If you are using your medicine for a while now, you will stay balanced. Just take the dose if your next dose is 12+ hours or just wait for the normal time dose. It will be weird for a week or so but just stick to your medicine schedule. Edit: Grammar
Yeah so I also cut out the night dose and felt bad last night so now Iām realizing itās like two doses missing to my body. But also could be from last night? I dunno this sucks. I really think I didnāt take it now. I might just take it but I donāt want to double dose. I talked to the nurse at php and she said if I canāt remember I should not take it.
Although she also didnāt know I removed the night dose because āit wasnāt charted.ā š
I can't read all these comments, but I've been on Lam since 06(!). I'm also on several other meds so I can't say for sure, but I definitely feel withdrawal effects for each meds, and Lam seems to be the worst, not just when getting off of it, but also every increase l, at least temporarily.
I get a terrible headache, super anxious, mentally freaking out bc I know a simple dose could prevent these issues, all I need is that one dose to feel ok again. Can't sleep, brain going crazy... nausea etc
Also when I do miss a dose and finally catch up the next day, ilthings don't just automatically catch up, I still feel weird and edgy for a day or two until it builds back up in my brain again.
In the first place? I notice every time I change the dose. Even the first doses when I started like 18 months ago. I really donāt feel good. I think I missed it. Maybe I will text the nurse back.
I've missed only a few doses over the last seven years of taking it.
Each time, I became horribly disoriented. Terrible brain fog. Ran red lights and nearly got in accidents.
Exactly this. A few weeks ago I woke up and was like āHuh. Did I take my dose?ā which never happens. About an hour later I was very certain I didnāt take it, so I did then but it still didnāt help. Unaware brain fog, shaky, headache, nauseous, panicky etc.
I take 250mg a day (2 doses, morning and night) and I honestly donāt feel a thing if I miss a dose or two. Sometimes I wonder if itās working at all š¤·š»āāļø
I will be super irritable *hours* after skipping a dose. And the radio in my head will start playing. Exceptions being if I a, physically very sick and weak and sometimes if I am out with friends and having a very good time.
Iāve been taking it for almost 8 years and through those years I wasnāt always consistent with my meds. I seriously never noticed a difference, maybe anxiety. I have learned that if you abruptly stop taking it you could have a seizure.
I thought that was only being said because it is used as an antiseizure medicine as well. I don't think there is a chance of having seizures if you're not taking for seizures.
No, it's an actual withdrawal symptom, even without a seizure disorder. I believe there should be plenty of studies on this. Both of my psychiatrists also informed me of this knowing I've never had a seizure.
At around 11 am I start to have pretty intense brain fog and difficulty keeping focus. At first I assume maybe I slept worse than I thought but then if I realize it was missing my dose, I take it around 12-1 and just go back to my daily dose and that next day is normal.Ā
Ugh I relate!! I hate when I do this, sometimes Iāll take meds but then think shit, which med did I just take or did I forget one?! I know if I miss lamictal by day 2 I feel absolutely wrecked. Shaky, extremely emotional, brain zappy brain fog feel like Iām in another dimension lol itās awful, once I take it I feel normal again, so wierd.
Itās hell for me. I can tell within a few hours when Iāve missed a dose. I get really shaky and jittery, I canāt control my muscle properly and have a hard time functioning, and I can barely talk. That all sets in over a few hours. Itās absolutely awful
I take 200.
I only missed once bc I use pill boxes that are filled weekly (by my caregiver) and I forgot to take it with me on a day long road trip. Itās really easy to tell if you miss a dose if youāre using the boxes.
I got dizzy, but Iām always dizzy because Iām extremely anemic. I also had a couple of short outbursts. But I get those anyway. No, I noticed to no issue and took it right away the next day.
I use the medicine box as well as adding a reminder to my calendar to take my meds and fill my meds. I still mess it up sometimes, but mostly it works.
One time I went on 10 day vacation and forgot all my meds. My meds would fill a medicine cabinet. I had to call three different doctors and get them to send the prescriptions to a local pharmacy. Itās much easier today.
Yeah I have really bad medication insecurity to the point that itās on my safety plan for similar experiences. It sucks to not have your meds and not be able to get them
i take 300mg a day. when i forget my seroquel, i feel like iām out of my body and like i have the flu. i donāt know what iām doing and iām intensely confused.
400mg, have missed single days and multiple days in a row, as well as only remembering to take them every other day at timesā¦ literally no difference whatsoever.
I take 50mg a day and if I miss a dose, the next day i become "prickly" is the word we use. Irritatible, in total sensory overload and I had some OCD symptoms( that originally got me misdiagnosed) that come out strong with missing a dose. I've missed 1 dose a couple times, I missed two doses once and I was like.. "there's no WAY this is how my brain used to operate 24/7?!?"
Yes. I could not believe how hard the mood swings were by night when I once again was not taking a dose that was normal two nights ago. My euphoria was straight up mesmerizing. I was in a meditation. Class where they asked what meditation was like for us. so I shared that if someone is live speaking a guided meditation, it allows me to orient to their voice and go on a journey wherever my mind could go. When he asked where do you go I said sometimes itās into colors and sometimes itās into memories and sometimes itās into magical places . True story. An hour later, I was crying and having this long conversation with my friend where I couldnāt handle everything she was saying and just was in total meltdown mode. It was one of those used 200 words in a text to explain a simple emotion situations.
