Lamotrigine for Anxiety User Reviews (Page 3)

• Sav...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 2, 2023

"I have had crippling anxiety since getting a tubal ligation 11 years ago, and Lamictal has been the only medication that has gotten me back to feeling like my actual self again. My thoughts are more organized, I’m not panicked, and I can actually relax. I don’t feel restless anymore!"

• Tri...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 8, 2020

"Lexapro worked for years, then stopped. Tried multiple other meds without success. Dr. thought we’d try lam as a mood stabilizer. First 2 days, I felt a weird “disconnected” feeling, but that left. I had an internal tremor in the mornings, which lasted till noon, followed by mild mania/restlessness in the afternoon. I was definitely cognitively sharper. By evening, I would feel a bit of a crash/low. But then it started to cause nightmares for me, waking multiple times at night in panic and sweating (I have prior trauma). So, to sum things up, tremor, mania, and nightmares were not doing my anxiety and depression any good. I slowly reduced and stopped this med as it wasn’t right for me."

• jba...
• October 30, 2019

"I've been on this for years. I am a stroke survivor and thought my very bad hand tremors were due to a stroke. No, they were made much worse by lamotrigine. I thought so, though one doctor said not. I have cut down very gradually to 25 mgs from 200 mg (taken about a year), and the withdrawal has been horrible. Once at about 50 to 75 - exhaustion, anxiety, bad gut aches, and obsessive thoughts. Almost as bad as SSRI withdrawal. So I am eventually stopping altogether. I have now tried virtually every mood disorder/anxiety/depression med, so will just have to use much more cognitive techniques. I also take Inderal and clonazepam (.5 once a day). I know I am addicted to clonazepam, but I feel I have little choice given that my anxiety was very severe, leading to an inability to work at all. I'm sure that lamotrigine helps many people. I caution people if you discontinue, then go slow. Hopefully now I will be able to eat with one hand as the shaking will lessen."

• Rmp...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 1, 2022

"Back in December, I was diagnosed with situational anxiety and depression. This was the first time I’ve ever experienced anything like this, so I was terrified. I thought I was going crazy, had intrusive thoughts, couldn’t sleep, etc. I was started on generic Lexapro 10 mg and generic Buspar 7.5 mg three times a day. After 7 weeks on Lexapro and an increase to 15 mg, I felt it really wasn’t helping. I decreased to 10 mg, which helped a little, but I still wasn’t feeling much better. I was started five days ago on lamotrigine 25 mg for the first two weeks, then will increase to 50 mg. Now, I really don’t want to jinx it, but this has helped me so, so much. While I don’t feel 100% back to myself, I feel like I’m on the way there. My anxiety and depression have decreased, as have the intrusive thoughts, and I’m starting to feel like myself more and more. I recommend if you can’t seem to find something that works for you."

• Pan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 22, 2020

"I'm on Lamictal for anxiety and depression and got severe hair loss only one week after starting medication. Clumps and clumps come out in the shower. I stopped the medication on the advice of my physician and am on good supplements and a multivitamin, but it is a month later and the hair loss is continuing. It’s frightening as I was not on a very high dose, but it seemed to have put my system into some sort of shock. No meds now and just L-theanine, taurine, and magnesium, which have certainly helped the anxiety. My husband is on Lamictal and never had the hair loss that I did. Never again."

• ash...
• June 1, 2017

"I had a terrible experience with lamotrigine. It made me irritable beyond belief, as well it substantially lowered my mood and gave me suicidal thoughts. It's hard to say if it was the lamotrigine to blame for my suicidal ideation, as I have struggled with depression for years, but this time the thoughts blindsided me and were extremely strong and powerful. This conveniently happened as my dose increased."

