Lamictal and tremors

I have extreme anxiety, to the point I can't hardly leave the house except to work. I also have depression. The anxiety also causes health anxiety. So my psychiatrist really wants me to try Lamictal. I have had genesight test done a d it's in my green category and my gene test says I'm a low risk of SJS. So right now she had me on 0.25 xanax twice a day for a month to help the anxiety while the Lamictal gets in my system. I am terrified to take Lamictal! I'm worried about tremors or hallucinations or HLH syndrome. Is this medicine really that great for anxiety? I just want my life back!!! Please share success stories and what I can expect. She is actually starting me at 12.5 mg (yes I know it doesn't come that low but we are halting the tablet).

Hey there. I'm just posting this to vent and share experiences I guess. I've been treated for a variety of mental illnesses since I was young, and was diagnosed Schizoaffective at 16. I have been on antipsychotics since about 10 years old to 21. Once I moved away from my home town and started working at college, my symptoms lifted almost completely in a year. I was off medication until I was 25.
This summer I had a psychotic break and was put on Lamictal and Olanzapine. I almost never have break downs, never cry, never have extremely elevated emotions due to delusions or hallucinations. A lot of the time, I feel nothing. I feel totally detached from the parts of me that can be extremely happy, that can be excited, or that can shed a few tears when I see an emotional movie or show. Even though my emotions were big and at times hard to handle, having no connection to them makes me resent being medicated.
I try to access this side of myself with substance use, which I know is bad. But it feels like the only thing that for sure quiets the noise and self violent images/phrases I see and hear. I don't want to increase/change my medication in fear that I'll be the same tremor ridden, emotionless alien I was from my childhood to my adulthood. I am fortunate that my medication has stopped my self destructive delusions, but I mourn the version of me that can feel human.
Idk. I just needed to say this somewhere, and nobody around me shares my diagnosis or my experience. The idea of being this person forever is so bleak.

I have been taking lithium for years now and I will say it’s always come to my rescue every time I have an episode. I like to keep my levels around a .8 and I feel great . But my only issue is it causes me to have tremors in my hands. At times they make life difficult which puts me in a bind but for some reason I continue to take lithium because it’s the only thing that work. No matter what as long as the side effects if there bearable. I’ve accepted I’ll be on lithium for life . I also take lamictal which makes a great combo.

Hi guys, Haven’t been on here in a while, but I had a question so I thought I’d send it out to see if anyone can relate. Sometimes I’ll be sitting or doing something, just living my life and I’ll feel very ill, specifically like I’m going to have a seizure. Most of the time I’ll even have little tremors. Usually my head hurts and I’ll feel slightly nauseas and I get the feeling like I’m about to blink out of consciousness and begin to seize, but at the last second it’s like my brain catches itself. It feels like I’m on the brink of one for 20-30 mins but it never happens anymore since I started taking lamictal. Afterward I feel like I faked the whole thing because no seizure happened. Does anyone else experience this?

I have been on Lamictal (250 mg 2x/day) for 4.5 years. I am starting to get some small tremors in my hands, specifically the ring and pinky fingers. (Some days it's more noticeable than others.)
Have any of you ever had to change meds for this reason? If you do have tremors, how bad or they, or how dramatically did they progress? The medication really works well for me, so I'm hesitant to bring it up with my neuro in case she wants to change it -- but I also don't want it to get worse.

Hi, so i just started Lamictal + Escitalopram for cyclothymia and anxiety disorder. Its a very low dose (started at 25mg lamotrigine and 5mg escitalopram) and will gradually increase but Today i’ve had bad hand tremors and shakes (like my hands are shaking non stop) and kind of a brain fog idk how to explain just dizziness and feeling my head heavy and foggy. Is it normal ? I got scared please if anyone knows let me know (also i’m taking a low low dose of amitriptylline for neuropathic pain bc of sciatica and seroquel 25-50mg at night to sleep) .

