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Jmizz: Lamictal taper suggestions


Jmizz

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I would phone her up right away, tell her about the itching, and ask for your prescription in 5mg tablets to be taken 20mg twice a day.

 

Otherwise, you will need a prescription to have a compounding pharmacy make up a liquid or custom dosages.

 

She should know that itching isn't good when it comes to lamotrigine and it should be reduced.

 

What can you recall about the itching? Did you have it when you were taking trazodone without Lamictal? When did it first appear?

 

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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I may need @Rhiannon to help with this. Making my own liquid seems to be my best bet currently.

 

alto suggests dropping lamictal from 25 twice a day to 20 twice a day. 

 

Correct me if I’m wrong. Dissolve one 25mg tablet in 5ml of water. Take out 1 ML and drink the rest for 20mg?

 

how long does it take the tablets to dissolve?

 

@Altostrata would this be an ok route until I can figure out an easier way?

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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@Altostrata

 

i have never noticed itching before with just trazodone before lamictal. It’s possible I felt it a few times over the 8 months when I was close to dose time, however it was never as noticeable as whatever happened yesterday and the fact that it was in the morning was odd. When I first began trazodone in April, I quit taking it after 3 weeks and definitely itched for a few days before I realized what was going on. 

 

When i I first started lamictal at 25 mg I felt itchy for a day or two with the other symptoms and they went away. It seemed to repeat again at 50mg. I wonder if the spacing is just creating a different level of the drug in my system at different times of the day and it could possibly settle once I get the spacing right. 

 

Im slightly concerned about how activated I’ve been feeling in the afternoons the last few days and how that will effect sleep when I get closer to a 7pm dose. Maybe it will get better once the doses spread more. My afternoons have been bad since prior to lamictal, usually it would start around 4-5pm with face flushing and head tingles, even if I wasn’t necessarily feeling anxious I’d get the physical symptoms. Since starting lamictal I hadn’t really been feeling those physical symptoms anymore until the last few days. Also the chest tightness/jittery anxiety seemed better until about 1.5 weeks on 50, then it came back and that’s kind of what made me assume it’s maybe too activating taking 50 at one time, or maybe just 50 in general is too much (probably). I wish I could just take 25 and wait til tomorrow night for the next dose to see if I still feel activated around 1-2pm, but I know that’s probably a bad idea.

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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So I followed Rhiannons tip for making her own. I dissolved 25 in 5ml and then dumped 1ml and drank the rest. 

 

Its been 39 days on lamictal. 25 days at 50mg. Should I prepare myself to feel bad dropping 10mg today? @Altostrata

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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Guys did you ever go through the period where you were literally incapable of sitting down, I mean I’m assuming it’s a lesser form of akathisia as we talked about, but im wondering if you guys experienced this. I’m somewhat fine if I keep myself busy and moving, but I can’t stop. I simply cannot go inside and sit down and just be. I just aimlessly walk around my house while my son is napping until he wakes up and gives me something to do. At this point I just don’t see how I’m going to stabilize without using benzos. Makes me so mad. My mood seems to be dipping lower than it had for weeks these last few days, kinda cycling again where I’ll get low and then a little while later seem to feel better. 

 

@Altostrata do you think moving this lamictal dose has aggravated these symptoms? 50mg in the morning seemed too activating for sure but man these last few days I seemed to have gotten worse. I think spacing the medicine has helped the jitteriness some. But I just can’t sit still. I know I need to get something going and stick with it and give my brain a break. I feel like I’m stuck in the same boat as lexapro again. Ended up on too big a dose and don’t know how to fix it bc tapering takes forever. 

 

heres how I’ve felt today:

 

-6:30am wake

-7:45 water solution 20mg

- 7:45-12 go to store with son, feel sedated somewhat for first time since the first day on 25 and first day on 50

-12 as 12 got closer, I got a pretty bad spell of nausea, ate lunch as eating seems to help. Took water solution 20mg and felt pretty decent up until around 3:00. But I was busy with chores around the house also.

-3:30 don’t feel much in the way of anxiety or chest tightness today, but noticed tremors and shakiness begin. Have hard time sitting down bc I don’t like the way it feels. 

