Lamictal cancer

34 year old Female, 5'7", 160 lbs
Past medical history includes: diverticulitis, uterine fibroids (3), iron deficiency anemia, menorhhagia, brain aneurysm, depression, anxiety
Medications include: aspirin 81mg, lamictal 100mg
Non-smoker
Started having weird gastric symptoms. Acute, pinching pain under sternum with an odd, rubbing sensation (like rubber balls). Sharp aching pain in lower left abdomen. I feel like I'm being poked all over what i think are my intestines. It feels like i have a finger inside my abdomen poking me all over, sometimes it hurts and sometimes it doesn't. Recently it started to feel like something is poking from inside my stomach and outward to the abdominal wall (although this is not visualized). Started feeling like something is pushing my bellybutton (which may be attributed to developing interstitial cystitis after 2 back-to- back UTI's. This was fairly recent though and my abdominal symptoms started occurring months ago. )
I also have yellow to green stool, diarrhea and stomach aches often, and i do not feel like i fully evacuate my bowels.
I do have a strong family hx of colon and gastric/esophageal cancer.
Asked my FM doc and he was having a very rough day. Didn't really answer my questions and referred me to GI but i won't see them for months. Any ideas? Thanks

Hi everyone! I had a breakthrough seizure on Thursday in the middle of the street with my friends and family. Before that seizure, the last time I had one was in summer 2020. In 2020 my lamotrigine level was too low so my doctor increased it. The only changes that I can think of "recently" are a series of very stressful events: divorce, parent had cancer, I just finished grad school, work has been stressful, first hand experience of anti-semitism and my family is in Israel where there's a big war. I only mention the last two because they have been huge stressors, so please refrain from any mean comments unrelated to Epilepsy. The fact that I am nervous about even writing this on an epilepsy support page is sad.
Oh, and I was taking Dramamene (sp?) to sleep. My sleeping patterns haven't been too consistent either. I froze my eggs last summer with no issues. I went back on Yasmin birth control pills and was in day 4 of taking them when I had the breakthrough seizure. But I have been taking Yasmin for years before. I am trying to figure out what could've contributed to this.
I pray that I won't have to switch medications because apart from Keppra, Lamictal is the only AED that doesn't mess a fetus up too much. I also am used to the side effects.
I am seeing my doctor tomorrow. The doctors at the ER told me to take clonazepam at night to sleep, which I have been doing. I got the lamotrigine blood level results from the ER today and they came out normal.
My question is: Has anyone else felt really tired and out of it since a breakthrough seizure - despite sleeping a lot? I swear, I can sleep all day. I am on vacation atm luckily. Is it because I am depressed? I feel so frustrated, worried and hopeless. I went from feeling relatively normal to now worrying walking down the stairs. I have a life to live and I don't want to make a huge fuss about going to the bathroom (I need to go up and down the stairs). "Don't be so stressed" is even harder when I have this to worry about! I am staying at my parents for the time being. I feel like a teenager. Writing this makes me want to cry...
What AED don't cause weight gain, facial hair, and baldness? I am so worried about switching drugs.

41m. Have felt like I’ve been “off” my whole life. Was started on Effexor XR (venlafaxine) in early 20’s for GAD/depression and was on it for quite a long time. I was newly married, stressed about finding a job and chalked it up to that. I was on it up until about 6 years ago when I took a Genesite test and was determined that Pristiq (desvenlafaxine) was a better fit for my DNA makeup, so I switched to that. At one point I was on Lamictal but not because of a BP2 diagnosis. I cannot recall what that really did and eventually discontinued. Last year I was also on Wellbutrin (150mg) along with my Pristiq (50mg) and felt much better late summer 2023 so decided to come off my Pristiq. I also used weed regularly and don’t have the best relationship with alcohol, but as I’ve read, for many, it really helps quiet down the noise and anxiety and makes me feel good so I kept using it. I just don’t have an off switch. In retrospect, I highly regret those decisions, but I can’t change the past, I can only do better moving forward.
Fast forward to October 2023 and I essentially stopped being able to sleep. Probably averaged 2 hours each night for an entire month. I was married to my second wife (we had been married for almost 2 years but together for 6), we each have two kids, she had just beat breast cancer and the stress of everything was at a peak in combo with the medicine switch and substance usage. Very early in November I voluntarily checked into the mental health hospital (psych ward, though I hate using that phrase) and was there for 4 days. They gave me some sleep meds and started me on some Mirtazipine. I was officially diagnosed with MDD without psychotic features. When I got out is when things started to get really bad. On top of everything else, I felt extreme shame and guilt for even letting it get to the point of admitting myself. I felt like I was letting my wife, kids, parents, siblings and work down. I do believe I went into full blown psychosis and a week later, readmitted myself to the hospital and I spent about 2 weeks in. When in I was given Trazodone to sleep, Mirtazipine, Gabapentin, and Olanzapine. I really struggled to communicate and advocate for myself with the doctors and was essentially “locked” in my brain. After meeting with the head psych doctor, he recommended me for ECT treatment. Unfortunately, I wasn’t of sound mind and just agreed to it without much discussion. I ended up with 4 treatments before I discontinued the treatments because I felt like it was frying my brain. Perhaps it did help some and snapped my psychosis, but I essentially lost the entire month of November memory-wise. On top of that, my wife told me she was getting an apartment right after one of my ECT sessions. 10 days after I got out of the hospital, she told me she wanted a divorce. In retrospect, I’m sure she was scared, confused, nervous and ultimately, she did what she felt she had to do. I still love her madly but do believe there will be no reconciliation. I’m still trying to figure out how to seek closure and apologize for everything to her, but I have not gotten there yet.
Follow all this with a recent formal diagnosis of ADHD (February 2024) and started Vyvanse 30mg and that seems to have really helped with focus, motivation and executive disfunction. I think I’ve lived with it my whole life after reading and learning more about it, and I’m glad to be able to get treatment for it.
I recently started back with a new therapist weekly to help me unravel all that has transpired and to REALLY get to the root of all my struggles. I very much relate to the concept of cycling and going from what I now believe to be Hypomanic stages and then also spending a lot of time in the depressive phases. Sometimes it seems daily, other times it’s week to week. If I look back on my life, I can see many other times where I was driven, focused, had a very elevated mood and felt like I could do anything, followed by unexplainable crashes, irritability, isolation and generally just living in my head, withdrawn and confused as to how I was one way for a while, and switched to another “version” of me. I wasn’t effective at communicating it often as I didn’t know how and felt shame and guilt that I couldn’t just be normal. My second wife was always even keeled, motivated, organized and loving and in my head, I always thought I would be dragging her down with my moods, so I masked the best way I knew how. She was supportive to an extent, but I think she kind of just wanted me to get fixed, not realizing that there is no easy fix for this, and you don’t fight mental illness like you fight breast cancer.
I’m not entirely sure why I’m writing this, and not sure if I’m in a mild form of Hypomanic phase now as I blurt all this out for this community to read. I just felt the need to get it all out there and maybe someone can relate or identify with things I mention. I feel strongly I need to get back with my psychiatrist and perhaps explore a formal diagnosis of BP2, but also, I’m scared of that and not sure how easy it would be at this point in my life while also having ADHD.
I’ve always been a high performer in my two careers and been with my second place for 11 years and even given a portion of ownership because of all my contributions. I feel like at times the possible Hypomania has been a blessing, but also realize it can be a curse and during the depressive phases, I struggle quite a bit. I’m a huge overthinker and ruminate about a lot of my past, wishing I could change things. When I’m the real me, I feel like I’m intelligent, loving, caring, kind and gentle. Other times, I don’t feel those things and it can be disconcerting to put it mildly, but I know that isn’t the real me. Maybe you can relate.
Anyways, thank you for reading and feel free to comment with perspectives, suggestions, etc. This is a throwaway account, as I’m still in the early stages of unraveling everything and because I do believe the stigma is real, unfortunately.
Take care.
EDIT: My new therapist is the one who suggested BP2 after him hearing all this. Prior to that, nobody has ever mentioned it being a possibility.

