Lamictal for Bipolar Disorder User Reviews (Page 3)

• Car...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 2, 2016

"This medication saved my life! I had severe depression since the age of 12. I've been on Cymbalta, Celexa, Zoloft, etc. Nothing worked. Was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. On several occasions, I tried to take my own life. The last time I nearly succeeded, was on a 72-hour hold. The doctor prescribed Lamictal at a low dose of 25mg. Gradually increased in increments of 25mg. I'm now taking 150mg at bedtime, and I no longer have thoughts of suicide, hopelessness, or despair. I've been taking Lamictal for 2 years now, and I can honestly say that I enjoy life for the first time. Don't give up on this medication as it takes time to work. For me, it was about 2 months. I didn't have any side effects, but everyone is different. Good luck and God Bless!"

• Mir...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 16, 2013

"I have very extreme rapid cycling bipolar disorder. It had become much worse in the last 6 months, and I had become extremely irritable. I had just about all of the side effects that came with this medicine, but I knew it was helping me. I truly needed the treatment, and for my children, I would see this through. After a month or two, all of the horrible side effects were gone. This medicine was a miracle for me, saved me and my marriage. It allowed me to step back and realize the problem in my life was me, and I needed to change. This medication brought me back to my old self. I was in denial of how sick I had become until I took this medication and became normal again."

• Anonymous
• August 1, 2009

"After reading this forum, I cried. For more than fifteen years, mania and depression were tearing me apart. Lamictal seems to have changed this. I notice a major difference. Those around me notice as well. People are no longer afraid of me. I have had no side effects. This drug has saved my life."

• Sea...
• September 10, 2017

"This is NOT an advertisement: Lamictal changed my life - for the better. After 7 days, it seemed like a miracle. I slowly began to become focused and feel at peace. Lamictal erased all suicidal thoughts. This is really how I experienced it. It speaks for itself. I never acquired any side effects at all. My short and long-term memory is increased. My learning capabilities are, in fact, better now than ever before. I only wish that I had received the meds years earlier. I made a lot of wrong decisions and choices before it, and still have to live with a lot of the damaging consequences, of which I am still trying to make amends. Without Lamictal, I wouldn't be alive today, and that is the truth."

• Sha...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 26, 2013

"I was diagnosed bipolar after suffering a mental breakdown in college, which left me institutionalized for 2 weeks. Before my therapist prescribed me Lamictal (100mg) and Klonopin (0.5mg), I was a total mess. Lamictal truly saved my life. It helps me act less irrationally and impulsively, hold a job for longer than 6 months, maintain healthy relationships with loved ones. I feel more focused and driven. I have had no negative side effects."

• Ama...
• May 15, 2013

"I was diagnosed with Bipolar 2 seven years ago in college. I refused treatment, and my relationship with my husband started to deteriorate. I started Lamictal a year ago and have totally returned to my old self. I am happy, calm, rational, and I found the motivation to lose fifty pounds. The only downfall is I kind of miss the ability to process information at a very rapid rate, but I gladly trade it for a great relationship with my husband and child."

• Anonymous
• June 27, 2014

"I'm 54 years old now, and I've struggled most of my life with severe depression and anxiety. Many issues in my life would be intense and just make me so upset. Taking this Lamictal now for 2 months at 200mg has so much stabilized my mood. I've been so much more settled and handling situations more calmly. A great medicine."

• jor...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 17, 2024

"I have been taking 300 mg of Lamictal for manic/depressive episodes for 6-8 months. This is truly the only medication that has made me feel like myself. I can think clearly. Focus. Sleep normally. Less anger. It makes me feel 'normal.' It took 7 years before I found a medication that worked for me, and THIS IS IT!!!"

• Aut...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 18, 2019

"I have been on Lamictal for about nine months now. It is literally the THE BEST BIPOLAR MEDICATION I have come across. Right before going on Lamictal, I was on the Abilify injection, and although it kept me stable, it gave me a horrible side effect called Tardive Dyskinesia, which for me showed up as uncontrollable mouth movements. My doctor recommended Lamictal after telling him my concern with the Tardive Dyskinesia. He first kept me on the Abilify and started on low dosages of Lamictal so that I can slowly ease into the new drug. If I remember correctly, he started me on 10mg, 25mg, 50mg, 100mg, then finally 200mg, which is what I am on now. I believe I have been on 200mg since about February of 2019. I don’t feel any weight gain, which I was very afraid of, although I don’t think it is one of the side effects of the drug. Please, please consider this drug for stabilizing your mood for bipolar, you won’t regret it! :)"

• Cra...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 12, 2013

"This is the best psych med option I've ever had. Over a six-year period, I had been prescribed a myriad of medicines for bipolar mania and depression, including: Abilify, Wellbutrin, Zyprexa, Celexa, Prozac, Lithium, Geodon, and Tegretol. Lamictal has been a Godsend. Lamictal has not been associated with weight gain nor diabetes (I have type 2, but was diagnosed prior to my prescription). All psych medicines have side effects, and finding the most benign one can be maddening, and even life-threatening, in my case. Give this one, at least a shot."

