I hated it. It made my eyes sensitive to light. I was so jumpy when driving. I found myself getting startled from cars coming into my peripheral vision field.,

yes, it can trigger hypomania / mania.

It used to be used with lithium or valproate as I think both of them are better at dealing with the upper pole - lamotrigine being good for bipolar II depression.

I also pair it with quietapine prn.

I really liked the way I felt on Lamictal but I barely slept while taking it....xo

lamictal has kept me steady, the least amount of side effects of any medication I've taken.

I wonder if the season change and the time change may be creating some of the symptoms you are having?

mlr085 ~ Hi, yes I haven't had any significant side effects, other than sleep issues, prior to the increase in medication which was really from 37.5 to 50 mg. It could also be the change in season as this increase in Hypomania occurred right during this time. I'm glad for you that this med is working :)

SunCloud ~ I can't sleep on Lamictal and am now taking Seroquel but even that is not enough to get me thru the night. And then I have the sedation from Seroquel that follows me thru the next day. I am much more aware while on Lamictal, it's like it opened up a whole new world for me. Thank you for letting me know you also were affected with your sleep :)

acuriousfish ~ I loved Depakote, but it damaged my liver, so had to go off of it. Then my former psychiatrist is afraid at my age (68) to go on lithium due to possible kidney damage. I think I did use those two in concert about 10 years ago and had a very good experience. Have been having dark deep morning depression every day now, so trying the Light Box to see if that will help. I want to stay on Lamictal because it woke up my brain and I can function, like now I can balance my checkbook, make sense when I talk to people and make plans and carry thru with them during the day. I am on 50 mg of Lamictal which is very low. Started off at 27.5 and inched up to 50 mg. I am using Seroquel to break the Hypomania and PRN for sleep as needed. Don't want to be taken off Lamictal as I benefited from it at 37.5 mg as I took that for about 3 months with no Hypomania. Thank you for your response.

I'm not sure of my 'reasons' for not sleeping...could be medical (kidney disease) or could be lamictal.

Two ways I've tried to help myself, I'm 66, is to listen to guided meditations to calm my brain and anxiety level down at night. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvOgpzRJxJg

The next is a 'spray' melatonin 3mg, keeping that under my tongue for at least a minute...reading in bed. You can find all different types in drug stores, for me, the spray works best.

I have not used it yet, Trazadone, I was just prescribed this yesterday...perhaps an alternative to Seroquel?

Best of luck

Hello mir0 ~ Best to you with the Trazadone !! Keep me posted how it works for you. Perhaps I will ask to try this. And thank you for the suggestion to try a spray formula of melatonin. I have tried the pill and I feel weird the next day, can't put words to it.

I do listen to book tapes at night and will turn the tape on when I wake up to help getting back to sleep. It's just that I wake up too much at night and can't sleep straight thru anymore and wake feeling refreshed.

Will check into your youtube link, thank you very much !!!

Hey there novembergirl,
I started Lamictal in Late July. I have JUST got to the optimal dose for it. I abso-f-in-lutely had mania. Ive had it before bit this, this was something crazy. I enjoyed it, yes i did amd eventually it evened out but for the time being, it was a wild ride. I actualy am stable now and evened out. I have way less symptoms than before...when I was off my medicines(obviously). Even woth mania, i decided to go through to see if it evened out.
Like u have stated, side effects, none. Love it. If you look in my posts I have personally done, o had wrote about lamictal when i had started. Good luck to you. Keep me updated on how things pan out.
If you have anymore questions or want to share, feel free to message me.

same happening to me
never stable so no big deal
mostly hypomania no crashes
i ab very rapid but nothing happens to much for me to handle
only i overdue crafts ans spend money on crafts
i spend what i get monthly nothing new
i do not sleep really not new but worse

Pretty ~ That is tremendous that you rode this out and consider yourself now stable. Wondering if I should stick it out and see how it goes. How long did it take before you felt stable?

bywena ~ You are lucky that you did not go thru a crash after a hypomanic episode. I do and go way down and it takes several days stuck in the mud. So, you are saying that you spend when you are hypomanic?

Thank you for sharing bywena and Pretty *smiles*

It takes a bit of time to get to therapeutic level, they want to watch for rashes...in case you might be allergic to lamical...I'm on 200mg.

With my one kidney I'm up and down like a yo yo....my therapist told me to take melatonin "pill form" at least 5 hrs before I go to bed so it will get into my system.

The spray I use I got from a natural food store so it doesn't have a lot of garbage in it. It's 1.5 and I give myself 3 squirts (under my tongue, as this gets the melatonin through your system faster), about an hour before, I also drink a cup of Camille tea, no other food or water after 8pm except tea, then I listen to tape about half hour before bed.... I'm usually in bed around midnight.

If I wake during the night I give myself three more squirts. I'm reluctant to take Trazadone, but according to my drs it's the safest medication for my kidney. Over the last 6 months or so I've had so much stress in my life, and was not sleeping all night long. I went into a deep down worm hole depression, I'm still there and have little energy for anything...even day to day stuff I can do. Per my therapist, she takes a vitamin called Alive 50+, me well it's on sale now at CVS, I got the plain Alive...pricy at 19.99 per bottle, but it's 130, and then 50% off the next bottle , and a 7.50 extra bucks if you spend 40.00 on vit's. Being on SS I watch my penny's and wait for sales....Best to you :)

Hello mir0853 ~ Yes, it has taken 3 months to go from 1/2 a 25 mg tablet of Lamictal to 50 milligrams. I do understand the reasoning why as I don't want to get that dangerous rash or have other complications. What time of day do you take your 200 mg?

I will check out the Melatonin Spray, thank you very much for sharing that with me. Do you spray it underneath your tongue or ontop of your mouth?

Thank you for how you use this spray. And will check out the Alive 50+ too. I am not taking any vitamins at all now. Have been having a very sore tongue, so checking that out at the primary next week. Hope that is not a side effect of Lamictal.