Drug Ratings for LAMICTALAverage Rating: 3.5 (1656 Ratings)
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Results are sorted by Gender with males listed first Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 |
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR LAMICTAL | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
  | F M | | | | |||
| 5 | bipolar II, OCD. | short memory impairment, at the beginning increased mood swings, but now none! | this medication in combo now with luvox has literally saved my mind and my life. nothin' else to say. | M | 24 | 6 months 100 mg 2X D | 2/28/2010 | 5 | rapid-cycling bipolar type II | None | Extremely effective as a mood stabilizer. Very good in combination with a low dosage of klonopin for anxiety | M | 43 | 2 years 200 2X D | 3/16/2010 | 5 | Depression | A little sleepy sometimes. Very easy to fall asleep at night. Easy to nap. | This drug stabilizes my mood without major side effects. A minor one for me is sometimes I get a little sleepy. Not sure if this is the drug or poor sleep hygiene. The side effects are therefore very mild. I am not carefree, but I can cope. I don't sink so low anymore. | M | 47 | 6 months 150 1X D | 5/25/2010 | 5 | atypical rapid cycle bipolar | worsened short term memory loss, worsened stutter, worsened difficulty finding words, worsened trouble focusing, increase in acne problems. | In November 2008, I was diagnosed with atypical rapid cycling bipolar disorder, non-combat related PTSD, panic disorder w/o agoraphobia, rape trauma disorder, ADHD combined type, and hypersexual behavior. The shrink put me on Celexa and Seroquel. The Seroquel began to help immediately, but the Celexa took a few weeks to kick in. The Celexa helped with the depression for a few months, but I still had manic episodes and pretty bad mood swings. Eventually it stopped working all together causing panic attacks. After I started having psychotic episodes, my shrink switched me to Lamictal. The FIRST DAY I started noticing the difference. I was calmer and happier. After a few weeks, the mood swings had gone from 7-15 a day to once or twice every few days. The panic attacks tapered off, and my nightmares tapered off. Lamictal did decrease my sex drive, but I saw it as more of a blessing. Since I began taking Lamictal, I now have a NORMAL healthy sex drive. I'm not driven to risky sexual behavior that was dangerous not only to my physical health but to my relationships. This medication has helped me tremendously. | M | 23 | 10 months 75 mg 1X D | 5/26/2010 | 5 | Major depression / dysthymia | None so far. My doc says she has been using this since the mid-90s and she's never had any complaints of side effects. It's hard to believe that some of the recurring side effects I've seen on here are not real, because I've been told before that a medicine wasn't causing a particular side effect when I knew it was. But, in her experience she claims no side effects. So that's a positive. We'll see. | I'm taking the starter pack. Just finished my 25 mg two week dose and started today on 50 mg. I have suffered from depression for years, and have tried everything. I re-ordered these posts so that I only saw the 5 star ratings, and it has given me some hope. Thus far, I feel no effects, but that doesn't bother me. I understand it might take awhile. I'm at a really low state right now, so I'm hoping like crazy for some relief. I'm making a promise to update this post every two weeks for the next two months, and then periodically after that if I'm still on it. If I start to feel positive effects, I'll update sooner! Fingers crossed, I feel like this is my last resort. I'm glad it's prescribed for treatment resistant depression, because if it was just another anti-d, I would have little hope. I'm rating it a 5, because if it does what I'm hoping, it will be a miracle drug to me. | M | 33 | 2 weeks 50 MG 1X D | 5/26/2010 | 5 | Epilepsy | Memory loss, hair thinning, rare bone crushing headache at night, loose train of thought easier, slightly dizzy when eyes closed. | Only had seizures at night - I think about 3 or 4 (memory loss). One when I tried weaning off. I've been attributing the hair thinning and memory loss to aging, but after reading these posts I'm not sure. The hair thinning is not too bad (yet) but worry some. Memory loss bothers me a lot though. My short term is getting pretty bad. The couple of headaches I've had (only at night while sleeping - like the seizures) were so bad I thought my head was going to explode, but I haven't had one like that for a few years - thank God. I have had severe joint pain, but was finally diagnosed with RA about 6 years ago. I never know what to attribute to Lamictal (generic for the past 2-3 years) vs age, etc. Over all I've been very happy with it. I agree with another "poster" who mentions that most people doing well with this drug probably don't check this web site, but I'm glad I finally did. A great forum! | M | 50 | 10 years 200 mg 2X D | 6/15/2010 | 5 | Biploar II | None. | After suffering for six years with "refactory depression" my current pdoc recognized signs of bipolar II and