Effects Of Lamotrigene (Page 2)
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Last June I started coming off Lamotrigine. I was on 125mg per day to stabilize my moods. I suffer from anxiety, depression, ocd, bpd, It did help at the start and pushed me to do things, but then it would wear off and I was told to keep increasing, but it started to affect my liver, my depression got worse, sweating, jewelry going black, and a few other things and I wanted to come off it. I slowly decreased it but as I was I started to get the shakes, upper torso and hands. The psychiatrist put me on Zyprexa to help with the withdrawals and also Benztropine for the shaking/tremours. I was having too many suicidal thoughts so I came off Zyprexa, but I still had the shakes. The doctor then put me on Valdoxan (Antidepressant) but that ended up putting me on the couch and I couldn't do anything and I still had the shakes. Then he put me on Deralin 40 (Propranolol) spelt that wrong, 2 x 40mg tablets per day. That took the shaking away but I slept all day. Then he told me to take it to 20mg, I still slept and I found my hair was falling out so he told me to stop and start back on the Valium 2 x 5mg per day. As I'm very sensitive to meds but they would stop the shaking but not for long. I ended up in December putting myself back on Lamotrigine after coming off them in Aug but I'm still shaking even after trying all the medication. Now the Psychiatrist has told me to go back on the Prop (Deralin) 20mg per day but it makes me tired, then I was told 10mg in the morning and 10mg at night but 10mg in the morning doesn't stop the shaking, then if I take another 10mg I'm tired, so I'm at a loss as to what to do and my hair keeps falling out and comes out in small chunks when I wash it and it scares me.

I've had an MRI and it's all good. Is my brain craving more of the Lamotrigine now? I'm handling things ok on 50mg per day so I really didn't want to increase it but if I do will it stop the shaking? I just can't function and dread getting up as I know as soon as I do the shaking starts all over again. I can't drive, write or do anything whilst I'm shaking. Even the 2mg of Benztropine makes me drowsy. It stops the inside tremors but not the outside shaking. I have to just lye down and try to sleep until it passes. I can't keep doing that every day. I was also told to take 10mg Deralin in the am and 10mg pm but as I mentioned 10mg doesn't stop the shaking. I honestly don't know what to do anymore and my doctor doesn't like giving me valium all the time. I did feel better taking that but again the valium didn't hold the shaking off for long. Now the Psychiatrist says it's not the Lamotrigine that caused the shaking and I need to see a Neurologist, but the MRI came up ok, or I've been told that now my anxiety isn't suppressed it's coming out full blown and I need a psychologist again, but I've been there and done that. I'm at a loss and this is making my depression even worse. Hope you have some advise as I'm over 3 Psychiatrist, 3 different opinions, docs etc and I don't know what to do. An I don't want to lose anymore hair. I've researched that there are alternatives to Deralin 40 (Prop) or Clobazam (not sure if my doc will prescribe it) or calcium blockers or if I should just go back to the valium but again my doctor doesn't like prescribing it but I also want to know how long the shaking will go on for or whether my brain will get used to the 50mg Lamotrigine and stop, but at this point it's been 9 months and still shaking. From June 2016 - August 2016 shaking and stopped Lamotrigine. Dec 2016 started Lamotrigine again and still shaking. Thanks.

Follow up: After coming off Lamotrigene in August 2016, I'd been shaking since May as I slowly had to decrease, but then after a couple of other meds to try and help me come off Lamotrigene. I felt suicidal, then went on anti depressant which made me worse. I couldn't handle life well at all after stopping Lamotrigene in Aug so by December 2016 I had to go back on it but the shaking still hasn't stopped.

3 Psychiatrists have all given me 3 different opinions and they keep telling me it's not the Lamotrigene that's making me shake, but the shaking only started when I was coming off it.

