arguementative due to meds

[lureswinger]

according to my wife (i dont notice these things ) my attitude has totally changed since the change in my meds while i was on epilim i was argueuing with everyone that black was white and other such simple things
because i spent 20 years living on my own, i never had reason to argue with anyone, but since i got married and moved into a house with three young boys who are constantly at each others throats and a wife who is constantly at mine for argueing with the kids
but since being on lamotragene at least people are noticing my arguements have gone down (can i feed lamotragene to the kids to calm them down lol just joking)

[Nakamova]

Lamotrigine is also prescribed off label for bipolar disorder. So it's less likely to exacerbate moodiness the way a drug like Keppra (or epilim in your case) can do. When I started on Lamotrigine, for the first month or so I was extra "perky" and focused. Unfortunately, that "side effect" didn't last. But otherwise it has been benign for me interms of moods.

[valeriedl]

I don't know if it's from the meds that I am on or just having E in general but I find myself telling people off and not even realizing I'm doing it until who ever I'm with tells me to stop.

I have alot of problems in public places dealing with people. I've asked to talk to managers all the time and yelling at them because of things that happened in those places.

I went to the movies recently and had almost everyone in the theater was talking and a kid sending text messages every five minutes. When I asked to talk to the manager I started going off on him so bad that my husband had to tell me to stop.

Kids drive me crazy too. I have alot of trouble dealing with them. I could go on and on about this but I don't want to spend all night typing.

I try to go out when there aren't alot of people in places. Sunday morning is a good time to go grocery shopping because most people are in church. Going out to eat or seeing a movie we try to go during the day when there won't be many people there.

I try to calm myself down before things come out of my mouth, but sometimes I just can't help it.

[lureswinger]

i believe kids were put on this planet to drive us all nuts,
trouble is
we should know about these things we were there once
(just we werent as bad as they are today)

you ask any parent back through time and the will say the same

"but we werent like that when we were kids"

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

Lamotrigine is actually 3 drugs in one. (What a bargain!) At its lowest level, it's an anti-depressant. At its next level, its an anti-seizure med. And at its top level, its for bi polar people...

[Nakamova]

I thought that the bipolar dose of Lamictal was usually lower than the anti-epileptic drug dose? No?

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

It's the other way around...

[Nakamova]

Target max dose for bipolar is usually 200mg. That's considered the minimum dose for it's use as an anti-epileptic drug.

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

Thanks for the info. I obviously misunderstood my doc...

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

Nakamova, I'm real confused. I went to the link http://www.anxietyzone.com/drugs/lamotrigine.html and they gave these ranges:

Mood Stabilizer: 100-200 mgs. per day (Maintenance)
Bipolar: 200mgs-400mgs a day (Maintenance)
Epilepsy: 30-500mgs a day (Maintenance)

So, I guess you're right. But I'm still real confused. Is it a mood stabilizer first, a bipolar drug second and an epilepsy drug 3rd?

[wichitarick]

Hi
Mellowed you out a bit .
Seems pretty logical from about any of these meds.
To be honest I know TO much about some of these meds. BUT I purposely forgot it.
The reason was/is the side effects of so many different medications are just ? a blanket statement .
It may tell you you it will mellow out and tell you you might be hostile.
The side effects are written by lawyers not research scientists.

I re-read this because I assumed it was going to ask the question did we get more argumentative NOT less.
There are threads all over the web "discussing" anti-depressants and a.e.d.,s etc. causing reckless behavior or even violence.
Tegretol had the same effects on me that you are going through and I did not know it either? UNTIL
I quit taking it OOOOOPPPPSSSSS!
I did not understand at the time how hardcore that stopping this was going to be .WOW. This could have KILLED ME!
I mainly posted because I can see now where some of these meds were causing me to be severely agitated and although not violent I was seriously grumpy
It is great because you have others to watch you SO I would take their word for it.
The kids ?? kiss them a lot tickle them a lot and then give them chores in separate parts of the house just to keep them quiet for 30 min. Rick

[Nakamova]

It is confusing! I guess there is a lot of variation from person to person. (And prescriber to prescriber). I always thought that Lamictal was prescribed for bipolar BECAUSE it is a mood stabilizer. Maybe the low dosage end, where it's described as "mood stabilizer" is for people with mild bipolar, and the higher range is for people with more severe bipolar.

[lureswinger]

well i must say for years i took my meds and never read any of the leaflets that came with them in fact for 20 years i was taking epilim before i noticed it said to be taken with water , all that time i had just been chuckin them back and walking away and i would never of read or taken any notice of any of it untill i discovered id married a woman who wants to know the ins and outs of everything i do
and since i married her she has made me see a neurologist to get them all changed which has driven me mad at times
"The things we do for love eh"

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

Nakamova, But where does seizure control come in?

[Nakamova]

Officially for seizures, "a therapeutic plasma concentration range has not been established for lamotrigine. Dosing should be based on therapeutic response." In other words, it's whatever works! It also varies depending on whether Lamotrigine is used as monotherapy or adjunctive.

My neurologist wanted me on at least 300mgs/day of Lamictal. I declined to go up that high, and I actually have seizure control with 175mg/day.

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

I'm on 200mgs of Lamictal, then 1.0mg of Klonopin and 300mgs of Effexor XR. That combo seems to be working for me...after LOTS of trial and error.

[lureswinger]

yes thats what im afraid of the trial and error bit it wastes too much time in my life and causes too much stress both for me and my family in fact id go as far as to say it drives me bleedin nuts