Lamotrigine for Anxiety User Reviews (Page 4)

• Lam...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 29, 2023

"I had severe social anxiety mixed with depression and OCD prior to Lamictal. It helped my depression immensely and took away my constant suicidal thoughts. It also increased my confidence somehow, which helped with my social anxiety as well."

• Sou...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 7, 2018

"I have been on Lamotrigine for 3 weeks for anxiety and bad mood swings. Started out on 25 mg twice a day, nothing changed. Moved up to 50 mg twice a day, still no positive changes whatsoever. I am tired and lethargic. By the evenings, I am extremely irritable and yelling at my family."

• Ann...
• November 1, 2016

"I don't think this is working for me. I was in therapy, and this was bumped up to 100 mg. I still feel anxious, I still worry a lot, I still have bad mood swings. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, annoys me. I feel bad for being mean all of the time. The only plus is I try to resolve issues by talking it out rather than cutting everyone off."

• Lok...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 22, 2022

"Game changer/Life saver! Thyroid issues mimicking depression/anxiety throughout my life. Tried various SSRIs for the last 20 years. Finally being diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, which explained the anxiety, and then radioactive iodine made me hypothyroid. Taking Synthroid now for life. Thyroid flares/unbalance made anxiety/depression beyond bearable. November 2017- I checked into a psych hospital because I needed a comprehensive safe place. No shocker, but my TSH number (thyroid) was off the charts... This is where I was first given Lamictal. The last five years have been my longest “episode”-free period. I use Lamictal along with Cymbalta and Prozac. I highly recommend trying Lamictal for reoccurring crippling anxiety/depression."

• Viv...
• June 29, 2022

"I just started taking lamotrigine. I suffer from OCD, bipolar depression, and severe anxiety. I have been on numerous depression meds, none worked at all, they made me manic. I wanted to hide or curl up in a ball. Since I’ve started this new med, I’ve felt calmer. I’ve had a tad bit of anxiety still, but nothing like the antidepressants caused. Hopefully, as it builds up in my system, it doesn’t get worse because so far this medication is working for my mood swings. I’m much more stable, not having outbursts or uncontrollable thoughts."

• Ste...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 13, 2021

"Been taking this med for depression, anxiety, and BPD. While it is not a miracle drug that will solve the issues completely, it will help calm your mind and help with mood swings. I don't always realize how much it helps until I stop taking it for a few days. It's at least worth a try if you suffer from similar issues. It helps keep me stable enough to focus on counseling, which is a necessity. Medication alone will not get me where I want to be in life."

• Eth...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 28, 2019

"After almost 2 weeks of taking 100 mg of lamotrigine (while on my 6th month of Prozac 20 mg), I've had headaches that became migraines and worse anxiety that became nightly panic attacks. I've had to call off work, leave my friends, and frequently drop whatever I'm doing to deal with these debilitating side effects."

• Nix...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 4, 2021

"I had tried almost every other medication without success. The one that worked for me (phenelzine) has been discontinued. I was on venlafaxine and mirtazapine. Lamotrigine was added - I had no hopes of improvement, but from day one, I started to improve. It has now been 6 months, and I feel fine. I take 25 mg twice a day. For me, it has been life-changing."

• Tam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 16, 2023

"This medicine was a miracle drug for my daughter who suffers from anxiety, lack of sleep, auditory and visual hallucinations, and a triad of other things. It has 'normalized' her and made her stable. Sadly, for my nephew who took his own life within days of being on this medicine, it has become a very traumatic event for our family. It looks like it does more harm than good for many people and should not be used unless the person is being wholly monitored in a restricted setting for the first several weeks. My nephew was an adult living on his own. He had no monitoring, and because of the laws of medical confidentiality, the family was unaware of the meds and the risks. It was the coroner who advised the family that this medicine was probably the reason he committed suicide."