36F
I have not felt quite well for about two years, but the past 10 months it feels like I am on a quick downhill slide. It seems like I have so many unrelated symptoms and they are all bothersome, but it seems like they are never looked at as a whole. Is it simply aging? The last few months have just left me feeling extremely distressed and disheartened. If nothing is actually wrong, then why can’t I simply feel well? I feel so sick. I spend so much time crying because I don’t feel well. I am angry. Why can’t anyone figure out what is wrong? After the abdominal/pelvic ct came back clear, I’m a mess. I have no more ideas. I had begun to think lupus, but with a negative ana - unlikely. Then my bowel movement/gi issues began and was considering crohns, but nothing visualized on the ct. I considered ovarian cancer, but again - clear ct.
SYMPTOMS:
-pelvic pressure/fullness (since 12/2022)
-urinary urgency/unable to fully empty (since 12/2022)
-bowel movement urgency ONLY after sitting down to pee (lasted a few weeks)
-headaches/migraine, three to four a week
-sleeplessness, occasional (last couple months)
-bloating/very painful/kept me from eating for fear of it happening again, extreme
-smell of ammonia on breath, occasional
-brain fog/confusion (increasing for the last five ish months), severe
-hip pain/was using a walker, painful to be seated (abruptly occurred and lasted about six weeks before it got suddenly much better)
-hands, wrists, part of arm going numb during sleep (wear braces now)
-rash on face/neck which cleared in about a week, but I am now consistently having redness/slight puffiness under the brow and under the eyes
-red bumps on face, back (no head, doesn’t seem to be acne)
-chest pain
-mucous in stool, significant amount
-blood with stool, bright red
-rectal bleeding visible on underpants (only once)
-decreased appetite
-abdominal pain/cramping after eating, drinking, severe
-frequent loose stools, ~8x daily
-medication capsules visible in stool
-constipation that lasts two or three days
-abscess on upper inner thigh, 2x
-nausea, frequent
-bruising like discoloration near anus and perineum, ~3 months
-right side labia redness/very slight puffiness, ~3 months
-spot on inner labia that sort of looks a varicose vein, ~1 month
-redness in throat
-oral sloughing, occasional
-sensitivity to light, almost constant
-menstrual periods are often late, heavy and long (8/9 days of bleeding)
LABS (since 6/2023):
-cbc, normal
-std panel/hiv, negative
-metabolic panel, consistently showing abnormal HIGH PROTEIN
-tsh, normal
-a1c, normal
-vitamin d, abnormal LOW (not new)
-magnesium, normal
-phosphorus, normal
-ddimer, abnormal HIGH
-bilirubin, normal
-hepatitis b/c, negative
-prolactin, normal
-t4 free, normal
-protein serum electrophoresis, abnormal GAMMA PROTEIN HIGH / CHRONIC INFLAMMATION PATTERN
-amylase/lipase/hepatic function, normal
-esr (requested, thinking lupus), abnormal HIGH
-crp, normal
-ana, negative
-helicobacter, negative
-occult blood, negative
IMAGING (since 6/2023):
-xray on hip, moderate left hip degeneration
-mammogram, clear
-ecg, clear
-ct chest, clear
-echo, clear
-epatch, 2.25% PVC burden
-ct abdomen/pelvis, clear
Dx: GAD, ADHD, migraine, arthritis of left hip, carpal tunnel.
Meds: wellbutrin, lamictal, adderall, buspar as needed, imitrex nasal spray as needed, marijuana.
Surgeries: cholecystectomy (over 10 years ago)

