You said "Now, I have some serious questions about my own experience on the drugs which runs from 1993 to 1995 with Tegretol and from 1997 to 2007 with Deapkote and Lamictal."

I can't even imagine what it must be like to look back on personal experiences over a decade or two that at the time one attributed to "mental illness" and realize that heck, any underlying mood problems were being so confounded by all the neuropsychiatric (and physical) effects of these toxins that maybe one wasn't even "ill" after all (but just troubled with life events) and no one even raised this as a possibility! As somewhat of an outsider looking in I can't really pass judgment but even as an outsider I consider it outrageous and insidious and criminal. It's got to stop and it's thanks to blogs like this one that this alternative possibility is finally seeing the light of day.

Well, it wasn´t only our family in which a person with bipolar was put on lamictal along with lithium and became acutely suicidal every month. Finally, at taper off time, this family member had to go into the hospital for the tapering because every time the dose would be reduced, all havoc would ensue. Have yet to hunt for an attorney for this outrage. At least we survived this horrible experience.

I personally had no problems with Topamax and the weight loss was wonderful.

But I have gotten suicidal from other drugs. Wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

Something or someone must have been looking after me. I might not be here reading this blog if it hadn't been for fate or serendipity. It was bad enough to go to the hospital because of a black box warning, and your pdoc/and pharmacist didn't tell you and then when you questioned them both, neither of them knew what the heck you are talking about.

I found an article years ago linking suicidal ideation with anti convulsants, and being that my daughter was on Depakote at the time [1999-2005]I had made a note of it. It was in a newspaper, and I asked the pscyh about it, of course there was that blank stare.

Considering she was on Zoloft,Depakote and Zyprexa at one time, it sure makes me remember the worst days of her life, raging and screaming as a 13 yr old she wanted to kill herself. Imagine, I thought it was only the Zoloft.

Zyprexa has some sort of end of chain mechanism that can react the same way in people as with anti depressants.

I always suspected and observed her suicidal talk in connection to medications.

No answers, but glad to see the Depakote get some attention; and don't forget there's a black box about Polycystic Ovary syndrome for women under 20--which is permanent, and increases risk of cancer. My daughter has that as a result of Depakote use.

I too have been on Topomax and Lamital for several years which I have found helpful and like Susan, the weight loss has been great.

I have been on Lamictal for about 18 months now. I have had suicidal ideation for about 17 years. I would not say the Lamictal increased it or decreased it. I am also not bi-polar.

OK, but like "The Last Psychiatrist" (http://thelastpsychiatrist.com) says, you have to give 500 people one of these medications before someone would become suicidal _because_ of the medication. It's your (or your doctor's) call, but if these medications are also very effective in controlling seizures or mood swings (and they are), then they are worth taking.

It's like flu shots. They are highly effective in preventing the flu, but there will be a certain number of people who will react and even die from the shot itself. But they're number is so small compared to the number of people who's lives may be saved from them, the shots are still considered worth it. Although most people probably don't even think about it.

My psychiatrist and I just discussed how Lamictal, which I started just under a year ago, has been an absolute godsend for me in stabilizing my moods.

(I still take lithium, for the record.)

I was always hesitant to start Lamictal because of the potential health threat from skin rashes (I suffer from skin rashes), but have had no problems so far.

About this new warning -- it's been known for awhile, from the more recent studies into SSRI's, that the ANIMATING qualities of antidepressants can kick in before their MOOD-REGULATING qualities, creating a dangerous "twilight zone" where doctors need to watch closely. Tragically, teen-agers, impulsive already, are particularly vulnerable. I can believe this is true of Lamictal as well.

That doesn't change the fact that often these are highly beneficial medications -- and certainly less risky than Zyprexa, as Philip ruefully notes.

"The risk was greatest among patients taking the drugs for epilepsy who had a relative risk of 3.6 while patients taking the drugs for psychiatric diagnoses had a relative risk of 1.6, according to the FDA."

I just came upon this now since I was on hiatus when this post was originally written and I'm currently researching new meds. I had no clue that the very same drug that's supposed to keep me from suicidal ideation is the very same drug that can cause it.

It might sound bad but thank God I don't suffer from epilepsy. I have enough trouble with suicidal behavior on my own.