Lamictal

[MichelleO]

Hey guys I'm wondering if anyone had weaned off of lamictal they put me on it in my request hoping I wouldn't be up and down and just stay ok so I decided it wasn't doing anything and I was actually short fused and now last night I took my last one and wondering how long till I feel balanced again because for some reason I'm angry feeling and not feeling right I'm not bonding with my son like I'm not feeling like doing anything and I don't know if it's just withdrawals or if I'm supposed to be on the medicine but I'm not bipolar but a lot of my fears have come back just being angry and not wanting to take care of my son I keep letting my mom do everything which is making me nervous I don't want to decline after how much better I have gotten

[Lilybeth Volunteer]

Hello MichelleO

I'm sorry you're not feeling right after taking your last dose of Lamictal last night. I don't have any experience of this particular medication but you might find information on the link choiceandmedications.org/nc....

If you're not improving and your fears have returned I would arrange an appointment to see your doctor for advice asap.

Take good care.

[bravesurvivor411]

Hi Michelle

I was on lamictal for just under a year. I stayed at 100 mg as the highest because I knew it wasn't long term and I didn't think I needed it. I'm not bi polar but they thought I might be so my Psychiatrist wanted to keep me on a mood stabilizer. They said the effective therapeutic amount was 200 mg and wanted me to get to that but I thought if I was doing well at 100 why go up. I was at the 100 mg amount for maybe 6 months then did the slowest taper down ever! I wanted to have very little side effects from weaning off because I had some scary ones from Invega. So during my 4-5 months of taper down I really kept up on self care, stress management and counseling. The last month was a little intense and I got off but then it felt too soon and I continued back on the pills but I was spliting off my own pills so it was a very small amount.

Now I am med free since Jan and I have ups and down but I feel more stable than ever and I have a lot of other tools to use.

I also felt a disconnect from my son. Up until maybe 2 years. I have found that memory building together really helps so going to the zoo, mall, parks and just reading builds positive memories. I met with a post partum doula about bonding she really encouraged the moby wrap or any type of carrying wrap. I really tried when my son was small with those and it never worked and by the time I talked to her he was over 1 1/2 so I felt like that was not going to work. However I feel very bonded now it just took way longer than I thought it would.

Good luck with the Lamictal. Take care