Contraceptive Pill and Lamotrigine

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asydney
June 9, 2017 - 5:48 am
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asydney
Total Posts: 2
Joined: 06-09-2017
I wanted to tell women with BP2 about possible interactions you may have with the Contraceptive Pill and Lamotrigine. I had been taking the Pill for about 18 months and found it more and more difficult to manage my BP2. In the past my highest dose had been 250mg and my BP2 was very effectively managed (in conjunction with exercise, diet and meditation) but i was experiencing severe mixed moods and rapid cycling - alternating between depressed mood and hypomania at least twice a day. It was completely exhausting. I'd read that there could be interactions between the two medications making each less effective. I asked my Psychiatrist about it but he decided to try increasing the lamotrigine first.

My psychiatrist ordered blood tests at 250mg and found my levels after 10 hours were 2.8 (rather than between 7 & 8 as they should have been). We increased the dose 25mg each fortnight. At 300mg my levels after 10 hours increased to 3.3, still not even half the right level for me. At 350mg a month later it was 3.8. i was at my wits end - up and down, up and down multiple times per day. By the way, I was still exercising each day for an hour at the gym, eating a healthy diet and practising meditation and mindfulness - doing everything i could to have some balance while holding down a stressful job.

Finally one day I experienced overwhelming paranoia and a frightening attack of rage - thankfully I didn't turn it on myself or anyone else - just tore some of my beautiful clothes and books to shreds and then i sank into a terrible low. When i felt a little better, in desperation, I decided to stop taking the Pill. I began to feel more balanced in a matter of days. I had a blood test 17 days after stopping the Pill and my lamotrigine levels had risen to 6.8! My doctor was amazed..the link between the two was unmistakable.

I changed to a copper IUD for contraception immediately - no more hormonally based contraception for me. 4 months later and i am so much more balanced!!

If you are suffering badly with your BP and you're using hormonal contraception my advice is to at least explore whether the interaction of the drugs might be the reason.

Good Luck


Spam? Offensive?
asydney
asydney
June 9, 2017 - 5:48 am
I wanted to tell women with BP2 about possible interactions you may have with the Contraceptive Pill and Lamotrigine. I had been taking the Pill for about 18 months and found it more and more difficult to manage my BP2. In the past my highest dose had been 250mg and my BP2 was very effectively managed (in conjunction with exercise, diet and meditation) but i was experiencing severe mixed moods and rapid cycling - alternating between depressed mood and hypomania at least twice a day. It was completely exhausting. I'd read that there could be interactions between the two medications making each less effective. I asked my Psychiatrist about it but he decided to try increasing the lamotrigine first.

My psychiatrist ordered blood tests at 250mg and found my levels after 10 hours were 2.8 (rather than between 7 & 8 as they should have been). We increased the dose 25mg each fortnight. At 300mg my levels after 10 hours increased to 3.3, still not even half the right level for me. At 350mg a month later it was 3.8. i was at my wits end - up and down, up and down multiple times per day. By the way, I was still exercising each day for an hour at the gym, eating a healthy diet and practising meditation and mindfulness - doing everything i could to have some balance while holding down a stressful job.

Finally one day I experienced overwhelming paranoia and a frightening attack of rage - thankfully I didn't turn it on myself or anyone else - just tore some of my beautiful clothes and books to shreds and then i sank into a terrible low. When i felt a little better, in desperation, I decided to stop taking the Pill. I began to feel more balanced in a matter of days. I had a blood test 17 days after stopping the Pill and my lamotrigine levels had risen to 6.8! My doctor was amazed..the link between the two was unmistakable.

I changed to a copper IUD for contraception immediately - no more hormonally based contraception for me. 4 months later and i am so much more balanced!!

If you are suffering badly with your BP and you're using hormonal contraception my advice is to at least explore whether the interaction of the drugs might be the reason.

Good Luck


bluedragon76
June 13, 2017 - 10:18 am
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bluedragon76
Total Posts: 658
Joined: 10-21-2012
I need to get the copper IUD, not currently using birth control as I'm not in a relationship but you never know what could happen. Regular birth control can affect quite a few bipolar meds and it's just not worth my sanity to take hormonal birth control!


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bluedragon76
bluedragon76
June 13, 2017 - 10:18 am
I need to get the copper IUD, not currently using birth control as I'm not in a relationship but you never know what could happen. Regular birth control can affect quite a few bipolar meds and it's just not worth my sanity to take hormonal birth control!


asransom
June 18, 2017 - 5:56 pm
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asransom
Total Posts: 3
Joined: 03-29-2024
Wow, I'm new to this site and randomly came across this post, and I'm going through the exact same thing right now. I started taking ortho tri cyclen in January and started experiencing terrible depression (previously I had been very stable). I was desperately Googling one day trying to figure out what was going on, and I came across the interaction between Lamictal and hormonal birth control. I just quit taking the birth control (2 days ago) and am hoping that my mood starts to level out soon. I agree it's important for other women with bipolar disorder to be aware of this interaction. Neither my pharmacist nor the person who prescribed the birth control mentioned it to me.


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asransom
asransom
June 18, 2017 - 5:56 pm
Wow, I'm new to this site and randomly came across this post, and I'm going through the exact same thing right now. I started taking ortho tri cyclen in January and started experiencing terrible depression (previously I had been very stable). I was desperately Googling one day trying to figure out what was going on, and I came across the interaction between Lamictal and hormonal birth control. I just quit taking the birth control (2 days ago) and am hoping that my mood starts to level out soon. I agree it's important for other women with bipolar disorder to be aware of this interaction. Neither my pharmacist nor the person who prescribed the birth control mentioned it to me.


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