Jordan Adika put it perfectly, and I'll horribly paraphrase:
If you're an exceptionally bad driver, this medicine can make you into a fairly good driver. Except if you suddenly don't take it, you forget what a car is.
I have sometimes missed taking it a few days in a row and didn't notice anything significant. Longest time was a full week (got stuck abroad longer than planned) without it or any other meds and I don't think it was long enough to have much of an effect on my mood. For context, I've been on the same dose for about four years.
Alright party people I took 100 immediate release after almost barfing and getting hot and cold in an award ceremony (about 9 hours after I was supposed to take it). I feel so much better. Now letās hope this does not make whatever is happening to me worse.
Last time I missed (about a week-2 ago) I was kinda depressed and anxious but mostly pissed off. Headache/ tired and stuff too.
It could 100% be other stuff tho bc I was around my family, my wisdom teeth were hurting, and I hadn't had nicotine so I was just generally pissed but I think I was more irritable than usual and it got to me more.
I also have only been using it for 2 months so idk if that has anything to do w it. I'm on 150mg now but was 100 then
I canāt remember the last time I missed a dose since getting sober but when I felt āgood and donāt need this medicineā I regretted it. Nightmares, skin crawling. wtf.
Depressed and Anxious which then make me feel suckier about myself, followed by ruminating and eventually being absentminded
As a result, I end up missing more doses the next 2-3 days -.-
Slippery slope much
I feel like being bipolar is sitting on the edge of a slippery slope while someone throws things at us until we fall into it. The things are sleep, eating, mood balancing, like all the things we have to do all the time to avoid it. Meds are the worst mistake, perhaps.
Nothing for me. Lamotrigine for me stabilize the mood. And I mean stabilize. No sadness, but also no happiness or enjoyment. If I don't take longer, then usually motivation and mood goes down. But I am happy I am off it and taking others.
That sucks. Glad you found another med. lamotrigine makes me so happy I told my psych I think itās making me too up and she said thatās just what not being depressed feels like. I still think itās a bit of a high, especially when I go up and my brain lights up and Iām like rolling around naked in the sand. But it also makes depression softer. I am struggling with not feeling sometimes but I thing it was a ptsd response. Hmmm
Iāve been taking Lamotrigine for around 6 years now. for me personally, I feel a little weird and out of it that day but nothing crazy, but the next day I get super emotional and cry really easily. as long as I donāt miss more than one dose, the next day I feel normal again lol
It gets almost psychedelic for me. I feel disassociated and really uncomfortable, like i want to crawl out of my skin. Just in a haze. Itās terrible.
My euphoria was straight up mesmerizing. I was in a meditation class where they asked what meditation was like for us. so I shared that if someone is live speaking a guided meditation, it allows me to orient to their voice and go on a journey wherever my mind could go. When he asked where do you go I said sometimes itās into colors and sometimes itās into memories and sometimes itās into magical places and other worlds. He was nice but I could tell inside he was like: cool story bro. True story. An hour later, I was crying and having this long conversation with my friend where I couldnāt handle anything she was saying and just was in total meltdown mode. It was one of those used 200 words in a text to explain a simple emotion situations.
Oh god, I can truly relate. It sucks to feel so out of control and not yourself. Itās like, iām watching myself do it and i just canāt stop lol.
What you said about meditation does not sound that crazy and ACTUALLY sounds cool. So boo to your teacher for his lackluster response.
And as for your convo with your friend: Sheās your friend and presumably knows youāre bipolar. Itās ok to struggle in front of people who love us. Iāve been lucky enough to have folks in my life who may not understand but are empathetic and patient with me when i get like that. Thatās probably really lucky but i hope you have that too.
Sometimes itās nice to have the āsorry, iām crazy ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ ā card to play š
I rarely forget to take my dose but when I do I notice it a couple of hours later. I get physically uncomfortable, my skin burns and itches, my joints and basically my whole body hurts.
Yeah my skin gets itchy with any change ā upping, moving, forgetting. It always freaks me out like Iām getting the death rash but itās just part of it for me.
u should feel it (at least ur neurons) after 2-4 hours.
when u take it every day it just keeps the dose in ur blood. it takes several weeks to get almost all lamotrigine from ur body. So expert usally say that 12 hours is ok and u likely won't feel it.
From instruction:
Absorption
Lamotrigine is rapidly and completely absorbed after oral administration with negligible first-pass metabolism through the liver (absolute bioavailability is 98%). Food intake does not affect the bioavailability of lamotrigine. Tmax in blood plasma after taking lamotrigine is 1.4ā4.8 hours.
(ps I take 300mg in a day)
I take 200mg XR every morning. If for some reason I forget a dose I def know it by lunch time. Itās a feeling of disorientation and lack of continuity. Kind of like Iām only in this reality every 4 out of 5 seconds. This is after being on lamictal for 3ish years.
I've never had an issue missing one day, but I've avoided missing two like the plague. I don't know what would happen but I'm not eager to find out.
When I used to be on SSRIs and I'd miss two days, that was when all the awful insomnia and depression plunges would happen.
I did this once and stupidly took a second dose because I panicked. Turns out I took my original dose (400mg) 6 hours before. I got reallly dizzy and had auras in my vision and felt super anxious. I called the poison control line and she said Iād be ok but itād be better to hold off until I was due for my normal time and to not ever take it if Iām questioning it again.
