Withdrawals from lamictal

So I was prescribed for Lamictal on March because of bipolar symptoms. I was pretty sure back then that I actually might have bipolar but now I am starting to think that I just made it up/wanted to feel special or something. When I first started taking SSRI's like two years again for severe depression I did clearly have this manic week when increasing my dose, but I think it was just SSRI induced mania. I have stopped taking SSRI's two times, on January 2023 and January 2024. Took them for half of a year both times. Both times I didn't have any bad withdrawal symptoms from them, I just started to feel really good and super exited and motivated from everything. This year the good feeling lasted for like 3 weeks to a month, and then I got super depressed on February and the depression didn't go away. But now I feel like all this can be explained with other reasons than having bipolar. I don't recall having any manic episodes that doesn't involve stopping or starting SSRI'S. I do feel more stable now and the worst depression is definitely gone, but I am in a better place in my life than I was on Feb-March so I don't know if it has anything to do with the medicine. I fear that Lamictal is the reason why I feel so bland and unmotivated nowadays. I feel like I have lost my spark. I take 100mg Lamictal daily. Any opinions? I know this is definitely not the place for any diagnoses but I just would like to get some advice/opinions. I don't have any people I want to talk about this. My partner thinks I should continue taking them and doesn't really discuss the option that I might be taking the medicine for no reason.

Has anyone else had almost every medication they’ve tried cause muscle twitching in various parts of their body?
Or have intolerances to medication and the side effects are bad?
When Im not on any psych med, my muscles in my body don’t twitch. As soon as I start psych meds and continue taking them, my muscles twitch. The twitching is similar to as if I just did a full body workout out, but I haven’t.
It seems every drug I try, causes EPS/a movement disorder. Latuda caused my eyelids to twitch and facial tics. Serequel caused muscle twitching throughout my body.
Caplyta makes me physically ill and have flu like side effects that don’t go away. Im currently on the lowest dose (dropping from 42mg, to 21mg, to 10.5mg), and it still makes me feel shitty and isn’t even therapeutic anymore.
Lithium really messes with my thyroid and landed me in the ER.
Mood stabilizers for me don’t work because of the birth control interaction. I have endometriosis, and without birth control, I am constantly in debilitating pain. I don’t want to get an IUD because of how incredibly painful and traumatic it is to get one inserted, and the side effects. To be fair, my current oral contraceptive amps up my depression a lot and has side effects. But I can’t mentally handle being in excruciating pain all the time and not able to move. I also can’t mentally handle this depression either. Having to decide which to deal with — being in debilitating pain and be on a mood stabilizer to help my mental health or have a very bad mental state and not be in physical pain is a truly shitty decision to have to make as a woman. There is no winning if you’re a woman. (I do want to state that being in excruciating pain all the time DOES NOT help my mental health, regardless if Im on a med or not)
I’ve already tried Lamictal, while being on birth control. Lamictal made the BC ineffective and made my hormones not be stable and go up and down everyday, and I was in hell. And the BC made the Lamictal not effective.
Depakote is the only mood stabilizer that doesn’t affect birth control, even though birth control makes depakote less effective. Depakote makes my arm muscles twitch, and makes my leg muscles twitch more than they do now. It’s only 250mg of depakote too, so not therapeutic. I did run a lil experiment. I stopped the depakote for a week to see if some of my muscle twitching subsided.. and it did. My arm muscles no longer twitch. My leg muscles still do and it drives me INSANE.
I just.. I don’t get why my body is like this. There was a point when I was on 200mg Lamictal, 60mg Latuda, and 100mg of Serequel and the muscle twitching was so bad. My whole entire body was constantly spasming and moving.
Prior to July, I tolerated psych meds really well! Until a psychiatrist (who can rot in hell), cold turkey cut me off of a very high dose of klonopin. I went through a 2 month withdrawal and couldn’t get water or food down for at least a month and lost 30 pounds in 3 weeks. My body has never been the same again, and I now have severe GI issues because of the trauma my stomach went through during withdrawals.
After being cut cold turkey off of benzos.. my body and brain do not tolerate psych medications at all. experience EVERY side effect and they don’t go away, on top of movement disorders.
Im desperate for a medication to work and Im hopeless currently. Everything that seems to help me somewhat mentally, makes my muscles twitch and jerk!
I don’t know what to do and how long I can last with my current mental health! I don’t know if anyone would have advice or have gone through similar things? Has anyone else experienced numerous psych meds causing movement disorders?

this is my yearly ptsd anniversary of the time i OD’d on purpose, went into a coma for a week and spent 2 months in psych.
the problem is, my insurance was dumb and i missed 2 doses of my lamictal. it seems to have kickstarted trauma week early and every piece of media i try to consume is just making me incredibly sad.
my biggest trigger is parents reacting to their children dying. no matter the circumstance or age. i cant do it.
im just so fragile and extra sensitive from my shitty insurance and having withdrawal happen not to far from trauma week and everything is a lot right now.
so what are some lighthearted favorites. no death. no attempted death.

