceries. I have a brain of a fish. Sometimes I make mistakes speaking my mother language imagine the other 2.
Studying is hell now. Brain fog ( check) Sleeping like a hibernating polar bear for long hours I still have some depression phases every now and then, but they don't last for long.
So long story short, I'm thinking about titrating down till I quit within a month and see how will it go.
So for those who got off it. 1) How were the withdrawals like? 2) did you feel fine after quitting or did the good ol' problems come back crawling? 3) did your memory come back to normal and your brain started functioning as sharp as it used to be?! 4) did your hair grow back 😢?
Thanks.

I thought I was ADHD because of my lack of concentration and idling, but that was not the case, unfortunately.
I created a post on ADHD subreddit where I claimed that I was suspected of ADHD based on the fact that I spent 6000 dollars in 20 days. I met the doctor today and he told me that all the computer based tests on stimulus was somewhat normal, which doesn't mean that I don't have ADHD. He mentioned about hyper something. Then I remembered that you guys' suspicion of me having bipolar disorder and he pinpointed it was downright bipolar.
He started asking questions on how I spent and what I spent on with the money, with some ongoing detailed cross-examinations. I remember him talking about ADHD and bipolar disorder being similar in its cause or something. So I told him extra details about my highschool days. I was mindlessly happy at some point, but then when some grievous things happen to me, which is absolutely nonsense and silly to other people, I would lose determination to live well and just do absolutely nothing. What did I do afterwards? I got a notebook, recorded every piece of my memory prior to that incidence which I thought meant to be the most happiest moment in my life. Like crazily....
Afterwards my life was a mess, with years of bad hyperacusis and OCD. I am sad that I was not diagnosed eariler with bipolar.
I'll be asking questions here frequently. I hope I can cope with this disorder, but I am kind of worried that I might snap out of hyperthymia with the use of medication because I have been really happy recently. How far has my brain been messed up with this uncanny disorder for 15 years?
I was given Zeldox Cap. and Lamictal...

My girlfriend just had two grand mal seizures for the first time in her life and I can’t help but wonder if it’s because of her meds.. she was polydrugged as a child for having “bipolar” and she’s still on them. She’s on lexapro, wellbutrin, klonopin, and lamictal. She used to be on anti-psychotics but she safely got off of them thank God.
She’s been on these drugs for over a decade and the ER doctor says she needs to get off of them. While I agree, I’m just so worried she’s gonna see a doctor that will cold turkey her or do an aggressive taper, because doctors are ignorant. I’m honestly worried that she will develop issues even if she tapers off safely just because how long she’s been on them.
I suffer from neurological disorders that have symptoms similar to iatrogenic injuries that I see here, so I just really want to avoid her developing the issues I deal with myself. Living with this is the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through and idk if I could handle it if she went through a neurological injury too

Hey guys, so I'm Schizoaffective Bipolar type (my great grandmother was schizophrenic so it runs in the family) and last year was a lot of hell with trial and error for med changes. I wanted to go on injection antipsychotics because I get poisoning paranoia with my medications as well as dissociative episodes where I could overdose. The dose of my other medications taken at a very very high dose won't be as dangerous so we chose the injection to minimize that specific risk). I was on quetiapine (Seroquel) in pill form and coped really well. Because I'd been on it for so long though it was time to change up.
So we switched to Flupentixol (Fluanxol) as pill form and I had some trouble with repetitive blinking, minor tics, and my fingers getting "cramps" (like I'd bend my finger and even though my brain was saying to return it to a straight position it wouldn't respond, but there was no muscle spasm or pain, and wouldn't move freely unless I physically moved it with my other hand). After I was then put on Aripirazol (Abilify) and it made me absolute insane, worsened all of my symptoms and I was in hospitals and care facilities a lot while I was on it. So we immediately stopped that and went back to Flupentixol as an injection. The blinking came back and was worse, like I couldn't open my eyes, I was so sleepy, and the tics came back too. Eventually one day it started bad in the morning and got worse and worse I ended up in A&E with SEVERE tardive dyskinesia (ALL my muscles were contracting by their own accord, pushing my back all the way backwards trying to snap me in half, twisting my torso, twisting my neck so I had to talk to the nurses while facing a completely different direction, it was excruciating) I ended needing an emergency Procyclidine (Kemadrin) shot driven in from a different hospital to stop it. After than my psychiatrist said that I couldn't go on antipsychotics again because now that tardive dyskinesia has developed and is a risk, we can't chance it because long term Procyclidine use will affect my heart but if the tardive dyskenisia is permanent we will have to use it. (We're trying to minimise cardiovascular issues from medications as much as possible.) I've got another month on Procyclidine before stopping to find out whether my tardive dyskinesia is permanent and I'm now on the mood stabiliser Lamotrigine (Lamictal) and no antipsychotics.
Do any of you function well without antipsychotics? I really struggle. Is there any advice that would be useful? What are my options now? I hallucinate minimum once or twice a day when I'm on antipsychotics, way more frequently without. My delusions and paranoia is almost constant without antipsychotics. My tactile hallucinations are also constant. Any input would be super appreciated.
TLDR: I can't take antipsychotics due to health reasons, is anyone else in the same boat? Any advice?