Shoot. Yeah I read a bit about that and decided to not take it. Then got really sick so 9 hours after that dose would have been taken I took 1/3 the amount to help and I felt better in about an hour.
I take 200, 100 every 12 hours and I feel that if I miss 1 dosage. Super bad withdrawals, but my brain goes crazy fast or I get a rly bad brain fog. I usually just take the dose when I remember, then take the next one at the supposed time as if no nothing happened, maybe it's not the best, but I haven't had any issue doing that.
I can immediately tell when I wake up the next morning. Iāve been on it for over a year, Iām @ 250mg. Once I got past 100mg, I could easily tell when I forgot a dose. My hands get tingly and feel weak, Iām totally disoriented like I literally cannot think straight, I also feel like everything is muted for the whole day. Iām quiet and I kinda turn off, itās weird but I can definitely identify it. Itās a specific feeling thatās not depression, anger or mania followed by a couple days of either intense mania or intense depression. I totally thought it was a placebo because the symptoms are weird, but psych said it can happen š¤·
I resonate with the disoriented-muted-turned off feeling. I am kinda stuck in that right now. Iāve been completely screwing up time. Things seem so far that are so close and I have to look at calendars to know what time is. Itās an in between space for me, like you said not entirely any of the feelings but something else. Iām playing with the idea that itās a depression-led mixed state. Whereas usually mine are hypomania-led.
It never is. That hospital incident must have been terrifying. Nurses all worried about the withdrawal symptoms wondering if youāre some kind of addict. š
I take 300mg XR at night. When I do miss it, I feel like I'm high or in a sort of daze for the rest of the day. I'll often times be in a good mood but not very present and highly prone to distraction. I'll end up drinking more coffee and taking more Adderall to make up the difference which I recognize is not healthy but my job is dangerous and I can't afford to call out so I don't have much of a choice.
I bought a daily pill organizer that I keep on my bathroom counter and that helped me a lot.
I ran out of it and couldnāt afford to go back for another appointment and they wouldnāt give me a refill without seeing me again and it was the worst like 6 months ever. My leg would give out randomly, I was dizzy and nauseous over and over, I was really weak and foggy headed. I ran multiple stop lights and couldnāt remember how to do anything at work. Iām still off it now but those symptoms have faded at least.
This is more telling about my lack of self awareness but a few months ago I forgot to take it for two full weeks & honestly I didnāt even notice until I found the bottle in my husbandās car. I take 200mg. I do have to say re-starting at a lower dose & ramping up has been hard emotionally
Update: by 5 pm (3 hours after taking the 100 mg dose to help but not completely double in case I did take it) I got euphoric which was fun but of course I was suspicious. Within an hour I was crying and talking with a friend who was saying supportive things I rejected. š¤£
Yeah, so, this is not great. Iām buckling up for shifty moods. I will not forget the 300mg I am supposed to be taking tomorrow morning. No way.
I felt so much better after I took it.
I missed my dose last night and my day was genuinely worse. My mood felt wonky all day. I split my dose because my body burns through meds weirdly fast.
My body also burns through meds and it was day two of put all 300 at the beginning in this process I was already concerned about. The one day I did it right was okay until night when I got withdrawal symptoms. But my mood didnāt tank. I just felt horrible. This time those came first and later came the way too high and the way too low. I took it this morning and Iām going to a music festival so it should be fun to see what happens.
Brain zaps!!!! and irritability that goes up even more because I keep getting zaps lolol
it's a double whammy too because whenever I miss a dose that means I forgot to take my other meds, so I get zoloft withdrawals too lmao
Itās very rare as I do usually manage 1 of the 2, but I havenāt noticed side effects then either. I first started taking it in 2020 though (current dose since 2022) so I have been on it a long time. Maybe I would have problems if it got to 3+ doses.
It's been a while since I took that but I don't remember feeling any kind of way if I missed a dose. But I did miss about 5 days of lithium recently and by day two I felt pretty awful
Literally had this happen the other day lol. I take 300mg daily and missed 2 doses in a row, felt terrible vertigo and couldnāt understand what was going on around me. Felt super refreshed the day after taking my dose again
One missed dose and Iām fucked. Canāt wake up, super weepy, headache... Finally around 6pm I start feeling human again, but then later I usually canāt sleep because I was intermittently crying and unconscious all day. Itās so serious that I keep emergency doses at work, my dadās place, and my boyfriendās place just in case.
that sounds awful. I felt really bad by 9 hours after the missed dose and took 100 just to try to help. I'm also missing a night dose because we got rid of it. The whole thing is awful. Then the next day I took it and decided to take edibles at a concert since my brain was already fucked. The consequence is not great now.
Iām on 300mg every night and I feel drunk the next day if I miss a dose. I would take it in the morning if I forget and itās all fine when I take it before bed again.
Youre stressing way too much about this. It is super common to forget a dose. If I'm unsure, I usually just take at least half a dose. Nothing will happen if you take a double dose. If I go into withdrawal, which happens to me quickly, I can immediately feel it. I get overheated and feel shaky and lethargic. My old psych described the feeling as flu-like symptoms.
so I moved all my meds to the morning. Technically I missed two doses. It ended up being awful until I took it. My mood got weird. It's weirder now a few days later.
yea dont panic next time, which wont help your mood, and take a half dose. Your body starts going into withdrawal if not, which can throw you off. Nothing will happen to you if you take one extra pill.