• Cel...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 23, 2021

"My daughter, who suffers from BPD, was put on lamotrigine last June, which I wasn’t happy about. She’s suffered from self-harm in the past, but since taking lamotrigine, she’s self-harmed really badly and took two overdoses, which she’s never done in her life. I persuaded the psychiatrist to take her off them. In the month of withdrawal from this drug, it’s been terrible, and she actually planned to take her own life last week. She had to go to a recovery house to keep her safe. It states that this drug can cause suicidal ideation in the under-25s. It is horrifying and terrifying that this drug can genuinely cause this in some people. For others, it can work well for them. I feel that this medication has very nearly killed my daughter."

• Dar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 7, 2022

"Thank you to all those who wrote the reviews for Lamotrigine use! They were very encouraging to me, as I've been on 25 mg and then 50 mg of the drug for a month now and haven't noticed any difference as of yet. I had decided I needed to call my doctor that prescribed this for me, to let her know it's not working. But in reading the reviews above, they have given me hope again, and I'm just going to give it more time. In about a week and a half, my dose increases to 100 mg. I've not had any side effects, and I take it at bedtime. I've been on Zoloft for a year and a half for depression and am continuing it along with the Lamotrigine, per my doctor's suggestion. I had the genetic testing done to help her determine which drug may work best. At my first appointment with her, she determined I needed a mood stabilizer."

• mak...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 24, 2024

"Didn't work first time, I quit but tried again years later. Now works fantastic for my obsessive thoughts!! Also helps PTSD anger. I'm not bipolar but unfortunately my ADHD hyper times went away too. But it's worth it."

• skl...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 5, 2021

"This is my first drug prescribed for my mental health. I took 100 mg for 6 months, sadly, it did not help at all. My vision worsened, and I take more time stringing sentences together and reacting to things than before. I was forced to go off lamotrigine cold turkey when my psychiatrist stopped contacting me... so yeah. Thanks to therapy and healthy coping habits for being the real MVP."

• Aba...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 11, 2020

"I was on Lamictal for mood swings a couple of years ago, and it was not bad. Then got back onto it this year, started 25 mg, then increased to 200 mg. It gave me anxiety, my heart won’t stop beating day and night, had a panic attack once, thankfully."

• Nel...
• September 8, 2021

"I had tried Zoloft to cope with some really sad things that happen and had a very severe adverse reaction. Before Zoloft, I’d never really had anxiety. But Zoloft gave me panic attacks, insomnia (like sleeping 0-2 hours per night for weeks), and suicidal thoughts. I eventually developed sleep anxiety, which is awful. I stopped the Zoloft and did sleep therapy and regular therapy. I was feeling good, but I still had some of that intense anxiety. I was TERRIFIED to try another drug after my experience with Zoloft, but lamotrigine has helped me enormously. I’m only on 7.5 (yes 7.5, not 75 mgs), and it’s made a big difference. Going up to 10 mgs. I had almost no side effects. The first 7 days, I had a mild sleep disturbance and some very bizarre dreams, but that was short-lived and very mild. Currently, I experience no side effects, except occasionally feeling a bit slowed down, which is not a bad thing."

• rc1...
• February 5, 2018

"Had high hopes for this one, but again it just didn't work for me. I honestly don't know what will work because I have been on a few meds for anxiety and nothing helps. So the only thing I use is lorazepam and it just makes me yawn. I just started gabapentin so will see how it does."

• Mol...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 25, 2022

"I have GAD, no bipolar, maybe mild depression. I don't cry or feel thoughts of suicide, but I don't have any energy or drive to do any activities outside of my house. My anxiety is usually centered around social situations, work, fears of how others perceive me, and, of course, something bad happening to me or my children. Obvious reasons for most of this are a lack of self-esteem and living in a bad neighborhood as a single parent. I've tried hydroxyzine and most of the benzos over the past few years for relief. I took lamotrigine for 7 days total. The first 2 days, I had a wonderful energy and no side effects. The next 5 days brought sudden and weird evening agitation, panic attacks following agitation, and the most terrible insomnia. Not just regular insomnia, but terrorizing images accompanying it. I normally don't have insomnia. I never have uncontrollable agitation or any agitation at all, really, and panic attacks maybe 3 times a month. The horrible insomnia and agitation were just not worth the wait."

