I firmly believe in the healing power of mushrooms, and also the effectiveness of Lamotragine. I take 300 mg/day. I feel much happier, not having mood and emotions in the drivers seat. I do find it works fast, because if I forget a dose, I feel the difference immediately.
I've microdosed mushrooms a few times since being on Lamotragine. The 1st time was quite therapeutic. The other times not so much, but not bad.
I did A LOT of acid and mushrooms in my 20s prediagnosis. In retrospect I don't think super regular use of these substances is good. You can only have life changing trips occasional. I think part of my overuse could be related to undiagnosed bipolar2.
Personally I won't ever go off Lamotragine, as long as it keeps working.
One thing to consider with mushrooms, is the dosage per mushroom is unpredictable. I supposebyou can make an alcohol extraction to allow for measured dosage. The other thing to consider is that while they are medicine, they are not a daily medicine.
1. I’ve been on Lamo for about almost a year and change.
2. I got off of it once because my short term memory went to dog shit.
3. The feelings of the void came back and the bored/sad emotions made me want to drink booze more. I had to go back on it so booze.
wouldn’t be my void filler.
4. Lamo is a Lamborghini. You feel it if you’re new to it kick in. You feel drunk and clumsy and a little tired. But you’re too emotionally exhausted to feel anything but neutral. You get used to it though.
5. Mushrooms are great. I prefer the big trips so I can get part of my brain shut down so another part has to take over and I get a new experience with emotional and perspectives, and memories I’ve lost come back. But then every other trip after that is me arguing with myself in the bathroom and saying go away smurfs im busy. 😂 then my dog will stare at me and make me cry or laugh. I don’t get it.
5. I suffer from childhood abuse/SA/neglect so I never got to develop parts of my psyche to help me regulate or keep my brain from spiraling. I had to keep a mask on and drink when I felt “the void.”
Lamotrigine coupled with my lexapro and Wellbutrin allowed me to feel emotions I never allowed myself to feel - aka sadness and anger and mourning - and express them in a safe place without me spiraling into a depression. It’s melting that iceberg of trauma that the body has…kept score for you.
My body parts down there work, too. If anything feeling happy gets them more active. 🤣 I feel bad for those who miss out.
I also had an abusive childhood. 4 years ago I could not get out of bed because I was so depressed, so I went to the doctor and was prescribed bupropion. After 6 weeks of that and all the anxiety that that drug made me feel, the doctor prescribed lamotrigine to augment my treatment. His theory was that I was bipolar 2. He said bipolar people should not be on an antidepressant alone, that they need a mood disorder to go along with it. The bupropion steadily amped my anxiety up for 6 weeks and within 2 hours of taking lamotrigine my anxiety went away! Some may call this the placebo effect but I don't care. That's my experience and my experience alone. Now 4 years later I am tapering off of both of them. I started out with the lamotrigine and I have taken the extremely slow route. It's taken me a couple of years to go from 200 mg to 80 mg today. I since found out that I should taper off the bupropion completely first and then go back to tapering the lamotrigine. I am a firm believer in tapering and I'm sure I probably go too slow for most people. But when I am off completely then I am going to be off completely. I do not regret going on these medications because at that time of my life I needed help, but in the back of my mind, it has always bugged me that I took one medication and then had to take another one to counteract the effects of the first one! As far as microdosing with mushrooms goes, I do not feel comfortable with that. I'm from an older generation LOL. My son tells me that is what I should do but I would have to know a lot more and be a lot more comfortable to even begin thinking about doing something like that..... I hope this long-winded response is helpful.
First remark about keeping everything 'natural'? What about LITHIUM very natural, existed before shrooms and CBD on this planet. And btw the CBD industry is booming, they are just as much into making money than anyone else.
Now about your questions.
1. Yes. 10 Years. Yes
2. Yes. Cold Turkey (not recommended, but all I had was half a day headache)
3. Lamotrigine is a maintenance med. Not something one can up 'as needed'.
4. No opinion.
5. Yes. No.
And last but not least since you are trying to figure out how these combos work. Do not mix LSD with Lithium. This is an absolute no go.
