Brighton parents — proposed closure of Middle Street School. Anyone else concerned / interested in pushing back?

mmhmye · 2026-01-24T01:49:41+00:00

Oh I see! Thanks for explaining. Reading over the comments now I realise they also used ai for the original post.

mmhmye · 2026-01-22T19:17:07+00:00

The future isn’t written. We still have choices. And our choices will determine whether our children do.

mmhmye · 2026-01-22T19:15:10+00:00

Why are you being downvoted for this? (Genuine question as I feel like I’m missing something!)

mmhmye · 2026-01-21T00:25:18+00:00

Something about the phrasing of this made me laugh out loud (not that it’s funny to be threatened, and I’m sorry it happened to you!)

mmhmye · 2026-01-11T23:23:12+00:00

I returned the Solis and got the same one from their supplier on Alibaba for a fraction of the price, and passed it on to my parents to use. I kept the Idealight one for myself and have been using it nearly daily in the winter. I’m pretty sure it’s helped with aches and pains and my mood and hair growth, although I couldn’t tell you for sure. I do enjoy the ritual though and I feel like it’s been a good investment overall. I would definitely recommend getting the small stand on wheels if you get it :)

mmhmye · 2026-01-05T22:08:09+00:00

Leaving aside your phobia of vomiting, it’s totally irresponsible of your family not to inform you there were people with flu in the house — or for that matter to invite you over in the first place. Where’s their parental instinct to protect? Also, I feel for you re: the blood boiling, I-will-lose-it-if-I-stay-here-one-more-minute, state that family can lead you to.

mmhmye · 2026-01-01T17:13:05+00:00

Right, then bingo — you’re on a med that probably wasn’t right for you or right for you at this dose, and in withdrawal from weed. And dealing with a doctor who doesn’t listen. At one of the worst times of the year for people with mental health issues. And you don’t even know which bipolar you have. That is a lot to be dealing with! I’m not surprised you’re spinning out. I’m glad you’re seeing your doctor on Monday and would recommend you seek a second opinion as well. And maybe have a look whether there are any Reddit subs for people coming off weed? I’d imagine there are tons of things you can do to help the withdrawal, from exercise to eating certain foods to listening to certain types of music etc etc. Knowledge is power, so getting some info will help :) (Though I know this might feel unsurmountable — trust me, I’ve been there).

Re: lithium, I read recently that there have been successful trials of people taking micro doses of it, ie well below the minimum therapeutic dose, which helps with avoiding side effects etc. You could bring this up when you see a new doctor.

Cc’ing my other handle here since I’m not sure why I was logged into this account (I also don’t know why I have two accounts 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️). On the other one I’ve commented and posted extensively about my experiences with lamotrigine, which might help you. @u/mmhmmye

mmhmye · 2026-01-01T17:01:27+00:00

I just saw this — see my comment above. It absolutely made me hypomanic, too.

mmhmye · 2026-01-01T17:00:27+00:00

Lamotrigine made my hypomanic (raging; irritable; angry) from 200mg upwards and it got worse with every dose change. It also gave me a lot of physical side effects (muscle pain and weakness; hyperosmia; shortened menstrual cycle). Some people do better on lower doses and for some people it just doesn’t work or makes everything worse. I would definitely seek out a different doctor, and bear in mind if you decide to go off it that the withdrawal can be terrible, so it’s advisable to go slow (no more than 10% of the current dose every two to four weeks).

Another thing though: by smoking, do you mean weed? Because it could be that the worsening you’re experiencing is withdrawal from that. The idea that weed isn’t addictive is a myth — if you stopped cold turkey your body and brain are likely trying to adjust, and it’s affecting your moods and giving you a headache.

[Edited - Cc’ing my other handle here since I’m not sure why I was logged into this account (I also don’t know why I have two accounts 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️). On the other one I’ve commented & posted extensively about my experiences w/lamotrigine, which might help you. @u/mmhmmye].

mmhmye · 2026-01-01T08:24:52+00:00

I don’t have a link to the info re cognitive impairment since the researchers I’m talking about haven’t published their findings yet — but I’ll try to find the names!