Hi everyone! I deal with BPD, anxiety, depression, CPTSD and panic disorder. I’m on 7 meds now (my psychiatrist and I are trying to lessen it but I recently went through a klonopin withdrawal, 2 months since I stopped taking it completely). I’m on pristiq (for depression), abilify (will be getting off), gabapentin (will going only be taken as needed), buspar (anxiety), hydroxizine pamoate (anxiety), clondine (for klonopin withdrawal), and just started lamictal (for bpd).
I deal with panic attacks and major general and health anxiety specifically in the last year when I started klonopin and dealt with the horrid side effects of becoming dependent on it. I feel similarly about clondine as it messes my heart. I haven’t drink in 10 months (since I got on klonopin but am off now).
I used to smoke a few times a week and it helped alot with my anxiety. But when I got on klonopin when I would smoke it felt like my brain is on fire and would trigger a panic attack and the last time it gave me heart palpitations and I went to the er. I tried it a few times in the 10 month period and it would usually do that but a few times it went good. I’m off klonopin now and 2 months post it and was wondering can I smoke? Will it give me the brain on fire effect or the heart palpitations. I have health anxiety since starting klonopin so I’m worried what it will do.
And similarly, since I’m off klonopin, can I drink? I tried drinking once since getting off it and it made my heart race and gave me a headache. I know from the information I gave you the answer to both would be no. But smoking used to help my anxiety and was a big part of my life. I’m not so much a drinker but I like drinking once a month with friends socially. Since I stopped both I feel so out of place, upset, and just want to feel normal and back to my old self. When I drank and smoke before I was on cymbalta and buspar only and it would go great, no side effects or anything. Please be kind and let me know what you guys think! And of course I ask my psychiatrist but she says always avoid drinking while on medications and she doesn’t know with the weed but I could try again that.

TLRD; Recently jumped from 25mg to 50mg of Lamictal (taken with other medications) after two weeks and wondering if my painfully unstoppable energy is a side effect.
Hey all. I currently started taking Concerta 36mg generic a few months ago and restarted Lexapro 10mg generic at the beginning of the year. Because of my gene type my psychiatrist suggested I take Lamictal generic to help boost the effects of another medications. This isn’t new to me, I had a different doctor do the same with Abilify years ago. I read that it can cause withdrawal and I suffered that from Effexor last year, but she assured me that the risk is low up until a certain point.
I started on 25mg and was taking that for a couple weeks consistently, then moved up to 50mg a couple days ago as we planned. But I just realized that I’ve been getting pretty overstimulated and wired since my increase. I’m super hyper-focused and fixated and energetic. It’s EXHAUSTING me. I’m not sure if it’s because of the medication or some other factor, but it’s been a lot. For reference, I have a general intake of caffeine because I work at a coffee shop, but no more than I’m used to >! a couple days after starting the Concerta I had a triple shot of espresso compared to my 1-2 and it made me WIRED— I spent four hours in a Target !<
Has anyone else experienced this? Is it just a side effect of changing doses? I’m scheduled to jump to 75mg in two weeks so I just want to know what to expect or look out for.
[Edit to add: I’m not taking this for bipolar disorder or epilepsy, though it was prescribed in part because I did have a seizure during my childhood.]

TLRD; Recently jumped from 25mg to 50mg of Lamictal (taken with other medications) after two weeks and wondering if my painfully unstoppable energy is a side effect.
Hey all. I currently started taking Concerta 36mg generic a few months ago and restarted Lexapro 10mg generic at the beginning of the year. Because of my gene type my psychiatrist suggested I take Lamictal generic to help boost the effects of another medications. This isn’t new to me, I had a different doctor do the same with Abilify years ago. I read that it can cause withdrawal and I suffered that from Effexor last year, but she assured me that the risk is low up until a certain point.
I started on 25mg and was taking that for a couple weeks consistently, then moved up to 50mg a couple days ago as we planned. But I just realized that I’ve been getting pretty overstimulated and wired since my increase. I’m super hyper-focused and fixated and energetic. It’s EXHAUSTING me. I’m not sure if it’s because of the medication or some other factor, but it’s been a lot. For reference, I have a general intake of caffeine because I work at a coffee shop, but no more than I’m used to >! a couple days after starting the Concerta I had a triple shot of espresso compared to my 1-2 and it made me WIRED— I spent four hours in a Target !<
Has anyone else experienced this? Is it just a side effect of changing doses? I’m scheduled to jump to 75mg in two weeks so I just want to know what to expect or look out for.
[Edit to add: I’m not taking this for bipolar disorder or epilepsy, though it was prescribed in part because I did have a seizure during my childhood.]