 

I mean I understand I’m in withdrawal and things are gonna suck. I just don’t know if I’m conveying how horrible this is. If you guys went through this terrible sensation of always wanting to be moving and never being able to relax. How? 

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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  • Administrator

I guess moving the lamotrigine might have caused those symptoms of over-activation. It's also possible they're from the trazodone metabolite mCPP. The two drugs do not appear to conflict in the liver, though they may be conflicting in other ways.

 

You won't be able to tell if the activation or itching is caused by lamotrigine until you reduce the drug, which should also reduce any adverse reaction. You might start with a 5mg reduction in the second lamotrigine dose. Please post 24 hours of daily notes at a time.

 

You can use your homemade liquid, but tablets will be more convenient for you. Can you get your doctor to prescribe 5mg lamotrigine tablets? She should also know about the itching. Do you not trust her?

 

If your GP is sympathetic, he or she can prescribe the drugs. You don't need to keep a psychiatrist you don't like on your payroll.

 

16 minutes ago, Jmizz said:

noticed tremors and shakiness begin

 

Did you ever have this before?

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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  • Administrator

You've decreased to 20mg lamotrigine in both doses? That's okay.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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I can ask for 5mg tablets. In a pinch my brother can probably prescribe them for me, he’s a GP. 

 

Im with you as I don’t know what’s causing what. Once I got to 50mg of lamictal I began noticing I felt the need to take ativan more often. I felt like it was helping me in some ways though as far as balancing my mood and not being as hyperalerted. But after a week or so on that dose I started feeling more and more activated in the afternoons.  So I was overactivated before the spacing began also, it seems. Feels similar to how being on too much lexapro felt. Just jittery and shaky even if i don’t necessarily feel anxious. So to answer, yes I have felt the tremor/shakiness before. It seems like I feel it more since I started moving doses though. I also feel like the worst portion of my day is moving in relation to the spacing, later and later. Today the time I’m normally about to start feeling it pretty good, I took a dose at noon, starting feeling shaky around 3.

 

was I supposed to decrease to 20 in both? That’s what I did

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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Ok guys I’ll provide my symptoms in 24 hour increments (sorry)

 

 Full day yesterday:

 

-6:30a wake

-7:45a take water 20mg

-8:30a-11:00a feel restless want to get out of house, go shop with son, having son in store seems overwhelming, some anxiety, nausea, sedated fatigue feeling

-11:00a eat lunch, helps nausea, restless can’t sit down, start doing chores around the house 

-12:00p take water mixed 20mg, continue to do stuff around house bc sitting down is impossible 

-3:00pm start feeling jittery, not horrible but they are there and worse when I stop moving and focus on it

-4:00-7:00 play with son outside, neighbors come over to chat, feel ok but uncomfortable the whole time on the inside

7:00-9 eat, bathe son, put him to bed, seem more irritable in evenings last few days, but this happens periodically at times

-take trazodone and go to sleep

 

@Altostrata I took 25 mg this morning bc you seem hesitant about the water solution. Should I continue to take 25 until I can get the smaller dose prescription in hand? Or do you think the water solution is fine until then?

 

i understand now what you guys say about consistency and letting the brain heal. While I believe 50mg was prob too activating, I feel like the symptoms of akathisia had improved some with consistently taking it that way for 3 weeks. It wasn’t good and there were definitely some ativan days, but it didn’t seem as bad as these last few days.

 

I cant help but struggle with the fact if I educated before my akathisia may have resolved by now or be working towards improving. And that medicines are probably just prolonging the brain confusion. I researched the wrong stuff when deep down I knew it was the drug withdrawal.

