Can't take Lamictal anymore

[Chipmunk]

I don't know what I'm going to do. I've had an allergic reaction to the Lamictal I'm on and my doctor said it's too dangerous to take any more so I can't gradually quit it and get on something else.

The Lamictal was my last-ditch drug for the RLS/WED. I have tried everything else except Lyrica but I really don't want to gain weight.

I really don't want to take opiates because I get easily addicted to drugs in general, plus some of them give me severe vomiting.

It's the second week of a very busy, high-stakes semester, so it's the worst possible time to be without meds, and trying new ones out.

I guess this is a vent post more than anything. I hate RLS/WED.

[ViewsAskew]

So sorry.

Per the addiction, I know you don't want to take them, but could you rotate? A week on, two days off? Or something similar? It's saved my bacon, so to speak!

[Chipmunk]

It's an idea I hadn't considered. What could I do the other days? DA's are out...augmented the first time within 3 days, gave it a few months rest and tried again - BAD augmentation. The worst WED ever! But...it was with the same drug (Mirapex) - maybe another DA wouldn't be so bad?

I'm afraid to try anything else. That night I got ZERO sleep and was pacing all night long. Actually, sounds like a normal night, haha

[Polar Bear]

Is it a definite that everyone puts on weight with Lyrica. Would it be possible as Ann says to alternate Lyrica with an opoid (yes I know you don't want to use them because of issues).
Would you consider another person having control of an opiod so that you only took the prescribed daily dosage and did not have access.
I'm just tossing thoughts off the top of my head here.

[cornelia]

Is it just the Lyrica you are allergic to or to the whole anticonvulsant group? If not could you tr Horizant? Otherwise I too think it is a very good idea to take an opiate on working days en maybe Horizant in the weekends? Or even a DA twice a week and the other days an opiate? That could work quite well.

Corrie

[Chipmunk]

It's only the Lamictal but I have already tried gabapentin and didn't tolerate it well.

RE: the opiods, I'm not afraid I am going to start robbing pharmacies or forging RXs, it's just that I know once an addictive brain gets a taste of a drug that makes it light up, good luck trying to get it to want anything but. Addiction issues are rife throughout my family, and my brain seems to really get attached to certain things. I smoked ONE cigarette at a club with my friends one night, and that set off a life-long craving for cigarettes. I have probably literally smoked less than 15 cigarettes *in my entire life*, but when I walk down the street and smell someone smoking, I get a physical craving I can feel. When I do smoke, the feeling is like, ah, my brain is complete.*

Having said that, I have taken opiods at several times in my life, and didn't develop any problems with them. I'm honestly more worried about the side effects of alertness, constipation, drowsiness, central sleep apnea, etc. than I am about addiction. Not to mention my psych loves to hand out benzo scripts and those are completely worthless IMO. I don't know how he'll feel about a RX for methadone or something like that. I think I'll print out the RLS Bulletin with the treatment options outlined and see what he thinks.

*Interesting side note - I read a paper last year that said that in people with ADHD, none of the current stimulants "fit" the ADHD brain like nicotine does. There is something about the chemical composition which completes whatever is missing in ADHD brains and balances it out. So many smokers find it extra hard to quit because they are actually self-medicating for the ADHD.

[ViewsAskew]

akes sense about the ADHD - I think many people self-medicate for what their brain chemistry is missing.

What to sub with is a tough one.

I augmented fast the first time, too - not sure because I had intermittent WED when I started, so I'm not sure when I realized it was every day like clockwork instead - but within a week.

For whatever reason, there are some DAs I can take one day without issue, and others that I cannot. I had to try them all. I also waited several years between trying this - so not sure if that helped.

It's really hard to find the thing to alternate for some of us. I am assuming that even after a break from Lamictal you wouldn't be able to take it once in awhile.

[Chipmunk]

This is Day 2 of no meds and I am dying here. Before meds my sleep study said that I was only asleep 2/3rds of the time I appeared to be asleep. So in order to get 8 hours of sleep I would have to "sleep" for 12 hours. She did say that my sleep efficiency was markedly improved started at about 7 a.m., and that I got the best sleep of the night from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., so presumably shifting my sleep to more of it during the day would help with that.

I signed up for a stats class this semester that meets Tues/Thursday starting at 9:30. I have to be up at around 7:00 in order to get ready and travel to campus by then, so I decided yesterday that I would drop the class so I wouldn't get so stressed out trying to find a new med. I went on there today to drop it and found out that the last day to drop a class was last Wednesday. FML, seriously.

[ViewsAskew]

This is Day 2 of no meds and I am dying here. Before meds my sleep study said that I was only asleep 2/3rds of the time I appeared to be asleep. So in order to get 8 hours of sleep I would have to "sleep" for 12 hours. She did say that my sleep efficiency was markedly improved started at about 7 a.m., and that I got the best sleep of the night from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., so presumably shifting my sleep to more of it during the day would help with that.

I signed up for a stats class this semester that meets Tues/Thursday starting at 9:30. I have to be up at around 7:00 in order to get ready and travel to campus by then, so I decided yesterday that I would drop the class so I wouldn't get so stressed out trying to find a new med. I went on there today to drop it and found out that the last day to drop a class was last Wednesday. FML, seriously.

That is just wrong on so many levels....

[Chipmunk]

Huh?

[ViewsAskew]

Huh?

Not your post, lol, but that this is happening, that your class is early, that you couldn't drop it...that it's statistics!

[Chipmunk]

No kidding. Most of the students are Stats Ph.D students and there are only about 4 or 5 of us from other departments, so I am really in over my head. I am going to talk to the professor on Tuesday and see if I can get my drop back-dated.

[rthom]

Just an FYI I had till November 20th to get myself sorted out but I'm in Canada. Good luck with the school

[ViewsAskew]

No kidding. Most of the students are Stats Ph.D students and there are only about 4 or 5 of us from other departments, so I am really in over my head. I am going to talk to the professor on Tuesday and see if I can get my drop back-dated.

I've been lucky in that my stats courses - BA and MA - were both given by my department (psychology) - and they were hard enough! I can't imagine taking a Ph.D level course in the stats department!

[Chipmunk]

I think this lack of sleep has made me lose my mind. I just applied for a full-time position (with the school district I used to teach at) for a Data Researcher position. It is a job I've always wanted to do, but I'm registered for classes, and have a 50% position this semester. The deadline was today at 4:15 and I only found out about it at midnight last night so I sort of applied and thought about it later (the past hour, lol). Ah well....we'll see what happens!