Does anyone here have experience with Lamictal? - zbritches OP

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Moloch
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Does anyone here have experience with Lamictal? - zbritches OP

Unread post by Moloch »

zbritches on Wed May 22, 2013 12:17 am

My doctor has prescribed Lamictal for me to try, since he thinks I'm bipolar. I'm pretty sure I am too.

I've read varying reports online both of it causing sexual problems, and boosting libido. Pretty much same story as anything else I've read. Varies from person to person. Has anyone on this board tried it?
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Re: Does anyone here have experience with Lamictal? - zbritches OP

Unread post by Moloch »

Sonny on Wed May 22, 2013 10:33 pm

I haven't messed with it. It looks promising, but it's got a black box warning. You're under the care of a doctor though, so no problem in your case.
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Re: Does anyone here have experience with Lamictal? - zbritches OP

Unread post by Moloch »

zbritches on Thu May 23, 2013 6:28 pm

I've decided not to try it. Just reading all the warnings and stuff... a rash that can kill you, losing clumps of hair, even worse sex drive, suicidal thoughts... It seems like more trouble than it's worth.

I would like to get my bipolar under control, but it sure doesn't seem worth it to put myself at risk for those kind of things. And I can't find enough reports of it boosting sex drive for a long enough time to offset my fear of it ending up damaging it further.

edit: thank you for the response Sonny. Maybe it would be the perfect thing, but it's just too much risk.
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Re: Does anyone here have experience with Lamictal? - zbritches OP

Unread post by Moloch »

Sonny on Thu May 23, 2013 9:49 pm

Keep in mind, those are extremely rare. It may also be true that you do not have any of the factors that might lead to that. I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand, but discuss your concerns with your doctor.
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Re: Does anyone here have experience with Lamictal? - zbritches OP

Unread post by Moloch »

Octopus on Fri Jan 31, 2014 8:55 pm

Okay, so I know this is kind of old and you’ve probably long since moved on, but I’m going to answer your question anyway: I have experience with Lamictal! I took Lamictal along with Prozac and Focalin XR for three or four years. I stuck with that combination longer than I stuck with most other things I’ve taken before because it seemed to work better for me than anything else I had tried (Depression and anxiety are the biggest problems for me btw). I quit taking Prozac and Lamictal last June and my depression didn’t start to get way worse until September when I quit taking the Focalin which makes me think that of the three things, the Focalin was helping the most. I’ve taken Prozac alone and Focalin alone but I’ve never taken Lamictal on its own. I do think the Lamictal helped to stabilize my mood though.

As far as the side effects go... I never had the rash or hair loss. I did have some crazy nightmares and I would occasionally wake up screaming in the middle of the night, but that certainly wouldn’t be enough to stop me from taking it (I’m not taking it now, but for other reasons). You mentioned poor sex drive as a side effect, while in this thread some folks were discussing Lamictal and saying that it boosts sex drive: http://pssd.forumotion.com/t408-medicat ... nt-options I can’t really speak to that aspect of it either way. However, having taken Prozac and other SSRIs on their own before without developing PSSD, I tend to wonder if it was the combination of drugs I took that together caused PSSD and not just the Prozac (like maybe the Lamictal had a hand in causing my current condition in some way). I don’t know enough about it to say for sure, but I’m just throwing that out there.

One thing that’s sort of interesting (to me, anyway): In the past, when I took SSRIs, the biggest sexual problem I had was anorgasmia (This always resolved after I quit taking the medication). During this last stint on Prozac, Lamictal, and Focalin, my greatest sexual dysfunction symptoms were genital anesthesia and lack of libido. This has continued to be true since I’ve quit taking medication. So is the difference in symptoms due to the difference in medication? I don’t know. I can't remember if the genital anesthesia started with the Prozac or if it didn't start until after I added Lamictal. Or maybe the Lamictal exacerbated the sexual dysfunction? It's hard to remember exactly what my symptoms were at each stage, just that there was some form of sexual dysfunction since the beginning of treatment (but not prior to beginning treatment) (Plus, Focalin increases sexual desire somewhat so that confuses things a bit)

Also, do you mind me asking if you’re currently taking anything to treat your bipolar disorder?
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Re: Does anyone here have experience with Lamictal? - zbritches OP

Unread post by zbritches »

Moloch wrote:Octopus on Fri Jan 31, 2014 8:55 pm

Also, do you mind me asking if you’re currently taking anything to treat your bipolar disorder?
I'm not currently taking anything for bipolar. Certain of the supplements I'm taking say they're good for schizophrenia/bipolar. I'm not taking any meds, aside from having buspar on hand.
Adderal; Wellbutrin; Prozac; Vyvanse
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Re: Does anyone here have experience with Lamictal? - zbritches OP

Unread post by myusername875 »

I took lamictal for about 3 months after convincing the doctor I had bipolar disorder based off my own diagnosis.

All it did was make me foggy and forget things. I would impulsively walk in and out of my dorm room at least 8 times before I was actually ready because I forgot things I needed when I was leaving (keys, sunglasses, umbrellas, backpack, etc.)

I don't reccomend it to anyone who doesn't need it.
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Re: Does anyone here have experience with Lamictal? - zbritches OP

Unread post by lavos1 »

There are studies showing that Lamictal improves sexual function, such as this one:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16434217

I tried it for depression a few years ago and it did nothing except make me feel tired and more depressed. No sexual improvements.
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