tl;dr: Did Sunosi make you feel more sleepy? If you stopped taking it for any reason, did you get bad headaches/body aches or any other side effects/symptoms?
I've been taking 70mg of Vyvanse and 20-40mg of Ritalin as needed for about 4-5 years now, and the combo works "okay". It's kind of manageable, but not great. I tried Wakix for two months in 2022 but it made me depressed, and as I have bipolar II with a history of chronic depression that's a no-go, so I stopped. About four months ago I started Sunosi and was up to 150mg - and it felt like it did nothing to help with the sleepiness/exhaustion, and even seemed to make me feel more sleepy? Like with just the Vyvanse/Ritalin combo I still get sleep attacks where I need to lie down, but I can't actually sleep - I have to just relax as if I'm going to nap for at least 30-45 minutes and then I'm (usually) good to go. But with Sunosi in the mix I would actually fall asleep when I napped during the day and I couldn't nap for anything less than 45 minutes, usually more than an hour, which is not dissimilar to how it was before I took any stimulants. I didn't notice any emotional or mental side effects, pretty much just the sleepiness.
I stopped taking the Sunosi about a week ago to see if it was really making a difference, and now I'm definitely having more headaches/migraines than usual (I have chronic migraines as it is), and my regular medication doesn't always make it stop, but I can't be sure if it's from stopping the med or if my migraines are just acting up. I also felt *really* nauseated yesterday morning and actually had to leave work, and my stomach has felt kind of messed up in general. I do feel a bit less sleepy and foggy during the day, but the headaches really suck, and I feel like my pain levels have been worse in general too.
If you've been on Sunosi did you notice any negative effects (other than agitation)? Did you ever feel more sleepy? And if you stopped it, did you have any "withdrawal" symptoms or negative effects? Everything I've seen says that Sunosi doesn't cause withdrawal issues, but I've had some weird side effects with other meds that supposedly weren't common, so I just don't know.
For context: I have narcolepsy w/o cataplexy, bipolar II disorder, ADHD, chronic migraines, and am being evaluated for Ehler's-Danlos Syndrome. I take 70mg Vyvanse, 20-40mg Ritalin, 300mg of Lamictal, 100mg Zoloft, 10mg Abilify, 5mg rizatriptan as needed and just started Emgality injections for migraines

My entire life has been intense emotionally. I’ve had thoughts of s**cide and sh’d as a kid. I thought my brain was broken. I have never stuck to something. Any hobby I had tainted or quit from severe depression. Every hobby was started in the midst of a hypomanic episode. Anything I think belongs to me gets stripped out of my reach.
Everyone I know is graduating college and I am technically still a freshman because I can’t pick an area of study to save my life. I changed it almost every semester, then would get severely depressed and withdraw.
My highs were very high. I would think everything is going to be fixed and I got my spark back, then any point of living and trying would immediately vanish.
Anyway, I had a hypomanic episode that was particularly bad because of my ssri. Been on it for months, one particular time period I couldn’t sleep for longer than 3 hours a night. Debated to quit my job, cut my hair, runaway, take out a loan, etc etc.
My birthday comes up, I am rapidly cycling from being severely depressed ab where I am at, to being hyper motivated and passionate about life, then days later contemplating s**cide.
Mind you I discharged from my partial hospitalization facility because I was experiencing hypomanic episode and my treatment team thought i was just getting better :( No one could realize I was bipolar. I couldn’t myself.
Now, 22, diagnosed, and started titrating lamictal.
Feeling hopeful!
TL;DR: 22F diagnosed with bipolar II years after adhd, GAD, and MDD diagnosis. Stopping ssri, taking lamictal. Been on so many meds, never felt help. Hoping there will be a shift.