Wondering if this is a concerning trend in my lymphocytes levels over the past two years. 37F, Caucasian, diagnosed with GERD, anxiety, depression, ADHD. I take nexium, Lamictal, and birth control. Family history of uterine and prostate cancer. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Test is titled “Lymphocytes (%) (Auto)”.
5/22/22 - 6.5% (L), 2/21/23 - 45.9% (H), 3/12/24 - 34.5%, 4/18/24 - 45.4% (H)

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.

20F taking depo-provera shot caplyta lamictal lexapro montelukast and xyzal (for allergies/asthma and schizoaffective bipolar) I've had irregular and heavy painful periods ever since my first (12 or 13 im unsure) and doctors have always brushed me off and said it was normal at my age. I switched gynecologist due to this (and a perforated iud they refused to acknowledge) and my new gynecologist sent me for an ultrasound due to the pain not subsiding off of periods. I'll post the ultrasound notes in the comments. The doctor that prescribed the ultrasound told me all that was found was a polyp in my uterus and told me it wouldn't cause any of my symptoms, and that she thinks its GI related. I also have a family history of endometriosis which furthers my suspicions since she was also told everything she experienced was "normal". On the ultrasound notes the mass was described as heterogeneous, and that it was also hypoechoic and about 0.6 cm in size. I'm a medical student so of course I wanted to investigate and read through some studied about endometrial polyp findings on ultrasound and found that heterogenous and hypoechoic masses can be suggestive of cancer. Am I crazy? Should I leave this gynecologist and talk to my primary about the findings?

Hello everyone! I wanted to post this in hopes that somebody who is maybe spiraling with healthy anxiety will see it and take comfort, or at least have one moment of relief. I also hope this will encourage someone to maybe consider other options before taking Flagyl (Metro). Disclaimer, this reaction does NOT happen to everyone. I am not advocating against Flagyl, and I’m not encouraging anyone to not trust doctors or medicine. This is me just piecing all of the parts of my health puzzle together and comparing to other people’s experience, specifically women who were given Flagyl for BV. If you’ve also experienced any of these side effects or different ones after taking Flagyl, I’d love to hear about your experience.
I am diagnosed with OCD and my Dad died last May of cancer, so I have been having a bad go with healthy anxiety in recent times. In January, I went to my annual check up and complained of UTI symptoms.
QUICK SIDE BAR ABOUT THE UTI SYMPTOMS: At the time, I was taking 100mg of lamictal (lamotrigine) a day. I started to notice these symptoms after going up on my meds. I brought this up to my doctor to see if this could be the cause of my UTI symptoms because I was told Lamictal could cause kidney issues. She basically said it could be, but didn’t have any additional knowledge on the matter to offer.
At my annual, all of my labs looked good and she said my pee sample didn’t show UTI but we could swab for anything else. It came back with results of an abnormal amount of Gardnerella, and I was prescribed the oral version of Flagyl (Metro). Every time I would take a dose of flagyl, I would feel that feeling you get when you’re coming down with the flu. Achey and tired and bleh. I reached out to my doctor when I started to experience more discharge than before I started it (before flagyl, I just had water like discharge and it was a little too wet at all times down there. After flagyl, I started having yellow-green discharge) and pelvic pain. I also had dark orange urine. My doctor assured me that the darkening urine is a common side effect of Flagyl, but that I could discontinue and do the gel if I preferred. Me…being lazy tbh and just wanting to get this over with…continued on with the Flagyl and finished it. Towards the end of my treatment, I developed a boil on the left side of my groin. It was like a warm, itchy red lump. I messaged my doctor and came in. By this time, the boil had popped on its own and was going down, but she prescribed me Doxycicline to knock it out. I had done a quick and bad shave job a few weeks before the boil, and we chalked it up to that.
After my flagyl and doxy treatments both ended and the boil went away, I took a picture of my down there region to see how everything was looking. Basically just self inspecting because these two new issues that I’ve never experienced before were putting me on edge. When I looked at the photo, I noticed several moles (not abnormal but very noticeable) that I’d never remembered seeing. I resorted to Dr. Google which is mostly ALWAYS a bad idea. But, I did, and I came to the conclusion that with all of my symptoms combined, I probably had cancer or at least a really bad disease. I was a mess, experiencing anxiety, no, PANIC, in a way that I hadn’t felt in a very long time. It was like nothing could stop it. I felt a constant sense of dread and was crying very often.
I went to my doctor as she graciously let me come in again within a pretty short notice to check out my “lesions” and she assured me that they’re not abnormal and she understood my anxieties, but that we’ll check them out again in a year, with me doing regular self-exams every 3-4 months. I asked if I should go to a dermatologist and she said not at this time.
After this…I went along with my life. I started school and was pretty distracted. Until, my BV came back. And soon after my doctor’s appointment to get swabbed and diagnosed again, my boil came back, as well as butt pain/split butt crack skin. At this point, my anxiety was out of freaking control. I was having panic attacks on and off genuinely all day every day. I felt stuck in fight or flight mode. I took it upon myself to go to a local dermatologist, and paid out of pocket. She told me it was folliculitis, and the split butt crack was likely caused by all of the moisture from the BV. She asked what medications I was currently taking, and told me, without me asking, that Lamictal can mess with our estrogen. Additionally, the moles also looked okay to her, and she also suggested annual check ups. She prescribed me a whole month of doxycicline and topical Clindamycin and suggested laser hair removal.
At this point, I am begging my doctor to do a pelvic exam (she does my OBGYN stuff as well) as I am concerned I have cancer from all of these wacky symptoms. Also during this time, and since starting Flagyl, I am pretty constipated. Even more so after I have a split in the butt crack skin. It genuinely made me so tense down there (whether it was anxiety making me feel tense or actual issues down there re: butt, who knows.) Anyway, she says she’s sorry to hear about the boil, and will refer me to a dermatologist to further investigate the recurring boils, then suggests it could be a very painful skin disease. This is all over the portal, btw.
I spiraled. I literally traumatized myself with google searches, reddit searches, facebook group searches, etc. I basically made everything I was experiencing fit into this potential diagnosis and didn’t realize that not all of my thoughts and feelings weren’t 100% facts until my body left panic mode, which has been within the last month.
Part two in the comments after I eat dinner.