So, I’ve been on Wellbutrin (bupropion) and Lamictal for about 9 years now. I’m only on 100mg of Wellbutrin (kinda pointless, I know) and 300mg of Lamictal. Over the 9 years, I’ve only increased my lamictal from 200 to 300mg, and that was about 6 months ago. As of recently, I’ve had awful hand tremors, probably the last 4 months. No new meds, no major lifestyle changes… has anyone else experienced this? If not, have you noticed any other long term effects? Please include your dose in the comments! It’s weird it just started this long into taking it. I’ll never stop taking it unless I absolutely have to, I just hope the tremors are a simple, harmless issue.

I'm new here so I'll give my info for context just in case. But my question is motivated by my desire to not have anticholinergic effects. I value my cognitive abilities and carefully research what I take. I am starting to have lip pursing no matter what antipsychotic I take anymore, so I wanted to look into options that won't mess up my focus/memory or sedate me (I'm a low energy person usually).
Age 26, gender ftm (on testosterone, no surgeries), height 5'5", weight 188 lbs, race white.
Diagnoses: schizoaffective disorder bipolar type, ocd (moral scrupulosity and "just right"/tourettic types), adhd either inattentive or combined type, gad, social anxiety disorder, gender dysphoria, fibromyalgia
Medications including physical: intuniv 2 mg, prozac 40 mg, wellbutrin xl 150 mg, lamictal 150 mg, abilify 15 mg, latuda 80 mg, klonopin 0.5 mg prn, lyrica 150 mg 2x/day, cyclobenzaprine 5 mg prn, the "heather" minipill, testosterone cypionate IM injection 200 mg/mL at 0.2 mL weekly (so 40 mg). God I think that's everything
Drugs: nicotine (gum, patch, vape, or zyn, not tobacco), caffeine, cannabis
I think the latuda + abilify is a good combo, but I might need a higher dose of the latuda because I keep getting more paranoid and having some voices and the abilify only helps my mood anymore, not psychosis. Invega was good but caused lip pursing and stutter, and vraylar was good but the lip pursing was so bad it hurt. And now latuda is causing consistent lip pursing that gets worse with caffeine and weed (I know it's not the abilify, the abilify only causes hand tremors for me and it's tolerable). So no matter what I do, I will probably need an anti-TD medication, and google disappoints me. Any info or suggestions?

Left this as a comment on another post but felt it deserves it's own post. If you have any specific questions about my experiences on these drugs let me know. Incidentally, if anyone wants to fill me in on their experiences with Latuda, I'd be very grateful!

Bipolar type 1. I'm on lithium, lamictal, and Latuda for my BP, Vyvanse for ADHD, propranolol for lithium tremors, trazodone for sleep. I've been on vraylar long term, just stopped it in hospital to switch to Latuda, and I've historically been on and used risperidone as needed for agitation. Zyprexa (olanzapine) was used in-patient to calm agitation and racing thoughts. I've always been 💯 med compliant.
Here's the thing: My bipolar got worse over the years. I went from NOS to Type 1. So said, every med I've tried and been on has helped in different ways at different times. There is no panacea. But each med I'm on does a different job and helps me manage in a different way.
Lithium and lamictal are my base mood stabilizers, Latuda is my current base antipsychotic, and everything else is on top of it to address other challenges with the disease or side effects from these meds. I'm extremely, extremely grateful for the medication I have access to and the amazing benefits I've seen in my life from them.
Researching my medications so I know what to ask for has been absolutely vital, and it's part of why I have made it to where I am now as... intactly as I have.
Lithium: It cuts the mania, and it helps my brain heal. It has been shown to have a neuroregenerative and neuroprotective effect. 10/10
Lamictal: It reduces and shortens the intensity and duration of episodes. 10/10
Vraylar (discontinued): It controlled agitation irritability. 10/10
Latuda (current): It's supposed to handle bipolar depression, but I have yet to reach a therapeutic dose, I think. More to come. ?/10
Risperidone (discontinued): It controlled agitation and anger very quickly, short half life, high risk of metabolic complications long term led to switching from daily med to as needed to discontinued. 8/10
Zyprexa (only as needed): Calms racing thoughts and agitation very quickly. Very high risk of metabolic complications long term, only used in case of breakthrough symptoms. 6/10 (due to side effect profile)
Trazodone: Sleep aid. Non addictive, non habit forming, very gentle, powerful sedative that vastly improved the quality of my sleep in hospital, so I asked to continue it outpatient. 10/10
Propranolol: A blood pressure medication that treats lithium tremors as well as regulate high blood pressure. 10/10
Honorable mentions:
Buspar. Didn't work for me. 1/10
Klonopin. Only ever as needed, very powerful and gentle anxiolytic (benzo, so be careful). 9/10
Vistaril/hydroxyzine. Very gentle and effective anti anxiety medication, strongly recommend for as needed anxiety. 10/10
Brain skittles are powerful, helpful, amazing drugs that you can and should avail yourself of, under medical supervision. Everything in my life is better since going on and staying on them, with adjustments as necessary under my doctor's guidance. Combinations are often necessary, which is not uncommon, but your medical team and you can figure that out. I'm meeting with my psych in a few weeks to adjust my Latuda dose if necessary, since I just started it in hospital.
Good luck! Hope this helps!

