Hacker News Reader

Comment by jackschultz | Hacker News Reader

What's your experience with Lamotrigine? Don't know if this is the right place to ask, but I take that for anti-seizure and I'm wondering if that affects my thoughts and feelings in a different way because it's used for a case like your mentioned bipolar depression.

View on HN

Basically, lamotrigine (100 mg/day) seems to keep my mood even. I mostly complain about depression. And I've never experienced hypomania. Except when some idiot GP put me on Paxil.

But with lamotrigine alone, I'm too "flat". I have no interest in doing anything. No energy. Not depressed, but just sort of "dead". So I take that at night.

And the modafinil (usually 100 mg/day) makes me interested in doing stuff. Mentally alive, full of ideas and solutions. So I take that in the morning.

Lamotrigine works for most bipolar people for at least a few years. It's used as a first resort since it has typically no side effects. It quit working for me after four years of use, so I switched to lithium. I don't know much about how lamotrigine affects the mood of normal people, but I do know that if you give lithium to normal people it doesn't affect their psyche in any measurable way.

I've been using it for about ten years.

Fantastic!

So were you having manic episodes?

I have taken gabapentin (which is similar) but for visual snow. While I'm not diagnosed as bipolar, I have noticed that gabapentin does level out your emotions some. I've considered trying lamotrigine but have been scared of the allergic reactions it can cause. Gabapentin may work as an alternative.

Yeah, the "skin blistering and falling off" thing is frightening. But I guess that it's rare.

And damn, I take two drugs with that potential side affect. And may be starting a third :(

I didn't have that side effect on Lamotrigine. That was my 4th drug for no seizures. I'm on 300mg/day with it. Was at 400mg, but if I take too much I get hit with something I'd call total body dull pain where I can't do much other than sit there in a ball and wait for my body to get rid of enough of it. Based on the other comments, that's a lot more than for bipolar doses.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com