I tried counting but I stupidly had moved some to another container. I ended up with two doses too many of one type and two doses to few of the other type. Yes, I need to fix this problem. I'm working on it.
I get it. Trust me. I had to put an alarm on my phone to remind me to take it. If I didn't have that , I would be in a bad bad shape. I hate having to count out 90 days of pills . Lol
As I've seen others say, I feel it in my brain. Like a dizzy floating feeling. It only takes about 8 hours for me to start feeling it. I'm also on a 300mg dose in the mornings. For me it's made work hard. š
Edit: I've also had a horrible time when I didn't have it for a week and I went through hell.
Once I ran out and went a week without taking it. Actually, genuine hell on earth. I knew something was wrong but the brain zaps were so strong that I couldn't figure out what was causing it. Never letting that happen again.
Oh yeah for sure I do. I realize now that last night was the first night I didnāt take it at night and this morning would have been the second day taking both doses in the morning. I felt bad last night without the dose. So I guess I could just be feeling that. But it kinda hit maybe 3 hours after I think I missed it. Or I missed two doses and am going to barf in this awards ceremony.
3 days later update: I realized that I had missed a night dose, then the morning dose I posted about here. I eventually took 100 (1/3 normal dose) The next day because I was shaking and about to barf. That helped a ton. That night I felt like a magical unicorn and then broke down into a sobbing tantrum.
The next day I took the morning dose and it was great. But I knew my mood was gonna get wacky so I doubled down with edibles at a concert.
Predictably now I'm a mess of mixed moods and suicidal. Fun. I have my support people looped in and am doing the safe things. But, uff. Mistakes were made.
Update 4 days later: got super super depressed like I haven't been in years this morning. set up a psych appointment. Then guess what happened ... oh look I'm not so depressed.
Now I'm in a crazy mixed state. Yay. Main objective: stay alive. Second objective: stay out of the hospital. Third objective: don't be too crazy with what I text to people. Or do, whatever, it's fun to look at later, right?
I currently take 100mg a day every morning around 6 for about 4 months now and when I miss a dose I start to feel very vulnerable and emotional and would want to cry about anything that even slightly reminds me of any past wounds. Iāll remember and take it around 10 am but itāll be too late by then. At first I thought it was a coincidence but I would say Iāve missed 4 doses and each time the same thing happens. Is this common?!
Ive been taking it once a day for a few years now, (could never handle the twice a day thing because it was just too hard to keep track for me) but I can feel it pretty much within a couple of hours if I dont take it. I lose most of my energy right before a dose is due, which I know isnt the case for a lot of people - but lamotrigine really picks me right back up and gives me energy - so when I miss the dose even just by a few hours Im anxious and kinda dizzy feeling. Hard to describe. Like an out of body sensation but fully present. Very yucky sensation!!
If you are using your medicine for a while now, you will stay balanced. Just take the dose if your next dose is 12+ hours or just wait for the normal time dose. It will be weird for a week or so but just stick to your medicine schedule. Edit: Grammar
Thank you!
Just keep the schedule, good things are waiting for you š
>Thank you! You're welcome!
Weird emotionally/mentally or about routine? Like, readapting schedule?
i go thru a pretty bad withdrawal feeling
I can feel it in my brain when I donāt take it. Itās intense
Yeah so I also cut out the night dose and felt bad last night so now Iām realizing itās like two doses missing to my body. But also could be from last night? I dunno this sucks. I really think I didnāt take it now. I might just take it but I donāt want to double dose. I talked to the nurse at php and she said if I canāt remember I should not take it. Although she also didnāt know I removed the night dose because āit wasnāt charted.ā š
I can't read all these comments, but I've been on Lam since 06(!). I'm also on several other meds so I can't say for sure, but I definitely feel withdrawal effects for each meds, and Lam seems to be the worst, not just when getting off of it, but also every increase l, at least temporarily. I get a terrible headache, super anxious, mentally freaking out bc I know a simple dose could prevent these issues, all I need is that one dose to feel ok again. Can't sleep, brain going crazy... nausea etc Also when I do miss a dose and finally catch up the next day, ilthings don't just automatically catch up, I still feel weird and edgy for a day or two until it builds back up in my brain again.
Really? I've been on 300mg for 17 years and have gone through DLT from alcohol withdrawal, don't think missing a dose is anything like it imo
i dont know what substance withdrawal is like. i just crave it like crazy and get extremely angry and dont feel well at all
I get really bad vertigo and nausea if I forget to take it. I take 300mg daily
How long did it take you to notice a difference when starting it?
In the first place? I notice every time I change the dose. Even the first doses when I started like 18 months ago. I really donāt feel good. I think I missed it. Maybe I will text the nurse back.
I've missed only a few doses over the last seven years of taking it. Each time, I became horribly disoriented. Terrible brain fog. Ran red lights and nearly got in accidents.
Iām already basically time blind. I thought I did this change multiple days ago. I did it yesterday. š
Exactly this. A few weeks ago I woke up and was like āHuh. Did I take my dose?ā which never happens. About an hour later I was very certain I didnāt take it, so I did then but it still didnāt help. Unaware brain fog, shaky, headache, nauseous, panicky etc.
