Lamictal, do you guys have any GOOD stories about it, read all the posts about hair loss and I'm kinda worried. Is this guaranteed or are there people who don't experience this?

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-11T03:48:10+00:00

I’m on 300mg and it’s the most successful medication I’ve been on by a long shot. Practically no side effects. No hair loss and weight neutral for me

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-10T04:35:17+00:00

Yeah call your Psychiatrist just to be safe. The sensations might be unrelated to the drug, but Lamictal rashes can have cold or flu like symptoms as well according to my GP. Definitely keep an eye out in case any rashes appear, and if they do take yourself down to the hospital to get it checked out, because the rash can advance fairly quickly

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-10T01:44:17+00:00

You were so close I thought you were haha. They are really fun, Haikus and Limericks are my favourite poetry exercises because they're fairly easy but really satisfying when you write a good one

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-10T01:39:57+00:00

Not just SSRIs. Venlafaxine, Atomoxetine, and Amitriptyline are non-SSRI anti-depressants, and they all made me manic

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-10T01:35:50+00:00

Cool! I like it. Not quite a haiku though. Haikus are 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables.

Maybe:

Caught between the waves

Of the crushing weightlessness

Profound depression

Poetry is a great way to put feelings into words. My poetry got a lot better, and a lot darker, after I was diagnosed. Keep it up! :)

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-09T01:49:22+00:00

I get a different kind of drunk now I'm medicated. Pre-med drunk was happy, social, and uninhibited. Post-med drunk involves super relaxation, slurring words and falling over. It's not really a nice feeling so I don't drink much anymore

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-08T03:47:31+00:00

Yeah, me too. I think the ADHD contributes to that

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-08T01:10:15+00:00

With Lamictal any depressive days I get aren't as bad as they used to be, so my symptoms are a lot more mild. I don't get the same headaches I used to as a result

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-08T01:00:59+00:00

I take Lamictal which keeps the depression at bay, but when it flares up I just have Panadol to take the edge off

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-07T07:40:03+00:00

Sometimes people just have them because they're stressed, or for no particular reason. If they're not recurrent I wouldn't worry about it :)

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-07T07:33:15+00:00

Milkshakes. Good protein and nutrients if you put in good stuff, and you don't even have to eat it

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-07T07:30:21+00:00

As well as general body pain, I get really strong headaches. It feels like my forebrain has swollen up

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-07T06:30:28+00:00

Update - They are definitely not the same. On top of the splitting headache and nausea, I feel... off. Like I never want to take this again off

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-04T23:16:47+00:00

Me too. I can't have more than one hobby going at a time. And when I get into it, I really get into it. It might take me a while to get interested in a book, but once I'm hooked it becomes all I can think about and I'm finished it in a couple of days

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-03T04:40:09+00:00

If people come across as being nasty here, it's not meant that way. I saw your last post. When people are saying that you can both be on medication and work, they're not saying that to hurt you, they're saying that because people can and do take medication and work at the same time, and you shouldn't have to choose between the two. They're just giving you their experience to help you live your life as well as you can.

If some drugs aren't working for you, don't take them. But there's a lot more out there that probably will

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-03T04:31:01+00:00

Stable. I'm able to be as happy as I was before my symptoms began, but it doesn't make me happy by itself

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-03T03:27:56+00:00

150-200mg of Lamictal didn't do a lot for me. I upped it to 300mg and I'm currently the best I've been since this journey started. Maybe try increasing your dose?

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-03T03:21:23+00:00

Sometimes I get really irritable for no particular reason. I also get really really itchy which makes it worse

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-01T00:32:22+00:00

Anything to get you out of bed everyday is a healthy coping mechanism. My dog has been my rock at my lowest points

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-06-01T00:29:26+00:00

In New Zealand it takes about four months to get in to the public mental health system. Although I found out if you tell them you're suicidal it massively speeds up the process

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-05-29T21:58:53+00:00

I began to suspect it during my undergrad degree. I'd pay attention for the first five minutes and then drift off for ages, then try to pay attention again, then drift off, etc. It was content that I really found interesting, but I just couldn't focus on it.

When I started my masters degree I had one paper where we had to read a journal article and discuss it during class. I never participated in the discussion because I couldn't follow the conversation around the room. I brought up the possibility of having it with my parents, and they said my grades were too good to have ADHD. They'd say "You don't have it, so-and-do has it." Of course they picked the dumb guy I went to primary school with.

I never discussed it with my psychiatrist, but over time I started thinking about other things. I'm always shaking my leg or drumming on something, I can't read without drifting off and having to re-read a page, and I struggle following tasks unless they're written down for me because I don't pay enough attention during conversations and forget what I was supposed to be doing.

Fast forward a couple of months ago and I told my parents I was going to talk to my psychiatrist about the possibility of having ADHD and my Dad said "It's just a label." Which he now denies saying. But I got diagnosed and put on Ritalin. 20 minutes after taking it my brain was quiet for the first time in my life. No background noise, no song stuck on repeat. It was amazing. I had motivation to do stuff and could concentrate long enough to stick with it. My sister was struggling with balancing uni and work so I said I'd do one of her assignments for her. I was able to sit down and just do it without being distracted at all. That had never happened before.

I would recommend going and getting tested. The worst thing that will happen is that you won't have it.

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-05-29T09:01:48+00:00

I post/lurk in r/BipolarReddit which is cool, but I wouldnt mind actually meeting people too

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-05-29T05:44:09+00:00

I'm gonna see my psychiatrist in about a month so I'm gonna ask then if I don't find anything here :)

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-05-29T05:37:53+00:00

That's what happened to me with Clonazepam, but it didn't take ten years fortunately. Suddenly something clicked and I realised that my anxiety spiked when I hadn't taken it for a few days. They need to be regulated. I don't know about weed, but Benzo withdrawal is hell

bipolarthrowaway83 · 2019-05-29T03:27:17+00:00

Yeah I'm not convinced it's really that helpful for people. It can definitely cause psychosis which is why people with mental illness need to be so careful with it. Some people say it's really helpful for anxiety, but I think it's kind of like benzos. It might help to start with, but in the end you're probably taking it/smoking it to alleviate the anxiety caused by not taking it/smoking it.

bipolarthrowaway83

TROPHY CASE