 

I don’t have a whole lot of faith in my psych. I found her bc it was the fastest appointment I could get. She has seemed very helpful and nice but she seems to make all the mistakes you guys talk about. She tried cymbalta after me telling her how bad I reacted to lexapro and that withdrawal led to the akathisia symptoms and that buspirone had made it worse. She never mentioned akathisia until I brought it up and she said it’s rare with ADs but possible. I think she somewhat believes me on that now. She told me to keep taking ativan and seems to think it will resolve soon bc the lexapro isn’t completely out of my system yet. She also suggested propranolol and said we would have to watch your blood pressure and I had to point out that trazodone also lowers blood pressure. I think she believes I have generalized anxiety, which Ive always had some anxiety but nothing that made me not be able to sit still and rest ever. I seemed to have maybe made a dent with my akathisia symptoms this last visit, hence her suggesting propanolol. I don’t know, I’m thinking I should try somebody else if I can research a good one.

 

 

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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  • Moderator Emeritus
On 11/19/2019 at 6:33 AM, Jmizz said:

So I followed Rhiannons tip for making her own. I dissolved 25 in 5ml and then dumped 1ml and drank the rest. 

 

Its been 39 days on lamictal. 25 days at 50mg. Should I prepare myself to feel bad dropping 10mg today? @Altostrata

That math is right. I find my lamotrigine tablets dissolve pretty well, sounds like it's working for you too. I can't give advice on dosing and how fast to drop, Alto's advice would be best for that. I would certainly feel a 10 mg drop, I taper by 1 mg increments usually. 

 

Liquid tapering works fine but as Alto says the tablets are just more convenient if you can get the smaller ones. I think it would be a good idea to pick one or the other though and not switch back and forth. Stability really makes a difference.

 

Your psychiatrist does not appear to know anything about withdrawal. That's not unusual. There are a few in the UK who are starting to talk and learn about it but by far the majority of them know nothing about it.

Started on Prozac and Xanax in 1992 for PTSD after an assault. One drug led to more, the usual story. Got sicker and sicker, but believed I needed the drugs for my "underlying disease". Long story...lost everything. Life savings, home, physical and mental health, relationships, friendships, ability to work, everything. Amitryptiline, Prozac, bupropion, buspirone, flurazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, Paxil, citalopram, lamotrigine, gabapentin...probably more I've forgotten. 

Started multidrug taper in Feb 2010.  Doing a very slow microtaper, down to low doses now and feeling SO much better, getting my old personality and my brain back! Able to work full time, have a full social life, and cope with stress better than ever. Not perfect, but much better. After 23 lost years. Big Pharma has a lot to answer for. And "medicine for profit" is just not a great idea.

 

Feb 15 2010:  300 mg Neurontin  200 Lamictal   10 Celexa      0.65 Xanax   and 5 mg Ambien 

Feb 10 2014:   62 Lamictal    1.1 Celexa         0.135 Xanax    1.8 Valium

Feb 10 2015:   50 Lamictal      0.875 Celexa    0.11 Xanax      1.5 Valium

Feb 15 2016:   47.5 Lamictal   0.75 Celexa      0.0875 Xanax    1.42 Valium    

2/12/20             12                       0.045               0.007                   1 

May 2021            7                       0.01                  0.0037                1

Feb 2022            6                      0!!!                     0.00167               0.98                2.5 mg Ambien

Oct 2022       4.5 mg Lamictal    (off Celexa, off Xanax)   0.95 Valium    Ambien, 1/4 to 1/2 of a 5 mg tablet 

 

I'm not a doctor. Any advice I give is just my civilian opinion.

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Do you feel with liquid tapering the powder sometimes settles at the bottom, can you be sure you’re definitely take the same amount each time?...what do you mix yours in, I used a little medicine cup

 

i would absolutely drop slow if I could get stable, but I’ve never been stable, so maybe alto sees that and accelerated mine a little bit? At first I thought she said 20-20 for doses but I think maybe she meant 25-20 based on her last message. So that’s what I’ll do today, take 5 off the second dose, until I hear back.

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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  • Administrator

I'm okay with the DIY liquid but as you've seen, the tablets cause fewer questions to arise. If you can get the 5mg tablets, you can space them out or reduce by one if you need to, or make a liquid from one for gradual tapering.

 

19 hours ago, Jmizz said:

I also feel like the worst portion of my day is moving in relation to the spacing, later and later. Today the time I’m normally about to start feeling it pretty good, I took a dose at noon, starting feeling shaky around 3.

