Lamictal XR Dose Increase Issues

[Minkels]

The doctor increased my Lamictal XR dose from 150 to 200 about 2 weeks ago and I've had a continual headache since then and have felt like crying at the drop of a hat as well as having constant mood swings...I thought this drug was also prescribed for preventing mood swings since I've read that it is also used for bipolar depression...seems to be having the opposite effect on me, and I am not bipolar.

I guess I can live with the headache as it is only moderately bad most of the time, but the mood swings have to go...anyone else have the mood swings on an upped dose on Lamictal XR? Did it go away after time? Please tell me this will go away...I have to be able to function day to day and find myself mostly wanting to sit around which isn't like me at all. Thanks for all your help!

[Endless]

Minkles,

Dosage increases are hard. I'm on Lamictal right now and am in the process of slowly ramping up (25mg at a time) from 200mg to 250mg/day.

I'm not surprised you are having headaches and mood swings. These drugs are pretty powerful, and even if a side effect isn't officially listed in the package insert, it can definitely still happen.

I had a headache when I hit 150mg. It took a few months, but it's down to almost nothing now.

I have mood swings, too, but mine are more along the lines of not being able to cope with much. I melt down pretty easily. I can't take a lot of noise or crowds, either. I have to shelter myself a lot.

Lamictal is known to level out mania, and is also known as a mood elevator. In my case, it just makes me feel like I'm on speed. This is not a good thing.

Here's a link to the drugs.com site where they talk about Lamictal's side effects. The tables at the bottom are particularly helpful. Look for side effects that have a big difference between the placebo % and the Lamictal %. The % for lamictal may look big, but if it's pretty much the same as the placebo than there really isn't a big risk of that particular side effect.
http://www.drugs.com/sfx/lamictal-side-effects.html

Also look here. It has side effects that shared from actual patients, not filtered through doctors or the FDA.
www.askapatient.com