NeuronNihilator Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Advice needed. Please help. Three weeks ago, I tapered my Lamictal from 100mg to 50mg. Withdrawal is horrid, biggest complaint inability to focus and anxiety. Sleep affected this past week. Should I stick it out or increase my dosage a bit? I am afraid of doing permanent damage. I follow a raw food diet, avoid sugar and caffeine, takes supplements. Suggestions greatly appreciated. Thank you. 2007-present Lamictal for dx bipolar. Original dosage of 200mg was increased to 400mg within first few months of drug initiation. Tapered dosage from 400mg to 100mg over the past year, since March 2013, after being on the 400mg for those first five years. Link to comment
NeuronNihilator Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 The more I read on this site, the more scared I become. Should I bump my dose up to 75mg? Originally, I tapered from 400mg to 100mg over nine months. Was doing OK until now, worst part was concentration and poor sleep. But NOW, I am very anxious, impossible to focus. I cannot work like this. I have read the lamatrogine titration page, but it doesn't help my current situation. SOMEONE PLEASE RESPOND!!! 2007-present Lamictal for dx bipolar. Original dosage of 200mg was increased to 400mg within first few months of drug initiation. Tapered dosage from 400mg to 100mg over the past year, since March 2013, after being on the 400mg for those first five years. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted January 10, 2014 Administrator Share Posted January 10, 2014 Welcome, NeuronNihilator. I merged your posts into your Intro topic. Thanks for starting it. Yes, you might go back to 75mg, but slowly. Go up by 10mg every few days, then 5mg. If the first jump up stops the withdrawal symptoms, you might stay there. Our topic on lamotrigine tapering: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1122-tips-for-tapering-off-lamictal-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. Link to comment
NeuronNihilator Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 OK, it will be tricky. My pills are 100mg, scored of course. I will manage. Thanks so very much. I hope I haven't done permanent damage. This is the worst thing I have ever been through. It amazes me how so many people are on so many different meds and attempt to decrease the dosages. WoW. I am humbled. Thanks again. Will let you all know how it goes! 2007-present Lamictal for dx bipolar. Original dosage of 200mg was increased to 400mg within first few months of drug initiation. Tapered dosage from 400mg to 100mg over the past year, since March 2013, after being on the 400mg for those first five years. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus mammaP Posted January 10, 2014 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 10, 2014 Don't worry you haven't damaged yourself permanently, it's a wake up call to slow down!! Follow Alto's advice and things will hopefully get better quickly. Go up slowly then hold a good while to stabilise before starting to taper again. Loads of us have done it and ended up here with withdrawal from hell! **I am not a medical professional, if in doubt please consult a doctor with withdrawal knowledge. Different drugs occasionally (mostly benzos) 1976 - 1981 (no problem) 1993 - 2002 in and out of hospital. every type of drug + ECT. Staring with seroxat 2002 effexor. Tapered March 2012 to March 2013, ending with 5 beads. Withdrawal April 2013 . Reinstated 5 beads reduced to 4 beads May 2013 Restarted taper Nov 2013 OFF EFFEXOR Feb 2015 Tapered atenolol and omeprazole Dec 2013 - May 2014 Tapering tramadol, Feb 2015 100mg , March 2015 50mg July 2017 30mg. May 15 2018 25mg Taking fish oil, magnesium, B12, folic acid, bilberry eyebright for eye pressure. My story http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4199-hello-mammap-checking-in/page-33 Lesson learned, slow down taper at lower doses. Taper no more than 10% of CURRENT dose if possible Link to comment
NeuronNihilator Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 Bloody awful. My God. Thanks for your support! 2007-present Lamictal for dx bipolar. Original dosage of 200mg was increased to 400mg within first few months of drug initiation. Tapered dosage from 400mg to 100mg over the past year, since March 2013, after being on the 400mg for those first five years. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Rhiannon Posted January 11, 2014 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 11, 2014 It's not at all unusual for tapering to be easier at high doses, then get trickier at the lower dosages. That's pretty normal. That's why we suggest making cuts of 10% of your current dose--the cuts become proportionally smaller as the dose decreases. You'll be fine. It may be a little while before you feel back to normal, don't worry if it's not overnight or if you get some wobbling up and down, that's typical. 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. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted January 11, 2014 Administrator Share Posted January 11, 2014 The cuts stay proportionately the same (same 10% percentage) but the amount of decrease is smaller in absolute terms (smaller amounts). 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. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Rhiannon Posted January 11, 2014 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 11, 2014 The cuts stay proportionately the same (same 10% percentage) but the amount of decrease is smaller in absolute terms (smaller amounts). right, I meant they become smaller, in proportion to the dose which is also becoming smaller. Sorry if that sounded confusing. 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. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now