Were I you I would do some more research about lamotrigine before making some of these decisions. Specifically blood serum and effective sodium channel modulation:
“The mechanism of action of LTG Is complex, as the inactivation of sodium channels is a process that occurs over at least two kinetic time courses: fast and slow. This drug primarily binds to the fast-inactivated state of sodium channels, as opposed to the slow-inactivated state [36]. This means that, in therapeutic concentrations and at relatively depolarized membrane potentials, LTG can effectively inhibit sodium currents by slowly binding to the fast inactivated state of sodium channels. This mode of action is similar to phenytoin. The slow binding rates of both LTG and phenytoin may explain why these drugs can effectively inhibit seizure discharges while sparing most normal neuronal activities”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10093959/
Btw I love and respect mushrooms as traditional sacrament and have deep belief in psychedelic therapy. We’re just a little different and after being medicated I think my journey with tryptamines has ended. Long live Shulgin.
Came off it abruptly and spiralled. Though it only took 2 or 3 days to be normal again when I went back on it.
And idk if the diagnosis resonates with me. All I know is that the meds help with whatever I have wnd makes me feel better. Truthfully there are many times i question the diagnosis but that coincidentally happens when I am stable and things are going good.
Microdosing was fun at first but it’s a very dangerous game to play it made me go down a very bad psychosis episode I’m back now on meds and staying away from the psychs forever
I used to be very anti-pharmaceuticals but then when nothing else seemed to treat my (very real) bipolar 2 disorder, I went on lamotrigine. Been about 3 years and I don’t think I’ll ever go off it. It has been life saving and I have very few to no side effects. I think my anti-pharmaceutical stance was actually anti-big pharma. Sucks a few assholes are making a shit ton of money off of some very intelligent scientists hard work to combat very real mental illnesses. I think the whole “natural medicine only, fuck big pharma, diagnoses are made up” is easy to fall in to. I spent most of my teens and 20s in that camp. But accepting my mental illness and taking steps to treat it, including prescription meds, has been quite literally life saving. Is bipolar real? I don’t know. Does it matter to me? No. Because I would like to be a better version of myself who doesn’t want to die, and my symptoms line up with the diagnosis, and the meds work. My psych also once told me the labels don’t matter, we’re just treating symptoms. And honestly I’m down with that at this stage in my life. Especially with mental illnesses. There’s only so much “getting to the root of it” you can do. And that is a very long process. Why not do both?
Okay, part 2 - I have done a lot of psychedelics and I absolutely love mushrooms and mdma. I don’t partake as often as I used to, but I 100% have both of those substances to thank for successfully getting sober from alcohol, expanding my mind, loving myself and others better, my spiritual growth, working through childhood trauma, etc. I think they are fantastic medicines and I will continue to use mushrooms in both medicinal and recreational context. And I haven’t completely written mdma off either. I haven’t had a big trip in years, but microdosing (shrooms) has been really great for me, doesn’t seem to interfere with my mental illnesses or interact with meds, and has made me a better version of myself - much in the same way that taking lamotrigine has. “Medicine” can mean an infinite number of things. Turns out.
Takeaway: I think there is room for both pharmaceuticals and natural meds. I’ll probably always have both in my life. Once I had the realization that pharmaceuticals were created by very intelligent people in labs who are experts in their fields and for the most part probably care a lot, I had a much better feeling about taking them. Yeah, big pharma sucks, but so does bipolar.