38f- white - 5’4-180lb- non smoker- diagnosed with anxiety and depression. I take klonopin 1 mg a day , Levothyoxine 150 mcg a day, Lamictal 100 mg a days- location of the problem is my esophagus and bothering last 3 weeks. Have been take nystatin 4 ml 4x a day . overall general health is good.. have had thyroid removed due to nodules non cancerous and a knee replacement.. suffer from year around allergies take Allegra as needed
I accidentally shared a straw with my boyfriend a few times after finding out I had it. Kind of did it out of habit not thinking. I know it was stupid.. now I feel so guilty. What are the chances they he’s going to get. Equally as stupid I continued to drink out of the same straws.. I’ve had a lot stress going on so I’ve kinda been out of it.. how likely is it that I keep the Infection alive. By doing this even though taking medicine
And how will my Gastro know if the thrush is gone on my follow up without another endoscopy bc I can’t really tell him if symptoms are gone bc I never knew had to begin with and I always have a sore throat bc of allergies and my anxiety will make Me believe I have all the symptoms

Hey everyone,
I’m relatively new here but have an interesting story. This post is tagged with “need support” but I would like it to also be very much an opportunity for others to learn and find solace in their experiences.
In 2012, at 20 years old, I experienced rapid onset of the most debilitating feeling I have ever known. It started as hypochondriasis (I had a blister from basketball get a blood infection which my lymph nodes isolated. They felt weird and, as I was studying medicine, I thought too much about them being cancer). This line of logic became inescapable over the duration of two weeks. During my return home over the holiday season, I experienced the first of what could be described as severe panic episodes. This train wrecked me for the next 8 months.
I can remember lying in my bed during those days and hoping and praying that it would be like the flu. That I would just wake up one day and things would feel different, but better. I had quit eating, I went from about 170lbs of the best shape I could possibly be in, healthily, to 80lbs. I was 20 years old and before I regained weight I could fit into size 14 boys jeans in all but length.
Around the 6 months mark, I pondered life and experience long enough to recognize that I no longer recalled what it felt like to feel “normal”. It was at this moment I experienced the most freeing and debilitating paradigm shift. Despite fears of my physical health being poor due to the somatic repercussion of panic, I had all but conquered it and could push past the thoughts. However, with recognizing my win over this aspect of thinking, I also inadvertently created a vulnerability. I failed to guard my flank against the fear of psychosis.
At the 7 month mark I was so haunted by my experiences and fear that I checked myself into a hospital to analyze what psychosis looked like in others. My secondary intent was to get the help I needed. I was institutionalized for around a month by my election (I was always 00 code meaning I could pretty much do what I wanted) during this time I would received the diagnosis of GAD.
The major symptoms calmed down, I was able to regain some semblance of poise and move forward. I had been prescribed anti-depressants and trazadone for sleep. Nearly 3 years went by without much thought of what had occurred until I ended up in jail 2 or 3 times (it’s hard to remember). I would later talk to my doctor about stopping the medications as I thought I was okay, this led to another episode similar to the first. I was diagnosed as, and rather fittingly, with Bipolar 2. A month after my re-ignition of the most painful of symptoms I, again, prevailed.
Naturally I was placed on a variety of psychotropics following these occurrences. I was so terrified of falling into psychosis that I pushed to stay on Seroquel despite the extremely negative impacts on health it was causing. Despite all of this, somehow o managed to adjust my degree from ophthalmology to clinical mental health counseling and psychology and achieve my masters. I got married. I found friendships that forged memories and bonds that I will never be able to express how thankful I am for them.
3 years went by and I recognized the toll seroquel was having on my life and decided to work with my family, friends, wife and doctors to discontinue it. I was terrified but it worked. I can remember driving home from work one night and hearing the crickets and how it felt emotionally. How I had missed out on so much due to fear. How, now that I could feel again, I would take back my life and fight for the improvement of the treatment of mental health. Unfortunately this hope convinced me to speak with my doctor about attempting to try to be medication free. He seemed genuinely supportive and remained a constant factor in my experience. I made it 6 months before I crashed again. This time for a week. I was devastated, but got back up and continued on.
Today marks four years since that moment. I had been placed on Lamictal, Effexor and Klonopin (PRN). I took them religiously, avoided all substances, began my doctorate and continued to be an avid supporter of my clients and a vocal contributor to mental health communities.
4 months ago I moved to a new state with my wife. I had to get a new psych in this process. I was feeling lower than normal (bipolar 2 is characterized by nearly consistent depression). I began to recognize that Effexor had probably ran its course for usefulness and my psych agreed. It’s been a month since then and around 3 medication shifts and it’s been absolute hell.
I feel more isolated than ever before. I have such terrible dissociation that it causes back to back panic attacks about falling into psychosis. My wife has shown a bit less supportiveness this time around due to the increased stress. All in all, even with a nearly complete doctorate in behavioral health and 6 years of counseling experience, I am at a loss.
My hope here is that, for those in the early stages, you can learn from my experiences and hubris. For myself, I am hoping to find some sort of message that resonates or stories to help me feel less alone in my experiences. I hate that it feels like I’m trapped here for eternity. Despite logic and evidence of previous success, this monster, in its worst form, has not become easier to manage.
I wish you all a peaceful evening.