Almost positive she would not approve of me tapering off my 300mg Lamictal (been on for ~1.5 years)
My psychiatric NP is the stereotypical one, doesn’t gaf, prescribes whatever without telling you side effects, charges my insurance for services she doesn’t provide so she can make $$$
I feel so stupid. I’ve been fed over 20 psychiatric meds since age 15 (I turn 20 next month) and nobody did a damn thing to protect me. Doctors prescribed me shit without my parents knowing but my parents also didnt question any of the meds, blindly trusted the docs like I did.
I’m so fucked up and she keeps treating me for symptoms that I now realize are side effects of Lamictal. Brain fog, fatigue, back and muscle pain, anxiety, tremors, vision problems, you name it.
How do I go about tapering on my own? I’d be continuing to see her for monthly visits and just not say anything about taper. I know it’ll take a while. I currently take two 150mg tabs each day.
How should I go about this?
EDIT: I currently only take Lamictal (300mg), Vyvanse (50mg) and Buspirone (10mg as needed for sleep/anxiety) Sorry for any confusion!

Seizures always seem to outsmart me, and I keep making the same mistakes 🤦🏽‍♂️ I feel like I have two sides: the Aura warning me to wait, but the seizures hit anyway, leaving me counting the hours until I can use Valtoco. I'm tapering off Depakote (which I hate!) and going back to my Lamictal and Aptiom. Despite the struggles, there are moments of happiness, but then it's back to the tremors. I wonder if Depakote was a mistake, but I had to take it for a year for an epilepsy study. It was worth it for the mood boost, but now I'm back to the mental grind. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I’ve been trying medications for almost 2 years and absolutely nothing has helped and kept helping. For example, ssris were “fun” until it landed me in the hospital leading to a bp1 diagnosis. Since then I’ve been on a few antipsychotics that caused awfulll side effects including severe memory issues and a movement disorder characteristic of parkinsonism, which got worse after going back to one that hadn’t done that. I was put on a medication for that however stopped taking it pretty quickly because it made me delirious (at half the lowest dose) and I was worried about it causing a manic episode. Movements have improved somewhat but tremors got really bad after starting lithium so propranolol was added (as well as for anxiety from chronic ptsd). This duo was helping a little until my hair came falling out. That one’s a hard stop for me, so my psych wants me to start lamictal. This one I’m terrified of. Partially because of the infamous rash and partially because of cognitive decline. My skin is extremely sensitive and anything it touches can cause a rash so I super don’t like the outlook of 1/10 there. Took half the lowest dose which I was prescribed and within 20 minutes had a hive on my face surrounded by what looked like a white rash. I guess it could’ve been something else but I’m too scared to continue trying to up tolerance to a therapeutic level when stopping even briefly means starting over again and risking a rash again. I also take Wellbutrin so I don’t want to be on that alone as I don’t know what would happen but probably nothing good. Are there cases where meds just aren’t an option? I can’t keep trying this and my body is tired of it. My brain feels permanently fucked up. Are there alternatives to medication? The side effects have reached the point that they are worse than the illness and I wont continue living if those do because that is absolutely no life to live. Thoughts, feelings, opinions?

i started taking lamictal within the past 2-3 months for bipolar disorder, i am currently on 100mg. in the past couple weeks i have had almost constant muscle spasms/tremors in my upper body, mainly my arms and hands. they’re almost like tics. i feel almost a shiver down my spine when it happens. has anyone else experienced this?? 😭😭