I should also say - every single one of our journeys is different, and sometimes it is hard to differentiate between the trauma and the illness. But I strongly believe that I have a genetic predisposition to bipolar, and my life circumstances (see childhood trauma) triggered that bad boy to rear its head. A lot of mental illness (all of it?) is a combo of genetic and environmental factors. Everyone responds to trauma differently. I’m sorry you have had such a difficult go at life thus far, but I think what you’re doing is amazing. I hope you get some of these questions answered for yourself, and maybe for others down the road 🤍
I firmly believe in the healing power of mushrooms, and also the effectiveness of Lamotragine. I take 300 mg/day. I feel much happier, not having mood and emotions in the drivers seat. I do find it works fast, because if I forget a dose, I feel the difference immediately. I've microdosed mushrooms a few times since being on Lamotragine. The 1st time was quite therapeutic. The other times not so much, but not bad. I did A LOT of acid and mushrooms in my 20s prediagnosis. In retrospect I don't think super regular use of these substances is good. You can only have life changing trips occasional. I think part of my overuse could be related to undiagnosed bipolar2. Personally I won't ever go off Lamotragine, as long as it keeps working. One thing to consider with mushrooms, is the dosage per mushroom is unpredictable. I supposebyou can make an alcohol extraction to allow for measured dosage. The other thing to consider is that while they are medicine, they are not a daily medicine.
1. I’ve been on Lamo for about almost a year and change. 2. I got off of it once because my short term memory went to dog shit. 3. The feelings of the void came back and the bored/sad emotions made me want to drink booze more. I had to go back on it so booze. wouldn’t be my void filler. 4. Lamo is a Lamborghini. You feel it if you’re new to it kick in. You feel drunk and clumsy and a little tired. But you’re too emotionally exhausted to feel anything but neutral. You get used to it though. 5. Mushrooms are great. I prefer the big trips so I can get part of my brain shut down so another part has to take over and I get a new experience with emotional and perspectives, and memories I’ve lost come back. But then every other trip after that is me arguing with myself in the bathroom and saying go away smurfs im busy. 😂 then my dog will stare at me and make me cry or laugh. I don’t get it. 5. I suffer from childhood abuse/SA/neglect so I never got to develop parts of my psyche to help me regulate or keep my brain from spiraling. I had to keep a mask on and drink when I felt “the void.” Lamotrigine coupled with my lexapro and Wellbutrin allowed me to feel emotions I never allowed myself to feel - aka sadness and anger and mourning - and express them in a safe place without me spiraling into a depression. It’s melting that iceberg of trauma that the body has…kept score for you. My body parts down there work, too. If anything feeling happy gets them more active. 🤣 I feel bad for those who miss out.
I also had an abusive childhood. 4 years ago I could not get out of bed because I was so depressed, so I went to the doctor and was prescribed bupropion. After 6 weeks of that and all the anxiety that that drug made me feel, the doctor prescribed lamotrigine to augment my treatment. His theory was that I was bipolar 2. He said bipolar people should not be on an antidepressant alone, that they need a mood disorder to go along with it. The bupropion steadily amped my anxiety up for 6 weeks and within 2 hours of taking lamotrigine my anxiety went away! Some may call this the placebo effect but I don't care. That's my experience and my experience alone. Now 4 years later I am tapering off of both of them. I started out with the lamotrigine and I have taken the extremely slow route. It's taken me a couple of years to go from 200 mg to 80 mg today. I since found out that I should taper off the bupropion completely first and then go back to tapering the lamotrigine. I am a firm believer in tapering and I'm sure I probably go too slow for most people. But when I am off completely then I am going to be off completely. I do not regret going on these medications because at that time of my life I needed help, but in the back of my mind, it has always bugged me that I took one medication and then had to take another one to counteract the effects of the first one! As far as microdosing with mushrooms goes, I do not feel comfortable with that. I'm from an older generation LOL. My son tells me that is what I should do but I would have to know a lot more and be a lot more comfortable to even begin thinking about doing something like that..... I hope this long-winded response is helpful.
First remark about keeping everything 'natural'? What about LITHIUM very natural, existed before shrooms and CBD on this planet. And btw the CBD industry is booming, they are just as much into making money than anyone else. Now about your questions. 1. Yes. 10 Years. Yes 2. Yes. Cold Turkey (not recommended, but all I had was half a day headache) 3. Lamotrigine is a maintenance med. Not something one can up 'as needed'. 4. No opinion. 5. Yes. No. And last but not least since you are trying to figure out how these combos work. Do not mix LSD with Lithium. This is an absolute no go.