 

Your symptom pattern indicates adverse effects of taking your lamotrigine doses too close together. You feel worse when both doses ramp up in your bloodstream, their effect is too much.

 

Please move your afternoon dose an hour later each day until you're taking the two 20mg doses 12 hours apart.

 

That you feel better in the morning, when lamotrigine level is lower, is a good sign. I think if we can get your dosage fine-tuned, it can help you ride out the antidepressant withdrawal syndrome.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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Thanks so much @Altostrata you and the rest of the mods are the only ones giving me hope. I took the doses 5 hours apart today. I definitely seem to get somewhat of relief within the first hour or two or each dose, so it makes sense that at some point it gets to be too much in my system at one time. 

 

One other question, do you think the intermittent use of ativan is also contributing to the aggravation of symptoms? I really need to try very hard not to take that stuff at all but I don’t know what else to do when I feel like I can’t function. I wish I could just sit down and ride it out but I can’t sit down when it gets bad, and I have a family I have to provide for at all cost.

 

is there any hope that my short duration of 4.5 months will mean maybe I won’t take as long to recover as some long term users, once I get settled on something consistent? despite being untreated and mistreated for basically 3 months?

 

i know it’s dependent on each person, I’m just grasping at straws for hope now. I’m prepared to battle, I have no choice, and I realize it could be months or worse.

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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I wanted to ask another question...it’s a symptom I’ve had since I’d been on lexapro intially for a few weeks. Which has continued indefinitely. Sometimes during the day I’ll get relaxed to the point I feel like I may be able to cat nap or rest for a bit. Right as I’m about to fall asleep something will pop into my head or even sometimes nothing will but my body will just start to panic and I’ll immediately get up and abort the nap. It never happens at night bc I take trazodone.

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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  • Administrator
10 hours ago, Jmizz said:

One other question, do you think the intermittent use of ativan is also contributing to the aggravation of symptoms?

 

There is no free lunch. You may get near-term relief from Ativan but get weird symptoms later. When was the last time you felt you needed to take it? Can you get by without it?

 

8 hours ago, Jmizz said:

I wanted to ask another question...it’s a symptom I’ve had since I’d been on lexapro intially for a few weeks. Which has continued indefinitely. Sometimes during the day I’ll get relaxed to the point I feel like I may be able to cat nap or rest for a bit. Right as I’m about to fall asleep something will pop into my head or even sometimes nothing will but my body will just start to panic and I’ll immediately get up and abort the nap. It never happens at night bc I take trazodone.

 

This is a very common symptom of a sensitized nervous system. It's fight-or-flight setting is too high. It's afraid you're slipping into a coma, so it wakes you up.

 

As you stabilize -- the lamotrigine should help with this -- this defensive reaction should diminish.

 

What times of day are you taking lamotrigine now, at what dosages?

 

How do you feel during those 5 hours between doses?

 

What happened with the itching?

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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I will update with times and symptoms this evening.

 

psych told me 25mg is the lowest dose available and offered again to put me on propranolol. I guess I have to begin a search for another psych. However I have a feeling they are all going to be the same and it will take time to find somebody who acknowledges withdrawal. And it will be at least 2 months probably before I can get an appointment. Should I just keep mixing my own for now or would getting a scale be better?

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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  • Administrator

What happened with the itching?

 

You can make your own liquid.

 

Any doctor can prescribe these drugs, it doesn't have to be a psychiatrist. Here's the ordering info for 5mg lamotrigine

 

https://www.drugs.com/pro/lamotrigine-chewable-tablet.html

 

 

Quote

NDC:68462-228

1 NDC:68462-228-90 90 TABLET, CHEWABLE in 1 BOTTLE
2 NDC:68462-228-01 100 TABLET, CHEWABLE in 1 BOTTLE
3 NDC:68462-228-10 1000 TABLET, CHEWABLE in 1 BOTTLE

 

 

The NDC code is the pharmacy ordering code. For a month at 8 tablets a day, in split doses of 20mg each, you'd need 240 tablets.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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I apologize, I thought you would rather wait to see the daily symptoms. 