Hi All-- I posted most of the symptoms improvements in a reply but wanted to share in its own post. It's therapeutic for me to reflect on the progress, especially since I'm having a worse day today--those are fewer and farther between lately--and maybe others can benefit.
I've been on keto for about 4 months now. I've been doing a 2:1 modified Adkins, though its often more like 3:1 depending on the day, with <20 g net carbs. I've aimed for blood ketones above 2.0 mmol/l taken in the late afternoon and also maintaining above 1.0 upon waking. I took me about a month to figure out how to get to those levels consistently. Content of diet beyond the macros has been pretty normal though I've experimented with limiting dairy to goat cheese and butter recently. That restriction seems to help with some of the symptoms. I've done keto in the past with some benefit but not as strict with macros and was typically in lower levels of ketosis. I've been working with Nicole Laurent this round who has been great in helping me learn to do the diet consistent with known keto for mental health best practices and navigate anything unexpected that comes up. She's also been a great support in encouraging patience and recognizing the progress when it comes, plus healing isn't always easy as "waking up is hard to do." I've also found a supportive Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner who is relatively new to assisting with keto but has done Georgia Ede's clinician training. My therapist has become a convert as she's seen my significant progress the last few months.
Symptoms/illness-wise, I'm coming at this from a pretty complex place. Bipolar diagnosis after Zoloft induced manic episode at 18, treated with lithium other mood stabilizers, always paired with still an SSRI, usually celexa. Improved a lot in my late 20s/early 30s on just lithium and Adderall until doc thought Prozac to address anxiety would be a good idea. Cold turkeyed lithium, then the Prozac a year later and had a terrible Prozac withdrawal syndrome that maybe morphed into a bipolar mixed episode. I tried going back on lithium other drugs and the additions and changes just made things worse. I was left with long term effects from multiple drugs and symptoms of complex PTSD from the dysphoric states I endured. My cognitive functioning was about 50% of baseline based on a neuropsych exam, and I had to take 4 months off work in desperate hope of getting better with the time off. The recent years have been bad but even during the better stretches on lithium I never felt well and always like a part of me was missing--I don't know what of that was bipolar and what the dulling effects of lithium.
I started keto 3 months into the time off and have seen significant improvement with all my symptoms-- though I'll have clearer periods and then worsening.
Symptoms I've seen improve:
derealization -- this had been pretty bad, just lacking the crispness of life. While on keto, I've had the feeling of like watching a TV and it suddenly going from standard definition to HD...and then it would happen again. Gradually but at times I'd notice the difference and then kind of get used to it only to notice it again down the road.
tinnitus - I had developed terrible tinnitus after taking lamictal. It's improved significantly, again gradually and is probably 80% less frequent and 50% less intense when it occurs.
anxiety -- I had terrible anxiety and couldn't cope with most things in life. I often felt helpless and that if I confronted anymore adversity I couldn't respond. I]m handling a lot of adversity now.
Fatigue - I was really just dragging myself through every day and could barely get through them. This has gradually gotten better, and I now have energy to do things like clean up the kitchen at the end of the day. When you're not exhausted all the time, it's easier to enjoy life.
cognitive impairment -- this is a biggie as it was disabling and I couldn't perform my work as an attorney. I've noticed various brain functions gradually come back online. I went back to work in early February and have just gotten better and better. I'm able to think and reason again, and my memory's tremendously better. In some ways it's going back to before the Prozac misfortune but also back to my premorbid functioning, before the manic episode. This can be overwhelming at times as I have to process how I got by all those years and the brain reshaping itself creates some feeling of instability.
Sleep - I developed chronic sleep issues during the med changes/withdrawal mess and was too sensitive to take any drug or supplement that might help. I was waking up a lot before keto and usually couldn't go back to sleep, sometimes couldn't go to sleep at all. About 2-3 months in to keto, my sleep started improving a lot. I'm now reliably sleeping through the night most nights and get 6-7 hours. A few times I've been able to sleep in which had become foreign to me.
Executive functioning - I've gotten better at managing myself and my life. I can juggle a lot more and keep up with things. I'm more motivated and can make myself exercise consistently.
Feeling unsafe - this is one of my big PTSD symptoms. I just couldn't relax, ever, always self monitoring and monitoring my situation. Waiting for something to go wrong. This will take time to fully heal, but it's so much better now.
Revisiting -- another PTSD symptom. I was very much stuck in the past reliving certain events around my worsening. I couldn't step out the front door or take out the trash without thinking about things that happened in those settings. As with some other symptoms, it's not perfect, but I'm having more and longer periods where I'm just in the here and now. I can just walk outside and can just take the trash out.
Social anxiety -- At my worst I pretty much totally isolated, and was very withdrawn when around my immediate family that I couldn't isolate from. Each of these have gotten better, again gradually, and I can carry on normal conversations, joke and laugh again. I feel a desire to connect with people and am repairing the relationships I still have, including with my wife and kids.
I'm not fully healed and some days the symptoms come back or worsen. I've been through hell but really feel keto is laying the groundwork for long-term and complete healing. I've even started tapering lithium, under the supervision of a provider, down to 750 mg from 900 mg and feeling more stable than ever. I'm incredibly hopeful and can see the possibility of a full life again.

Hi everyone. I’m 23 and I got off Pristiq this past December and tapered to February. I had been on this SNRI for 6 years. I experienced SEVERE withdrawals including manic behavior (which has never happened in my life before) that put me in serious danger, brain zaps, a feeling of “cotton wool” in my brain, insomnia, crying bouts, diarrhea (still) and more. I went into the psych ward in January and they diagnosed me with bipolar (which my later drs disputed and believed it was all due to the withdrawal, now I’m just kind of waiting and seeing but there’s no doubt I was going through withdrawals..) and I was placed on 6 different meds in 10 days and that just screwed me up more - I left doped up and even more erratic. I had to take leave from my job and go back home for a few weeks to continue this withdrawal in outpatient care.
My NP from outpatient and I ultimately settled on paliperidone and risperdol to help the taper. I finished pristiq with these meds. Then when I came back at the end of February my meds were switched again by my psychiatrist to lamictal (which I was excited to try) and some other stuff I can’t even remember.. by the end of March I was so deeply suicidal that my mom had to come down and live with me for the month of April. At that point (end of March) I said fuck it that’s enough and just stopped all my meds. I seriously had a buffet of different meds over these last few months and I was sick of being at the whim of them, when the whole reason I started this process was because I was doing so consistently well that my Dr said I could get off..
Now it’s May and I had a massive panic attack yesterday and I am still so deeply depressed more than I have ever been before. I’m just so confused, upset and I feel like my life is ruined/over. My entire personality is gone, im not myself and don’t know how to have fun anymore, nothing feels pleasurable at all not even watching a tv show, im a recent post grad living alone and so that’s been a huge adjustment, and I had to put all my goals on hold and now I’m seriously doubting that I can ever reach them. I’m so stressed out about my career. I absolutely hate myself, feel like a failure/damaged goods, and every day is a fight against suicidal ideation. My negative thoughts feel almost impulsive and so hard to control and tbh I’m letting them win. I’ve been through a lot in my life, I have CPTSD, and I’ve always been super resilient and bright/outgoing/personable but this has really knocked me down and I feel like there is truly no coming back this time. I really feel that I don’t have the strength to fight any more..
If anyone has been through anything similar, please I’m looking for some hope/advice. I’ve seen people say that this can go on for over a year. I feel like I am changed forever and I’ve lost myself. I’m considering moving back home at this point.. I have been taking agmatine sulfate and omega 3s and that seems to help. I’m going to therapy twice a week, including EMDR. I exercise 2-3 times a week. I go to work. I’ve been sleeping well. I’m trying to coordinate outings with friends but it sucks bc I’m not myself and they can tell.. I feel like I’m in a hole and forever stuck. I can’t tell if at this point it’s withdrawals or just a mindset… thank you all for reading I know this was a lot/potentially confusing, any reply is deeply appreciated.