Had MRI and that's ok. I was taking 25mg Lamotrigine to start, then 50mg, now started 75mg a week or so ago and I'm still shaking. It's my upper torso and hands. Sometimes my left side is worse than my right and my left hand sometimes has jerking movements by itself.

I was put on a beta blocker and that stopped the shaking but my hair began falling out and still is and I was only on 10mg or 20mg of Propolol (sorry spelt that wrong) so I had to stop. Now I'm trying to manage the shaking just with Valium but the Valium doesn't work for long. The doctor said 2 x 5mg twice a day but I don't get relief for long and sometimes the shaking gets painful. Or the valium makes me tired. Hard to write, which also gets painful, drive or do anything. I just have to sit and wait it out. I find if I go back to bed I still tremble inside but then I fall asleep, or if i don't sleep I read but again the shaking and trembling seem to ease, but as soon as I get back up again the shaking comes back.

Try putting eyeliner or mascara on with the shaking!!! So I stopped putting make up on as well.

I'm waiting on an EEG now to check the brain waves. It's all so draining but I need to find out what's causing this. I still think it's my brain craving more Lamotrigene really as that seems to have been the trigger. I was on on it for 3 years 125mg per day which is probably a low dose compared to others but I couldn't tolerate any higher and ended up in hospital with severe pain in my right side lower back and I could hardly walk and I was vomiting. So, my body was telling me it was too much.

I just don't know what to do and the Psychiatrist thinks it's Neurological, but I don't think it is. I do suffer from extreme anxiety and depression and some have said that now that I wasn't on Lamotrigene it's my body letting it all out, hence the shaking. But I can't live with the shaking every day and don't know what to do. It's messing up my life as I can't even drive until the shaking slows down. Even my head feels like it's going to fall off as it wobbles so much as well.

I was so hoping that once I went back on Lamotrigene the shaking would stop but it hasn't and I'm so frustrated as I'm not getting an resolution.

I'm also on 40mg Nexium, HRT 2mg, Zolpidem 5mg at night and now Biotin as although the beta blocker stopped the shaking it made my hair fall out, so I had to stop taking that.

I may also have Chronic Pancreatitis, small intestine problem which I'll find out when I have the Gastriscopy this month as I did have acute pancreatitis, then major surgery but the pain over the years has just got worse and I just found out I have 4 large Gall stones, so I'm on a waiting list to get the gall bladder removed. Which I wish would hurry up. I have no or very little appetite, bloating, abdomen pain, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, abdomen pain lower right goes through to back sometimes, upper back pain in between shoulder blades and I'm losing probably a kilo a month so my weight is down to 45 kilo now, from 50 kilo since Dec. I only got back up to 50 kilo due to meds which I had to stop taking. I can't eat properly and manage on protein powder, banana & yoghurt most days or I forget to eat as I don't feel hungry.

I'm in desperate need of advice as I can't handle all the illness every day and I don't know what to do or maybe one of the other illnesses are causing the shaking or whether it is neurological. I'm just over the illness every day. I have no quality to life, have shut myself off from the world and don't leave the house unless I really have to. Don't talk to anyone, no motivation, no interest in doing anything. I need help please.

Have you got any suggestions please?

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I suffer from many of the same conditions: severe generalized anxiety, often with tremors/shaking and pacing; OCD; BP2 and some PSTD. Originally, I tried many antidepressants when misdiagnosed with depression alone and such did not help much. Later tried several mood stabilizers which were ineffective and had intolerable side effects. While not perfect, Lamotrigine has at least greatly helped with several of my my conditions. I have completely avoided addictive meds such as Valium as addiction is yet a seperate hell. You may want to try Buspar for the anxiety tho it has very minimal effects for me. By FAR, the med I have found most useful for my anxiety and related erratic moods is Gabapentin. It is used off label for such. Again, it is not perfect but it is of significant help to me. Good luck.

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If the Valium helps keep taking it. So who gives a f*** what the doctor doesn't like giving. If that helps then take it. God knows what other medication he's been giving is a thousand times worse. I'm sick of these f****ing ***** doctors.

