Lamictal, any side effects?

[Blueghost]

Hello, I do not have BPD, but PTSD. I have taken Lamictal, 25mg for over a year with no side effects and positive results. I had a bad episode and several flashbacks a few months ago. My Doc wants me to go up to 200mg. I am taking 50mg for two weeks then go up. So far no side effects but I am worried, 200mg seems like a lot. Will it not make me a zombie, emotionally flat like ssris? Has anyone been up to 200mg before?

[Sandtiger]

I'm currently on 300mg Lamictal, and no "zombie" problems here... my only issue is with the slight memory concerns it tends to give me, and the headaches I get when upping a dose [that only last for a day or two, at most].

I think on average the only fear I've heard otherwise is the deal with the 'rash' which can sometimes show up at the higher dosages, if not at the lower.

[lindahand]

Yeah 25 mg is a pretty low dose, so you are lucky to respond so well. 200mg shouldn't cause you problems. I take 200mg and respond well. It doesn't cause any flattening of emotions or other cognitive impairments that I can tell. It is supposed to be a bit sedating but I've never noticed that side effect. My psychiatrist has me taking 50mg in the am and 150mg in the pm.

And it you do experience problems you can always lower the dose verses having to go off it completely. As well don't judge how it will work by the first too weeks. A lot of side effects wear off around the three week mark and you would hate to lose a good drug for what would have been only temporary side effects.

Now I can't remember my source so hopefully I am not mixing this up. But I think they are finding that lamotrigine is like lithium is the sense that it is neuroprotective so it helps to rebuild nerve cells in the brain.

[Seph1212]

I 've taken 400 mg (200 mg twice a day) of Lamictal for a few years. No lasting side effects. Whenever I upped the dose, I'd have temporary all over body aches, Just about everything ached, but it wasn't pain. I would also have some mild vision issues, things looked kind of blue-green.

No zombie issues what so ever. It haven't found it to be a stimulant or a depressant. It also regulates my sleep well.

Question/comment: I wasn't aware that 25 mg was a therapeutic dose, but a starter dose. 200 mg isn't a lot. 400 mg is the max for BP, and epileptics can go up to 800 mg (I think).