 

The itching today seemed to be this morning before before I took my dose and then again around 1 or so when I was approaching my 2 o’clock dose. It’s not awful itching. But noticeable. Also to answer, I feel like at home I can get by without ativan. At work I try hard but most of the time the unforeseen of my job gets me rattled at some point. I’ve missed some time at work throughout this and need to force myself to be able to get through. I have vacation coming up for 2 weeks so I have two more days, I’m going to try my best not to take it.

 

11-21

-last night sexual dream/first time in a while, sorry if tmi

-6am wake felt relatively ok this morning

6-7:45 became slightly itchy and had what I describe as need to take my dose feelings, took 20mg water solution

8-12 felt a little sedated, not as bad as the first day on 20mg in the am, felt the need to keep busy as usual/keeping busy felt ok

12-2 ate lunch around noon, around 1 I started getting a little more antsy it seemed, some nausea began, but I had been active all morning

2pm-took 20mg water solution

2-dinner6pm I had pretty bad nausea, I didn’t feel as shaky today but the nausea was rough. This could be because im taking a dose as the first dose peaks and/also bc i take the morning dose with food and the time of day currently I usually haven’t eaten for an hour or so when I take the second. I’ll try a snack tomorrow around 3 dose time. Dinner was at a restaurant for my wife’s bday, so again, which again at this point is stressful to me. Also had some sinus pressure and neck muscle pain. I need to try and take it easy for a few days after these last few.

-7:30pm arrived home and feel relatively ok, more relaxed than normal this time of night the past week

 

11-20

5:15 wake

6:10 arrive at work, immediately get called out for a medical

7:45 breakfast 20 mg 

9:00am downtime, worst for me, felt uneasy and horribly restless

9:00 took 0.5 ativan

10-12 felt decent 

12-half dosed off on couch, but never can fall asleep bc of panicky feeling right before sleep

12-1:00 felt need to take dose feel and took 20mg at 1pm

2-6:30 felt pretty good, more talkative, started to get somewhat restless again towards 6:30 but never got too bad

7-8:30 felt about the same, went to sleep

 

Ok I’ll get to work on some 5mg pills.

 

 

 

 

 

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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Nausea goodness. It started not long after my first dose this morning and doesn’t seem to be letting up, I’m due for next dose at 3pm, I’ll see if that improves it or makes it worse. I haven’t felt nausea this bad even when going from 0-25 and 25-50. Maybe the 10mg drop is hitting me?

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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11-22

 

-530 wake

-745 20mg water, slightly itchy before 

-845 nausea, dry mouth begin and continue til lunch at 12:30, eases some after lunch, comes back

-1-2:45 need a dose feeling

-245 take 20mg nausea seems to ease a good bit this afternoon, don’t feel very anxious, just overall not so great

-630 dinner, a little nauseous before dinner but not as bad as this morning, eases up after I eat

-630-8 don’t feel so bad, mostly physical annoyances, slight headache, head pressure, tension

-9 bedtime

 

notes: the nausea has been rough for a few days, it seems exacerbated when my stress and anxiety are up but still is way more noticeable this week than it has been minus the first few days on 25mg and first few on 50mg. Overall akathisia like symptoms have seemed a little better the past couple days. A good deal of today and yesterday I felt like if I didn’t have physical symptoms bugging me,  that seem to be related to lamictal changes, I would have felt pretty decent/withdrawal normal. I’m hoping it’s just my body getting used to the different dose levels at different times, and also the drop in milligrams, and it will ease once I get 12 hours apart. Any feedback is welcome as always.

 

also I was doing some reading around the site. I do take 5mg of melatonin along with my trazodone. I don’t believe it causes me any issues, I just wanted to mention it bc I didn’t think it was something y’all wanted to know, but after reading around, now I see maybe it is. Very clearly mentioned supplements and it didn’t cross my mind. Don’t know if it needs to be added to my signature, but I prob started taking it around when I started tapering down lexapro, Mid July.

 

i do see some positives the last couple days, I’m just dealing with more physical stuff than I had been.

 

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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  • Administrator

That is an usual pattern with the itching. Didn't it occur at night, before you split the dose? Please add it to your daily notes.

