I have been taking this drug (low dosage lamotrigine) for just over a year now. Before that I was in zombie land on olanzapine...but as far as I'm concerned...having been on and off bipolar-like medications for over 35 yrs., I am feeling well and as healthy as I've felt in years. I work in the integrative health field in a health food store and have for many years because of my incessant search for "help". Pharmaceuticals certainly aren't the only answer and the psychiatrist I have now is integrative--eating well, exercising, cognitive therapy, spirituality, etc. However, I'm somewhat of a rebel in that I do my research and conservatively try "things that matter". During the last 2 years, for example, my vit. D3 and omega 3 fat intake have been constant and I feel they have helped me a great deal.
Oh, by the way, I have a B.A. and B.Ed. and have my hypnotherapy qualifications through the I.M.D.H.A. Yeah, I've been through much learning--not knocking spirituality either because thoughts and visualization (prayer) is so NB to me. Connecting to people who think similarly has helped so much. Anyway, I am stable (no one who knows me over the last 35 yrs. would ever lable me as bipolar...just majorly depressive at times) and have been for more than a year. The SSRI's and tricyclics over the years have been disastrous in effect.
So here I am with lamotrigine--a drug for epileptics that sometimes works for bipolar problems. I don't know if it's helping. Sometimes with me the placebo effect becomes more of a nocebo and I imagine bad side effects which aren't there. Any help out there? I have tried to research lamotrigine but it doesn't make sense to me. My journey is constantly centered around mercury toxicity, and I must say in Vancouver Canada, we really do have great naturopaths and I do have a great naturopath. Darn...the psychiatrist and the naturopath are not on the same page with the mercury thing.
Getting better, chicken to go off my drug, anybody have any personal experience with this stuff,
Sharon