So I just spent the past 45 minutes crying my eyes out after checking the patient portal and seeing I had "sedative dependence" and "opioid dependence" disorder, along with "Social Fear (finding)" (no clue what that means), panic disorder with agoraphobia and moderate panic attacks, and Borderline Personality disorder added to my record. Plus GAD, ADHD and MDD that I already had. I was just in a partial program my current psych recommended, that I left after a week and a half because I didn't trust this bitch with my meds in her hand, and I CLEARLY said way to much and should not have gone, even though I made it very clear my legal rc benzo use was always low doses and never had any tolerance issues or incidents... I didn't hide it from my psych either though and my one before had all my information (I came to her from a partial program and she was very aware of my benzo wanting) but now it's ACTUALLY on my fucking records so I'm fucking done. I'm on Vyvanse and Pregabalin rn, along with Seroquel, Propranolol, Lamictal and weaning off Lithium, and I'm super concerned this is gonna end up being an issue. Pregabalin is the ONLY anxiety med I've tried (besides Klonopin when the weaned me off Bromazolam in the hospital) that's ever helped in any significant way and he said he was gonna up my dose to 300mg 2x a day after I got out of the partial and my last appointment he seemed normal and wasn't acting off. Even asked to confirm which CVS he was gonna send my Vyvanse script to this month. Ugh idk I'm just fucking panicking right now cuz my only hope was to bring it up to my current psych (had him for 6 months, tried to put it out there my first appointment but he didn't really say yes or no) or eventually get a new one who will script me Klonopin 0.5-1mg 3x a day cuz it's the only medication that makes me fully fucking normal (Klonopins like 90% while Pregabalin is maybe 30-40%, then 10% on top with the Propranolol). Yes, I get benzos come with tolerance and withdrawals etc etc I literally couldn't give any less fucks, I've tried to kill myself my whole damn life and just suffered until I finally found benzos (cuz how much they help) and I would for sure kms if I wasn't in the position I am rn where I don't really have to be in the world, just my own head (why the Pregab's enough rn). So it's either pain and suffering or tolerance issues and not being able to cold turkey, unlike SSRI'S.. I think I'll go with the latter. But anyways... someone make me feel better 🤧😔

Hi I need help. This will be a long story so please help me if possible thank you!!! I have been taking quetiapine, Zoloft and lamictal for about 4 months and I did not have a good experience with quetiapine since I used to take 200mg and when I raised it by 50mg it was ok but when I raised it to 300mg, I got really bad akathisia. I hate akathisia. And quetiapine makes me get a crazy appetite with heavy junk foods especially fried foods and heavy desserts such as cake and pastries. It's really bad and I of course gained weight from the appetite and even when I try to control my appetite I still strangely gain weight and I found out it was swollenness not weight gain from fat. I have a weak body which cannot tolerate certain things very highly sadly. Because of this I recently changed my meds to tarzodone for sleep 100mg at night and rexulti 0.5mg. First tarzodone did not help me sleep at all it actually made me more sleep deprived and the rexulti didn't seem to have any affect except for making me sick. I started to get mildly nauseous, pale, light headed and very cranky. So it finally happened, after 4 days of feeling this way I got severely sick I vomited 4 times at night and had diarrhea 9 times. That night I couldn't sleep of course. The next morning woke up very early from feeling crazy cold and sick I just went to drink some water of our crazy thirst and I vomited again right away. Diarrhea happened 4 more times that morning. Tried to eat some porridge since l had 0 appetite and needed to eat something light and says on the stomach vomited a hour later again. Diarrhea 3 times more again. That night sleep like a baby and sweated like crazy. Got a heat rash on my butt. The day after still felt sick but no vomit and just a little diarrhea in the morning. That night felt sick again very cold and light weight felt like a half way dead person. The day after felt like I was getting better but got sick again in the later in the day by feeling nauseous and stomach ache. Now it feels ok but even until now I am still sick I can't eat l'm hungry but not hungry and feel very light headed and have 0 energy. Can't even function properly. It's been almost a week since I first got sick severely. I went to urgent care and talked to my doctor my doctor is not willing to change my medications since she thinks quetiapine suits me best but it doesn't. Rexulti is way out of the picture. And tarzodone. I went back to quetiapine 100mg but I don't feel any affect right now except for a little akathisia. I am suffering. For urgent care they just said it's a stomach virus and it should stop within 2 days. It didn't. They gave me medication I vomited more. I don't know what's going on. I also went to my pop they said the same thing. Did this happen to me because of the withdrawal?