22 female, currently taking lamictal 50mg (was on 25mg for two weeks)
almost a week ago, i was showering when i noticed i had two hard lumps behind my left ear. i also noticed later on in the day i had a lump on the right side of the back of my neck by my hairline. the day before i found these, i had been having tension headaches. i work with pharmacists so i asked them and they think it’s just swollen lymph nodes, maybe from a recent cold i had (3 weeks ago). today, i discovered a small lump in front of my right ear, sort of by my jaw. there is an even smaller, non painful one by my left ear. i’ve had a headache almost every day, usually when im at work. i’m a pharmacy tech so it’s usually when im filling prescriptions and constantly raising my right arm to take pictures of the meds.
i am planning on seeing a doctor next week, but i am going away this weekend and tomorrow my father is having surgery for his cancer so i will not have any time. this has been making me incredibly anxious all week, im extremely worried it could be something serious. basically just looking for someone to tell me im not actively dying.
thank you in advance!
edit because i forgot to mention - i have tmj and am usually pretty good at not clenching but i have noticed increased clenching, 95% of the time its while im working. i also have been having minor tooth pain but i can’t really tell if its my tooth or my jaw hurting. not sure if this would contribute to the bump by my eajaw. i will be making an appointment with a dentist in the next couple weeks (been avoiding because i do not have a few hundred bucks to spare)

24F here… I just gave birth for the second time in October On the 6th of March I got into a car accident which required me to get a CT. They found an incidental nodule on my thyroid. In size it’s 3.6 -3.7cm They told me to follow up with my pcp to get an “a non emergent” ultrasound… that sounds big to me and I’m so unbelievably terrified. My grandfather has a nodule and he said hes doing just fine and not to worry… Previously before the accident I went to the bc my heart was beating really fast and it scared me. When I laid down I’d get short of breath and it felt like my heart was in a way rebooting? I can’t explain it. They shrugged me off and said it was postpartum anxiety and depression and to get help for my mental health ( I recently have and now on lamictal and Seroquel + IOP therapy, seeing a therapist regularly starting in April.) I’m terrified. My anxiety is through the roof. I’m scared it’s cancerous, I was foolish and googled it and now I’m even more scared, what are the survival rates of cancer in the thyroid. I want to be here for my children. I’m young I don’t want to die. I really don’t understand all this medical terminology on google and I feel super illiterate. If it’s removable could I go on to living a healthy life? I’m so so nervous on getting this ultrasound💔 My life just is getting started.

I was only on DIY 150mg Bupropion SR and 45mg DXM tablet for 2 days.
It worked beautifully the second day. I was shocked. My negative self talk and suicidal ideation was lessened to the point my internal response was " So what?" Anxiety was gone. It was a bit sedating but not like I needed to take a nap.
I do not have sleep apnea. It wasn't acid reflux.
I took the DIY dose at 8AM.
Fell asleep sitting up and woke up with a gasp like almost "entering my body" for lack of a better description. It startled me at first, but then I just laughed and went to bed. This was around 10:30PM.
Then in the wee hours of the morning it happened again. I was sleeping on my back. Same response.Startled then amused. It was almost seductive.
Other meds are lamictal 100mg(took at 1PM) and .5 mg xanax I took at 9PM.
Also on cancer meds. Not sure if that made a difference.
Any guesses as to what the hell that was about?
Of course, I will talk to my doctor.
I am almost 60 and have been around the block with all sorts of drugs.
Never robotripped and don't plan to do so.
Thanks.
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I'm going off this. I sometimes wonder if it is doing me more harm, I do not know if I matured, or if my "getting to upset and it looking ugly" is maturity or a behavior. I do not know if my constant on edge is it. "why do you think it's the Lamictal making you anxious?" and I say "well the bottle does say tell your doctor if you feel fearful, and I have not been good for years"
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I am just concerned that is going so fast. I have these 24 mg pills, 4 once a day for 10 days, ten days 2, then 1.for 10 days I thought I was going to take each refil at a time. going down. I want a reboot and maybe diagnosis. maybe I am not even BP2. it has been so long and my life is different now. I do not really remember, outside of I would go on tangents and get upset easy. I'm listening to someone's video about how they were diagnosed with BP when they were in fact autistic.
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I wasn't really a big part of the community and I only post when I think I needed something. see if any one else had the tinnitus, or leg bruises.
so, wish me luck. I do not know if I will miss the weird dreams(unless they were always odd and vivid). I haven't had a needle nightmare in a while, or the crotch wasps. I just seem to had been sleepy and things I like did not make me to happy. I am told happyness is very fleeting anyway. I am afraid it damaged me for life l, as I fear risperadone might of. I do not even know if I got that breast cancer from this not so lmao lamotrigine.
if i will be less sleepy, and if it is why I got an appetite increase.