• bre...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 17, 2015

"75 mg is the dose I've been steady on. Worked up at 25 mg every 2 weeks, with a day or 2 of itchiness on each increase. I tried 100 mg for a few days and felt more anxious and depressed. Went back down to 75 mg and feel pretty good. Considering insomnia has been a very serious issue for me, Lamictal is the first med I've been on that isn't an AD and doesn't hurt my sleep (I take it in the AM). When I was trying ADs, the Klonopin barely seemed to work for sleep. I still take Klonopin for sleep, but at least I can sleep through the night now. Nice being off the ADs. Hope this one works long-term and I can get off the Klonopin eventually, which I think is causing my moderate brain fog. Eh, life is much better than it was. I recommend it!"

• Sel...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 7, 2020

"Have only been on this drug for a month or so, but I've been extremely dissociated and slow, and my relation to time has gotten much, much worse. It was prescribed to help me sleep, which it has not done at all, I find it actually keeps me up longer."

• Yol...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 14, 2018

"I've been taking lamotrigine for years, and I'm in a better place mentally than I've been in years because previously I discontinued an anti-depressant, Valproex, and I was feeling very sad, down, and hopeless because I'm going through a divorce after 33 years of marriage. I'm a bipolar II sufferer, which was diagnosed at age 46, and I'm 53! I really like the mood stabilizer because I'm stable most of the time. I'm not in mania in spite of the high level stress of living in the house with my soon-to-be ex."

• ben...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 11, 2017

"The best drug for trichotillomania to me. It can't be said more about the pain, torture, anxiety, shame, and ... that come with constantly pulling your hair out from your scalp. I used to also constantly pull/scratch the skin out from my outer ear! Before I stopped picking, I developed six 'devastated battlefields' on my head and both outer ears where nothing but constant bleeding is noticed. I started lamotrigine for quite a while. It first did little to my trich. In the meantime, I was also on several different SSRIs and one SNRI. However, after I upped my dose to 125 mg (qd), the scratching immediately went away the day right after I upped my dosage!!! My anxiety is now lower for the first time in years!"

• Nik...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 7, 2022

"This was used to help with my anxiety and panic attacks. A few days after starting it, I started having nightmares. Like dreaming about traumatizing things and my worst fears. I was getting headaches every day and feeling exhausted all the time. I had bruising all over my legs for no reason at all. Did not help my anxiety, I think it might have made it worse."

• lou...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 31, 2015

"I had high hopes for this medication. At 25 mg, I thought I noticed a slight positive effect. About when I upped from 25 to 50 mg, I experienced about two weeks of feeling extremely depressed, which continued when I increased to 75 mg. It did somewhat decrease my agitated anxiety, but did not help with my obsessive ruminations. Aside from the depressed mood and mild sedation, I didn't notice any side effects. When I decreased back to 25 mg, I noticed the depressed mood lifting and an increase in anxiety."

• Ben...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 7, 2020

"I was on lamotrigine for over 12 months. It's now causing pressure in the head, bad anxiety everywhere I go. I'm having sleeping problems, certain foods trigger anxiety where it didn't before. It has got to the stage where I'm scared to eat certain foods and drive anywhere. The anxiety is constant. Some days are better than others. The doctor is weaning me off it. I've had enough of this drug."

• Jes...
• December 14, 2015

"I started taking Lamictal after going to a PHP program. This medication worked really well for me, but I was only on it for 2 months because I developed a rash and acne. It made my obsessive thoughts occur less. I was able to handle situations with more logic and fewer emotional outbursts. I mean, it truly was a great medication. However, my skin has always been clear, but it was making me break out more than I ever have in my life. I also felt like my hair was growing out thinner. If my emotions were totally out of control and life-threatening, then yes, I would have stayed on it despite the skin and hair problems. However, for me, it wasn't worth it. I would recommend at least trying it out."

• Sam...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 27, 2024

"I've been on lamictal for anxiety/depression for over a year now, and it has been amazing. Before lamictal, I had tried SSRIs, Wellbutrin, and gabapentin without much relief. Lamotrigine has no noticeable side effects for me, unlike all of the well-known SSRI effects and the Wellbutrin rage that I had before. It keeps my anxiety levels down and prevents depressive episodes better than any other medications I've had. I'm glad my psych provider put me on this instead of a standard antidepressant."

