Hey, I am diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder, depression and general anxiety. I've been taking seroquel and lamictal for about 3 years now and just within the last year have been taking paxil. The medicine has greatly helped my anxiety and depression but i believe its stablizing my moods too much. Sometimes it feels like I'm in a fogg and walk around like a zombie. I know lamictal also treats seizures and actually work with someone that use to take it for that. She says she stopped taking it because she felt the same. I've been looking all over but havent been able to find known side effects like that. I'm seeing my psychiatrist in a couple weeks but I was just curious if I was over medicated or this could be the lamictal?
Are these Lamictal side effects - Sometimes I feel like I'm in a fog and walk around like a zombie?
Question posted by amandakate818 on 8 Aug 2010
Last updated on 9 August 2010 by DaniGan
Answers
DaniGan
9 Aug 2010
I have to agree with you. I was on Lamictal for a while and had the same problems. I've done better on Zoloft and Abilify. If you want to be clearer headed, talk to your doctor about making a change. You'll feel better and clearer when you're taking the meds that are right for you. Finding the right ones is a journey. Good luck!
Inactive
8 Aug 2010
Hi, no fog is not a side effect..dizziness as you know is one... but not related
I am BP too and take the same as you, I would not attribute it to the lamictal 300mg am, but to the seroquel 300mg pm... see that is how I feel in the mornings until 3pm . I have been on them for 5 years.
There are no interactions between both meds.
We do not even need to discuss the side effect of seroquel an an atypical antipsychotic.
I believe... from my experience in manic depression there is no such thing as being too stable as you mention. Stability also is external .If you live in a nice place, peaceful..etc... all this affects your mood or mood swings... but a medication stabilizing you to the point you feel bad it is not possible in Bipolar disorder it is the first time I hear of it and I have been undergoing treatment for 21 years, and have taken so many meds I can not remmember. See if you wer so stable, it would mean that there is some sort of cure for the condition... but BP has no cure, of course it can be treated and that is pretty much it.
Questions:
What dose are you on and for how long?
Do you drink, somoke or do drugs?
How long ago were you diagnosed?
Where you live is it a stable environment?
How is your social life?
Do you suffer from OCD, PTSD, anxiety-etc?
Get back to me with all the info you have got on lamictal ... ok
Take care
amandakate818
8 Aug 2010
Questions:
What dose are you on and for how long?
I am on 200mg and for about 4 years
Do you drink, somoke or do drugs?
I do not. My dad was an alcoholic and drug abuser.
How long ago were you diagnosed?
Ive been diagnosed with bipolar for 4 years. Ive been diagnosed with depression & anxiety for 7 years and have been on and off medication since i was 11 years old. I am 19 now.
Where you live is it a stable environment?
Yeah i could say my enviorment is stable. My mother isnt though, she should be on more medication than i am or gone through more therapy. She wont go to a doctor and get diagnosed, she doesnt believe anything is wrong with her...
How is your social life?
My social life is good when I am not working. Gotta pay for college and all. And ive been with the same boyfriend for 5 years.
Do you suffer from OCD, PTSD, anxiety-etc?
Yeah i have general anxiety and occasionally have panic attacks.
What do you want to know about the lamictal??
Inactive
9 Aug 2010
Well , you are not over medicated at all.so that is a good thing.there is one thing which stuk in my mind, the effect of the med in men (hormones) and women.
Interactions between lamotrigine and female hormones, which can be of particular concern for women on estrogen-containing hormonal contraceptives(refers to birth control methods that act on the endocrine system).The endocrine system is an information signal system like the nervous system. Hormones regulate many functions of an organism, including MOOD, growth and development, tissue function, and METABOLISM.. Ethinyl estradiol, the ingredient of such contraceptives, has been shown to decrease serum levels of lamotrigine. Women starting an estrogen-containing oral contraceptive may need to increase the dosage of lamotrigine to maintain its level of efficacy. Similarly, women may experience an increase in lamotrigine side effects upon discontinuation of the pill.
This may include the "pill free" week where lamotrigine serum levels have been shown to increase twofold.
Talk to your psuachiatrist about this I believe now it may have something to do with what you are experiencing.
Take care... BP SUCKS... by the way thank you.
Related topics
lamictal, seroquel, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, side effect
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