Age: 52
Sex: F
Height: 5’6
Weight: 260
Race: White
Duration of complaint: pain started 3 weeks ago, started as discomfort in her hips/lower back/upper buttocks and has progressed to the point of severe pain, unable to walk. With morphine, oxy, and robaxin she can walk small distances with a walker.
Location: CT findings: Lytic lesion involving the right L4 inferior articular facet with extraosseous soft tissue component extending into the posterior epidural space at L4-L5 as described.
Any existing relevant medical issues: unsure if relevant: severe constipation for the past year, a fall on ice and hit her back 2 months ago - x-rays showed no breaks
Current medications: propranolol (tremors) lamictal (bipolar disorder) cymbalta trospium
pain meds: morphine oxy robaxin tylenol
Include a photo if relevant

I'm a broke 19M California (community) college student, 5'3, 114lb (usually more), mix of white/japanese. No health problems excluding bipolar 1. I eat healthy and used to have an exercise routine. I'm struggling to write this post because my cognitive abilities are getting bad right now.
4 Months ago I was prescribed Oxcarbamazepine. 2 Weeks in I got rashes that were shrugged off as psoriasis. 3 Months in (or, 6 weeks ago) all within the same 2 weeks I developed trouble breathing, trouble swallowing, prickly sensations on my trunk and face, a slight headache, driving like a drunk, feeling very out of it, assworms (pinworms, thinner than a thread shorter than 1/2in), and finally episodes of hours long muscle twitching that are bad enough to make me pass out.
The episodes of muscle twitching were accompanied by high BP and pulse, and I feel confused during it, not able to answer questions I'm normally able to and staring off blankly into space a lot. EKG, D-Dimer, CBC w/ differential, basic metabolic panel, chest XR, and reflex free T4 TSH done. Nothing abnormal except absolute lymphocytes at 1.29K with ref range 1.5-6.5K/uL. They keep letting me go when the twitching stops. The twitching is everywhere and I'll kick at the air, grimace, all that. At it's worst I'll twitch for a few minutes, gasp for air for a few seconds, then it'll keep going until I pass out (or enter some kinda half-asleep state). Benadryl and Cogentin (The Benadryl only worked for a few hours, then I was back to the ER despite taking it at regular intervals) helped the twitching, but not the trouble breathing and prickly body feeling. The ER's said "I don't know what this is, but I can only imagine it's some kind of side effect from the medication." So, I stopped taking Oxcarbamazepine 3 weeks ago.
The trouble swallowing and breathing happened independent from the twitching, but they'd get a lot worse the day before a twitchfit. I spend hours laying in bed having trouble breathing, and some days I'll only eat a few bites because it's hard to swallow, like I can't unconsciously swallow anymore.
I was RXed Cogentin 1mg daily from the 5th-15th. My major twitching went away for a couple weeks, but my balance, breathing, prickly body feeling, and cognitive problems stayed, and I still had tremor in the morning.
This week I started Lamictal, a medication I've been on before at 25mg with minimal side effects. 2 days ago I started on 12.5mg to be safe, and that same day my twitching/shaking came back. Not as bad as before, so I decided not to go to the ER, but it's horrifying to experience and is usually accompanied by a sense of extreme doom. The next day (yesterday) I decided to stop taking the Lamictal, so I only took it that 1 morning on the 23rd. I would've called my prescriber (a telehealth PA) and asked for guidance but I felt too confused to call him. I was on video call with my friend (still yesterday) and I kept telling him I need a few moments to stare at my wall. I kept staring and he started asking me questions. He says I didn't know what he was asking me, getting confused at everything. My leg started kicking/body started curling up each time it kicked too, but I was mostly just staring. My face also got super red and felt hot, my pal was freaking out at how red I was. Then I laid down, closed my eyes, and entered a weird half-asleep state for most of the day. If I opened my eyes too soon I'd start twitching again since light/stimulation makes it worse.
This week, since re-starting Lamictal I've developed new symptoms. Maybe some were from before Lamictal, my memory is shot. This week I've been getting nightsweats, shitting 2-3x a day (not reah, but soft), nausea, dry mouth (?), and I talk with a slur since that video chat with my friend. Not a slur noticeable to docs, but people who know my normal speech style say I sound like I'm severely drugged. I'm confused by everything too, showering or making a meal are cognitively hard on me and I stop to stare at the air a lot while doing things. I'm normally confused after a twitchfit, but this is lasting longer than usual now. My pulse/BP are constantly high, not just while twitching, and I'm breathing heavy often today.
Yesterday night I went to the ER but it was after the twitching stopped (I couldn't come during it because dreamlike state after), but urg care told me to go. I was given the number of a neurologist at the ER before they sent me away again.
Everyone's confused by my symptoms. All the ER docs give me a raised eyebrow wtf face, my prescriber gave me that face, and my PCP (who sucks, his office has stains everywhere) shrugged me away but before he did he gave the same wtf face. What do I do? I know I should call the neuro, but insurance is a problem because my PCP needs to refer me in Medi-Cal and everything's gonna take so long when I'm declining so quick. Does anybody have an inkling as to what's wrong with me?