I always had signs of psychosis before my longest episode, with having a tendncy to snap at others and have debilitating panic attacks, but it didn't reach the level of completely life-stopping until June of 2022, when I lost my uncle to a 2 year battle with cancer. It hit me incredibly hard, because he was like a second father to me, sometimes even supporting me where my father couldn't. Losing him felt like the end of the world and nobody could understand.
I just completely cracked. I quit my job a month later because I had an early AM shift that had me hallucinating, so I quit and I just did nothing for an entire year. I had gotten a job that December but lost it because I caught Covid on my second shift and missed 3 weeks of work (and I live in a right to work state). I shut myself in my room, shut everyone else out, and tried to turn to the internet to comfort me, but in hindsight it just made me worse. I was paranoid and fearful of every friend and acquaintance who came into my life, to the point of blowing a small argument out of such proportion it destroyed my online reputation and friendgroup, and I didn't even know what I was doing. I still didn't, afraid when it came back to bite me, and I only understood the depth of my actions recently.
I rarely had a day of lucidity. I would come in and out of periods of stability though my pathological fears would still linger and mark everything I do. I rarely felt like "me." I took new names and online pseudonyms while barely recognizing the person in the mirror. I was terrified of everyone but I was most terrified of myself. My biggest fear before my psychotic break was that I was a monster, that everyone barely tolerated me and it was only a matter of time before they told me to fuck off and that I was a horrible person. For that to actually happen to me broke me, even if each person I hurt had every right to cut me out of their lives.
I was medicated the whole time. I was on Seroquel with a slowly increasing dosage and was eventually put on Lamictal too, while I was still misdiagnosed with Bipolar I. It worked to keep the manic episodes amd hallucinations at bay but it was never enough, until now.
I'm sure this is a very familiar story to everyone on this subreddit. I know I'm not alone in this struggle. And it hurts me to know so many others suffered the same way I did. But I'm posting here, after my diagnosis was corrected, to give everyone some hope.
My Lamictal was increased from 50mg to 100mg and suddenly it was like the fog cleared and I was me again. I'm still marked by this disorder and it's changed me but now I finally feel in control of the situation, rather than just a passenger in the body of some monster who spews venom without even realizing it.
I'm now almost two months into my new job that I love doing, and I've managed to reach out and connect with some old friends after explaining the situation to them. Some were present for the break and some weren't. I wish I could get back everyone who I hurt during the past year and a half, but I know that isn't my right, and honestly, I accept it. I have to move on from this and move forward and I'm finally able to. I've been reconnecting with my girlfriend now that I'm finally lucid, and telling her that her years of supporting me through her struggle won't be in vain because I can support her back now.
Not everyone's recovery path will look like mine. Not everyone will be able to return to working and not everyone will be able to clear their fog all the way. Sometimes medication treatments are a bit more of a complex mix than what I have. Not everyone you've hurt will take you back and the path forward can be scary and unknown. But I would say it's worth it to keep pushing forward because it can get better and it will get better.
Always keep trying, and keep going onward to greener pastures. You will reach them one day.

I know Bipolar treatment usually goes to Lithium as a first-line option. Then there are usually choices to be made versus using an anticonvulsant or an antipsychotic (or both!). Now, I know we currently diagnose mental illness based on groups of symptoms. That said, I assume that one day, years from now, we will instead classify some mental illnesses based on the biological/neurological abnormality that is occurring. I have noticed in the bipolar forums some people find that an anticonvulsant (divalproex, lamictal, etc) is their miracle drug, and others (like myself) find that antipsychotics make a huge positive difference.
Do you think that one day they will find that people who respond really well to anticonvulsant medications will be found to have a different physical cause to their Bipolar versus those who respond really well to antipsychotics? Like we will no longer have type one, type two and cyclothymia subtypes but instead label it based on root cause, similar to how we are finding that different subtypes of cancer respond best to different kinds of cancer treatment?

F46 United States Irritable depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD Taking Lamictal History of H Pylori late 2021 eradicated, diagnosed and confirmed eradicated via breath tests Duration - 4-6 weeks
Had H Pylori a few years ago. I’ve had stomach issues my whole life, have chronic stress, and childhood abuse. No current drinking since h pylori and no smoking. Used to do both, quit smoking in 2004.
Recently I have had persistent burning stomach pain in what I think is my GE junction. It started with a lot of heartburn and that subsided after I paused coffee and spicy foods. For a few days I had a ton of gas, belching and flatulence, but that’s gone now. I took a week +a few days over the counter PPI and have taken an H2 blocker, then I asked for a stronger PPI from my primary. She gave me Omeprozol that caused restless leg syndrome so I stopped it after two or three days. I did a stool test for H Pylori a few days after I stopped the PPI last week (stopped Wednesday gave sample on Saturday) and that came back negative. I know that can affect the result, not sure how much. I was given Protonix and that helps. I had that during my H Pylori treatment so I tolerate it well. My GI scheduled an EGD (based on these symptoms) and Colonoscopy (routine due to my age) on March 14th. My bowel movements are normal, I’ve lost about 5lbs over the course of 4-6 weeks as I eliminate foods and try to heal, so it’s not really unexplained.
**Can a previous H Pylori infection cause an ulcer a few years later? Does this sound like a recurrence? I live in an affluent town and drink clean water. How common is stomach cancer and does this sound like that?

Hi, everyone. I was diagnosed with bipolar I last march, 9 months after I lost a relative to cancer. I've realized recently through looking at my online activity that I remember absolutely nothing from the past year and a half outside of vague dizzy recollections, and it was especially worse after March. I was put on Seroquel and Lamictal ever since March and while I don't feel manic anymore and my depression has lessened, I wonder if the medication could have induced or worsened my amnesia? Though another factor is I do also have a hypofocus on my brain that I'm seeing a neurologist about soon. What's your experiences taking Seroquel? Did it make you better, worse, or experience new different symptoms entirely?