 

Can you move the afternoon lamotrigine dose an hour later, until the two doses are 12 hours apart?

 

16 minutes ago, Jmizz said:

Overall akathisia like symptoms have seemed a little better the past couple days. A good deal of today and yesterday I felt like if I didn’t have physical symptoms bugging me,  that seem to be related to lamictal changes, I would have felt pretty decent/withdrawal normal.

 

This is a good sign, you probably were taking too much lamotrigine and the dosage reduction is going in the right direction.

 

Since you changed to liquid, decreased the doses, and moved them around, you might have a few bumps. Taking lamotrigine with some food might lessen the queasiness. Is i worse than it was before?

 

Did you always take 5mg melatonin with trazodone?

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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The itching hasn’t seemed as noticeable the past few days, maybe slightly, but oddly to me it seems to be a sign that I need to take a dose rather than being caused by taking it. When I was taking 50mg am I would usually get a little itchy before bed and then in the morning, it seems to happen the further away I get from doses, but it hasn’t been much of an issue lately, I just had one to two days where it seemed pretty noticeable when I first started changing doses. 

 

The past couple days I’d say the queasiness was as bad as it’s been the whole time. I had prob 2-3 rough days on 25 and upping to 50 but I don’t remember them being as bad as the past two days. I mean I’m not shocked by it, 50-40 is a big drop, I just hope it eases soon.

 

I have been working towards getting to 12 hours apart, it’s been 7 days so today was 7 hours apart. 7:45 and 2:45....I will continue this pattern and am not surprised that it caused some bumps, they just kinda blindsided me a touch with the severity, mainly the nausea. 

 

I didnt always take melatonin, I believe I started taking the melatonin once the taper insomnia hit when I dropped from 20-10 mg in mid July. So for the past probably 4 months I’ve taken both.

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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  • Administrator

That is odd, because lamotrigine-caused itching should be worse shortly after you take it. Good sign it reduced slightly. Maybe it will go away with reduced dosage.

 

Can't tell if melatonin is doing anything, since you're taking trazodone at the same time. You might as well keep taking it.

 

Please add trazodone and melatonin to your daily drug and symptom notes.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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11-23-19

 

6am-wake

7:45-took 20mg with breakfast

8-12-played outside with son, felt ok

12:30-Birthday party for sons friend, felt anxious, uneasy, restless the whole time, nausea until i ate lunch and that helped some

2-went to friends house with family to watch football and eat, felt horrible inner restless all afternoon

3:45- took 20mg still feeling uneasy and restless at friends house 

6:00-dinner

8:00pm drive home, nausea, physical symptoms from being anxious all afternoon, neck tension, weird head feelings

9:00pm- take 50mg trazodone and 5mg melatonin, sleep good

 

 

some notes: I feel like the itching may not be as much related to the lamotrigene and moreso related to times my anxiety is higher. I’ve been doing 20mg in water bc I’m still trying to contact either my brother or GP to see about 5mg pills. I’m a little concerned that while the pill dissolves pretty good in water, some seems to settle at the bottom of the cup pretty fast and I just feel like the dose is probably inconsistent. I’m wondering if I should just do 25mg pills until I get my hands on the 5mg?

 

also I haven’t taken ativan since 11-22 at 9am 

 

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi Jmizz

 

On 11/23/2019 at 6:03 PM, Altostrata said:

Please add  melatonin to your daily drug and symptom notes

Can you also please amend your signature to reflect the current 2X 20mg Lamictal doses, I have just had to go back through your thread to check on current doses.

Also this please

3 hours ago, Jmizz said:

also I haven’t taken ativan since 11-22 at 9am

 

3 hours ago, Jmizz said:

I’m wondering if I should just do 25mg pills until I get my hands on the 5mg?

I am sure Alto will get back to you on this, however I believe it would not be a good idea because it would constitute another change.

 

3 hours ago, Jmizz said:

some seems to settle at the bottom of the cup pretty fast

Give a really fast stir and straight down the hatch.

It is likely that the sediment is the binder used to hold the pill together, rather than the active ingredient.

