# My Lamictal Experience



## Jackk11 (May 9, 2018)

Hello. I joined this forum about three years ago and haven’t been very active for the past year, for good reason. Like many of you I scoured EVERY INCH of this forum in hopes to find a miracle. Unfortunately, dealing with such an under-researched mental illness is no cake walk. And like most things, there isn’t any one magic pill.

One thing I learned, however is that personal research goes a VERY long way. I went through scientific journals, posts on this forum that date back to the early 2000s, and spoke to anyone knowledgeable enough to give me the basics.

After hours and hours conversing and researching I came to a conclusion. My ailment is not letting up on it’s own, and that clearly some mechanism in my brain was all discombobulated. NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE CASE FOR EVERYONE. MANY HERE HAVE MINOR, OR SHORT LIVED CASES OF DP/DR.

However, in my case I knew something was up. I came to a decision. I would see a psychiatrist. I went extremely prepared with notes on EXACTLY what I was thinking. Unfortunately many psychiatrists are not open to suggestions. So after two failed attempts with medication I knew for a fact would not work, I left that psychiatrist and found a new one. She was open and receptive and finally I received the medication I wanted to try for 2 years straight. LAMICTAL.

LAMICTAL, like any other drug comes with side effects in many cases and like I said. It is no magic cure. BE SURE TO SPEAK WITH YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT THE RISKS.

Anyway, I started on this drug in august of last year and it takes a long time to taper up due to side effects. The months following, as I increase in dosage I noticed minor changes. With DP my major symptom was complete emotional numbing. No emotions. Zero. When I began getting up in dose I noticed that music began giving me MINOR nostalgia. Then I increased again. And subsequently, the emotions in response to music increased. And along with it, emotional responses to social interactions, and tv and art. One problem however is that these feelings are not 100% and sometimes I have awful days. However lamictal has recovered up to 50% of my emotionson good days.And the good news is I responded on a generally low dose. 150mg.

This is my experience with the drug and I think it is something that should be on the top of anyone’s list who’s looking to try medication. Again this is NOT a cure all. Many do respond however and it is worth a shot if you’re someone like me.

Id like to thank many of the members who posted their experiences with the same drug. GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL. KEEP YOUR HEADS HIGH AND YOUR HOPED UP. PROGRESS CAN COME AT ANY TIME!!!!!


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## Anders (Aug 8, 2021)

I have this exact same experience with Lamictal. That my emotions have returned especially in social interactions and when watching music and movies. Generally for me it increases my cognitive functioning. However it has not fixed my feeling of detachment from the world / the buble - which is very severy for me. And after now 5 months on lamictal I unfortunately also feel the emotional blunting coming back some days.


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## Natty1977 (Jul 12, 2021)

Jackk11 said:


> Hello. I joined this forum about three years ago and haven’t been very active for the past year, for good reason. Like many of you I scoured EVERY INCH of this forum in hopes to find a miracle. Unfortunately, dealing with such an under-researched mental illness is no cake walk. And like most things, there isn’t any one magic pill.
> 
> One thing I learned, however is that personal research goes a VERY long way. I went through scientific journals, posts on this forum that date back to the early 2000s, and spoke to anyone knowledgeable enough to give me the basics.
> 
> ...


Hi,

I had 6 months in a DP clinic in London. The only one. Elaine Hunter clinical lead has gone now. Funding disappeared.
The meds I’m on now, are 400mg Lamotragine and 200mg if sertraline. This has had a massive improvement, but only 50-60%.
It is an emotional experience, as I feel like I come back from the dead every now and then, as I feel like a part of me has died already.
This experimental drug cocktail is not understood, but it’s believed to have massive results.
Good luck to everybody in here x


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