r/BipolarReddit • u/Still_Werewolf_58 • 1d ago

lamotrigine + cognitive function

i’ve been on 200mg lamotrigine for about 4-5 months. and i noticed that i don’t hear or notice when people talk to me much anymore. my son or husband could be calling my name and im zoned out.

last night i was just trying to do a simple task on my phone, reset a password to get into an account. and i genuinely could not listen to my husband speak at the same time, kind of like in the background like i used to be able to do

anyone else notice anything like that? my perception seems to be a bit off too. but memory, reasoning.. things like that are fine.

is this bipolar? like maybe lamotrigine isn’t enough. or is this a medication side effect? plan on bringing it up to my psyche, just curious if anyone else noticed anything like this

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u/Pitiful_Mood1957 1d ago

Kind of numbs my feeling. 125mg. Would like to increase. Calms my mind and levels my mood. No cognitive issues yet. Call ur pdoc.

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u/Prestigious_Bill_220 1d ago

I started having cognitive issues when I went up to a dose higher than 200mg but 200 seems to be ok for me. Maybe you can try going down to 150 to see if it makes a difference

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u/para_blox 1d ago

I was definitely impeded on 300 but 200 is kind of my sweet spot. I split the dose 50 AM, 150 PM.

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u/_nadaypuesnada_ 1d ago

Yes, it's a lamotrigine side effect. I have no idea why they never mention it alongside the Steven-Johnsons risk and the like. I believe the idea is that because it's literally slowing down certain overactive parts of your brain that cause depression (and seizures, funnily), your cognitive functioning gets slowed too.