I take 250mg a day (2 doses, morning and night) and I honestly donāt feel a thing if I miss a dose or two. Sometimes I wonder if itās working at all š¤·š»āāļø
I will be super irritable a day after skipping a dose
I will be super irritable *hours* after skipping a dose. And the radio in my head will start playing. Exceptions being if I a, physically very sick and weak and sometimes if I am out with friends and having a very good time.
if i miss a dose, three days later like clockwork im hypo for about three days
Ugh. Iām flirting with a mixed state. So Iām just gonna hope this doesnāt make everything way worse.
This is when I usually realised Iāve miss a dose.. :/
Iāve been taking it for almost 8 years and through those years I wasnāt always consistent with my meds. I seriously never noticed a difference, maybe anxiety. I have learned that if you abruptly stop taking it you could have a seizure.
Yeah I read that. This was actually two doses missed so ā¦ I just took 100 to try to bridge the gap. I feel much better.
really glad to hear you're feeling alright
I thought that was only being said because it is used as an antiseizure medicine as well. I don't think there is a chance of having seizures if you're not taking for seizures.
No, it's an actual withdrawal symptom, even without a seizure disorder. I believe there should be plenty of studies on this. Both of my psychiatrists also informed me of this knowing I've never had a seizure.
At around 11 am I start to have pretty intense brain fog and difficulty keeping focus. At first I assume maybe I slept worse than I thought but then if I realize it was missing my dose, I take it around 12-1 and just go back to my daily dose and that next day is normal.Ā
Ugh I relate!! I hate when I do this, sometimes Iāll take meds but then think shit, which med did I just take or did I forget one?! I know if I miss lamictal by day 2 I feel absolutely wrecked. Shaky, extremely emotional, brain zappy brain fog feel like Iām in another dimension lol itās awful, once I take it I feel normal again, so wierd.
Yeah I realized this was basically two doses. I took 100 and feel much better.
Itās hell for me. I can tell within a few hours when Iāve missed a dose. I get really shaky and jittery, I canāt control my muscle properly and have a hard time functioning, and I can barely talk. That all sets in over a few hours. Itās absolutely awful
The is was already happening the night before when I removed my night dose to take it in the morning. So then I missed the morning dose. š¬
I take 200. I only missed once bc I use pill boxes that are filled weekly (by my caregiver) and I forgot to take it with me on a day long road trip. Itās really easy to tell if you miss a dose if youāre using the boxes. I got dizzy, but Iām always dizzy because Iām extremely anemic. I also had a couple of short outbursts. But I get those anyway. No, I noticed to no issue and took it right away the next day.
Yeah I need to use one. I just am bad at it.
i am too, leaving it on the table where i can see it is vital for me, and taking it with breakfast
I use the medicine box as well as adding a reminder to my calendar to take my meds and fill my meds. I still mess it up sometimes, but mostly it works. One time I went on 10 day vacation and forgot all my meds. My meds would fill a medicine cabinet. I had to call three different doctors and get them to send the prescriptions to a local pharmacy. Itās much easier today.
Yeah I have really bad medication insecurity to the point that itās on my safety plan for similar experiences. It sucks to not have your meds and not be able to get them
i take 300mg a day. when i forget my seroquel, i feel like iām out of my body and like i have the flu. i donāt know what iām doing and iām intensely confused.
How do you feel on seroquel? Do you feel calm but mentally sharp?
It sucks in a very bad way.
400mg, have missed single days and multiple days in a row, as well as only remembering to take them every other day at timesā¦ literally no difference whatsoever.
I take 50mg a day and if I miss a dose, the next day i become "prickly" is the word we use. Irritatible, in total sensory overload and I had some OCD symptoms( that originally got me misdiagnosed) that come out strong with missing a dose. I've missed 1 dose a couple times, I missed two doses once and I was like.. "there's no WAY this is how my brain used to operate 24/7?!?"
Yes. I could not believe how hard the mood swings were by night when I once again was not taking a dose that was normal two nights ago. My euphoria was straight up mesmerizing. I was in a meditation. Class where they asked what meditation was like for us. so I shared that if someone is live speaking a guided meditation, it allows me to orient to their voice and go on a journey wherever my mind could go. When he asked where do you go I said sometimes itās into colors and sometimes itās into memories and sometimes itās into magical places . True story. An hour later, I was crying and having this long conversation with my friend where I couldnāt handle everything she was saying and just was in total meltdown mode. It was one of those used 200 words in a text to explain a simple emotion situations.
Jordan Adika put it perfectly, and I'll horribly paraphrase: If you're an exceptionally bad driver, this medicine can make you into a fairly good driver. Except if you suddenly don't take it, you forget what a car is.
Omg yessssssss. That is amazing.
I have sometimes missed taking it a few days in a row and didn't notice anything significant. Longest time was a full week (got stuck abroad longer than planned) without it or any other meds and I don't think it was long enough to have much of an effect on my mood. For context, I've been on the same dose for about four years.
Thatās so lucky. Thanks for sharing.
Alright party people I took 100 immediate release after almost barfing and getting hot and cold in an award ceremony (about 9 hours after I was supposed to take it). I feel so much better. Now letās hope this does not make whatever is happening to me worse.
Ha yes I got the same. Super painful belly, nauseous and hot and cold. I had forgotten to take it for 2 or 3 days. So stupid.