prescribed lamictal. Within three days I felt SANE! The suicidal ruminations, anger and irritability vanished. I can now think CLEARLY and I'm beginning to experience real emotions again. For years I had been experiencing emotional instability that was attributed to a personality disorder, but after taking Wellbutrin for the first time I began rapid cycling and my doc figured it out. Not a happy pill like some AD's, but I will take normal any day. | M | 38 | 21 days 50 1X D | 7/2/2010 | 5 | Bipolar I Disorder | NONE. (which I find amazing for a psychiatric medication). I do suffer from very mild acne (I use acanya, retin-a micro and rosula because I'm very obsessive about it) which I believe has been slightly anatagonized by lamictal. Granted, I already had acne. | This drug has helped me tremendously with bipolar disorder. I find it has helped especially as an antimanic. It has helped immensely with mixed states and rapid cycling. It has definitely had some antidepressant effects, although not enough to be an option for me as monotherapy. While it has been antisucidal, I was still very depressed on lamictal alone. I do believe that this drug has truly saved my life and that I would have most likely done something destructive enough that I would not be here today. | M | 20 | 3 years 300 mg 1X D | 8/1/2010 | 5 | Bipolar | none | M | 51 | 5 years 200 1X D | 9/2/2010 | 5 | Unipolar Depression | The first 2 days when I started it and also when I upped the dose I had a spaced out brain fog thing going on. After that Zero side effects | I have had been in a very dark place for the past 5 years with major depression. I was put on an SSRI Lexapro in the beginning of the depressive episode and had extreme agitation and high anxiety that would not go away. I could only take it for 3 months. Lamictal has so far been a life saver. After 3 days on 50mgs my depression started to lift. Its even better on 100mgs. The Dr still wants me to go up to 200mgs to avoid a relapse. I hope this lasts. | M | 55 | 3 weeks 100 1X D | 9/2/2010 | 5 | nocturnal tonic-clonic | none of signifigance experienced. | M | 56 | 5 years 137.5mg 2X D | 11/14/2010 | 5 | BP 2,ultra radian cycling | Headache,suicide attempt during "doseclimb" | Stable,sane-family says it`s wonderful to get to know THIS version of me :) Relief,relief,relief ! | M | 45 | 360 days 300 1X D | 11/18/2010 | 5 | Memory loss and confusion. My super short term memory is gone. I forget everything I did about a minute ago. Pour a cup of coffee or even pick up something I forget it. I have learned to slow down to compensate. | I went off this drug briefly for an unrelated illness and it was hell. I was suicidal and crying all the time. I would never do it again alone. Its a big commitment but well worth it but effects are different for everyone. I am happy and productive for the first time in my life. Personally I would never go off it. | M | 41 | 8 months 200mg 1X D | 12/12/2010 | 5 | Bilopar II | Some irritability when I first started (The starter pack) at 25mg and up. The irritability was not that bad and went away once I started the 100mg dose. Other than that there have been virtually no side effects. I have gained 5 pounds since starting Lamictal. But I am confident that is as a result of being less depressed and not a direct side effect of the medicine. | For me this has been a God send. I was initially diagnosed with Major Depression (over 10 years ago) and was subsequently put on a variety of Anti depressants. This served to fuel my manic states. My marriage and finances were on the line so I sought out the best Christian Psychiatrist in my area and was correctly diagnosed with Bipolar II. He immediately prescribed Lamictal and we are now moving forward in our journey to find the right combination of medicines to give me the best quality of life possible. I have only taken Lamictal for 5 weeks but am amazed at the results thus far and am confident that it will continue to be the mainstay of my medicine regiment. If you are battling Bipolar II I highly recommend you consider Lamictal. Best of luck to you as you work to find healing. God Bless | M | 38 | 5 weeks 200mg 1X D | 2/9/2011 | 5 | epilepsy | No side effects | I was previously on tegretol, which was an awful drug for me. I was always on edge with it and never knew when a seizure (complex partial) just might happen. After the switch to Lamictal, the world completely changed for the better. It's a beautiful thing to be under control - for years. Feel free to contact me if you'd like and I'll try to answer any questions you might have. | M | 44 | 10 years 100 2X D | 2/23/2011 | 5 | Anxiety, Depression | Irregular heart rhythm. Canker sores. | Drug works well in limiting anxiety and depression. Doesn't get rid of it so much as limits it. Added Deplin to the mix and heart palpitations and canker sores went away. Read someplace Lamictal can reduce folic acid levels, which Deplin supplements. | M | 40 | 2 years 25 mg 1X D | 3/7/2011 | 5 | depression / mild bi polar | a little hyper the first 2 weeks but it wore off | I am not sure if it is the lamictal, much prayer, I believe both, but I