Hello all :) I was curious if there is anyone here who has been taking Seroquel. I've been going through a rough patch for a little over a year now (job loss, best friend passing away, cancer scare with my mom, etc) and I recently had a new psychiatrist that I'm seeing prescribe it to me and I'm having a hard time adjusting.
Just for context, he also increased my dose of Lamictal from 100mg twice a day to 125mg twice a day and added 5 mg of Buspirone that I cut in half and take in the morning and at night (taking full pills was making me very manic). I also take medical marijuana (Indica) at night to help me sleep (it makes the bad dreams go away).
I had started taking 25 mgSeroquel about a month ago at night and it made me very tired and disoriented so I started cutting them in half. It took me some time to decide what time I should take it (especially because I'm a night owl) so I finally settled on 10:30 pm.
There were days that I would wake up in a fog (around 10am or so), yet other days I would be fine.
I forgot to take it twice over last weekend and was up till 3am both nights (it was Friday & Saturday, so I really didn't care as I was enjoying the evening. I did take it on Sunday and was in a slight haze the following morning.
I took it again on Monday night but didn't use any Indica before bed. After the Seroquel started kicking in, I was completely out of it & just wanted to get some sleep.
Even though I slept, I had horrible nightmares that night. I was in another haze on Tuesday morning and was low for the rest of the day. I think this was mostly from the nightmares but was concerned it may have something to do with the disruption of the Seroquel from over the weekend.
I skipped last night (Wednesday) and was very alert all evening (I went to bed around 2am).
Today I woke up without feeling disoriented, but was a bit jittery at first, and felt low again. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with my 'on again, off again' approach lately or if it's just my current situation that's affecting me.
I was hoping to get your thoughts on your experiences with Seroquel. My low dose feels like it's mainly to try and get me to sleep at night based how it sedates me, but is it supposed to affect my mood as well? Will skipping a dose or two affect my mood in an adverse way? Thanks for your input - I really appreciate you taking the time to help me.

I'm a 39 year old female non-diabetic. I have a history of having episodes here and there of (self diagnosed) reactive hypoglycemia when I was younger. It was usually a drop in blood sugar about 2 hours after a high carb breakfast. Once I learned what caused it I was able to avoid that situation by either not eating breakfast or making sure carbs are paired with plenty of protein. I have changed my way of eating over the last 10 years and have lost 110 lbs, a lot of it from keto and intermittent fasting (I got the lap band about 12 years ago but I didn't really start losing until keto) I haven't done keto in a few years but still do some intermittent fasting and am careful about my macro ratios. My most recent labs from last years physical show an A1C of 4.9% and estimated average glucose of 94.
So over the last few months I have noticed some symptoms mostly in the afternoon at work. I feel disoriented and hot and my ears start ringing. I was diagnosed with ADHD within the last year and have been trialing some stimulants. I was at first attributing my afternoon symptoms to my meds wearing off early, but after trying a few different regimens, the symptoms didn't improve. Then I started to notice I was sometimes getting shaky and my hands didn't want to work as well. I was also stuttering sometimes and kind of felt drunk. I decided to stop my stimulant to rule that out as a cause, but my symptoms have persisted. So finally I ordered a glucometer and started doing some pre and post meal readings. It has only been a couple of days, but the highest reading I've been able to get is 120 after purposefully trying to raise it by drinking a coke and eating a candy bar. All my pre and post meal measurements have shown an immediate drop in blood sugar. It doesn't seem to matter if it's a low carb/high protein meal. Last night at dinner it was 81 before eating. As soon as I started eating I started feeling weird. Took about 30 minutes to eat and I immediately checked and it was 73. I just can't figure out an explanation for it. I can feel the drop happening within my first few bites.
A few recent readings: 79 before breakfast, 66 immediately after. 95 before dinner, 77 immediately after. 90 before lunch, 71 immediately after. If I check about 2 hours later it's typically back up to around 90. My fasting sugar this morning is 70.
Any ideas on what this could be? I'm definitely going to make a doctor's appointment. Of course I'm googling like crazy. I came across insulinomas and am wondering about that. Not sure if my symptoms match, but my mom died of pancreatic cancer 2 years ago so I'm paranoid. Do we call it reactive hypoglycemia when the readings fail to show no initial spike in blood sugar? What would cause my blood sugar to drop as soon as i start eating?
*Edited to add that I take buproprion 150mg, lamictal 150mg, and daily long term prevacid for GERD

A few years ago I did GeneSight testing. I have always taken low doses of SSRIS and Adderall and the GeneSight seemed to confirm that I might be slower to metabolize some of these drugs. One thing that stood out was that Lamotrigine was in bright red and it was shown I had enzymes that would make me “ultra metabolize” this drug and higher doses would be needed if taken. It scared me off from taking it because it was labeled as a “significant drug interaction”.
After years of SSRIs and cutting ketamine treatment short due to horrible side effects, I have decided to take Lamictal for my depression (also have a new psych who was open to trying it vs my old psych). My father has taken Lamictal successfully for many years at 100 mg and is thrilled that I’m trying it.
I’m now up to 50 mg at 3 weeks and not feeling much difference. I’m wondering if I’ll have to take a high dose to feel any effects. Does anyone else know if they are an ultra rapid metabolizer?
I’m also wondering if anyone in menopause has been successful with this drug. I’m 35 but in medical menopause after cancer treatment. It looks like there might be a link between menopause and how the drug is metabolized.
Thank you!