Hi I need help. This will be a long story so please help me if possible thank you!!! I have been taking quetiapine, Zoloft and lamictal for about 4 months and I did not have a good experience with quetiapine since I used to take 200mg and when I raised it by 50mg it was ok but when I raised it to 300mg, I got really bad akathisia. I hate akathisia. And quetiapine makes me get a crazy appetite with heavy junk foods especially fried foods and heavy desserts such as cake and pastries. It's really bad and I of course gained weight from the appetite and even when I try to control my appetite I still strangely gain weight and I found out it was swollenness not weight gain from fat. I have a weak body which cannot tolerate certain things very highly sadly. Because of this I recently changed my meds to tarzodone for sleep 100mg at night and rexulti 0.5mg. First tarzodone did not help me sleep at all it actually made me more sleep deprived and the rexulti didn't seem to have any affect except for making me sick. I started to get mildly nauseous, pale, light headed and very cranky. So it finally happened, after 4 days of feeling this way I got severely sick I vomited 4 times at night and had diarrhea 9 times. That night I couldn't sleep of course. The next morning woke up very early from feeling crazy cold and sick I just went to drink some water of our crazy thirst and I vomited again right away. Diarrhea happened 4 more times that morning. Tried to eat some porridge since l had 0 appetite and needed to eat something light and says on the stomach vomited a hour later again. Diarrhea 3 times more again. That night sleep like a baby and sweated like crazy. Got a heat rash on my butt. The day after still felt sick but no vomit and just a little diarrhea in the morning. That night felt sick again very cold and light weight felt like a half way dead person. The day after felt like I was getting better but got sick again in the later in the day by feeling nauseous and stomach ache. Now it feels ok but even until now I am still sick I can't eat l'm hungry but not hungry and feel very light headed and have 0 energy. Can't even function properly. It's been almost a week since I first got sick severely. I went to urgent care and talked to my doctor my doctor is not willing to change my medications since she thinks quetiapine suits me best but it doesn't. Rexulti is way out of the picture. And tarzodone. I went back to quetiapine 100mg but I don't feel any affect right now except for a little akathisia. I am suffering. For urgent care they just said it's a stomach virus and it should stop within 2 days. It didn't. They gave me medication I vomited more. I don't know what's going on. I also went to my pop they said the same thing. Did this happen to me because of the withdrawal?

Has anyone here experienced a particularly nasty transition off of an SSRI? I had my diagnosis changed from MDD to BP2 about three weeks ago, and as a result my doc wanted to add lamictal to my drug regimen, and take out Vilazodone (which I never felt helped me much anyways). Since the appt, I've been titrating up on my lamictal and down on my vilazodone simultaneously. Yesterday I increased my lamictal and had my first day with no Vilazodone whatsoever, and it's been a fucking nightmare. I've had horrible headaches, rapid mood swings, sobbing out of nowhere, brain zaps, etc. The worst though, was last night. I had the most vivid and horrifying nightmares I've ever had. They were so vivid and had layers (think dream in a dream inception style) that I couldn't tell if I was actually awake or not once I finally woke up. When I did wake up, I was convinced that there was a shadow entity in my bedroom that was going to hurt me and my wife (carryover from the nightmare). I was able to talk myself down and chalk the weirdness up to the SSRI withdrawal, but I sat awake in bed with the lights on for the rest of the night, afraid to fall back asleep. I'm now terrified to go to bed tonight, which sucks because I know how important sleep is to my mental health. I took a small dose (5mg) of vilazodone this morning, since it was the dosage I've taken for the last week and was completely fine on, and I think I'm just going to have to either suck it up and power through or taper down the last 5mg really slowly.