 

Sassenach

Escitalopram 10mgs from mid 2007 ( can't remember exact date) to 11th Dec 2018

Fentanyl patches ( don't remember dose ) from Nov 2014 to 11 Dec 2018

Quit both cold turkey Dec 2018

Reinstated 3rd March 2019 2.5 mgs.

Updosed  8March to 5mgs and holding

25/11/19 Started taper 4.5mgs and holding

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner

If you are going through Hell, keep going. NCIS series 15, David MaCallum:rolleyes:

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  • Administrator

It's possible you'll go back to 25mg twice a day when the queasiness settles down. If I were you, I'd take lamotrigine with food. The liquid is hitting your system faster than a tablet.

 

Was there no itching yesterday?

 

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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Can you walk me through how to adjust my signature? I can’t seem to find it.

 

also my concern with the dissolving was when I extract the 1ml out of the 5...I was just hoping I’m not taking different levels of the drug out each time. Do you guys suggest anything better than a medicine cup to mix it in?

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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  • Administrator
1 minute ago, Altostrata said:

Was there no itching yesterday?

 

Everyone has that concern about their homemade suspensions. Just stir it as Sassenach suggested and retrieve your dose from the middle.

 

Signature instructions:

 

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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I got itchy around lunch yesterday, I was fine all morning, it seemed to happen as my anxiety went up. I don’t think it’s a level to be concerned about, it’s not like disabling itching, and it’s not consistent at all. There has been no itching so far today. I take my lamotrigene with food or shortly after in the mornings, I sometimes don’t in the afternoon. My dose will be around dinner today so I’ll take it with food.

 

I’m at my last day of work before 2 weeks off. I can hopefully take the stress levels down the next two weeks. I was feeling anxious this morning and restless before I even took my morning dose and it didn’t seem to let up when I took my dose. So I ended up taking 0.5 ativan around 10. I noticed a couple hours later a sensation of like my brain feeling on fire. I don’t think it’s good to throw another substance into the mix periodically as my brain is trying to calm down, so after today I’ll fight tooth and nail to remove ativan from the arsenal. I will post daily notes tonight. 

 

 

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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11-24-19 

 

530- wake 

630- arrive at work feeling anxiety inner restless

745-breakfast then take 20mg lamictal

900-anxiety/restlessness hasnt subsided much. Sometimes I get a calming sensation from lamictal in this situation, today I didn’t, but being at work is always kinda rough during downtime bc I never feel comfortable 

1000- take 0.5 ativan

1145- feel like maybe morning dose of lamictal is hitting. Nausea, overall ill feeling. Had a brain on fire feeling I hadn’t felt in a while, which usually comes on when I feel overwhelmed or I’ve been focusing hard on something for a while. But I had also done that almost dose off, brain won’t allow me to thing again around that time

12- eat lunch, still pretty nauseous, have a small window where I feel slightly better

1:30-4:30 I feel like the closer I get to the next dose of lamictal the more my body feels like it’s in a mini-withdrawal, it got pretty rough towards 430

445- eat dinner, symptoms I was feeling from 130-430 improve a great deal

6-8 I feel relatively ok overall, maybe a slight headache/head pressure/some muscle tension coming on around 715- 730 a little shakier but not terrible, maybe evening dose is beginning to hit

830- 50mg trazodone 5 mg melatonin/bedtime

 

**nausea is still an issue, I’m trying to eat more to help, it seems a few hours after my morning dose and then as I near my evening dose it comes on. I definitely feel pretty rough everyday for the 2-2.5hours before whatever time my evening dose is**

 

**no itching today that I noticed

 

 

**my good periods aren’t that great, just better than it has been**

 

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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  • Administrator

When did you take the afternoon lamotrigine on Sunday, November 24?

 

It appears the itching was from 50mg lamotrigine.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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4:45 pm dose...sorry

 

i got a little itchy the first few days on 25mg along with other start up effects and it settled, then same pattern again when I went to 50mg and it settled

 

ive had all those start up effects at various times since I started spacing, so maybe the itching was just my body getting used to the different dose levels at different times of day? Bc there was a time I was taking 50mg in the am with one dose and the only issue I had was feeling overactivated about 5 hours later.

