Mood

Is it normal feel too calm after a few months in on the abx? I've been on abx since July about 4 months coming soon. I went bk to have another psyc eval due to my cptsd, bpd and explosive uncontrollable anger. My med nurse said a mood stabilizer would greatly benefit me and I agree. He gave me lamotrigine 25 mg to start. This med didn't work for my mom or sister. I had the genesight test done and it showed it would be good with no bad reactions due to my genes. I haven't started to meds yet because right when I go to start them, boom, I start to feel way too calm for 4 days straight. It's like a switch just turned my hypervigilant self off. I dnt want to start this med and feel too calm as I'm already way too calm now. I feel as if I'm way too calm or just don't even care to talk or conversate,, so almost it scares me because it's been years since I've felt like this and actually forgot what normal or calm feels like. It's like a laziness almost or just wanting to sit in silence all day. Is it a herx causing me to feel slow or too calm? It's actually pretty scary if you're not used to it. I keep sending guessing myself and wonder," was it bpd all these years, or the bartonella causing personality changes and raging with severe anxiety depression and co dependency?? I still have this question. I'd definitely say I have trauma and ptsd from being sicker than a dog as a child when I was first bit in placed in a psyc ward and stuck on different meds. This was back growing up as a child when nobody thought to test for lyme . We didn't know . Was it bartonella and co infections causing my so called bpd and ptsd to make my brain this way? Just a thought. Anyone else try lamotrigine as a mood stabilizer? Also used for seizures as well. If so side effects, pros and cons? The nurse offered lithium and I said um no thanks. He said lithium gets a bad wrap all the time bt works amazing for most people. I saw a video I think by Dr. Berg if not mistaken, talking about how our brains need a certain amount of lithium and what symptoms it would cause if we were deficient. It was quite interesting tbh.

Quin said...
The calm effect is probably dysregulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis causing cyclothymia. Presumably at some point you will cycle back into the less calm phase. I don't know if it's a herx, or just the usual effect of the infections messing with your hormones.

I'm assuming this manic-depressive effect is why your doctor recommended lamotrigine. The alternative approach would be to try to correct the hormonal disorder, and try to eliminate the infections.

Some other antI-epileptics and mood stabilizers are known to have antimicrobial effects, so I suppose it might be possible that you could herx from lamotrigine. I'm not aware of any reports of herxing from that particular drug though.

I know I've been having bpd for years due to symptoms alone and abandonment and neglect, abuse etc. Lamotrigine should stabilize my mood with the intense anger bursts, irritability, and so on. Interesting, I never ever knew that some anti epileptic and mood stabilizers could caise a herx. Then again, what doesn't cause a herx lol? Seems like everything does. So the too calm feeling did go away, but for 5 days I just been feeling like I don't want to even talk and not in a bad way just too quiet and calm. Can be scary if you forget what it feels like to not feel wired up. Also , I'll mention that I was reading about how lamotrigine helps decrease glutamate in the brain which would be great for some of us. Too much glutamate in the brain or other parts of the body can cause OCD ,ADHD, anxiety and panic attacks,depersonalization, depression,severe brain fog , slow motion feelings and autism like symptoms. Most people who have autism also have too much glutamate in the brain. Then it hit me. I have all thes symtoms. Lucky I didn't start taking glutamate as my LLMD had recommended it at one point! I watch Doc Snipes on you tube and she's amazing because she goes so into depth step by step and she explains if you have too much or too little of neuro transmitters and the symptoms of too much glutamate etc.

Quick update. So I just tried my lamotrigine 25 mg right now. I feel dizzy or light headed and a little too calm. If anything is that much of a bother or worsens , I'll discontinue of course. I read lamotrigine inhibits the synapse and lowers glutamate if you have to much so idk. I just feel like my head and ears feel full.

Lamotrigine makes a lot of people feel that way, regardless of infections. I would assume that your increased "calm" feeling is a normal side effect of the lamotrigine, even if there's a small theoretical possibility that it has antimicrobial effects. This is what people on mood stabilizers are talking about when they say their meds make them feel like a zombie and then stop taking them. (I have multiple relatives with BPD and bipolar disorder, and worked in clinical mental health practice for years, so this sound totally typical to me.) Can you talk to your prescriber and let them know that this dose of this drug is overly sedating and worsening one of the symptoms you needed help with? Is it the sort of side effect that evens out if you stay on the drug for a while? A psychopharmacologist should know whether this is a temporary side effect or just a sign that the medication isn't the right fit. Psych meds are so tricky because they can do the opposite for one person what they do for another....

I'm sorry you are feeling so off lately, MedicaNerd. I know that's terribly unsettling! I hope you find the right mix of meds soon and can get back to a good baseline.

Thanks so much for all the quick responses and good feedback everyone. The 1st day I took the lamotrigine I felt a little off balance, but was actually okay. I also smiled the 1st hr or so and talked my *** off lol. Felt like a low grade high, even though I don't smoke Marijuana anymore and will mebe touch it again because I dnt like the high feeling( it's been 4 yrs). I'm like wow, I haven't been able to do that in a while. I know ppl say it takes 6 weeks or more to work bt everyone is different. Update is, I've felt fine taking it actually and I've actually been going out with way less anxiety. My reactions and impulsive thinking or acting out is normal now and I forgot what it feels like to not feel triggered because of my cptsd. Feels pretty good. Only downside is I tried taking the pill a little earlier in the day because one of the side effects is insomnia and I don't get tired from it or wake up few times a night. I definitely don't need any insomnia or anymore waking up more than I do at night already