Posted by circusboy on February 22, 2007, at 15:38:23
In reply to Lamictal effects by day 5? PDoc says 'no', posted by Joe Bloe on February 21, 2007, at 16:16:15
Funny... I felt the same things, and when I told my pdoc she had a similar reaction. Her exact words were "you're not feeling anything from this drug." Hm.
By the end of the second week at 25mg the side-effects seemed to diminish. Interestingly, I felt them less at 50mg. Fortunately I've also got a script for Ritalin, 5mg of which mitigates the cognitive side-effects somewhat. Still, I'd been concerned enough about the cognitive stuff that during today's appointment the doc decided we should "take a break" from the Lamictal...
I don't know. It certainly has improved my mood... Interestingly, for the first time in my life with a psychiatric drug, the people around me noticed it before I did.
I should be more specific about the side-effects:
- Diminished sleep quality. I've been waking up way earlier than I want to, and haven't been able to fall back asleep. I also haven't been remembering my dreams and wake up without eye crusties (waking up with crusty eyes is a sign that I've slept well.)
- Slowed thinking. Small memory/word recall impairment. More trouble making connections.
- Blurry vision. Also (though this has almost gone away) slower urine stream. Feels like desipramine in this way! (There is a paper on PubMed about lamotrigine binding to nicotonic receptors).
- Connected to both above: impaired driving ability.
- More easily overwhelmed (though this is also going away).In spite of all this, I don't hate the drug. These effects are relatively mild, and seem to be diminishing. It's worth repeating that people around me have liked me better on it.
What next? Back to the Alternative board..? ..sigh..
-cb
poster:circusboy
thread:734880
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070219/msgs/735134.html