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Here I am again. Sorry but things keep cropping up in my mind that I think are important that I haven't included in my post. My first post I put my problem under "Upper torso and hands shaking on lamotrigine" I think. I just wanted to mention that after being on lamotrigine for 3 years, my mood would still get low and every time it did I was told by my Psychiatrist to increase the dose. It was getting that bad that I couldn't even get in the shower and I didn't want to do anything, so up the dose went and pushed me along, but it was also affecting my liver and other things and I'd really had enough of it and wanted to let my brain start working for itself again. I thought I was strong enough to be able to manage, but I wasn't and I was back to crying all the time over anything, snapping at people over nothing, tired, still not eating, I felt useless, worthless, no quality to life, suicidal, felt like I was going crazy, I even asked my Psychiatrist to admit me to a Psychiatric place as I just couldn't cope, but the beds were all full, and my list could go on and of course I had the shaking as well. I even had to try a small puff of Marijuana and that stopped the shaking within 5 mins and it was such a relief. I hadn't tried it before but I watched video's where it had worked with Parkinson's and a few other things and a lot of people told me to try it and I was getting desperate to try anything. I'd literally had enough. I definitely didn't want to go back on lamotrigine but I felt I had no choice and I was getting nowhere with the doctors. The shaking was also getting so painful and I would have clench my hands into a fist to try an stop the pain and I clench my teeth as well to try and ride over the pain. Due to still having the shaking I still have to have the odd puff now and again when I can't stand it anymore and I don't want to have to do that either, but it sure did work and I was able to concentrate, drive and do my daily routine, but as I said I don't do that all the time. Some say I should, but I think even though it helps me it's like medications it's masking the underlying problem and I so want to find out what's causing it. I hope it's not the lamotrigine because if it is I don't know what I will do as my brain doesn't seem to be able to function now without it, that's why I'm thinking it's my brain saying it wants more lamotrigine, hence the shaking as it's like withdrawal symptoms.

Lamotrigine has been good for me in some ways, but in other ways it hasn't. It certainly blocked my emotions and I felt like I couldn't even cry anymore (even at funerals) and I have definitely stopped all my impulsive behaviors, which to me I was having fun but it wasn't good. I was drinking and that helped me with the anxiety and depression, PTSD etc, but that put me in hospital with acute pancreatitis, I was just doing things I normally wouldn't have done, so yes, the lamotrigine has slowed me down, but also stopped my libido as well, so I found that was another side affect (not happy) but I can't do much about that and believe me I've tried, but yep lost all interest in that and sometimes don't even want anyone to touch me or cuddle me, nothing. I don't even think of intimacy anymore. Anyone else found that has happened to them? So is lamotrigine good or bad as a mood stabilizer etc? It's quite informative to read other people's stories and it makes me feel like I'm not alone with my problems. We're all looking for guidance and don't seem to be getting a lot of help from professionals, so sharing what may have worked for some an not for others is a good thing. Think I'm frustrated over my whole ordeal of being unwell every day. Always something popping up and I never seem to be able to get out of the deep dark hole. I keep trying but always get dragged back down. Life is meant to be lived and I'm definitely not living it and my 2 young adult sons see me like this every day and they worry and feel hopeless as there's nothing they can do. Their mum has gone from being such a strong person, working, determined, independent, focused, dancing, outgoing etc, to now hiding away from the world and very sad. Don't know what to do anymore so I hope someone has some thoughts. I'd love to hear them. Thanks.

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Sorry, I forgot to say I was put on Lamotrigene as I mood stabiliser as anti depressants don't agree with me. I also have OCD and supposedly Borderline Personality Disorder, which I thought all had the same symptoms as depression, but yes, I also have depression on top.

Just thought I'd try to give you as much information as possible. I'm desperate for advice.

Thank you

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