• Bea...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 21, 2015

"I have only been taking this medicine for a week, but I am 100% a totally different person! My husband has been as patient with me as humanly possible, but I could see that my constant anxiety, depression, and crazy up all night crying feeling like I was a person that couldn't be loved by anyone, begging him to love me (he would just sit there and say I do love you baby with all my heart) but it was pushing him further and further away. I am 23 and have been in emotional and mental hell since I can remember with sick and demented dreams. I have tried several different meds: Lexapro, Wellbutrin, Seroquel XR, Xanax, Zoloft. I'm now on Celexa and Lamictal, and I feel like a new person. My doctor saved me, my relationship, my life, and my family!"

• Kee...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 1, 2019

"I had an awful manic episode late in college. Was on a host of different medicines afterwards for 6 months. They were all awful and my body's reaction to lithium was like I had the plague. I was prescribed Lamictal, 100mg. 6 years later and many ups and downs in life, I have been stable all the way. I like this medicine because I feel no side effects. I take it and I live my normal life. What more could you ask from your medicine? Hope it works out for others as well as it has for me"

• 33...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 10, 2017

"I felt compelled to compose this review as I have been through 33 years of HELL. Like many of you, I was labeled as just depressed or anxious - nothing worked, CBT went over my head, SSRIs were ineffective, etc. I went on second-line SNRI treatment and all hell broke loose! Cycling within minutes, literally wanting to tear my own limbs off from frustration, then the next minute obsessing over meaningless rubbish. I had had enough of the NHS, and my job was on hold, having been off a considerable amount of time. I decided to get a private psychiatrist, and it was the best money I ever spent. I fit the bipolar 2 spectrum to a millimeter of its criteria - now I knew that I wasn't insane. Lamictal has saved me from suicide, literally!"

• JBr...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 25, 2019

"Lamictal is the best drug I’ve ever taken. I had severe low moods for 5 years, and they were totally gone at 300 mg. It took 3 years for me to even hit a depressive low, and that was because of a real-life event. I am still eccentric and exercise like a maniac. The drug is not great alone for mania and anxiety. No hair loss, no mental dulling, does not make you tired, ZERO sexual side effects. Take only for bipolar depression, not for problems associated with extreme highs. If you are lucky enough to take this without the extreme side effects that some experience during titration, you are taking the most effective drugs to manage low mood swings. Rarely does a drug have such positive reviews. (Taken for 4 years)"

• Joh...
• October 20, 2018

"My bipolar disorder type II was untreated for my whole adult life, and I am now 40 and am treated. I can say without a doubt that this drug has changed my life. I used to be angry at everyone, constantly agitated, hypomanic and productive or hypomanic and destructive, or, most of the time, severely depressed and full of self-doubt. My life is entirely different. I go through most days feeling absolutely fine in my mind and body. When I don't feel great, I am able to check in on myself and take note of my symptoms, which then dissipate as soon as I comprehend them. My therapist says my prefrontal lobes have come back and I have my higher functioning back again—it's been years since I felt this in touch with my thoughts and desires. Take note of this: it didn't work hardly at all until I got up to the 200mg dose. In fact, I was almost as bad or worse until then with my cycling, but at 200mg it was like 'magic.'"

• Rkr...
• October 22, 2015

"My whole life has been a process of up and down, excellence and total failure, elation and depression. Finally, since starting Lamictal, I have become 'normal.' I don't lose my mind when bad things happen or get so excited when good things happen that I forget to tend to other tasks. Sure, I get sad. But it's normal sad, it's human - not this overwhelming and crippling process. Same thing with happiness, things make me happy, but not irrationally overjoyed. As a college student, I've decided to commit myself to pre-med in the hope of one day becoming a psychiatrist. I want to give other people the same new lease on life I was given. (Mind you, talk therapy is also crucial in personal development.)"

