# Once and for all should I take Lamotrigine/Lamictal



## rob35235 (Feb 21, 2009)

I have not tried any drugs. I am afraid of them, honestly. I suspect though Lamictal is the best hope, starting at 25 mg and titrating upward over a few weeks. What should I do? Any experiences with this drug??


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## Tommygunz (Sep 7, 2009)

i haven't tried it, but i firmly believe drugs are the wrong solution to this problem. i have been making some pretty bold claims on here about a sublingual b vitamin complex, because a lot of people including myself are getting powerful results. i've only been taking them for a week and the difference it has made in that time is dramatic. i am so excited about it. it's kinda like one of those, (shout from the mountain tops) kind of things. in my opinion if you're to the point of trying drugs, you may as well give this a shot, it's only like ten bucks for a two month supply. good luck on whatever you decide.


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## Guest (Oct 1, 2009)

This should be in the meds section I guess. I'm responding anyway.

We're all different. But I am one person who has responded to to "anticonvulsants" -- clonazepam (Klonopin) and lamotrigine (Lamictal) -- I take the generics and thank God for the health plan I have they are $10 for a three month supply -- the generic. I had no trouble switching from label to generic either. And brand name Lamictal is very expensive.

I also know individuals here who have responded well to Neurontin which is another anticonvlusant, but like these other drugs are used for MANY different things. I think Neurontin is used for hot flashes these days ... :shock: severe ones ...

You never know what will or won't work. At this time I would say I vote for the combo I'm on. My diagnosis however is severe GAD, chronic DP/DR, panic attacks, and clinical depression. The Lamictal not only made me "less afraid" of the DP/DR -- very subtle, inexplicable change in how I THOUGHT about it -- but also did act as a mood stabilizer. In my case I am not bipolar or borderline, but I could become extremely ... "overworked" "angry" and it was not appropriate in certain situations. I was stunned when my husband was the first to notice THAT slow change in me, before I did or my doctor.

I am at 200mgs. I am female, 115lbs. It took a few months to get to that dose and it didn't add the effect to Klonopin until that time.

I sometimes think the choice for many would be 1) SSRI then 2) Klonopin (I take 6mg/day) and 3) Lamictal

However, one individual I know who took Neurontin alone, felt a slow steady improvement ... very subtle over time.

Thing is what ever you decide you must be patient. And also be aware of the side-effects.

It depends on the quality of your life, and only you can make the decision what you want to try to see what works.

Good Luck.
None of these meds have cured me.
Best,
D


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## Absentis (Jul 10, 2007)

I take lamotrigine, and it has done the most in reducing the severity of my DR. I also take clonazepam to take the edge off the comorbid anxiety. Seeing as they're both anticonvulsants, I'm not surprised they both work.

(My physician believes my symptoms emanate from some sort of epileptic activity in my left temporal and occipital lobes, and when he put me on lamotrigine and I got better, it strengthened his hypothesis.)


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## wael (Sep 5, 2008)

I stopped taking lamotrigine. It was a drug that, for the first, really did something for my dp and gave me energy in a nice way. But i couldn't control it. After some time i got agitated, more exhausted, overstimulation, swollen lympf nodes and pain in my neck. So i became unstable of this stabilizer. But there was something in it, that really touched the dp itself for some brief moments. In a couple of months im going to try gabapentin/neurontin.

It is something strange with dp and drugs. I think there is a part of the brain that is over-stimulated and a part that is under-stimulated. Everytime i take some medication, it stimulates the under-stimulated, but also stimulates the overstimulated part and vice versa, so the dp remains. But thats just a gut feeling.


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