# Did anyone try Lamotrigine?



## Quarter Pounder (Jun 17, 2011)

So, I've read somewhere -I don't know exactly where- that glutamatergic hyperactivity (excessive glutamate release) might be relevant in the neurobiology of depersonalization, and that lamotrigine could be useful as it diminishes or inhibits the release of that same glutamate that's causing the problem.

But who knows. At least it's not Prozac...









Have any of you actually tried it?


----------



## ValleyGirl (Nov 10, 2017)

I did and the first few days it felt like my dp would go away at any second. And then I started noticing that I was having hyperawareness. And that hyperawareness rapidly progressed to the point where every thought I had and every movement I made felt like it was being screamed at me. It got to the point where the over awareness was so disorienting that I had to lay completely still in a dark room with my eyes shut. It was HELL. Needless to say I stopped taking it. I actually went through 12 different medications from antidepressants to anticonvulsants to antipsychotics and found that every single one of them made my dp worse. No medication helped even in the slightest. So I went off of everything and stuck to sublingual b complex and vitamin d3 and now I have no depersonalization and only mild derealization. I don't think that medication is the answer because dp and dr are a defense mechanism not a mental illness. You cannot correct a natural defense mechanism anymore than you can cure a sneeze. Yes, it doesn't feel normal but it's not an illness.


----------



## RamonX (Feb 10, 2011)

At best chronic depersonalization is a defense mechanism that has got stuck, but I really think there is much more to it than just à defense mechanism. Many people, including myself, have debilitating fear and anxiety along with DP. So it obviously isn't protecting us from that. 
I think it is likely that DP can have a protective function in people who have suffered abuse or other traumatic experiences, but I am also convinced that it can be a desintegration of systems in the brain that regulate information from our senses. 
And when drugs like canabis can cause people to get chronic DP, it stands to reason that other drugs should be able to reverse this, although the right drug that can do this is hasn't been found yet. Still a lot of people have had good results with various drugs, while others had no benefit at all.

Alas my trial with Lamotrigine was very short lived, because I got dangerously high blood pressure after two days of taking it. This shouldn't discourage other people though, because it is not a known side effect, and should be extremely rare.

In clinical trials a positive effect on DP was demonstrated, but only in combination with àn SSRI. Trials with Lamotrigine alone didn't prove it to be effective. Still I know of several people who did very well on Lamotrigine and also several who didn't, even with the SSRI. 
Probably different causes for DP, for different people, as well as genetic diferences play à part in explaining some of the difference.


----------



## theoneandonly (Nov 17, 2010)

I haven't tried it, but I found this on wikipedia:

"If depersonalization is a symptom of psychological causes such as developmental trauma, treatment depends on the diagnosis. In case of dissociative identity disorder or DD-NOS as a developmental disorder, in which extreme developmental trauma interferes with formation of a single cohesive identity, treatment requires proper psychotherapy, and-in the case of additional (co-morbid) disorders such as eating disorders-team of specialists treating such an individual. It can also be a symptom of borderline personality disorder, which can be treated in the long term with proper psychotherapy and psychopharmacology.[24]"

And the citation says "Sierra M, Baker D, Medford N, et al. (2006). "Lamotrigine as an add-on treatment for depersonalization disorder: a retrospective study of 32 cases". Clin Neuropharmacol 29 (5): 253-8. doi:10.1097/01.WNF.0000228368.17970.DA. PMID 16960469."


----------



## Angela2006 (Jan 20, 2006)

I tried it until I was at 200 for six months, and it did nothing, but I know that it has helped many people on this site. You need to do a search for lamotrigine or lamictal. There are a lot of threads about it. Angela


----------



## Angela2006 (Jan 20, 2006)

ValleyGirl83 said:


> I did and the first few days it felt like my dp would go away at any second. And then I started noticing that I was having hyperawareness. And that hyperawareness rapidly progressed to the point where every thought I had and every movement I made felt like it was being screamed at me. It got to the point where the over awareness was so disorienting that I had to lay completely still in a dark room with my eyes shut. It was HELL. Needless to say I stopped taking it. I actually went through 12 different medications from antidepressants to anticonvulsants to antipsychotics and found that every single one of them made my dp worse. No medication helped even in the slightest. So I went off of everything and stuck to sublingual b complex and vitamin d3 and now I have no depersonalization and only mild derealization. I don't think that medication is the answer because dp and dr are a defense mechanism not a mental illness. You cannot correct a natural defense mechanism anymore than you can cure a sneeze. Yes, it doesn't feel normal but it's not an illness.