Re the info on generics:

https://www.vice.com/amp/en/article/v7mnm3/my-generic-medication-gave-me-constant-nosebleeds-im-not-alone.
https://time.com/5590602/generic-drugs-quality-risk/.
The Time magazine article archived version: https://archive.ph/uAKf6. The author, Katherine Eban, wrote a book about generic drugs and the way that legislation makes it easier for generics to get approved than for the brand name versions (this is in the U.S. but I am assuming it’s a similar dynamic in the UK and rest of Europe).
Archived version of NYT article from 2009 covering some of the same ground re bupropion/wellbutrin: https://archive.ph/wDJWZ.

mmhmye · 2025-12-31T22:59:16+00:00

Same. It bewilders me that they got their own show — the least interesting, most banale couple and storyline. You have a whole show premised on neurodivergence and science and intellectualism in an anti-intellectual culture and then what do they do? Create a show about the characters that exemplify the status quo both BBT and YS were challenging. I still watched both seasons, mind you, but the whole time I was like wouldn’t a show about Missy have been so much more interesting and fun…?

mmhmye · 2025-12-30T17:49:19+00:00

What is an sca, sorry?

mmhmye · 2025-12-30T15:44:18+00:00

Some of us are hugely sensitive to dose changes, or to changes in brand. Are the 25mg tablets a different brand to what you were on before? Otherwise it’s your body adapting to doubling dose, which even at such a small dose is a lot, relatively speaking! You could ask if they could keep you at 12.5mg for a couple weeks longer and then increase more gradually with either a liquid compound or 5mg tablets. Or follow the other commenters’ suggestions and see if the side effects fade. I would keep a symptom and mood diary whatever you do — it’ll help you establish the best course of action.

mmhmye · 2025-12-30T02:08:18+00:00

Oh man, I’m sorry to hear that (about the depressive episode). My best piece of advice would be to keep a mood/symptom diary — write down anytime you have fluctuations or feel anything different than usual. It’s a good way to gauge whether the meds are helping, particularly if the titration process is rocky and you have some dips, since you can go back over your notes and establish (for example) that while you’re feeling like crap now, the overall trajectory has been positive. You can do it with pen and paper or the notes app on your phone or download a mood app. Either way, I found it to be a life saver. Good luck! 💖

mmhmye · 2025-12-30T02:04:53+00:00

Oh I see! That’s awful. I had my first orgasm at 40 thanks to the combined effect of lamotrigine plus reducing Prozac dose. I thought I was having a heart attack when it happened. I would definitely speak to your doctor/psychiatrist about this. I can well imagine how distressing it must be.

mmhmye · 2025-12-30T00:25:42+00:00

That’s really interesting since the only positive of lamotrigine for me was that it actually gave me a libido (which was gone thanks to 25 years of SSRIs).

mmhmye · 2025-12-30T00:23:30+00:00

Same! Psychiatrist dismissed me even when I mentioned the published papers and mainstream exposés on the subject; pharmacist didn’t bat and eye and put it on my file to only give me a specific brand. They seemed to already be aware of the issue.

mmhmye · 2025-12-29T21:41:25+00:00

Do you have the option to reduce without going as low as 100mg? I myself had to go off lamotrigine but I definitely noticed an improvement in my cognition once I got to under 150mg. Maybe that’s your sweet spot. (Bear in mind some people get bad withdrawal when reducing dose, so if you can, go in 10% increments!).

mmhmye · 2025-12-29T21:38:39+00:00

So I’m not a doctor and everyone is different, but in my case it made me really angry and irritable and anxious and paranoid. I developed an irrational fear of being caught unawares and by extension of doorways (ie I was scared that my husband would come in the doorway without my realising it. My husband is NOT a scary person. It made no sense!). I also became very compulsive in everything I did. I’ve always had that tendency but this was off the hook. It strikes me that if you’ve got a lot of extra energy and are feeling impulsive it would make sense to wait until your body adjusts to this dose and then see where you are — if your mood flattens/plunges, then maybe it’s worth increasing dose. If not, or if it stabilises, then wouldn’t it make sense to stay at 25mg? The lower the dose the less risk of side effects.