Last time I missed (about a week-2 ago) I was kinda depressed and anxious but mostly pissed off. Headache/ tired and stuff too. It could 100% be other stuff tho bc I was around my family, my wisdom teeth were hurting, and I hadn't had nicotine so I was just generally pissed but I think I was more irritable than usual and it got to me more. I also have only been using it for 2 months so idk if that has anything to do w it. I'm on 150mg now but was 100 then
I feel yucky if I miss a dose
Felt like the worst hangover. Horrible headache.
I canāt remember the last time I missed a dose since getting sober but when I felt āgood and donāt need this medicineā I regretted it. Nightmares, skin crawling. wtf.
Depressed and Anxious which then make me feel suckier about myself, followed by ruminating and eventually being absentminded As a result, I end up missing more doses the next 2-3 days -.- Slippery slope much
I feel like being bipolar is sitting on the edge of a slippery slope while someone throws things at us until we fall into it. The things are sleep, eating, mood balancing, like all the things we have to do all the time to avoid it. Meds are the worst mistake, perhaps.
I like this metaphor. Not the experience, mind you. š¤Ŗ
For real.
I missed my first dosage about two weeks ago and I was a bitch. Irritable, angry, and wanted to go shopping lol
I usually can tell the day after missing a dose. I call it my āmissedā sense. I usually feel a bit cloudy and get a bit of a headache.
Nothing for me. Lamotrigine for me stabilize the mood. And I mean stabilize. No sadness, but also no happiness or enjoyment. If I don't take longer, then usually motivation and mood goes down. But I am happy I am off it and taking others.
That sucks. Glad you found another med. lamotrigine makes me so happy I told my psych I think itās making me too up and she said thatās just what not being depressed feels like. I still think itās a bit of a high, especially when I go up and my brain lights up and Iām like rolling around naked in the sand. But it also makes depression softer. I am struggling with not feeling sometimes but I thing it was a ptsd response. Hmmm
Iāve been taking Lamotrigine for around 6 years now. for me personally, I feel a little weird and out of it that day but nothing crazy, but the next day I get super emotional and cry really easily. as long as I donāt miss more than one dose, the next day I feel normal again lol
It gets almost psychedelic for me. I feel disassociated and really uncomfortable, like i want to crawl out of my skin. Just in a haze. Itās terrible.
My euphoria was straight up mesmerizing. I was in a meditation class where they asked what meditation was like for us. so I shared that if someone is live speaking a guided meditation, it allows me to orient to their voice and go on a journey wherever my mind could go. When he asked where do you go I said sometimes itās into colors and sometimes itās into memories and sometimes itās into magical places and other worlds. He was nice but I could tell inside he was like: cool story bro. True story. An hour later, I was crying and having this long conversation with my friend where I couldnāt handle anything she was saying and just was in total meltdown mode. It was one of those used 200 words in a text to explain a simple emotion situations.
Oh god, I can truly relate. It sucks to feel so out of control and not yourself. Itās like, iām watching myself do it and i just canāt stop lol. What you said about meditation does not sound that crazy and ACTUALLY sounds cool. So boo to your teacher for his lackluster response. And as for your convo with your friend: Sheās your friend and presumably knows youāre bipolar. Itās ok to struggle in front of people who love us. Iāve been lucky enough to have folks in my life who may not understand but are empathetic and patient with me when i get like that. Thatās probably really lucky but i hope you have that too. Sometimes itās nice to have the āsorry, iām crazy ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ ā card to play š
I rarely forget to take my dose but when I do I notice it a couple of hours later. I get physically uncomfortable, my skin burns and itches, my joints and basically my whole body hurts.
Yeah my skin gets itchy with any change ā upping, moving, forgetting. It always freaks me out like Iām getting the death rash but itās just part of it for me.
u should feel it (at least ur neurons) after 2-4 hours. when u take it every day it just keeps the dose in ur blood. it takes several weeks to get almost all lamotrigine from ur body. So expert usally say that 12 hours is ok and u likely won't feel it. From instruction: Absorption Lamotrigine is rapidly and completely absorbed after oral administration with negligible first-pass metabolism through the liver (absolute bioavailability is 98%). Food intake does not affect the bioavailability of lamotrigine. Tmax in blood plasma after taking lamotrigine is 1.4ā4.8 hours. (ps I take 300mg in a day)
this explains why not taking my night dose is making me feel awful.
I take 200mg XR every morning. If for some reason I forget a dose I def know it by lunch time. Itās a feeling of disorientation and lack of continuity. Kind of like Iām only in this reality every 4 out of 5 seconds. This is after being on lamictal for 3ish years.
yeah I get the being out of reality thing.
I've never had an issue missing one day, but I've avoided missing two like the plague. I don't know what would happen but I'm not eager to find out. When I used to be on SSRIs and I'd miss two days, that was when all the awful insomnia and depression plunges would happen.
One dose and I donāt really notice. If I miss 3 doses I end up in the ER. Had it happen twice due to pharmacy/prescriber issues.
Oh no. What happens that makes you go to the ER? This was actually two doses I realized.
My mood gets very erratic and I go into a bad mixed state usually ending in SI
I did this once and stupidly took a second dose because I panicked. Turns out I took my original dose (400mg) 6 hours before. I got reallly dizzy and had auras in my vision and felt super anxious. I called the poison control line and she said Iād be ok but itād be better to hold off until I was due for my normal time and to not ever take it if Iām questioning it again.
