Alright, so I previously posted in here (Manic Weight Gain) and in the comments, there were a lot of comments about how mood stabilizers would help a lot.
I was very... lets say comfortable... only taking a mild anti-depressant, because I had some pretty scary experiences previously with trying mood stabilizers and anti-psychs. (I was also a heavy drinker at that time, and under crippling stress from the military/life/COVID/etc)
I started lamictal/lamotrigine almost 2 weeks ago. I am still on 25mg, but going up to 50 later this week. I have also been keeping very attentive notes. I took it at night, because my psych said it can make you very drowsy.
The first morning after, I paced around my house for about 3 hours because I was so dizzy and nauseous. I kept trying to figure out if I was gonna throw up, pass out, shit my pants, or all three... I went outside and chewed gum and that feeling went away pretty quickly. The second morning, I had a little bit of that but it went away quickly with gum and fresh air.
Day 3 and onward...my brain is quiet? This is an extremely new thing for me, and it's almost eery at times. Like, I don't think I've ever been able to walk myself down from anxiety, anger, stress, etc, as I have been. I can feel myself teetering a little towards hypomania, but I feel like I have more control over it and I am able to recognize those behaviors much faster. Usually, It'd be a few days in before I realized. VERY "I'm an adult...I'm fine... I'm cool... anyways..."
Some side effects that I have noticed, and would love to know if anyone else has felt:
I feel like I constantly have to pee... like the sensation is always just slightly there
GI upset-ness... gas has been the main GI issue, but my body has also been super sensitive to grease/fat/oil
my heart rate went up VERY high when I was doing the do with my husband. It got up to 170 and took a while to come back down. Usually when I am doing heavy exercise, i'd get up to the 150's and MAYBE 160 if I was doing CrossFit or something.
The nausea... is that done and over, or is this gonna happen every time I titrate up?
there almost feels like there's more time in the day to get things done. Even simple things like showering or brushing my teeth. I feel like I'm able to take my time a lot more than previously.
Aside from this, I'd love any info I can get. Are there things I should look out for (aside from the rash and meningitis symptoms)? Is this what feeling "regulated" feels like?