DOSE:	300 mg	oral	Pharms - Venlafaxine	(daily)
	200 mg	oral	Pharms - Lamotrigine	(daily)
			Various

BODY WEIGHT:

146 lb

I have been on Effexor XR and Lamictal at 300mg and 200mg respectively for a few years now. I have been looking for concrete answers to how other drugs interact with my antidepressants and bipolar meds but haven't had much luck. Here is my experience with recreational drugs while on my meds, as well as how the meds effect me day to day.

Alcohol- haven't noticed a significant difference even though both drugs advise not to drink while taking them.

Marijuana- I think I get higher than most while on these meds. I wasn't a big smoker before I started them, but I think I notice that my friends do not get as high as I do. Also, If I smoke too much I notice that I really just get exhausted. I smoked yesterday and napped for hours afterward.

Cocaine- Haven't tried it before starting my meds. I definitely am affected, but not nearly as much as I think my friends are who are not taking antidepressants. I get more energy, feel more awake and confident and outgoing, but definitely think Effexor especially inhibits the drug. My boyfriend can drink me under the table, but coke doesnt affect me nearly as much as it does for him. It's scary almost that perhaps I wouldnt recognize how much is too much.

Mushrooms- Did these recently with friends. Experienced no visuals, did feel funny but definitely was not affected like my friends (4 older and bigger guys). It took a while for me to notice anything at all, but I did feel euphoric. No visuals though :( I decided to smoke a bowl of AMAZING purple haze, and from there my trip started. It wasn't like being high, and a lot of my memory is gone. I wish I had tripped like my friends did. They said they weren't able to sleep (when they tried it previously). I took my boyfriend into our room to hook up (he was having none of it) so I fell asleep (he couldnt) for a little while. When I woke up, it was the MOST AMAZING feeling I've ever felt. I wasn't sure who I was, who my boyfriend was, what kind of life I had. It was like amnesia. I wondered if I should get up, what time it was, did I have a job? Am I skipping class? Should I apply to college? Who was this boy? Did we have sex? And when the pieces came together I was SO happy that this life I figured out from the weird amnesia dream was my life. I was so happy I was alive, and my boyfriend was the most amazing thing to happen to me. That feeling was AMAZING.

Day to day, effexor and lamictal have saved my life. I take high dosages because of extreme depression and mood instability. At night though I ALWAYS wake up in a cold sweat, and I ALWAYS have intense, bizarre, colorful, memorable, sometimes lucid dreams. More often than not though, they are scary but not terrifying.

Exp Year: 2009	ExpID: 79063
Gender: Female
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: May 22, 2018	Views: 2,594
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Pharms - Lamotrigine  (432), Pharms - Venlafaxine (191), Various (136) : Retrospective / Summary (11), Medical Use (47), Combinations (3), Various (28)