• Kat...
• September 30, 2022

"I have been on lamotrigine for 4 months. The side effects at the start were horrible. They lasted for 1 month (constant dizziness, feeling very low, anger), and I was nearly at the point of stopping. I'm now on 100 mg, and it has helped lower my anxiety, and I don't have the depressive lows that I was getting without meds and when I was on Lovan. I take it morning and night, I can tell when it's wearing off. I do still have off days where it doesn't seem to help, but now I have many more good days than bad. It has been a life changer for me, and I am so happy I stuck through the side effects. I also take Valdoxan at night, and this combination seems to work great."

• sli...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 9, 2024

"My GP prescribed lamotrigine after many months of trial and error with various medications. Every other epilepsy medication I had taken in the past led to awful side effects and very minimal success at reducing anxiety, panic attacks, and seizures. I started on a very low dose, 25 mg twice a day. Although most say they couldn’t feel any effect for about a month, I felt the positive effects within the first week. I was told to up my dose to 50 mg twice a day, but that was too soon for my body. I had awful side effects and couldn’t stand up from dizziness and nausea. I wasn’t deterred, however, I went back to my original dose for another couple of weeks and tried again. I am finally able to leave my home, agoraphobia is way better and easier to handle. My panic attacks are very few and far between, and my seizures have stopped completely. A win-win for me."

• Ros...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 9, 2021

"I started taking lamotrigine about two weeks ago after going to a psychiatrist and explaining the things I have been dealing with the last 5 years, which include major mood swings, panic attacks often, social anxiety, and severe depression. I started at 50 mg and then increased it to 100 mg. So far, I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders. I can be excited about life again and do more things with my day. I feel like I am getting control over my own life again too."

• Car...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 7, 2022

"This medication changed my life. No more anxiety or depression. Unfortunately, after about two weeks of taking it, I did develop a rash and had to stop taking it immediately. Best two weeks of my life in years. The only other side effect that I had was I needed very little sleep, and I had a lot of energy."

• mas...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 16, 2019

"I could not really tell if this medication made a huge difference for me or not. I was on this for 5 years and noticed some relief for anxiety/depression, but not a huge relief. I had to switch to Trileptal because I changed doctors. Honestly, not too sure about how this drug affected me, though I did feel some relief from it initially."

• Jay...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 15, 2020

"I have been taking Lamotrigine for 10 years, 100 morning and 100 evening. My anxiety seemed to reduce over time... but recently the anxiety has increased. I am tempted to increase by 100 at lunchtime, or I may be able to buy 50's where I am. I also take Duloxetine at a dose of 30 three times per day, ie 90 in all. My big problem is that I now live in a third-world country, so I cannot speak to my GP, and I know medical advice cannot be given over the telephone. Phew."

• Aly...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 7, 2022

"I had been prescribed a variety of SSRIs for depression and other meds for anxiety (in addition to lifestyle changes and coping mechanisms, etc.), but they either didn't work or the side effects made life worse. With Lamictal, I can think, sleep normally, and breathe again. I went from having daily anxiety attacks and weekly panic attacks to having anxiety attacks very rarely (and if they do, it's for a shorter duration). My depression is under control since I can see any warning signs for myself and can get the help I need to cope. I started on a lower dose (25 mg) originally, and it took about 2 weeks to start to see the effects and a month to see the full effects. About 2 years after being on the medication, I had to increase my dosage to 50 mg since I was starting to have increased anxiety symptoms on a regular basis that couldn't be attributed to short-term situational circumstances, which helped."

• Ama...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 5, 2023

"I suffered from extreme anxiety with suicidal thoughts before I started this medication. I've now been on Lamotrigine for over half a year, and I can say it's changed my life for the better. Within a couple of weeks, I noticed my suicidal thoughts disappeared. After a month, I also noticed that I could think rationally about situations that used to send me into anxious spirals. Overall, I cannot stress how much this medication helped me enjoy my life again. The only thing that I would warn people of is never take this medication with hormonal birth control. I did after a few months of being on this medication, and it sent me into the worst mental state I've ever been in. Now that I'm off birth control, I feel great again, but when I was taking both, it was a disaster. So be careful!"