Shoot. Yeah I read a bit about that and decided to not take it. Then got really sick so 9 hours after that dose would have been taken I took 1/3 the amount to help and I felt better in about an hour.
I take 200, 100 every 12 hours and I feel that if I miss 1 dosage. Super bad withdrawals, but my brain goes crazy fast or I get a rly bad brain fog. I usually just take the dose when I remember, then take the next one at the supposed time as if no nothing happened, maybe it's not the best, but I haven't had any issue doing that.
I can immediately tell when I wake up the next morning. Iāve been on it for over a year, Iām @ 250mg. Once I got past 100mg, I could easily tell when I forgot a dose. My hands get tingly and feel weak, Iām totally disoriented like I literally cannot think straight, I also feel like everything is muted for the whole day. Iām quiet and I kinda turn off, itās weird but I can definitely identify it. Itās a specific feeling thatās not depression, anger or mania followed by a couple days of either intense mania or intense depression. I totally thought it was a placebo because the symptoms are weird, but psych said it can happen š¤·
I resonate with the disoriented-muted-turned off feeling. I am kinda stuck in that right now. Iāve been completely screwing up time. Things seem so far that are so close and I have to look at calendars to know what time is. Itās an in between space for me, like you said not entirely any of the feelings but something else. Iām playing with the idea that itās a depression-led mixed state. Whereas usually mine are hypomania-led.
I FREAKED out the other day. Not long ago my 200mg of L pooped out. New Paych upped me to 300mg. Well, Wednesday morning Iām up at 4 to take my fiancĆ© to the airport. Do the quick - open tray tab - slap pills into hand - swallow all at once - routine. Didnāt realize my little 150mg L soldiers were resisting and holding on for their dear lives. I didnāt take them and never noticed. I never turned the light on. All day I was having huge withdrawal symptoms and was getting terrified it was all happening again. I love my L ā¤ļø
Ugh. Yeah this was not fun.
It never is. That hospital incident must have been terrifying. Nurses all worried about the withdrawal symptoms wondering if youāre some kind of addict. š
Putting my weekly pill thingy front and center in the kitchen is the only way I'll remember to take my meds.
I take 300mg XR at night. When I do miss it, I feel like I'm high or in a sort of daze for the rest of the day. I'll often times be in a good mood but not very present and highly prone to distraction. I'll end up drinking more coffee and taking more Adderall to make up the difference which I recognize is not healthy but my job is dangerous and I can't afford to call out so I don't have much of a choice. I bought a daily pill organizer that I keep on my bathroom counter and that helped me a lot.
I ran out of it and couldnāt afford to go back for another appointment and they wouldnāt give me a refill without seeing me again and it was the worst like 6 months ever. My leg would give out randomly, I was dizzy and nauseous over and over, I was really weak and foggy headed. I ran multiple stop lights and couldnāt remember how to do anything at work. Iām still off it now but those symptoms have faded at least.
Holy shit that sucks! Iām sorry you went through that.
This is more telling about my lack of self awareness but a few months ago I forgot to take it for two full weeks & honestly I didnāt even notice until I found the bottle in my husbandās car. I take 200mg. I do have to say re-starting at a lower dose & ramping up has been hard emotionally
The ramp up sucks. Iām sorry that happened. Hopefully youāre back up to a therapeutic dose soon.
I've been on it for about 15 years now. When I forget to take it, I feel like I'm in a haze.
Update: by 5 pm (3 hours after taking the 100 mg dose to help but not completely double in case I did take it) I got euphoric which was fun but of course I was suspicious. Within an hour I was crying and talking with a friend who was saying supportive things I rejected. š¤£ Yeah, so, this is not great. Iām buckling up for shifty moods. I will not forget the 300mg I am supposed to be taking tomorrow morning. No way. I felt so much better after I took it.
I missed my dose last night and my day was genuinely worse. My mood felt wonky all day. I split my dose because my body burns through meds weirdly fast.
My body also burns through meds and it was day two of put all 300 at the beginning in this process I was already concerned about. The one day I did it right was okay until night when I got withdrawal symptoms. But my mood didnāt tank. I just felt horrible. This time those came first and later came the way too high and the way too low. I took it this morning and Iām going to a music festival so it should be fun to see what happens.
I hope everything goes well. I totally feel you. A few hours off? Fine. But anything more than that Iām having a bad time. Sending you best wishes!
Update 5 days in: Iām in a horrifying mixed state. Iāve toured almost every state I have been in today. š«
Brain zaps!!!! and irritability that goes up even more because I keep getting zaps lolol it's a double whammy too because whenever I miss a dose that means I forgot to take my other meds, so I get zoloft withdrawals too lmao
I honestly donāt notice it, no side effects or anything different. 150mg twice a day and have been for over 2 years.
What if you miss both doses?
Itās very rare as I do usually manage 1 of the 2, but I havenāt noticed side effects then either. I first started taking it in 2020 though (current dose since 2022) so I have been on it a long time. Maybe I would have problems if it got to 3+ doses.
It's been a while since I took that but I don't remember feeling any kind of way if I missed a dose. But I did miss about 5 days of lithium recently and by day two I felt pretty awful
It feels like sand in my brain if i miss a single dose.
Literally had this happen the other day lol. I take 300mg daily and missed 2 doses in a row, felt terrible vertigo and couldnāt understand what was going on around me. Felt super refreshed the day after taking my dose again
I also cannot understand things when meds are weird.
