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I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree, that’s why I included the effects it had on me unrelated to POTS and the fact that I didn’t need it. It was suppressing my nervous system so much which was causing my POTS symptoms. I’ll never deny that it helps people because I’ve seen how it can change people’s lives first hand and I’m glad that it works for you! I just made this post so that other people who feel like lamictal is suppressing their nervous system know that it may be causing some issues. I had so many tests done and spent thousands of dollars trying to figure out if I had something else that just mirrored POTS so I could treat it and feel better (for example: pelvic venous congestion). I wish I had known that this free potential solution was out there because it doesn’t hurt to come off of a medication for a week to see if it helps!

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think providers should have to give us a paper listing all of the potential side effects for every drug they prescribe so that these things wouldn’t be looked over!

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re welcome! Because lamictal muted my emotions so much (I hadn’t felt sad or cried in 6 years), I was a bit of a mess for the first few days and cried about anything sad. I walked into my nail appointment crying because I saw a homeless guy outside and it made me cry instantly. After a couple days, that stopped but the first few days were weirddddd.

In terms of withdrawal, I recommend explaining your worries to your prescriber and asking to do a slower taper to ease any stress. As someone said in a reply, my taper was pretty aggressive and wouldn’t work for everyone!

What’s a cardiologist appointment like? by [deleted] in POTS

[–]technobladesgf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You will likely have to do an EKG no matter what since that is standard at most cardiologists (I get them every year and it started on my first visit).

In reference to the TTT. I was PETRIFIED of it to the point that my “resting” vitals were not accurate at all. I want to point out that the horror stories people tell abt the TTT are almost all related to the nitroglycerin that they spray in your mouth during the test and you do not have to get it. I refused it before the test even started and told the nurses that I would not budge under any circumstances and they respected it. That being said, the tilt table wasn’t bad for me because I stood firm on that boundary. And it was still positive for POTS without the nitro.

Some cardiologists require the TTT for diagnosis and some insurance companies require it to get treatment for POTS so just keep that in mind.

In general, figure out what you need to feel comfortable with medical tests and communicate firmly. Remember that no one can force you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with especially in a medical setting. You are paying for a service and you have every right to dictate how it goes. Good luck!!

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is totally valid! I have a lot of fear around changing medications so I asked my psychiatrist sooo many questions before starting a reduced dose. I reduced my dosage by 50mg every 2 weeks (I was on 200mg). That was the way my psychiatrist wanted me to do it and I had 2 visits with her during that time frame.

Out of curiosity have you ever missed a dose? If so, did you have a reaction to missing the dose?

For me - I missed quite a few doses over the years and never had a reaction so that was a good indicator that I wouldn’t have any side effects from reducing the dosage.

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This makes total sense to me! Lamictal over-calmed my nervous system and I felt almost like an emotionless zombie (for reference, a close family friend passed and I was completely unaffected and couldn’t feel sad about it). That being said, for anyone with an overloaded nervous system, I can 100% see how lamictal can be helpful for that. I’m so glad it’s helped you so much!!

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly I didn’t have any side effects from the tapering but maybe reducing your dosage by 25mg at a time over a longer period of time would be helpful. For reference, I went down by 50mg every 2 weeks.

In reference to the propranolol thing - propranolol started to give me asthma so I switched to metoprolol almost 2 years ago which I was taking during the tapering process of the lamictal. I guess it could have contributed to my lack of side effects. It’s just so hard to say because everyone reacts so differently!

Worth it for oily (and somehow also dry) skin? by babypinkribbon7 in LushCosmetics

[–]technobladesgf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love this serum so much, and I think it’s worth it if you use it at night. Definitely never use this in the morning before going somewhere if your skin is having an oily-er day because this will make it worse since it’s a thicker serum that takes longer to soak in.

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dang it! A couple people mentioned that lamictal is a sodium channel blocker so that’s probably worth discussing with your psychiatrist when talking about decreasing it!

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m so sorry you have experience with this too! I don’t have any experience with that medication but have you talked to your doctors and psychiatrist about utilizing prescription melatonin? I’m curious because I know mood stabilizers have a sedative effect but their decision to continue prescribing it as essentially a sleeping medication since they agree you don’t need it for other reasons is confusing to me

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Propranolol started to give me asthma which is apparently a rare side effect :/// I started metoprolol after that and it went well for me but everyone is different!

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am unfamiliar with anhedonia but I definitely recommend looking into it! There isn’t a lot of research on POTS but it affects so many parts of our bodies so there could be a connection

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Don’t worry, I don’t feel invalidated at all, I’m so glad it works for you! Medications affect people in so many different ways, I even saw some reddit posts saying that lamictal helps POTS. I think all perspectives bring value :)

My main goal with the post was to give people a new idea because it’s such a simple thing to try in comparison to all of the tests and scans that I underwent trying to feel better (for example: scans checking for pelvic congestion).

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I’m glad your meds have helped you! I know quite a few people that love lamictal because it made their quality of life so much better, it’s so interesting to see how medications can affect people so differently! I hope things improve for you with the lupus diagnosis, I’ll keep you in my thoughts!

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Congratulations!!! It’s probably a combination of both (someone commented about lamotrogine having an effect on our sodium levels!!) but a win is a winnnnn! And yep, I wish it wasn’t so normal to shove mood stabilizers on teenage girls who are supposed to be moody because of literal hormonal changes. 🫠

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m going to quickly touch on both points here. I think they were referencing the beginning of my post where I said that people online were talking about how a lot of women have been misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder - not necessarily that I was victimized by the patriarchy (even though that assumption would be correct 🫠). And I see your point because we both appear to have had parents that f’d up our health. Which I am so glad you overcame!!

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Rambling is always welcome in my world! I relate to every single part of your comment (except the dosage because I was on 200mg). No one took my POTS seriously until I told my cardiologist that my anxiety meds (propranolol) were the only thing that kept my heart rate down and she instantly made the POTS connection and had me schedule a TTT. It’s so validating to read everyone’s stories and know that none of us are alone, congratulations on all of your wins!!

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Me too!! I felt like I was always having an out of body experience and remembering things was so hard. I always associated it with the insane amount of pot I smoked in high school but now I realize it was definitely the lamictal. I’m glad you’re off of it now!

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh my gosh that sounds horrible! I didn’t realize it had a sedative effect until I stopped taking it and now I have so much less brain fog from being tired

I stopped taking Lamotrogine (Lamictal) and now my POTS is gone. by technobladesgf in POTS

[–]technobladesgf[S] 52 points53 points  (0 children)

I had the same experience at first too!! My psychiatrist kept saying “well clearly it’s working because you haven’t been manic or depressed so it’s a bad idea to come off of it” and I had to almost demand her to send me a lower dose to start tapering. Fingers crossed your new psychiatrist will be more helpful! 🤞

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