Who takes Lamictal?

Amy3boys · Aug 26, 2019 at 02:04 PM

I mentioned to my doctor that I'd like to get off of Geodon in the near future as I don't like potential long term side effects of antipsychotics. I am wondering if she'd be willing to let me try Lamictal in its place. I took it several years ago and it helped my mood...but I stopped due to excessive hair loss. I am just wondering if I might get lucky and not have the hair loss side effect again. Who has had success with Lamictal? Has anyone else experienced hair loss and if so, what did you do? I'm on the bipolar spectrum or bipolar NOS, by the way, with mainly depressive episodes.

Scooter9 · Aug 26, 2019 at 05:46 PM

I'm similar to you...bipolar nos and I'm depressed. Going on 22 months of depression.

I used to be on Lamictal too, for 4 years. It worked well for my depression she those were good years. But I also had hair loss, but it was slow. There's not much you can do about it unless you use something like rogain but that has side effects too and I think it's only prescribed if you have bald patches or are balding a lot.

I had to stop Lamictal quickly due to a bad allergic reaction.

If you do restart it, ask for a yearly liver function test. I stopped Lamictal because it was damaging my liver.

Amy3boys · Aug 26, 2019 at 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scooter9

I'm similar to you...bipolar nos and I'm depressed. Going on 22 months of depression.

I used to be on Lamictal too, for 4 years. It worked well for my depression she those were good years. But I also had hair loss, but it was slow. There's not much you can do about it unless you use something like rogain but that has side effects too and I think it's only prescribed if you have bald patches or are balding a lot.

I had to stop Lamictal quickly due to a bad allergic reaction.

If you do restart it, ask for a yearly liver function test. I stopped Lamictal because it was damaging my liver.

Thanks! I think I have liver damage due to other meds I take

My enzymes are elevated but my dr has never said anything about it....

Mountaindewed · Aug 26, 2019 at 06:02 PM

I’m on both Geodon and lamictal. Yeah the hair loss was pretty bad on lamictal. Getting a wad of hair in a mouthful of Cesar salad is just plain nasty. It works very well though for me and is also weight neutral and I am so weird about my weight and I didn’t want to switch to anything else so after awhile I just had enough and I literally just chopped my hair very short and have had no issues since. I know that is a bit extreme though for most people.

Scooter9 · Aug 26, 2019 at 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amy3boys

Thanks! I think I have liver damage due to other meds I take

My enzymes are elevated but my dr has never said anything about it....

I was experiencing really bad pain with lots of weight loss in addition to the enzymes being really high - it went on for about a year before it was diagnosed.

Your doc would tell you if it was a problem I think and you'd probably have other symptoms if it was bad.

Under*Over · Aug 26, 2019 at 08:29 PM

I used to. I liked it.

I took it a few years ago. Got a rash. Wanted to try again about a year later... titrated up slowly- and got a rash. And with lamictal a rash can be bad news bears.

But it really made me feel nice mood wise!

~Christina · Aug 27, 2019 at 12:41 AM

I took it for years.

The first year I was losing Hair not huge amounts but enough for me to notice and almost quit at least a half dozen times.

Then it just stopped coming out for some reason.

It works well as a background Med for the depressive end of Bipolar it does nothing for the hypo/mania end.

Have you tried Lithium? It’s the first Med actually made specifically for Bipolar?? It’s a true mood stabilizer.

*Beth* · Aug 29, 2019 at 08:29 PM

Yikes. I didn't realize that hair loss was such a common side effect of Lamictal. My hair is thick so maybe I haven't noticed hair loss. Honestly, if I did experience hair loss it would be good-bye to Lamictal. Mental illness has taken enough from me, I'm not giving it my hair, too

I've been on 300mg. Lamictal for five months, or so. So far, so good. For the most part. It has helped to stabilize my moods, and to feel less depressed. My "danger zone" is mixed states; Lamictal has smoothed those rough edges somewhat - though I believe that Abilify has done more to lessen mixed states.

What I struggle with when it comes to Lamictal is that it has made me so mellow it's like I'm almost...normal. Which, to me, feels pretty flat.

That said, I'm really afraid of the depression/anxiety/dysphoric (agitated) mania, so I remain on Lamictal.

I'm sorry, this isn't a very helpful post. I'm confused myself, I guess, about being on Lamictal. All in all, do I think it's helpful for people who have BD? Yes, I do. As much as any psych med is, anyway.

I will add that for me, Geodon was the worst med I've ever taken (I've been on around 35 meds over the years). I was exhausted all day while on Geodon and wired all night. It didn't do anything to stabilize anything. But - that's me. Many people find it helpful.

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Under*Over Member Member Since Mar 2018 Location: USA Posts: 457 6 177 hugs given	Aug 26, 2019 at 08:29 PM #6 I used to. I liked it. I took it a few years ago. Got a rash. Wanted to try again about a year later... titrated up slowly- and got a rash. And with lamictal a rash can be bad news bears. But it really made me feel nice mood wise!
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