Anyone experienced stuttering while on Lamictal or Lexapro?
I'm beginning to think I just have a speech impediment, because I can remember incidences of this happening to me before I started either med, but it was never a daily occurence. Maybe it's been exacerbated. ?
I'm not sure that it is exactly stuttering, as I am not sure what the true definition of stuttering is, but I would describe it more as a spasm in my jaw. I'm trying to think of how to best explain...I could be in the middle of a sentence when the "spasm" hits. It will suddenly make me pause where I would be inserting the next word, and it often makes me produce an "uh" sound, or place emphasis on one of the syllables of a word.
The only time I can remember being free of this is when I was on Ativan. However, a slight dose increase caused my mania to increase as well, and I started feeling better than ever, so I thought if I tripled the dose I would feel 3x as good...it worked, until I was found out and my psychiatrist put a stop on all orders and took me off of it. He put me on Klonopin, even though it was a MAJOR culprit in causing this speech issue in the past. I told him that it was bound to make it occur again, and lo and behold, I was right. Eventually I told him I wanted to ween off, and even weeks after being off of it, the stuttering still lingered. He told me that once I was completely free of Klonopin that the stuttering would dissipate. Not so, 7 or so months later.
I have an appointment with him tomorrow. I am not even sure that mentioning it is relevant, as I am not hopeful that there is anything he can do. How can I know for sure if it is related to the effects of psychiatric meds? Who do I go to for help? This is so terribly frustrating, and it is greatly affecting my life. I'm only 21. Please tell me there is someone else out there who can relate...
Re: Anyone experienced stuttering while on Lamictal or Lexapro?
If you ask your pharmacist for the package insert from the med (the thin piece of paper that lists all the information on it) and look under side-effects, you might see that your are from the med. There is a site on the Net that does all this, but I don't think I can post another link here.
Sometimes, I've had side-effects and the pharmacist and doc say No Way, can't be the drug, and I look it up in the "Infrequent Adverse Effects) and there it is.
Topomax can have this side-effect, and I'm sure many other drugs do, too.
For sure, tell him about it and see what he can do.
Good luck
Re: Anyone experienced stuttering while on Lamictal or Lexapro?
Well, that's fantastic. Speech therapist here I come.
I'm on 150 mg of Lamictal (just decreased from 200). It has completely and utterly eliminated my mood swings. I can't remember the last time I felt even remotely manic, and I don't get depressed like I did.
