fusionqueen
03-12-2007, 05:15 PM
I was taking a very small amount of Lamictal...for about 6 days....I noticed my mood was soooooooooo much happier within days...........BUT the severe blurry vision and dizziness made me decide to stop it...........4 days ago............I am STILL blurred vision, headache and dizzy......is this normal when stopping this med?? If would stay on it will those nasty side effects go away...My mood is not as "happy" as it was on it...Seems like I am the only one with side effects from this med!!
:dizzy:
:dizzy:
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tsohl
03-12-2007, 07:40 PM
It does seem to be pretty well tolerated by most people. I don't know what to say...have you called your pdoc to report this?
Llama
03-12-2007, 08:06 PM
tshol is right call the pdoc. Even small doses should probably be tapered down slowly. Am I wrong? I don't know for sure; but that is what they usually say for all meds. I've never had a single side effect from lamictal. It's a good med (not so much for mania, but other aspects it really helps!) and it's too bad that it did that to you!
goody2shuz
03-12-2007, 08:19 PM
Yes, Llama is right...Lamictal is a med that has to be increased slowly and if you are to come off of it you should come off of it slowly too. How much Lamictal were you on before you took yourself off of it???
I know that you had reasons that you felt you should stop this med but perhaps a few more days at a little lower dose could have allowed you to adjust to it and then increase it more slowly. It's a great med with minimal side effects and the pdoc would have advised you what to do so that you could give the med a fighting chance.
I don't mean to make you feel bad....it's just that there are so few opportunities to find the right meds and they all have side effects in the beginning that our bodies have to get use to. My daughter started blacking out on Seroquel and the pdoc told us to give her something salty and a glass of water and promised that she would feel better the next day....I had my doubts but she was right!!!;)
Hope that you are feeling better soon and that you find a med that brings you stability.
(((HUGS))) ~ Goody:angel: :wave:
I know that you had reasons that you felt you should stop this med but perhaps a few more days at a little lower dose could have allowed you to adjust to it and then increase it more slowly. It's a great med with minimal side effects and the pdoc would have advised you what to do so that you could give the med a fighting chance.
I don't mean to make you feel bad....it's just that there are so few opportunities to find the right meds and they all have side effects in the beginning that our bodies have to get use to. My daughter started blacking out on Seroquel and the pdoc told us to give her something salty and a glass of water and promised that she would feel better the next day....I had my doubts but she was right!!!;)
Hope that you are feeling better soon and that you find a med that brings you stability.
(((HUGS))) ~ Goody:angel: :wave:
fusionqueen
03-12-2007, 08:34 PM
Thanks so much!! I totally agree and maybe I should have/should give it more of a chance..........BUT I was on 2.5 mg YES you read it right..........can't get much lower unless I sniff it!! I was really sick on 5mg....... so I cut it back to the 2.5 after a few days said heck with it.........then I was even sicker and I am assuming this is from stopping the med....was thinking of trying it again starting tonight BUT if it is on it's way out of my system I do not want to prolong that.......can it be taken every other day to taper off? I truly felt wonderful and calm mood wise YES on that small dosage and may have worn off and needed an increase but every AD or like med I have taken have been in the 1-3 mg dosages..........Usually liquids.........very frusterating for me!!
I would appreciate you suggestions!:wave:
I would appreciate you suggestions!:wave:
goody2shuz
03-12-2007, 09:16 PM
Hi, Fusion:wave: I would try the every other day thing....you have been off of it for 4 days you say??? I am not really sure and would highly recommend that you call your pdoc about this. I would say that if you started at the 2.5mgs then going back on it every other day would be alright if you don't get in touch with your doctor.....however, the Lamictal has to maintain a level to really be effective, so I am not sure if that will help. My daughter is hypersensitive and we increased the first week that way and then went to everyday. So you may want to try it that way and see if it works...but call the pdoc and get his okay.
