Hello everyone.
I'm currently taking 100mg Lamotrigin, on Thursday I will increase to 125mg (50mg in the morning and 75mg in the evening). I'm taking Lamotrigin because my neurologist said there are less side effects in comparison to Cabarmazepin etc. I had a few side effects (the dry mouth bothered me the most), but over the weeks they got better and were always manageable.
But for weeks and months, my anxiety is through the roof and it doesn't seem to get better. I can't calm my body down, I'm crying nearly everyday and there is always this inner restlessness, this uncomfortable tingling in my stomach, and generally I feel nervous on a level as if I have a job interview in 20 minutes and are not prepared at all, even without a concrete trigger like a doctor appointment (which I'm always scared of) and almost the whole day. I tried breathing, taking more walks, distracting myself, but it all doesn't work, or works only for the moment and once I stop it's so bad again. It's so exhausting and gets me so down.
I'm wondering if it has anything to do with increasing my Lamotrigin over the past 2 months? My next neurologist appointment is in 2 weeks and I should probably tell her about these problems. But I'm scared that she takes me off Lamotrigin. The pain finally starts to lessen, I don't know if it's because the meds finally start working or because of a normal remission phase unrelated to the meds. Either way, I'm scared she will say I have to try other meds like Cabarmezepin. I'm not at all comfortable with the side effects of those. I have problems with panic attacks, and things like feeling drunk, dizzyness and so on are huge triggers for me, and to be honest, I even prefer the TN pain to having more panic attacks.
I'm searching for a therapist because of my mental health issues (namely, the anxiety and panic attacks that I dealt with more or less well on my own until it became a bigger and bigger problem since all this TN stuff got so worse half a year ago), but it's not easy to find one. Or even find the courage to call anyone. I talked to my doctor about wanting to get therapy and even this was so, so hard for me. I know I have to pick up the phone and make the calls to at least get on a waiting list (I'm from Germany, and there aren't nearly enough therapists available here, so the search will be hard). I'm just so exhausted from all of this and I'm overwhelmed where to start and that my parents will be so disappointed when they find out that I want therapy doesn't make it better (they don't think highly of getting therapy because of mental health problems).
I've read that Lamotrigin can cause anxiety. But I wonder if it's the case here, or if my anxiety got worse because of the whole thing with getting diagnosed with a chronic illness at 24, having to take meds for a lifetime (and I hate taking pills, the thought alone makes me so uncomfortable) or having a super scary operation on my brain, and still having pain everyday despite all these doctor visits the past 6 months (even if it slowly starts getting better, it's still frustrating). Also, I have problems with working (because I can't concentrate with everything going on) and my family (that doesn't seem willing to put the effort in to understand TN at all).
So, my question is, does anyone here have experience with taking Lamotrigin and increasing anxiety?
Also, I just had to vent a little bit, so sorry for the long post.