Since I was hospitalized following a severe psychotic break which lead to a suicide attempt that left be horrifically injured, something I’m still recovering from today, I’ve been polypharmed for supposed bipolar 1 disorder (I say supporsedly because I know lexapro + excessive weed cause my mania->psychosis).
Since leaving the hospital and still on a cocktail of different meds, currently debakote, lamictal and olanzapine/zypexa, I’ve dealt with horrible side effects like: brain fog, memory loss, blunted emotions, erectile dysfunction, hypersalivation (this one seems rare) weak muscles, hair loss, weight gain, acne breakouts ,tremors, and 30-50% loss of ability to taste food (this one I have no evidence for but I attribute it to the meds cause they’re the only variable which has changed prior to starting meds)
I expressed to my psysch that I want to be on as few meds as possible which my parents (i’m living under their roof, they pay for my insurance) seem to be ok with, but truth is, I want to be off meds completely. I have doubts about my bipolar diagnosis because I have a strong belief that had I never been put on lexapro or smoked as much weed as I did (the shit dispensaries give out is strong af in California) I would never have had my psychotic break. Im very tempted to taper off medication but if I do, I have to do so very discreetly because my parents are breathing down my neck for med compliance.
Can anyone relate? Does anyone have advice to give in regards to the predicament I’m in? Should I keep playing the guessing game of switching meds? Can someone just commiserate with me (lol)???
These “side” effects are destroying me. I have very little hope for the future. I’m a zombie

Since I was hospitalized following a severe psychotic break which lead to a suicide attempt that left be horrifically injured, something I’m still recovering from today, I’ve been polypharmed for supposed bipolar 1 disorder (I say supporsedly because I know lexapro + excessive weed cause my mania->psychosis).
Since leaving the hospital and still on a cocktail of different meds, currently debakote, lamictal and olanzapine/zypexa, I’ve dealt with horrible side effects like: brain fog, memory loss, blunted emotions, erectile dysfunction, hypersalivation (this one seems rare) weak muscles, hair loss, weight gain, acne breakouts ,tremors, and 30-50% loss of ability to taste food (this one I have no evidence for but I attribute it to the meds cause they’re the only variable which has changed prior to starting meds)
I expressed to my p$ysch that I want to be on as few meds as possible which my parents (i’m living under their roof, they pay for my insurance) seem to be ok with, but truth is, I want to be off meds completely. I have doubts about my bipolar diagnosis because I have a strong belief that had I never been put on lexapro or smoked as much weed as I did (the shit dispensaries give out is strong af in California) I would never have had my psychotic break. With that said, is it not feasible that I live without daily medication?? If I want to taper off medication , I have to do so very discreetly because my parents are breathing down my neck for med compliance.
Can anyone relate? Does anyone have advice to give in regards to the predicament I’m in? Can someone just commiserate with me (lol)???
These “side” effects are destroying me. I have very little hope for the future.