The dumbing down of my brain on Lamictal, has become too awful. I've watched it get worse over 20 years of being on it. I guess I am one of those who just has that reaction. Constant forgetting, paying bills twice, not at all, having to write reminders bec i will forget the thing i need to do within minutes. I have neuro checking alzheimers but the timing to the lamictal makes more sense (and possibly can be resolved as opposed to alzheimers)
So, I went from 300 mg -> 225 for two weeks ago, then read up more and decided to go more slowly, so I went back up to 262 for past week. Plan is to reduce by a 1/4 of a 150 tab every 3 weeks so i can see the results after 2-3 weeks after each time I lower.
Well the the effects of the 300->225 showed up yesterday at 6 am (the bump back up to 262 effect should show up in another week, so hopefully won't be as bad) but i lost it with the depression yesterday AM... suddenly hating my life, my family, seeing now future as happy etc etc. By 10 am, at least i was back to normal but I dread the thought of another wave of major depression popping up. I was scared to go to sleep last night.
I'm now desperate enough to add atypical antipsychotics to replace lamictal (despite my family having bad reactions). I DO prefer another mood stabilizer from the anti seizure family over antipsychotic but the bottom line is that I had no idea how much lamictal was holding me together. It's not the withdrawal that's killing me (i don't feel any of that yet), it's the lack of depression "containment". My husband jokes maybe it's better to be dumb but happier...
Tell me, has anyone has made it off of lamictal to get their brain back? I am praying my less than experienced doctor can come up with something but he doesn't even believe lamictal could cause me to forget, despite all the evidence i have found.

Hi folks.
It's a long story but I haven't been able to pick up my dose of lamictal for tonight. I now have to wait until tomorrow afternoon.
I'm concerned about going into withdrawal. I have some abilify there leftover from when I was on them.
If I took one of them in replacement of tonight's lamictal, would that counteract any withdrawal?
Any help would be much appreciated.

I couldn’t afford my meds so I went 3 weeks without lamictal and lurasidone and I was wondering if anyone else has experienced severe physical symptoms? I spoke to a nurse practitioner who said that my withdrawal symptoms shouldn’t be as bad as they were and that it’s only bad if you go over a month without— she made me feel like I was being dramatic but it really did feel THAT bad. Within 4 days of being off my meds I experienced BAD dizziness, light headedness, and feeling like I was going to pass out periodically. It got worse and worse the longer time went on. It started with only happening when I stood up but escalated into happening randomly when I was standing, sitting, or even laying down without having moved. I collapsed multiple times, not fully losing consciousness but close. On top of this I had extreme fatigue to the point of not being able to get out of bed unless it was for work. Overall my body felt so so heavy, I would compare it to when I woke up from anesthesia after surgery. And I had really bad heart palpitations during this time, major confusion too. Has anyone else had this happen?

I started tapering on April 3rd, I went from 60mg to 45mg. I live in Mexico so it's over the counter and comes in different presentations. I bought the tablet ones and have cut them to make 45mg. I'm planning on staying on 45 for a month, then going to 30.
Last week, I started feeling good, and less disconnected. I didn't think I was particularly disconnected before honestly but I had more initiative in a way. Anyway, yesterday I started feeling like shit.
I hadn't been able to sleep well since last week, finally slept last night. But even on my 50mg of Seroquel, I couldn't sleep. I don't like how I feel, and I keep reminding myself it's just going to be a few months of discomfort and I'll be done with this chapter of my life.
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Personal reason for getting off of it:
I was prescribed it 5 yrs ago in rehab bc I had chronic pain from severe scoliosis, and didn't deal with the pain well (hence, rehab) so doctors wanted me to be in less pain. SO, cymbalta 60mg. I got spinal fusion surgery last year and my life changed wonderfully. Not in pain anymore, so I don't want to take the meds. They make me feel fucked up when I don't take them and it's the only med I take that does that.
I'm also on 200mg modafinil, 200mg lamictal, 50mg seroquel. Those are fine, but the duloxetine just doesn't fit and I want to be free from it. I hate that I didn't understand the withdrawal process beforehand. I quit heroin and meth 5 years ago just to be withdrawing from a drug right now. But all is good. Just taking on the reality that this will be uncomfortable.

So I was prescribed lamictal a decade ago as a mood stabilizer, and at the time, it was only meant to be a temporary thing (I had mental health issues that made me outpatient, but I’ve been alright since then, and the goal was to eventually get off lamictal once I was better). I’ve slowly begun to taper off from 100 mg at a maximum, and I’ve been on 50 mg for so long, so I don’t remember when I went from 75 to 50. Two weeks ago, my psychiatrist and I determined I could try to go from 50 to 25 mg next, which I began this past Sunday. Today is Tuesday, and I’ve been experiencing trouble sleeping and brain fog. I also think my anxiety is up because I’m aware of the withdrawal and am nervous about it (I’m also a bit more jittery, maybe due to the anxiety). I know this isn’t as extreme as if I quit, say, 200 mg cold turkey, but has anyone else gone through symptoms after a 25 mg decrease to the lowest dosage? If so, what helped you get through it?