----------



## Quarter Pounder (Jun 17, 2011)

ValleyGirl83 said:


> I did and the first few days it felt like my dp would go away at any second. And then I started noticing that I was having hyperawareness. And that hyperawareness rapidly progressed to the point where every thought I had and every movement I made felt like it was being screamed at me. It got to the point where the over awareness was so disorienting that I had to lay completely still in a dark room with my eyes shut. It was HELL. Needless to say I stopped taking it.


Too bad to hear that :/. Can you tell me what dose where you in?


----------



## Sleepwalker (Dec 4, 2008)

Quarter Pounder said:


> So, I've read somewhere -I don't know exactly where- that glutamatergic hyperactivity (excessive glutamate release) might be relevant in the neurobiology of depersonalization, and that lamotrigine could be useful as it diminishes or inhibits the release of that same glutamate that's causing the problem.
> 
> But who knows. At least it's not Prozac...
> 
> ...


I have been on it for 7 yrs and counting; 100mg X 2 daily; *worked and works like a charm *(along with clonazepam). It has been a life saver for me.
Add up all the positives from things that I've ever taken all put together doesn't approach Lamictal's effects. 
It's a pity it doesn't work like that on everybody; we are all so different.


----------



## Sleepwalker (Dec 4, 2008)

..and by the way, whoever is flippantly assigning negatives to a post that seems like a honest, respectful and thought out response; you come across as very childish.


----------



## Quarter Pounder (Jun 17, 2011)

Sleepwalker said:


> I have been on it for 7 yrs and counting; 100mg X 2 daily; *worked and works like a charm *(along with clonazepam). It has been a life saver for me.
> Add up all the positives from things that I've ever taken all put together doesn't approach Lamictal's effects.


Well, that's very interesting. Would you say that your DP/DR is gone? Or is it still there but weakened?


----------



## ValleyGirl (Nov 10, 2017)

Quarter Pounder said:


> Too bad to hear that :/. Can you tell me what dose where you in?


75 mg


----------



## birdiehead (Apr 19, 2010)

i just started it with celexa. i'll keep you posted. it takes a long time to get into your system. so far my body pains/numbness have diminished a bit but i'm only on 25 mg and it hasn't been a week.


----------



## birdiehead (Apr 19, 2010)

ValleyGirl83 said:


> I did and the first few days it felt like my dp would go away at any second. And then I started noticing that I was having hyperawareness. And that hyperawareness rapidly progressed to the point where every thought I had and every movement I made felt like it was being screamed at me. It got to the point where the over awareness was so disorienting that I had to lay completely still in a dark room with my eyes shut. It was HELL. Needless to say I stopped taking it. I actually went through 12 different medications from antidepressants to anticonvulsants to antipsychotics and found that every single one of them made my dp worse. No medication helped even in the slightest. So I went off of everything and stuck to sublingual b complex and vitamin d3 and now I have no depersonalization and only mild derealization. I don't think that medication is the answer because dp and dr are a defense mechanism not a mental illness. You cannot correct a natural defense mechanism anymore than you can cure a sneeze. Yes, it doesn't feel normal but it's not an illness.


i'm sorry it didn't work for you. but dpd can be a mental illness. for some it's not and they're very lucky but i have it bad and it doesn't seem to be going away soon. i have to figure out how to cope with a horrible daily existence. got progressively worse from 18 to 35.


----------



## birdiehead (Apr 19, 2010)

Sleepwalker said:


> I have been on it for 7 yrs and counting; 100mg X 2 daily; *worked and works like a charm *(along with clonazepam). It has been a life saver for me.
> Add up all the positives from things that I've ever taken all put together doesn't approach Lamictal's effects.
> It's a pity it doesn't work like that on everybody; we are all so different.
> 
> was yer dpd due to neglect and trauma as a child or was it drug induced?


----------



## Sleepwalker (Dec 4, 2008)

"was yer dpd due to neglect and trauma as a child or was it drug induced?" 





Never smoked or otherwise ingested pot; no trauma, as such, either-- emotional neglect is more like it.
I've had it for so long, now, (36 yrs or so) I cannot really remember whether it was one moment or a gradual event-probably gradual.; memory is so cloudy...


----------