 

 

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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@Altostrata

 

It feels as if I’m getting pretty nasty interdose withdrawal, these are the times I seem itchy. I woke up this morning feeling the same as I felt for the couple hours approaching my 4:45pm dose yesterday. I paid close attention this morning. It’s during these times where my skin gets mildly itchy and tingly along with the other need to take a dose feelings.

 

i wonder if the itching I was getting at night when taking 50 in the morning was the beginning of interdose withdrawal and then I would sleep through it with my sleeping meds?

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

Link to comment
On 11/20/2019 at 11:51 AM, Rhiannon said:

I would certainly feel a 10 mg drop, I taper by 1 mg increments usually. 

 

@Rhiannon was nausea a problem if you dropped too big? Would you usually updose or ride it out? How long did it take if you rode it out?

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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Seems like I recall having trouble with nausea and also bouts of fatigue with the lamotrigine withdrawal, which was a bit different than with the other drugs. 

 

I can't recall if I've updosed after a lamotrigine cut, but I probably have. If I find my WD symptoms are too strong I often tweak my doses back up a little. Again, I am doing a very slow microtaper, so I never cut very much at once. 

Edited by Rhiannon

Started on Prozac and Xanax in 1992 for PTSD after an assault. One drug led to more, the usual story. Got sicker and sicker, but believed I needed the drugs for my "underlying disease". Long story...lost everything. Life savings, home, physical and mental health, relationships, friendships, ability to work, everything. Amitryptiline, Prozac, bupropion, buspirone, flurazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, Paxil, citalopram, lamotrigine, gabapentin...probably more I've forgotten. 

Started multidrug taper in Feb 2010.  Doing a very slow microtaper, down to low doses now and feeling SO much better, getting my old personality and my brain back! Able to work full time, have a full social life, and cope with stress better than ever. Not perfect, but much better. After 23 lost years. Big Pharma has a lot to answer for. And "medicine for profit" is just not a great idea.

 

Feb 15 2010:  300 mg Neurontin  200 Lamictal   10 Celexa      0.65 Xanax   and 5 mg Ambien 

Feb 10 2014:   62 Lamictal    1.1 Celexa         0.135 Xanax    1.8 Valium

Feb 10 2015:   50 Lamictal      0.875 Celexa    0.11 Xanax      1.5 Valium

Feb 15 2016:   47.5 Lamictal   0.75 Celexa      0.0875 Xanax    1.42 Valium    

2/12/20             12                       0.045               0.007                   1 

May 2021            7                       0.01                  0.0037                1

Feb 2022            6                      0!!!                     0.00167               0.98                2.5 mg Ambien

Oct 2022       4.5 mg Lamictal    (off Celexa, off Xanax)   0.95 Valium    Ambien, 1/4 to 1/2 of a 5 mg tablet 

 

I'm not a doctor. Any advice I give is just my civilian opinion.

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@Rhiannon thanks, how far down have you made it?

- sertraline 50mg early May-2017 thru November 2017 (cold turkey/no issues but apparently I’m learning maybe a wave a year-14 months out that led me back to sertraline and my adverse reaction)

 

-sertraline 50mg (April 1 2019- April 13 2019 adverse reaction pill 1)

-lexapro 10-20mg (April 27 2019 - August 19 2019) seemed to stabilize on 10 and then again at 20 but screwed it up with alcohol both times bc I was told drinking wouldn’t cause problems...horrible activation at 20mg and destabilized completely after fast taper early September 2019)

-trazodone 50mg early (April 2019 - current ) Melatonin 5mg (mid July 2019-current)

-Buspirone 7.5 3x a day (September 19 2019 - September 30 2019)

-cymbalta 20mg (early October (5 days)

-Lamictal (early October 2019 with doses as high as 50mg single dose, then split dose, now 3x daily with slight reductions since Jan 2020)

-Lamictal split dose 37mg total (11.5mg8am/5mg 2pm/20.5mg8pm May2020 -current)

ativan-0.5mg once a day rarely. Advised by doc to take daily 11-14-19. Never did that and stopped taking it early December 2019.

 

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