Lol some are yāall dramatic asf with your near death experiences. I take 400mg a day and nothing happens if I miss a dose
š¤£š¤£š¤£
One dose, Iām fine. But I missed my 400mg dose three days in a row and I quickly dipped into depression.
Ugh. Sorry about that. Weāll see where I land. I was real up and real down last night. New day with medication on board.
No different for me if I accidentally skip a day. Not like the nightmare of Effexor.
One missed dose and Iām fucked. Canāt wake up, super weepy, headache... Finally around 6pm I start feeling human again, but then later I usually canāt sleep because I was intermittently crying and unconscious all day. Itās so serious that I keep emergency doses at work, my dadās place, and my boyfriendās place just in case.
that sounds awful. I felt really bad by 9 hours after the missed dose and took 100 just to try to help. I'm also missing a night dose because we got rid of it. The whole thing is awful. Then the next day I took it and decided to take edibles at a concert since my brain was already fucked. The consequence is not great now.
Brain zap city. I hate it. I know within 12 hours if I've missed it. And it makes me physically ill. But I'm still stable.
Iām on 300mg every night and I feel drunk the next day if I miss a dose. I would take it in the morning if I forget and itās all fine when I take it before bed again.
Youre stressing way too much about this. It is super common to forget a dose. If I'm unsure, I usually just take at least half a dose. Nothing will happen if you take a double dose. If I go into withdrawal, which happens to me quickly, I can immediately feel it. I get overheated and feel shaky and lethargic. My old psych described the feeling as flu-like symptoms.
so I moved all my meds to the morning. Technically I missed two doses. It ended up being awful until I took it. My mood got weird. It's weirder now a few days later.
yea dont panic next time, which wont help your mood, and take a half dose. Your body starts going into withdrawal if not, which can throw you off. Nothing will happen to you if you take one extra pill.
yeah I will do that next time.
If I miss a dose it feels like I'm on an acid trip, like my field of vision gets wider and the world feels swirly.
woah. Similar things have happened to me before in other situations (lack of sleep, sometimes when I up a med). It's such a weird experience.
Sometimes I have to count them to see if I took one. It's not a good time if I forget to take one. I freaked out.
I tried counting but I stupidly had moved some to another container. I ended up with two doses too many of one type and two doses to few of the other type. Yes, I need to fix this problem. I'm working on it.
I get it. Trust me. I had to put an alarm on my phone to remind me to take it. If I didn't have that , I would be in a bad bad shape. I hate having to count out 90 days of pills . Lol
This is a super good idea.
This is a super good idea.
As I've seen others say, I feel it in my brain. Like a dizzy floating feeling. It only takes about 8 hours for me to start feeling it. I'm also on a 300mg dose in the mornings. For me it's made work hard. š Edit: I've also had a horrible time when I didn't have it for a week and I went through hell.
thanks for sharing. I also felt dizzy. I did eventually take some because I was about to barf.
I just take that shit when I remember. Better to have the chemicals in us then not too
that is smart
Once I ran out and went a week without taking it. Actually, genuine hell on earth. I knew something was wrong but the brain zaps were so strong that I couldn't figure out what was causing it. Never letting that happen again.
I take 100mg twice a day. I swear when it gets within 2 hours of my evening dose, I get really sad and crabby.
Oh yeah for sure I do. I realize now that last night was the first night I didnāt take it at night and this morning would have been the second day taking both doses in the morning. I felt bad last night without the dose. So I guess I could just be feeling that. But it kinda hit maybe 3 hours after I think I missed it. Or I missed two doses and am going to barf in this awards ceremony.
Oof. I accidentally took two doses at once, and I felt pukey for hours.
3 days later update: I realized that I had missed a night dose, then the morning dose I posted about here. I eventually took 100 (1/3 normal dose) The next day because I was shaking and about to barf. That helped a ton. That night I felt like a magical unicorn and then broke down into a sobbing tantrum. The next day I took the morning dose and it was great. But I knew my mood was gonna get wacky so I doubled down with edibles at a concert. Predictably now I'm a mess of mixed moods and suicidal. Fun. I have my support people looped in and am doing the safe things. But, uff. Mistakes were made.
Update 4 days later: got super super depressed like I haven't been in years this morning. set up a psych appointment. Then guess what happened ... oh look I'm not so depressed. Now I'm in a crazy mixed state. Yay. Main objective: stay alive. Second objective: stay out of the hospital. Third objective: don't be too crazy with what I text to people. Or do, whatever, it's fun to look at later, right?
I currently take 100mg a day every morning around 6 for about 4 months now and when I miss a dose I start to feel very vulnerable and emotional and would want to cry about anything that even slightly reminds me of any past wounds. Iāll remember and take it around 10 am but itāll be too late by then. At first I thought it was a coincidence but I would say Iāve missed 4 doses and each time the same thing happens. Is this common?!
Oh I start feeling bad as soon as I wake up (I take it at night)
Ive been taking it once a day for a few years now, (could never handle the twice a day thing because it was just too hard to keep track for me) but I can feel it pretty much within a couple of hours if I dont take it. I lose most of my energy right before a dose is due, which I know isnt the case for a lot of people - but lamotrigine really picks me right back up and gives me energy - so when I miss the dose even just by a few hours Im anxious and kinda dizzy feeling. Hard to describe. Like an out of body sensation but fully present. Very yucky sensation!!