• Doy...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 3, 2016

"This drug has given me my life back. I am now emotionally balanced. It has given me back the sparkle in my eye (says my wife). I can focus and I am dealing with things I was afraid to before due to BP anxiety. I was a complete MESS before Lamictal, hardly able to take care of myself and had lost interest in all activities. I was emotionally depressed, antsy, and angry despite being on lithium 1000, Seroquel 100mg, and Mirtazapine 25mg. On Lamictal, my brain just calmed down. I feel normal, reasonable, and have the energy and ability to DO things again. No side effects noticed on Lamictal. Hope to stay on this drug for years to come. On a side note, some BP groups on FB are really helpful, supportive, and friendly. You are not alone with BP."

• Mat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 23, 2019

"All I can say is blown away at how well Lamictal works for my Bipolar Disorder. Took a full two months to take effect but I feel way better now. Wasted 11 years struggling on SSRI until I was correctly diagnosed. I never take the time to write reviews but felt this is good enough to take the time to share."

• Jef...
• May 5, 2015

"I'm bipolar with mania. Also, I've been an addict for 25 years (self-medicating my mania). I hated all the mood stabilizers I've ever tried, but would always eventually go back to using. Anyone that has lived in a constant manic state of mind knows how hard it is. After many, many years of trying to get clean, I reluctantly gave Lamictal a try. It has literally saved my life. It has totally balanced my crazy brain. My thoughts are not a thousand miles an hour, I can actually sleep and eat normally and, most importantly, I no longer self-medicate by using drugs and alcohol. My wife can write a book on what this medication has done for me and our family."

• Ben...
• October 2, 2015

"I have been struggling with ups and downs since I was 17. I mostly experienced a constant state of unhappiness and bitterness with bouts of exhausting excitement and overconfidence during short episodes. The depressive episodes were getting more intense with suicidal attempts and I was told many times I could be bipolar yet never really addressed it. I was put on Lamictal 5 months ago, and it saved my life. I have a new job, my marriage has been saved, and I feel very stable, myself still but only the good parts are left. Amazing. Coupled with therapy, it's like a second chance at life!"

• San...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• April 26, 2016

"For years I had been (mis)treated for clinical unipolar. I went through many SSRIs, but each one 'hit the wall' - had only limited effect on the deepest depression, and none as a maintenance drug. Changed psychs. She suggested an off-label use of Lamotrigine. Within a couple of weeks I felt so much better! We scaled back (and eliminated) Effexor SSRI. I continued to get better. She moved away, so I had to find another psychiatrist - or psych nurse. The new psych nurse did an interview and said I was being treated for the wrong disease. I felt better because Lamotrigine was working on my bipolar! 5 years later, I'm still doing well - mood swings moderated, deep depression less deep and less frequent."

• roy...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• October 21, 2014

"I sing the praises of Lamictal. I have been on 150mg in the morning for over 7 years along with Seroquel XL 100 mg at night. The combination has changed my life. I could not imagine life without depression and anxiety before I started these medicines. No side effects from either one. I feel fortunate."

• Hel...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 13, 2020

"I have been taking Lamictal for about 3 years now. It has helped me tremendously. I initially started taking it for anxiety as a mood stabilizer. It was an interesting prescription for anxiety but acted as a mood stabilizer for me. This was really helpful at the time because I was experiencing extreme, crippling, paralyzing anxiety. I was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder and found this to help with some symptoms as well. Unfortunately, it does not help me reduce feelings of mania. I do experience most side effects of this drug but very mildly and manageable. I was able to function normally again after beginning this journey on Lamictal."

• tha...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 7, 2015

"I have suffered from bipolar disorder for more than ten years but only recently sought help for it because it was getting way out of hand. I was put on a few different medications in the beginning, including Wellbutrin and Risperidone. Those eventually made things worse so I opted out of that treatment, and was prescribed Lamictal. It took about a month to fully kick in, but I have noticed a huge difference in my mental state. I have not had a major depressive episode since starting treatment. I have not gone manic yet. For the first time in many years, I feel normal; I get happy when good things happen and sad when bad things happen. My feelings are not influenced by my illness anymore (at least not yet). Thanks, Lamictal!"

• Daz...
• July 29, 2018

"Recently diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder II after many years of battling against depression. Used to self-medicate with cannabis regularly, but the strength of it induced psychosis, so have been 6 months without it. The first five months off it were dreadful: hopelessness, poor diet, no exercise, spending all time in bed, not interacting with the world and a downward spiral of self-pity. My doctor prescribed Lamictal, and I was doubtful of its effectiveness. However, I noticed a stabilization in mood after just 3 days of taking 25 mg per day. And after a week, the improvements have increased so that I no longer feel hopelessness with no future. In fact, I feel normal, very normal. My diet has improved and my self-care - washing, cleanliness, etc - has returned. The drug really works and has greatly improved my self-confidence and made everything so much easier. I would recommend it to anyone suffering from depression as it really does work."