"i have been on 1800 mg of lithium, 400 mg of lamictal for 10 years now.  i was diagnosed bipolar 1 with anxiety more than 20 years ago.  recently, i felt i was starting to go all over the place and i knew it was time to talk with my shrink.  he put me on  120 mg at night with .5 xanax while continuing my other 2 meds.  the first night i literally went dizzy numb my speech was severely slurred and i drooled as i tried watching tv with my children.  next morning i was unable to drive them to school since i was still unable to clear my vision.  night 2 i would take and called doc., he said that i needed to give it at least a 30 day cycle but leave out xanax.  i decided to self medicate and changed my dose to 60 mg daily, i bit manic but nice."