I was on Lamictal 100mg for 4 months. It didn’t give me any side effects at 25 or 50 but after we upped the dosage to 100 I started getting weird side effects. Like my head was itching 7/24 and I suddenly got dermatitis on my scalp. But most importantly I was gasping for air all the time. Also I was yawning all the time. The breathing issue was so bad it was waking me up from my sleep. I couldn’t walk for like 10 minutes without gasping for air like a fish. We did all of the tests and everything was ok. After 4 months I stopped taking it and my symptoms magically disappeared. But months later I started having minor issues with my breathing. It is definitely not bad as the months ago when I was using the Lamictal but still it scared the shit out me because I can’t go through this again. Is it possible that Lamictal made something to my brain permanently that affects my breathing? I also started lithium 8 days ago but my I think it has nothing to do with it.

I was on Lamictal 100mg for 4 months. It didn’t give me any side effects at 25 or 50 but after we upped the dosage to 100 I started getting weird side effects. Like my head was itching 7/24 and I suddenly got dermatitis on my scalp. But most importantly I was gasping for air all the time. Also I was yawning all the time. The breathing issue was so bad it was waking me up from my sleep. I couldn’t walk for like 10 minutes without gasping for air like a fish. We did all of the tests and everything was ok. After 4 months I stopped taking it and my symptoms magically disappeared. But months later I started having minor issues with my breathing. It is definitely not bad as the months ago when I was using the Lamictal but still it scared the shit out me because I can’t go through this again. Is it possible that Lamictal made something to my brain permanently that affects my breathing? I also started lithium 8 days ago but my I think it has nothing to do with it.

Clinically diagnosed BP2 here, and it’s my first time posting.
I’m on 200mg of Lamictal, and I’ve been taking it since 2020.
Mornings for me are HELL on earth. My sleep is so weird. I require a lot of it, I need a solid 8 hours to semi function in the morning. The sound of my alarm instantly puts me in a dark place, no matter what sound I use.
If I have a particularly bad night of sleep, I’m so messed up in the mornings that I will easily cry. It’s really embarrassing. I legitimately cannot help it. I can even fly off in a rage. Everything gets to me.
I have to really try my hardest to contain it because I have a daughter. She’s only 6. I never take it out on her. I’ll usually be in my room, screaming into a pillow to muffle myself. Or I’ll be crying.
When the evening comes, I will instantly perk up. I’m always my most active and happy from 7pm and on.
Please tell me other people suffering from this bullshit go through it also. I feel so alone.

Hello, First of all sorry for my English, it is not my first language. Long story short, I got diagnosed as bipolar last year and put under two medications: xeroquel 150 mg and lamictal 300mg . My life was really bad before being put under medication and now it’s definitely better. Tho I keep asking my self. What if I ´me not bipolar ? I won’t get into to much details but I’ll try to be understandable. Sometimes I question my diagnosis despite my past, and I wonder if the fact that the meds are working could be a proof that the diagnosis is in fact good.
But what if it’s not ? Can the meds still have effect he there is « no reasons » to be used ? I heard stories about people taking xeroquel by mistakes and going crazy because it’s a tough medecine.
Can I develop problems if I ain’t really bipolar but still taking the medication?
I ´ ma lucky person according to my psychiatrist since I dont’ have any side effect beside loosing a bit of hair because of the lamictal.
Thank you in advance :)

I am struggling to find a medication that I can tolerate. I’ve been using Seroquel that I barely tolerate for 4 years. The Lamictal and Lithium I am on are great. Seroquel works well, but side effects. I don’t want to go into detail because this post isn’t about specifics.
Anyone find a BiPolar 1 expert, a genetic test, anything that made a big impact for them?
I’ve managed to sponsor a budget for better acute care for a short period of time.
Also oddly this same content was blocked by
r../bipolar and I have no idea why