• col...
• February 19, 2018

"Yes, I just started Lamictal yesterday, and I didn't think it would work for me at first intake, not this fast, but to my surprise, I was shocked! I can honestly say this med has made me feel more focused and hardly any anxiety at all! :)"

• GG2...
• May 4, 2017

"I take 200 milligrams of lamotrigine and 60 milligrams of Prozac every day. This has been very effective for my anxiety and depression. Though it took about four weeks on the lamotrigine to stop with a dry mouth and headaches, I would have to say that would be the only downfall."

• Hea...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 17, 2021

"My mother just committed suicide after being on this medication for less than a week. Reading about the side effects. It says it can double your risk of suicidal thoughts. Not sure how this medication is even legal. She was overall okay mindset before starting this stuff."

• Wol...
• August 28, 2014

"I've been taking this as a 'mood stabilizer,' which has been working, but in all honesty, I think they put me on this for mood because of the way the other medicines were making me (Risperidone made me psychotic, so did Zoloft). I'm off those now and am currently on Lamotrigine. But it does nothing for anxiety, not one thing. It's made me worry MORE."

• nai...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 9, 2020

"Lamotrigine didn't work for me and my anxiety. I've been on a 300 mg dose for 3 months, but there was no improvement, neither in my anxiety nor in my depression symptoms. At least I had no significant side effects either."

• whi...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 13, 2016

"I have been on this medication since July 2016, and it has done wonders for me, especially my mood swings. Started at 25 mg and slowly went up to 125 mg. I still get anxiety attacks, but not as bad as before I went on this medication. I think learning how to manage the anxiety, along with this medication, can make a difference. Still get bouts of depression, as I have been diagnosed with persistent depression."

• Sam...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• January 24, 2025

"I have been taking this to treat my general anxiety for almost 10 years now. I started at a very low dose and increased it with the support of my doctor to reduce the risk of side effects. I haven't really had any side effects with it. I take mine before bed since it does make you a little 'tired' feeling when it kicks in (at least at my dosage). Be careful drinking or using any other medications that might have a similar effect, and be mindful if you use hormonal birth control since it can reduce the effectiveness. I take mine at opposite times of day to balance them out. Overall, this medication honestly probably saved my life. I could not have gone on with the level of anxiety I had daily and for so long. I'm grateful!"

• Mik...
• May 12, 2015

"I'm taking this medication for anxiety and mood swings. It really does close to nothing with my anxiety. It helps my moods a bit, but my anxiety is more bothersome. Not only that, my memory is complete crap. I have trouble finding words, memorizing new information, and spelling. I am a great speller, and ever since I started taking Lamictal, I've forgotten to spell some words, which I would have no problem with before. Overall, I feel this med is doing more bad than good. I started taking Seroquel, and I can already feel more positive changes than Lamictal has done since I started taking it."

• May...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 9, 2021

"I am having a horrible experience on lamotrigine. I have anxiety and panic attacks and started on 25 mg and now am on 50 mg. I am having panic attacks, back pain, racing heart, and was put on a beta blocker as a result. My doctor does not want to change the medicine even though I have asked and is instead suggesting using Ativan as a supplement. I feel completely trapped and lost and have never felt so badly in my entire life."

• Mel...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 4, 2019

"After discontinuing Klonopin, my doctor prescribed Lamictal. After my first dose, I immediately began to feel much better. It was wonderful and unexpected. That night, shortly after going to bed, I began to sweat like crazy! I figured it had to be a strange coincidence, but the next day, the sweating continued. My doctor said sweating was not a side effect when I explained my symptom. She said to keep taking the Lamictal, and so I did. Long story short, I had to discontinue this medication. It was wonderful for anxiety, but the sweating was just too much, and I couldn't get a good night's sleep."