I’m a 22M who recently was told by a psych NP that I have manic bipolar after seeking treatment for my ADHD. Got a second opinion from another NP, same thing. I want to know id I’m misdiagnosed because I feel quite better since starting meds but also worried that i will depend on these the rest of my life and that would be horrible if im not truly bipolar (on lamictal 75mg) heres what my symptoms over the last few years ive been experiencing:
Symptoms: Feeling unusually passionate about something or completely delusional about completing a huge goal or task in a short amount of time. One example of this is I work full time at a chemical engineering internship, and I will convince myself I am capable of completing a full time full semester online self paced college program signinng up and paying for 18 credits of coursework to complete in 16 weeks while working full time. I’ll call this toxic optimism. Sometimes I have the opposite, I have toxic pessimism. Sometimes my anxiety gets so bad that I have the opposite effect, racing crazy thoughts that are also delusional but thinking the absolute worst outcome of something. Such as my experiences with health anxiety. I’ll do self sabotaging behavior in an attempt to avoid the pessimistic consequence / concern. I will go from doctor to doctor repeating the same blood test / urinalysis over and appointments over and over again , or go from psychiatrist to psychiatrist going for second third fourth opinions because I won’t trust them or believe their diagnosis and I refuse to take the medications because I’ll convince myself that my medication for mental health is going to kill me, or cause me cancer so I completely stop taking my pills hoping that it’ll magically prolong my life I’ll suddenly completely change my diet to something that the internet says will reduce my risks of cancer I’ll spend hours, sometimes 12 hours straight reading through articles and reddit posts about my symptoms, in the past i have convinced myself (before speaking w doctor about results) that i have kidney disease, kidney infection, kidney failure, diabetes, cancer, heart disease
I second guess everything a doctor or psychiatrist says
Not being able to sleep because my brain is ON 24/7
When I’m experiencing delusions or highly passionate interests , I will talk super fast . Like in doctors offices or academic advising appointments I will have them tell me to slow it down and to relax. I got diagnosed with GAD generalized anxiety disorder and got put on buspar because it also helps with sleep , it worked at first but I’ve been starting to have panic attacks again and it’s not helping as much
Ill start projects at work and write huge projects reports that have TONS of information way more than what is expected from me and ive been told not to write as much and be more consise, then that quality of work will maybe last sometimes 2-3 weeks and suddenly i lose all interest in keeping that consistently and then ill end up doing not enough and lie/fib numbers and not do required work.
Same with school and studies, my quality of work ranges all over the place I know what I am capable of, I am capable of being a straight A student but I let myself slack, because I convince myself I might not be here tomorrow and to just have fun and live a stress free life and not to worry about my grades and jobs and that it’s ok to take days off etc. Can’t ever find a consistent balance in my life.
I manically bought a house at the age of 21 that needs a lot of work and repairs done and initially i bought new pipes new paint new fridges new couches new floors, i tought myself how to install floors and only did one floor and bought lots of furniture but just left it all in the garage for the last 3 months because i have literally no desire to do anything with it
I pick up friendships and convince myself that they’re no good for me, or I lose interest in having a social life, and then I let go of the idea I sign myself up for programs and groups at school because I convince myself I need more friends , and then when the events start I don’t care anymore, I don’t show up, I don’t have any interest anymore, I may have too much anxiety and think the worst that it’ll be a total waste of time
I pick up new interests / hobbies out of nowhere and don’t keep up with them. I excessively buy new pets , at one time when I was much younger and lived with my parents I was breeding mice and rats and I had frogs, leopard geckos, i bred cats, had loads of fish, I probably had over 50 pets , and then had to give them all away to the pet store because I couldn’t keep up with giving them all adequate care and attention. So many times I have started gardening and had probably one hundred plants and then I stopped caring I stopped watering them and they all died, 2 weeks later the cycle continues and i buy more seeds/plants/trees
I’ll scroll through facebook marketplace and Craigslist like it’s instagram looking at free or cheap junk / furniture / pets / RV’s / cars / electronics/ pianos / ping pong tables / hot tubs / plants etc, and sometimes I will manically drive long distances up to 1-2 hours to pick random stuff up, or other times I make plans with these people online to meet later in the week for pickup, initially be super excited about my find, then later in the week I’ll think “what in the world was I thinking??”
I have impulsively gotten myself into bad decisions that go against all my beliefs morals and goals. I became a complete alcoholic and pot smokers addict , was absolutely horrible with the substances until I got screened for potential kidney disease, then I convinced myself that they both cause disease and cancer and have been completely sober for 4 months. I never wanted to start them till my friends offered me them one day, i knew that addiction runs in my family but I didn’t care. I still struggle with substance abuse every day, it’s always on my mind once a day. Super strong feelings of cravings to go find a source of marijuana anywhere possible. I convinced myself I wanted to retire at the age of 30 on a lumpsome amount of cash and started researching the FIRE lifestyle of super early retirement
After gaining loads of weight (30lbs) in 3 months while i manically moved out of state for a job i ended up hating, i quit alcohol and weed and i completely changed around my diet and lifestyle I excersised a lot more than usual I started dieting out of this world , I even did the a diet which is super restrictive and doesn’t let you have any carbs!!! i lost 30 lbs within a month, and then lost interest in dieting and healthy early and now i’m back up 15 lbs. luckily not the full 30 probably because i genuinely have sticked with not going back to alcohol despite how hard it’s been
-so many manic vacations every year
-over the last 3 years I’ve had 10 different jobs
-watched over 100 youtube videos / channels of people with terminal illnesses and now im constantly worried im gonna develop cancer and diet