I’ve been on prozac 40 and lamictal 200 for 4 years but suddenly it stopped working . I’ve been going through depression and mood swings or 6 months now without realizing that until I messed up my work and my colleagues told me. My psych put me on Latuda and lamictal and stopped the prozac, i felt so anxious, distracted, frustrated, shallow breath and tremors, i felt so hypo. My psych told me to stop Latuda and gave me propranolol for 3 days to ease the tremors & anxiety then put me on Wellbutrin 150 and Lamictal 200. My mood is been better but i still feel I’m going ups and downs, anxious and today i am severely depressed, not motivated and crying the whole day.
I’m thinking to take Latuda along with Wellbutrin while keeping Lamictal.. Any thoughts?
My Diagnosis: recurrent mood (affective) disorder

• i Used Latuda for 9 days before stopping
• I’m on Wellbutrin for 5 days Now

I’ve been on prozac 40 and lamictal 200 for 4 years but suddenly it stopped working . I’ve been going through depression and mood swings or 6 months now without realizing that until I messed up my work and my colleagues told me. My psych put me on Latuda and lamictal and stopped the prozac, i felt so anxious, distracted, frustrated, shallow breath and tremors, i felt so hypo. My psych told me to stop Latuda and gave me propranolol for 3 days to ease the tremors & anxiety then put me on Wellbutrin 150 and Lamictal 200. My mood is been better but i still feel I’m going ups and downs, anxious and today i am severely depressed, not motivated and crying the whole day.
I’m thinking to take Latuda along with Wellbutrin while keeping Lamictal.. Any thoughts?
My Diagnosis: recurrent mood (affective) disorder

• i Used Latuda for 9 days before stopping
• I’m on Wellbutrin for 5 days Now

So I've been on Lamictal (Lamotrigine specifically) for just over six months, up to 150 mg, and it's stabilized me really well compared to how I was prior to it. I am wondering if anyone has experience taking it with birth control however.
Birth control does interact with Lamictal, and can make the effects of it reduce, but doesn't count as titrating down, exactly (I spoke to both my OBGYN and my psychiatrist about it, but neither could give concrete answers.)
I was taking the pill for about three weeks before I developed a rash on my breast, which I immediately went to the ER for. They confirmed it wasn't SJS, but likely something hormonal, eventually evolving into weird blisters that have since begun to heal. The actual issue cropped up a few days later.
I started having withdrawals that I can only compare to those when I've gotten off benzos, but faster and more intense. Tremors, nausea, panic attacks, paranoia, chills, body aches, disorientation - the whole deal. My doctor freaked out, instructed me to stop the birth control, and I stopped. Two days later, I'm back to being fine.
Has anyone successfully managed to be on the pill and taken Lamictal? It's not for contraceptive purposes, but for debilitating cramps, which worsen my fibromyalgia, and therefore make working and existing in general rather painful.
I'll be upping my dose over the next few weeks to 200 mg, but I'm hoping I can at some point get back on the pill. Is anyone taking both things? If so, what brand? I was taking Nikki prior to my little catastrophe. Any advice or experience from others would be greatly appreciated!
TL;DR: Nikki (birth control) and Lamotrigine were disastrous, I'm trying to see if anyone has had better luck combining a contraceptive pill with Lamictal.

I’m a 29 Female, 5’1, 150lbs, non smoker, with a history of scoliosis, spinal fusion, graves disease with thyroidectomy, and ankylosing spondylitis. I currently take humira, levothyroxine, lamictal, and concerta. A few years ago I went to my dr and told him I was having significant hip and back pain. He ordered imaging and told me there was nothing wrong and referred me to physical therapy. The PT told me there’s not much he can do because I have minimal mobility (fused from about T2-L3). I decided I’d have to live with it and went on with life. About a year or so ago I started experiencing numbness and tingling in my arms, shoulder pain, neck pain, frequent headaches, and minor neurological symptoms like dizziness, weakness, and tremors. I went back to my Dr and he referred me to a neurologist. The neurologist was very thorough and ordered a head and neck MRI due to right sided weakness, reduced sensation during the needle poke thing she did, and the tremors. Before I could get the imaging done, she went on leave. My Dr read the results for me and again told me there’s nothing wrong and suggested PT again. I did the PT and it did not help. I’ve since then continued to have the same symptoms and they seem to be worsening over time. Should I find a new physician or just accept that this is my new normal?