Lamictal Nightmares

Hi guys,
I recently made a post about Lamictal, but this one is more on the serious side. I have been taking Lamictal for about 4 days now, at 50 mg's. I am experiencing the most lucid and vivid nightmares that I haven't experienced since I was a little kid. I mean, I'm talking so frightening and unsettling that I am afraid to go to sleep. 2 nights ago, I had a dream that I could hear my dog growling in the middle of the night- very unusual for her. So immediately, I knew something was wrong. I crept downstairs to discover my mother sleeping on the couch. My dog was growling in the direction of the front door, where stand this huge, tall, man/monster looking thing staring at my mother as she slept. I ran to the door to lock it, but the thing had already opened the door and was pushing its way inside. THankfully, I then woke up, screaming so loud that the actual dog that was in the dream came running upstairs to see if I was okay. It was a cross between a nightmare and a night terror, as I was not fully convinced it was a dream after I had awoken. Has anyone else experienced dreams this horrifying while taking Lamictal, or any other drug? If so, do you have any suggestions for alleviating and preventing these awful occurences? The Lamictal is already starting to lift my mood, but the nightmares are a colossal drawback. If there are any suggestions other than quitting the medicine, please tell me. I am not interested in taking addictives like Xanax or Ambien to help me sleep. Thanks,
WIlliam

mine are what i have termed 'rapid-cycling'. 1 dream is actually 6. they all flow into the next, and the intensity up, and ups, eventually i force myself awake in a bad state. it use to be every night, not every night now, glad they are easing, albeit i do very much understand. here 4 ya, jamie.

ps. been unwell trying to catch up with posts. i try!!

i have been on lamotrigine 25 mg since last wednesday...soo for about a week now.
my ideal dosage is 100 mg my dr said, but im going to start slow and up the dose every two weeks....
i have been having really intense dreams as well but i didnt even think it was related to the medication, but now that you mention it i think i am going to write down my dreams as soon as i wake up so that i can discuss it with my dr. ive notced that ive been having such REAL LIFELIKE dreams that ive made comments to my roommates about things that they say have never happened..... scary to think that its possible that im not going to be able to differentiate between my dreams and reality.

They will stop... I had them too, and had insomnia... My doctor put me on 300mg of seroquel every night and its been much better since. I'm on 200mg of lamictal, working my way up to 300mg. My mood has completely changed. My mood swings have stopped being so intense. Life is better! Give it time because it takes weeks for you to completely get used to it.

well I'm the winner. I am at 500mg lamictal everyday for 7 years. Holds me down except for a few hypos.

I had dream problems with Chantix (to quit smoking) and abilify. Dreams so vivid about murder and cannibalism I was disturbed I even had those types of thoughts in my head.

My opinion is to try something else. Throughout the process of this disease there will need to be tweaks and adjustments. There are many marvelous meds out there which work better for some than others.

I am sad to say I have been on lamictal for about four months and the nightmares have only gotten worse its terrifying getting dreams mixed up with reality it's just the dreams are so real and life like. I really thought some one was in my house last night. I havent been able to go to sleep because of the dreams I've had the last two nights. And it's never one dream its always about 7 and I wake up after each one but it seems all of them are happening in my own house. I don't know what to do...

Thank goodness my husband found your posts.

I'm a very vivid dreamer and nightmares are quite detailed and scary. But since my doctor doubled my dose, I have NEVER experienced anything like this.

Instead of night terrors, which I have had, I call them nightmare hallucinations. They feel real and the intensity and out right fear they cause makes me wake up in panic attacks. I have never been so frightened in my life. Two nights ago I had one of these hallucinations involving a friend. Later while I was still dreaming she confirmed my nightmare. So my brain was reinforcing the reality of the dream.

Last night I refused to go to sleep. Some of you have mentioned that these go away. I can't hold off waiting. I cannot bear another night.

If it goes away for some of you, how long did it take? Did readjusting the dosage help?

Thanks to all who submitted their stories. My husband thought I was exaggerating.

I had bad dreams when I first started Lamictal too. It has been about 3 years now and I still get some but no more than I had prior to starting Lamictal.

I just took Lamictal for the first time last night. I already have nightmares and night terrors. Hope this doesn't make it worse.

I was prescribed Lamictal and Buspar at the same time and almost immediately started having nightmares and insomnia.. My doctor doubled my dosage of Buspar for my anxiety and told to me wait it out and within about a week and a half, I felt normal! The nightmares can be really scary, but generally go away... If you have nightmares too often for a few weeks though, you might want to talk to your doctor about an adjustment.

I haven't started taking the Lamictial yet (brand name) and now after reading this I wonder if its worth taking. My Doctor hasn't told me I'm Bi-Polar and doesn't like me looking things up on the enet because he often gives even anti-Psychotic meds ion very low dosages that are not enough for being Psychotic but can help with other problems. I fear so much that the Government is going to take away my Social Security and if they do thjat to me than I know I won't survive at all. NOW THAT'S A REAL LIVING NIGHT MARE! I am scared to death all the time as it is and the idea of a substance making it worse scares the crap out of me . I call his nurse to tell him to tell the Doc that I decided to go ahead and try this medication and I have called two times and I hear nothing BUT I AM A VETERAN that goes to a V.A.Clinic and they are so busy with So many other Veterans with problems of having real life night mares that I think hes too busy to call me back and I just don;'t know what to do. I thought about ending my life and then after thinking that way I found that I was afraid of myself too. I am scared all the time having panic attacks every day. I'm taking 4mg of Clonazepam a day and 60mg of Mertazapine as well as my regular doctors medications

BC, Don't be offended when a new thread is created with this by an admin, they have a general cut off of about replies to ads over 4 months old.. They like us to make new ones with reference to the old thread if need be... but i shall let the moderators explain. Nightmares are awful. Glad they have subsided!

This helped so much. I am on 50 mg and seem to start nightmares just a few minutes after I lie down. Afraid to go to sleep.

Bipolar II