Help please:) First time on meds: Lamictal or Topamax?

Hi Margaret:)

I am still on 100 mg Lamictal twice a day. I am good.

I still have daily symptoms, but they fluctuate with my hormone cycle in severity. I’ve gotten good at managing triggers (for me: certain noises, especially those behind me, florescent or bright sudden lights, and certain foods).

I am a bit more symptomatic the past few weeks b/c I have been overdoing it and wearing myself down.

I found I could be outside with hardly any symptoms. My husband and I built up a 2 acre property behind our children’s elementary school into an environmental study area for the kids. I teach (volunteer) classes there daily and maintain the area’s chicken coop, compost program, butterfly garden, vegetable garden, and several outdoor classroom areas. A couple years ago I would never imagine doing any of it…and teaching to a bunch of loud kindergarteners would never have been possible:) I can no longer work as a veterinarian (indoor lights/noises/stress) but this is fulfilling.

I do think lamictal is a big part of it. I have no side effects from it. I steadily improved over the first 6 months on it. It was slow (mostly b/c I was a bit terrified of “the rash”, lol), but steady. I consider it a big part of managing this VM stuff.

I still have trouble in many places (grocery stores and church are the worst), but if it is a place I can manage the triggers with sunglasses, a hat, or finding a corner booth without noise behind me, I do really well.

Good luck with lamictal. I definitely think it’s worth trying for VM.

Jen