Mood Stabilizers and Crying Fits

Hello everyone

I have started taking Lamictal this past month on top of my usual Ativan and I'm experiencing this weird side effect.
I cry ALL THE TIME.
Even when I was super depressed/suicidal I didn't cry as often as this.

Anything makes me cry. Sad things, not sad things. I cried because my pony tail was crooked. im sorry but that's actually pretty funny.

Anyways my appt with my doctor is in a few weeks, so I was wondering if any of you have any experience or thoughts about this?

Thanks!

GG
Bipolar 2, Generalized Anxiety, Recovered Bulimic
Ativan and Lamictal

I'm sorry you've been down lately.

That's not a good sign. Your mood stabilizer should not be making you feel worse. Even when you're getting used to it. You want to find the right mix of medicine. It took me dozens of medicine changes before I found something that helps. You ultimately want to take something and feel like it will help stabilize you, hence the name. You have a few weeks left to see any improvements, but its not a good start and you probably shouldn't be on it.

I am on lamotrigine as one of my meds and I also cry a lot- not about serious stuff but about totally tiny things like tv adverts. I have always thought it is part of the BP but maybe it is lamotrigine- dont know. but yeah I also get this. I did a thread about crying a while back and this seemed to be the case for a lot of ppl. You are not alone

Hugs

Cracked

Is that a side effect of lamotrigine? I hardly ever cry but I've been really emotional lately, it's like the most stupid things give me a lump in my throat and tears come out, like I was reading something about dogs and it was pretty but not to make you cry and I got really emotional, also I saw Frozen the other day and cried too, or over TV shows and I don't remember crying over movies or TV shows, just on specific ocassions. I thought it was because of hormones because of my period or an adjustment of the same hormones but now that I remember I never felt so emotional on my period. I don't know I'm not even depressed... haha maybe it's a side effect or maybe I'm becoming softer. On the other hand really tragic things that should make you cry don't make me cry... Weird.

Ppl might find this thread interesting to read about crying.

Cracked

I used to have crying jags all the time, as well. I was on lamictal at the time, but due to some nasty side effects I had to go off of it. The crying continued. Finally I told my doctor that I wanted to go back on Paxil. (I had requested to go off it because it was making my other meds last twice as long as normal. Big mistake.) So anyway, I asked to go back on it. That has been the only thing that stopped the crying. Thank God. And it helps with my anxiety, too. I'm a pretty big fan.

The one thing I will warn you of is the horrible withdrawal if you ever have to go off Paxil. It's pretty horrific. While I was off of Paxil, my pdoc put me on Celexa and then Zoloft. Neither was effective for the crying and they didn't help my anxiety either. So finally I said, screw it. I'll go back on Paxil and just take it the rest of my life because I'm never going through that withdrawal again.

So I did. And no more crying jags. And it helped my anxiety a great deal. I wish you the best! Good luck!

Okay, I win. Today in my creative writing class, my professor was talking about how when we hear "a person" we think - white, male. And I started crying. The first "person" I thought of was my mom, who is currently going through a lot of issues of her own, and I couldn't stop thinking of her. Or maybe I was crying for modern American society and how racist/sexist it is? I don't know. But I wonder... is it the Lamictal that's making me do this?

I don't remember being this crazy at the height of my bipolar (late 2008 - early 2010), though now I am drinking a lot more caffeine than usual. Do you do this? I find it messes with my moods, yet I do it anyway because I'm secretly addicted to it. okay, NOT really a secret, but I do feel like with all my medications it's so hard to get up in the morning sometimes, I really can't wake up without caffeine... it's like a catch 22.

I'll tell you right now though - not crying at all. Just laughing at how stupid I look... hahaha.

I find myself crying off and on all the time. About 20 years ago I started feeling depressed and saw a doctor. I don't know how long it took because we had run out or options. THE Last time I HAD seen him, he said there was nothing left on the market. I drove home in tear thinking that this was gonna be the rest of my life. I decided I wasn't gonna give u[ so W went no my laptop and started researching depressions and medication. I was immediately brought to this page that offered a test to see if you were bipolar and I passed with flying colors. The me was called "Lamotrigine"
The same as yours. I brought it to my doctors attention and when I used it my whole world changed.
I was "me" again ans I was so happy. 5 years ago, I suffered a very messy "as they called it" Ruptured Brain Aneurysm and after a short period after that, my depression was back with a vengeance. Now I'm back to trying new things and I'm beginning to think that I only had one shot at it and that was the Lamotrigine, even though it no longer works. Hold your head up. I wish I could have some miricle for both of us but all I can give you is hope.

Crying is okay! More important is why you are crying and what is wrong in your life that you have the ability to fix. Maybe you could talk to your therapist about it. Could be just getting used to a new medicine and you haven't adjusted yet. But if you are crying because you are very depressed for no good reason, that's something to talk about with the pdoc.