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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by gilmourr on January 5, 2013, at 5:12:08
Right now I'm 6 days into Lamictal
It's actually keeping me out of the deep painful major depression. But right now I have a few side effects.
- Headaches (on and off)
- Sore throat
- Neck stiffness (it's worse up and down then left to right).I read that lamictal can cause aseptic meningitis so I'll be monitoring my temperature.
Did anyone have these side effects and do they go away?
Also, should I go up to 50 mg if I'm still having these side effects by day 14?
Posted by Phillipa on January 5, 2013, at 9:31:33
In reply to Lamictal Side effects, any insight please? Stiff., posted by gilmourr on January 5, 2013, at 5:12:08
Are you sure it's not the flu? I heard it's rampant now? Rule that out first. Phillipa
Posted by gilmourr on January 5, 2013, at 12:39:07
In reply to Re: Lamictal Side effects, any insight please? Stiff. » gilmourr, posted by Phillipa on January 5, 2013, at 9:31:33
Well I have no fever, no sneezing, mucous or anything.
Just sore throat (reported side effect) and stiffness (neck)
No fever and I feel pretty good aside from those side effects.
Whenever I have the flu or start to get it I feel awful. This doesn't feel like that at all
Posted by baseball55 on January 5, 2013, at 19:18:59
In reply to Lamictal Side effects, any insight please? Stiff., posted by gilmourr on January 5, 2013, at 5:12:08
I have suffered from recurrent aseptic meningitis (caused by a herpes virus) since I was a teenager. Believe me, you'll know it if you get it. High fever, headache that makes you feel like you wish someone would cut your head off, rigid neck and muscles, intense pain with any motion, photo-phobia, inability to hold down anything including water.
Lamictal's only really dangerous side effects are Steven's-Johnson syndrome (characterized by bad rash -- watch out for sores in mouth) and, rarely, severe, unrelenting headache.
I take lamictal. My doc is extremely cautious about a very gradual start up -- 25 mg per week until we reached 200 mg -- to watch for serious side effects.
I take it now with no side effects at all. It's like taking a vitamin in the morning. But it helps prevent these extreme descents in suicidality that were landing me in the hospital over and over again.
Posted by gilmourr on January 5, 2013, at 22:07:05
In reply to Re: Lamictal Side effects, any insight please? Stiff., posted by baseball55 on January 5, 2013, at 19:18:59
Does Lamictal make you feel dull and like a robot?
I'm worried that a mood stabilizer may do this to me. So I'm watching my interests to see if they change.
I would like to be out of major depression, but I'm not bipolar so I'm not sure if it will cut out all of my highs (just like normal happiness).
Regardless I will continue to trial it, but yeah the 2 things I dont want are
1. Emotional numbness and being dull
2. Libido loss (does this happen with you?)
Posted by Shame on January 10, 2013, at 13:46:11
In reply to Re: Lamictal Side effects, any insight please? Stiff., posted by gilmourr on January 5, 2013, at 22:07:05
>
> Regardless I will continue to trial it, but yeah the 2 things I dont want are
>
> 1. Emotional numbness and being dull
> 2. Libido loss (does this happen with you?)I'll choose today to end my 5 year absence and comment on this issue.
My experience was that it turned down the volume on the constant depression or agitation, but left my 'flash' emotions more or less unchanged. Meaning if a joke was funny I would laugh and enjoy it, but my usual manic brain drama that was going more or less all the time was much quieter. I didn't feel like it made me into a robot. I also felt that my quieter mind was less creative, but I suppose that's to be expected.
This is the end of the thread.
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