Posted by blippitybloo on August 13, 2006, at 0:06:03
In reply to Re: Lamictal cause rage, irritability rapid cycli » blippitybloo, posted by Phillipa on August 12, 2006, at 20:37:18
Thank you for saying someone else has experienced the rage / irritability / aggression side effect with Lamictal so I don't think I'm going crazy.
Today alone I have done the following:
1. Screamed at my 16-1/2-year-old cat for not wanting to eat her food (normal for her and I never usually get upset; I am very patient with her)
2. Screamed at my 14-year-old cat for a (normal for him) problem with the litter box (which I usually do not ever get upset about; I am very patient with him)
3. Locked my 7-year-old cat in a room because she was meowing too much (!)
4. Cursed extremely in my yard over a small issue that I raised to extreme levels and apparently I did not care who heard me, even the young children next door
5. Left a message for my insurance company peppered with curse words including the F word; something I would never do
6. Tore open a carton of frozen vegetables violently because I could not get them open faster; then stabbed them violently with a fork twice just to "pierce" them; but this wasn't a normal dinner preparation; in fact the package was so mutilated I kept it as something to show my doctor.
None of these things I would normally have done. I am leaving out a few people I got pissed off at on the phone today.
I don't want to disturb my doctor on the weekend, but I may make the decision to go to 50mg as I do not want to put my cats in danger.
I may even skip my dosage entirely tonight.
The benefits of Lamictal are that the other day, my first two days on 75 mg I felt like cleaning out my closets, the first time in 7 years. For two days I felt up to doing that. This was a *major* improvement for me.
Other benefits are I have lost a bit of weight, although it seems to be coming back due to suddenly unexplainable carb/sugar cravings. Originally on Lamictal I had no appetite, but now my appetite appears to bounce around to the extreme; sometimes I am very hungry and sometimes not at all.
Also for some reason Lamictal has partially relieved the nasal congestion I experience with the Seroquel I take. (Seroquel causes both weight gain and nasal congestion in me.)
In addition to the rage, which is a totally unacceptable side effect, Lamictal when I increase the dosage, such as from 50 mg to 75 mg, makes me incredibly sleepy and lethargic during the day and I feel completely unable to get anything done. This is a debilitating side effect. The only way around it I have found is to increase the dosage by only 5 mg or 10 mg.
For some reason, the dose increase on this med tends to hit me immediately, instead of a few days later. I do not know why this is.
Since I really want to do things like clean out closets, it might be worth it to stick out the "rage" issue for awhile if I thought it would pass. But it feels dangerous and like something I need to stop immediately, especially since I share my life with animals whom I do not want to endanger or harm in any way, not even verbally.
poster:blippitybloo
thread:669643
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060810/msgs/675966.html