(((HUGS))) ~ Goody:angel: :wave:
(((HUGS))) ~ Goody:angel: :wave:
fusionqueen
03-12-2007, 10:02 PM
Hi, Fusion:wave: I would try the every other day thing....you have been off of it for 4 days you say??? I am not really sure and would highly recommend that you call your pdoc about this. I would say that if you started at the 2.5mgs then going back on it every other day would be alright if you don't get in touch with your doctor.....however, the Lamictal has to maintain a level to really be effective, so I am not sure if that will help. My daughter is hypersensitive and we increased the first week that way and then went to everyday. So you may want to try it that way and see if it works...but call the pdoc and get his okay.
(((HUGS))) ~ Goody:angel: :wave:
How old is your daughter? What symptoms did she have in the begining and how long before they subsided??? Is she stilll on Lamictal and if so what is her dosage............100 questions!!!:confused:
(((HUGS))) ~ Goody:angel: :wave:
How old is your daughter? What symptoms did she have in the begining and how long before they subsided??? Is she stilll on Lamictal and if so what is her dosage............100 questions!!!:confused:
goody2shuz
03-13-2007, 09:22 AM
Hi, Fusionqueen ~ My daughter is 15 and diagnosed about 8 months now. Her symptoms were mostly severe irritability, agitation, anger and then depression that led to a suicide attempt. She also was self injuring. She ran away, shoplifted....all signs of depression and hypomania/mania. Very impulsive and not thinking about the consequences to her behavior.
The med that worked quickly towards the symptoms was Risperdal (which has been since replaced by Seroquel which continues to work well). We saw improvement within a couple of days with the mania. However, the depression remained and so they tried Trileptal but she developed a rash to that and then started the Lamictal, very slowly, because it has a bad rash associated with it if it is given too rapidly. The Lamictal takes a long time to get to a level where you feel some relief (took around 4 months for us to get there).....usually around 100mgs you will see improvement, although some report feeling relief at much lower doses (25mgs). You're body will tell you. My daughter is now on 150mgs of Lamictal and has said that she no longer feels depressed or the need to self injure which is a BIG plus. However, the frustration levels and agitation are still there indicating that we are still having hypomania. There is some correlation of this happening when she has her period so we are upping her Seroquel a little bit to see if things level out better for her.
No problems with the questions....feel free to ask more if you need to ~ Goody:angel: :wave:
The med that worked quickly towards the symptoms was Risperdal (which has been since replaced by Seroquel which continues to work well). We saw improvement within a couple of days with the mania. However, the depression remained and so they tried Trileptal but she developed a rash to that and then started the Lamictal, very slowly, because it has a bad rash associated with it if it is given too rapidly. The Lamictal takes a long time to get to a level where you feel some relief (took around 4 months for us to get there).....usually around 100mgs you will see improvement, although some report feeling relief at much lower doses (25mgs). You're body will tell you. My daughter is now on 150mgs of Lamictal and has said that she no longer feels depressed or the need to self injure which is a BIG plus. However, the frustration levels and agitation are still there indicating that we are still having hypomania. There is some correlation of this happening when she has her period so we are upping her Seroquel a little bit to see if things level out better for her.
No problems with the questions....feel free to ask more if you need to ~ Goody:angel: :wave:
fusionqueen
03-13-2007, 08:25 PM
I talked with my DR today.....she was very understanding.........she said I was probably going thru some with drawal since I had not taken it since Friday night...so I took a TEENY amount about noon.......seemed to help a tad..... she said to try taking a very small amount everyother day and see how that affects my moods and side effect/ withdrawal.........she said this med is not "known" to have withdrawal but she has seen it in a few patients.....becoming even more dizzy and blurry vision after stopping it.....so I will try the teen bit every other night and see how that goes!
I hope your daughter stays stable and can do well with her BP! Throws a curve ball in the game of life!
Thanks :angel:
FusionQueen
I hope your daughter stays stable and can do well with her BP! Throws a curve ball in the game of life!
Thanks :angel:
FusionQueen