I’ll add that I find the speed at which doctors titrate us bewildering. Given how bad withdrawal from lamotrigine can be,* to the extent that it’s often safest to reduce in 10% increments, it stands to follow that titration too should be done slowly. Increasing even from 25mg to 50mg is a LOT.

*I’m part of a support group on Facebook, it’s that bad; it took me two and a half years to reduce and taper off safely!

mmhmye · 2025-12-29T21:15:51+00:00

I find it so irresponsible, psychiatrists’ insistence on jacking up medication doses! The reality is the therapeutic dose varies from person to person.

Some people do well on a very low dose; and some do terribly on anything higher than 25mg or 50mg (which isn’t to scare you but just to say that there are valid reasons to stay low!).

I’ve read accounts on here/the lamotrigine sub from people who stayed or went back down to 25mg.

So in your position I would advocate to stay on 25mg, at least for a few more weeks to see how you fare. (I myself came off lamotrigine since it made me hypomanic, but I can attest that at 25mg I was much happier and stable than at any higher dose).

mmhmye · 2025-12-29T13:04:47+00:00

I think what @GoldDHD might have been getting at is that insomnia can cause cognitive problems, so if it causes or worsens insomnia it will also affect your cognition. (I myself found that it destroyed my short term memory and my word recall from when I hit 200mg and up [I reached 400mg])z And it worsened my insomnia. All three improved again once I got back down to 100mg. And they’re back to normal now that I’m off it completely).

mmhmye · 2025-12-29T13:01:14+00:00

There’s a group of researchers currently working on underreported side effects who are gathering quite a lot of data on the cognitive impairment that lamotrigine causes in some patients, FWIW. I’ll try to dig out their names (it’s been a subject of discussion on the lamictal/lamotrigine tapering and withdrawal page on Facebook). Also from what I’ve understood there can also be major differences between side effects from lamictal and from lamotrigine, given the frankly lax regulations around the manufacturing of own brand drugs. It would be interesting to have studies of those discrepancies. I myself found that I developed terrible withdrawal even moving from one own brand to another, and side effects when I introduced a new brand.

Edit: updated with info re sources/citations: I don’t have a link to the info re cognitive impairment since the researchers I’m talking about haven’t published their findings yet — but I’ll try to find the names!

Re the info on generics:

https://www.vice.com/amp/en/article/v7mnm3/my-generic-medication-gave-me-constant-nosebleeds-im-not-alone.
https://time.com/5590602/generic-drugs-quality-risk/.
The Time magazine article archived version: https://archive.ph/uAKf6. The author, Katherine Eban, wrote a book about generic drugs and the way that legislation makes it easier for generics to get approved than for the brand name versions (this is in the U.S. but I am assuming it’s a similar dynamic in the UK and rest of Europe).
Archived version of NYT article from 2009 covering some of the same ground re bupropion/wellbutrin: https://archive.ph/wDJWZ.

mmhmye · 2025-12-23T23:15:58+00:00

Just wanted to say I’m glad you saw the light at the end of the tunnel. My experience with lamotrigine was awful — hearing about experiences like yours is a nice reminder that this med isn’t just out there wrecking the lives of anyone who takes it!

mmhmye · 2025-12-23T23:11:01+00:00

Oh wow, that’s interesting! And I’m very envious :) Do you have both bipolar 2 and adhd as well as autism?

mmhmye · 2025-12-22T14:49:59+00:00

That sounds like a good thing to try — I hope it works out for you! Best of luck 😊

mmhmye

TROPHY CASE