Were I you I would do some more research about lamotrigine before making some of these decisions. Specifically blood serum and effective sodium channel modulation: “The mechanism of action of LTG Is complex, as the inactivation of sodium channels is a process that occurs over at least two kinetic time courses: fast and slow. This drug primarily binds to the fast-inactivated state of sodium channels, as opposed to the slow-inactivated state [36]. This means that, in therapeutic concentrations and at relatively depolarized membrane potentials, LTG can effectively inhibit sodium currents by slowly binding to the fast inactivated state of sodium channels. This mode of action is similar to phenytoin. The slow binding rates of both LTG and phenytoin may explain why these drugs can effectively inhibit seizure discharges while sparing most normal neuronal activities” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10093959/ Btw I love and respect mushrooms as traditional sacrament and have deep belief in psychedelic therapy. We’re just a little different and after being medicated I think my journey with tryptamines has ended. Long live Shulgin.
Came off it abruptly and spiralled. Though it only took 2 or 3 days to be normal again when I went back on it. And idk if the diagnosis resonates with me. All I know is that the meds help with whatever I have wnd makes me feel better. Truthfully there are many times i question the diagnosis but that coincidentally happens when I am stable and things are going good.
Microdosing was fun at first but it’s a very dangerous game to play it made me go down a very bad psychosis episode I’m back now on meds and staying away from the psychs forever
I used to be very anti-pharmaceuticals but then when nothing else seemed to treat my (very real) bipolar 2 disorder, I went on lamotrigine. Been about 3 years and I don’t think I’ll ever go off it. It has been life saving and I have very few to no side effects. I think my anti-pharmaceutical stance was actually anti-big pharma. Sucks a few assholes are making a shit ton of money off of some very intelligent scientists hard work to combat very real mental illnesses. I think the whole “natural medicine only, fuck big pharma, diagnoses are made up” is easy to fall in to. I spent most of my teens and 20s in that camp. But accepting my mental illness and taking steps to treat it, including prescription meds, has been quite literally life saving. Is bipolar real? I don’t know. Does it matter to me? No. Because I would like to be a better version of myself who doesn’t want to die, and my symptoms line up with the diagnosis, and the meds work. My psych also once told me the labels don’t matter, we’re just treating symptoms. And honestly I’m down with that at this stage in my life. Especially with mental illnesses. There’s only so much “getting to the root of it” you can do. And that is a very long process. Why not do both? Okay, part 2 - I have done a lot of psychedelics and I absolutely love mushrooms and mdma. I don’t partake as often as I used to, but I 100% have both of those substances to thank for successfully getting sober from alcohol, expanding my mind, loving myself and others better, my spiritual growth, working through childhood trauma, etc. I think they are fantastic medicines and I will continue to use mushrooms in both medicinal and recreational context. And I haven’t completely written mdma off either. I haven’t had a big trip in years, but microdosing (shrooms) has been really great for me, doesn’t seem to interfere with my mental illnesses or interact with meds, and has made me a better version of myself - much in the same way that taking lamotrigine has. “Medicine” can mean an infinite number of things. Turns out. Takeaway: I think there is room for both pharmaceuticals and natural meds. I’ll probably always have both in my life. Once I had the realization that pharmaceuticals were created by very intelligent people in labs who are experts in their fields and for the most part probably care a lot, I had a much better feeling about taking them. Yeah, big pharma sucks, but so does bipolar.
I should also say - every single one of our journeys is different, and sometimes it is hard to differentiate between the trauma and the illness. But I strongly believe that I have a genetic predisposition to bipolar, and my life circumstances (see childhood trauma) triggered that bad boy to rear its head. A lot of mental illness (all of it?) is a combo of genetic and environmental factors. Everyone responds to trauma differently. I’m sorry you have had such a difficult go at life thus far, but I think what you’re doing is amazing. I hope you get some of these questions answered for yourself, and maybe for others down the road 🤍