When to cut dose for lamictal

May 30, 2026··

Posted in:Lamictal (Lamotrigine)Support Tapering

taper updatequestion

Hi all, I recently changed my lamictal dose to 7.5 mg a few weeks ago. I was on this dose about 3 weeks with no issues, but then I noticed my movement disorder symptom came back a little bit (enough to disturb sleep and cause a little bit of involuntary movement) around the 3-wk mark. I know that changes in lamictal in the past seemed to provoke this symptom a little, but this is more than usual, and the symptom usually flares within the first week of a dose change, so I assumed this flare isn't due to the dose change. How long should I wait before I try to taper again? I also am not totally sure that my movement disorder flares in the past were due to the lamictal changes. (In other words, something else seems to have aggravated a symptom that is also a symptom of withdrawal for me. Wondering how long I should wait before changing dose, especially since I'm not totally sure if this symptom will settle down.) When I change, how much should I change? I've been doing 0.25 mg drops recently but I tolerated 0.5 mg drops in the past

Lamictal — 7.75 mg — 3 years — holding | | without clinician

5 Replies

⭐

CatinaStaffTrusted Voice23d ago

Hi cabbagequeen, I'm sorry you're dealing with this. Are you talking about Restless Leg Syndrome? Since your symptoms have not always followed a clear pattern, it's hard to know what is causing the flareup this time. Are you reducing once per month? Normally you want to taper again when you're fairly stable from the last reduction. When we're unsure of what to do, it's always best to err on the side of caution and hold things a bit longer or reduce by a lesser amount. Have you made any other changes lately? (i.e. diet, supplement) Have you been under more stress as of late? Sometimes it can help to keep a log of when the symptoms flare and the circumstances surrounding it.

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 18.24 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Levothyroxine - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

cabbagequeen21d ago

Lamictal · holding

Hi Catina, Thank you for the message! It's not RLS, it's a movement disorder that I don't really have a name for/diagnosis for right now. I was trying to reduce a little (0.25-0.5 mg) every 1-2 weeks but it doesn't seem like I can maintain that anymore. How do I figure out what dose to reduce next month and when? I do think it makes sense to err on the side of caution, but my providers told me some of my symptoms that caused medical emergencies may actually be due to the lamictal, so that's why I'm trying to taper as fast as is safe for my body. No other med changes/supplement changes right now. Over a month ago I had changed my magnesium dose from 400 mg to 300 mg under the recommendation of my neurologist and maybe that had some slow changes. Regarding diet, I am trying to reduce my omega 6 to omega 3 ratio but that's kind of it. I started a treatment called Transforming Touch and that may have caused a flare. No additional stress

Lamictal — 7.75 mg — 3 years — holding | | without clinician

⭐

CatinaStaffTrusted Voice21d ago

"It's not RLS, it's a movement disorder that I don't really have a name for/diagnosis for right now." — @cabbagequeen

Thanks for the clarification. Sorry to hear that.

"I was trying to reduce a little (0.25-0.5 mg) every 1-2 weeks but it doesn't seem like I can maintain that anymore. How do I figure out what dose to reduce next month and when?" — @cabbagequeen

You could try reducing by 0.25 mg and then hold for a month and then reassess. What do you think about that?

"some of my symptoms that caused medical emergencies may actually be due to the lamictal, so that's why I'm trying to taper as fast as is safe for my body." — @cabbagequeen

Okay, I understand. Did your medical emergencies involve your movement disorder or something else?

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 18.24 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Levothyroxine - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

cabbagequeen21d ago

Lamictal · holding

1) I could try that reduction. 2) The first medical emergency was a really bad migraine suddenly. I still have some migraine symptoms and had to get on another med for migraine. The second was my movement disorder caused by Compazine (for the migraine) and I still have symptoms of that and had to be on another medicine for a while. I also got debilitating muscle heaviness a few months later, and my neurologist suspects it's due to lamictal.

Lamictal — 7.75 mg — 3 years — holding | | without clinician

⭐

CatinaStaffTrusted Voice21d ago

"The second was my movement disorder caused by Compazine (for the migraine) and I still have symptoms of that" — @cabbagequeen

I see. Thanks for giving some more information about your history. It seems like we go on a drug to help a symptom and then the drug causes another problem...sigh. And then they want to add another drug to deal with the new problem. It can be a vicious circle sometimes.

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 18.24 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Levothyroxine - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

Join the conversation

Need a clinician who understands tapering?

Browse our map of deprescribing-informed providers worldwide.

Find a Deprescriber

When to cut dose for lamictal — TaperCommunity