Lamotrigine

Lamotrigine is an anticonvulsant medication also widely used as a mood stabiliser, particularly in the treatment of bipolar disorder, where it’s especially recognised for helping prevent depressive episodes. It works by stabilising electrical activity in the brain, thought to help regulate mood over the longer term rather than acting as a fast-acting treatment for acute episodes.

It’s typically started at a low dose and increased very gradually, since a rapid increase raises the risk of a serious skin reaction — a well-known precaution associated with this medication. As with any mood-stabilising medication, its use and dosing should always be guided by a treating clinician.

My story with this medication is short and sharp. I was years stable on the gold standard Bipolar medication- Lithium Carbonate. It really worked well but I had to take a large dose for efficacy. Lithium is also toxic to the kidneys and resulted in kidney damage and function dropping to about 40-50%. Obviously the doctor stopped it but damage done. That’s when the lamotrigine came in, not as effective as Lithium but safer.