I stopped my meds last week. Cold turkey had a bad time and now I’m okay. Finally off lamictal and still taking Zoloft only 50mg. I did this last time nothing happened but this time cold turkey was so scary. Anyways I’m depressed I have adhd and anxiety. Oh and I guess a mood disorder. I’ve been anxious since I can remember. At 36 had my son with my high school sweetheart. Married in 2020. Bought our home, we both live remote and have good jobs. Raising our little guy. I have it all really. But after 2021 my mental health has gone down hill. Postpartum hit hard, I found out my brother who is 2 years younger than me sexually abused my niece. Mom and dad stood with him. I stood with my sister but it’s always just felt like this hit me so hard like she still kept contact with the them. I cut everyone off. My mom and I used to be so close. We are getting better. My dad won’t leave me alone. He wants me in his life but this has triggered flash backs and I think I was abused as a kid. Honestly idk I always blacked it out but now it’s starting to make sense. I woke up from my bunkbed eyes just adjusting when I realized my underwear around my ankles. I turn to quickly see his black Curley hair turn away fast I know I saw his eyes and then it goes blurry. When my Dads dad died my sister told me she had woken up with her underwear off and they were the only ones in the house. She said this to me at the same time we found out what my brother did. It’s kinda feels like a confirmation as to what I think and tried to forget happened. Honestly I don’t even know anymore… I also remember laying underneath my bunk bed eyes closed imagining or dreaming I was on a table and people were touching me?? This was when I was little I always have had those flashbacks in the back of my head but I always assumed it must have not been real maybe I dreamt it? I must have been like 5 or 6? Not sure but since my sister told me what she experienced I can’t help but think something happened. My dad has always been weirdly attached to me more than allll his kids. If always hear about how my dad went crazy over me when I was born. He didn’t love my sister because they had lost their bond when my dad came to the states and my mom stayed back in El Salvador with my sister then came to the states and by that time my sister had forgotten my dad and she only wanted my moms dad. I’m assuming that angered him idk but she was beat by him and I was treated like a princess. I was born here in the USA. Now all these memories are coming together like something not so pleasant since finding out my brother is a pedo and my parents protected him. Even to some point my sister felt bad for him. It’s 2024 now everyone’s kinda moved on seems like, family dynamics have changed but I am here still stuck in grief.
I went back on meds just to feel nothing And weed became an addiction for me
I’ve always been the “responsible” one or whatever feels like I’m a golden child.
I hate myself
I always have and it grew when I turned 13. I’ll be 30 in November and for the first time ever I really do feel suicidal. I’m not just emo anymore.
I quit my meds and seriously went into withdrawal. I’m better now but with just 50 of Zoloft and I just feel like they never even helped and alll the hurt I’ve ignored is knocking at my door and each panic attack gets scarier and I become more dissociative. I want to be alive for my son but now death just seems so inviting, the guild of what that would do to him is the only thing keeping me grounded. I really don’t want to be on meds. When I’m happy I’m so motivated and just nothing can stop me.
What do I sound like to you? What can I do

Hello, long time lurker but I feel the need to post to get some support.
3rd time on ADs but switched to celexa from zoloft after 8 years off. Zoloft worked really well in years past but I figured I'd try something different.
I started taking celexa 10mg 5 days ago for severe anxiety, ocd, and "potential" bipolar depression. My depression and anxiety appear and disappear on a week or month basis with or without a trigger.
Within 4 hours of taking the first dose I felt like I took a bunch of mdma. It was not fun though. I was locked into a panic state, had trouble speaking, nausea, heart palps, sweating, shaking crying etc. The next dose was the same only worse. (I slept like a baby though)
I noticed I began feeling wayyy more depressed than usual. Like all the dopamine in my brain was gone. I had no interest or no motivation to do anything.
The 3rd dose, same symptoms and I was out with my gf and every muscle in my body became completely rigid and I collapsed to the floor. I started twitching uncontrollably. Pupils dialted and I felt super hot. Jaw clenched shut. I almost went to the hospital but I figured it would pass (which it did later that evening.) I was completely suicidal the next 36 hours.
Now brings me to 48 hours after my last dose. I feel the drug is still in my system (35hr half life so makes sense). I'm still having the side effects but to a lesser extent. My anxiety and depression are twice as bad as before I started.
It doesn't make sense that I would get withdrawals after only 3 pills so I'm not worried about that. Right now I feel like a shell of myself, I can barely function. I really wanted this to work and I want to still try something else like lamictal or back on zoloft.
When should I expect to bounce back? I would assume once the drug is out of my system (which can take a week or more) I'll feel better and I'm clinging onto the hope of that. How soon is too soon to try a different drug?

So i started wellbutrin a week ago. I was on cymbalta and lamictal for anxiety and depression. Tapered off cymbalta last week and the withdrawals were horrible. Felt like i had the flu but that’s subsiding a bit.
Today i woke up at 4 am and was sobbing uncontrollably and have been like this on and off all day. I cleaned my house and worked to try to get my mind off of it but cried the whole time. I tried to nap and instead got intense feelings of dread and anxiety. I’ve had derealization and the lamictal solved that but now it’s back.
I feel so disconnected from my body and no person or activity like watching tv is helping. The world looks unfamiliar and terrifying. I wouldn’t wish this feeling on my worst enemy. Obviously i want to kill myself because i’ve been through so many meds and treatments for so long but my anxiety would never let me do that so i guess that’s a plus.
I see a lot of people saying it gets really bad before it gets better but how long did that take and did anyone experience anything this severe? The thought of starting a new med is terrifying because i had so much faith in this one. Took a gene test and it said it was a good match. Please someone give me a little bit of hope. I can handle this if i know it’s going to get better but right now i feel like dying lol