can't remember feeling so normal and energetic within a week to 10 days after I started. I was supposed to step to 100 mg, but felt so good I never increased and the doc is fine with it. No side effects at all. I even like my job now, and regained hope and enjoy life again. First drug I ever stayed on more than a few days, I tried several but had bad reactions and I feared drugs. I got over it and stuck with it and glad I did. | M | 54 | 10 weeks 50mg 1X D | 3/9/2011 | 5 | bipolar disorder | muscle twitching | it's been great so far. i was ragingly psychotic at one point, being on lamictal for the most part brought me to a much safer place. i still take other medications too, so i'm not sure i can contribute the success purely to lamotrigine, but it was a much better alternative than lithium (which made me feel so stupid) | M | 23 | 5 years 400 1X D | 5/29/2011 | 5 | BiPolar | Sometimes I get minor hives on my back and shoulders. Sometimes my eye twitches (but that could be tired eyes from computer screen). Reduced vision. Some memory problems, like searching for the correct words to use. | For me the perfect mixture is 200mg Lamictal, 10mg Ambien, 10 mg Amitriptyline, 4 mg Perhenazine. Taken all before bedtime. Zero Morning Carryover, I wake up crisp and ready for work. Doesn't cause pain, no dry mouth, no bad breath, no gas.. I get a very good sleep and stay even all day. No more Mania, no more depression. | M | 43 | 4 years 200 MG 1X D | 7/8/2011 | 5 | Bipolar 1 | None | Stabilised my mood at the lower end to an acceptable level. Made a huge improvement to my life. | M | 41 | 1 years 100 1X D | 7/21/2011 | 5 | Mood | Normal functioning improved every area of life-family, work, feelings, too many to list. | Reborn with this medication, truly so! | M | 46 | 3 years 500 1X D | 7/18/2011 | 5 | Bipolar Nos Depression Anxiety | Not much. I think it makes me dizzy though. With the amount of drugs I take though its pretty amazing that I can stand upright. :) | Very powerful and effective antideppresant effect and some mood stabilizing pproperties. Mainly improved my mood by a good couple percentiles. | M | 26 | 2 years 200mg 1X D | 8/25/2011 | 5 | BiPolar 2 rapid cycling | Muscle aches, Constipation and inability to fall asleep 2-3 times a week. | Still titrating and taking it very slowly, but feel a lot better already. Effects occur in the first week after titrating and start to ease in second week but don't go away completely. Moving from 25mg to 50mg has been a real problem and I might stay there for a few weeks until my body adjusts. Problems are bad enough to make me stop taking the drug if the problems persist | M | 64 | 6 weeks 50mg 1X D | 9/6/2011 | 5 | depression, PTSD/obsessing, anxiety | mild to moderate insomnia | was suffering from treatment-resistant depression, horrible anxiety/obsessive ruminating, and PTSD. added 50mg lamotrigine to 150mg doxepin and noticed positive results almost immediately. seems to have prominent anti-kindling properties. | M | 51 | 3 weeks 50mg 1X D | 9/19/2011 | 5 | mood stabalizer | I had no side effects up to 150mg and it worked very well for me at 200mg I started having insomnia and am considering going back to 150mg. It is a great drug and has helped a huge amount. Not sure if I am alone in this 150 vs 200mg side effects as some take higher doses and seem fine | M | 35 | 2 months 200 | 12/20/2011 | 5 | Bipolar I | None very noticable. MAYBE a slight decrease in mid-term and long-term memory. | Lamictal worked wonders for obsessive tendencies. I used to get stuck on things that made me sad or angry and not let them go; now I can let things roll right off me. | M | 22 | 2 years 150mg 1X D | 12/12/2011 | 5 | Atypical Bipolar Disorder | None. I started at 50, went to 100 for about a year, 200 now for two years. I take it at night. | This has been a great drug for me. I felt the beneficial effects immediately - stabilized higher-level mood, lower anxiety. No sluggishness or weight gain, my weight fluctuations have reduced. I take it in the evening, it seems to help me sleep. I notice the next day if I forget. | M | 57 | 3 years 200 1X D | 3/11/2012 | 5 | Bipolar II | I had bad anxiety for the first day. After the first day I have not had any side effects at all. I don't feel "drugged", either. This is good stuff. If I don't get the rash that is associated with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, then I will take this until the day I die. | This medicine (Lamotrigine - generic for Lamictal) has helped with the irrational anxiety, depression and anger. I am on 25MG per day. I take it in the morning with food. I think that I will only need 50MG of this each day. I don't plan on increasing the dosage above 50MG per day unless I need to. | M | 29 | 9 days 25 MG 1X D | 12/20/2011 History | 5 | Bipolar Depression | No side effects other than a slight headache once in a while for brief periods that either goes away on its own or with Advil. | Lamictal literally saved my life. I was diagnosed with chronic bipolar depression and went through a yearlong major depressive episode where I was completely debilitated for over a year. I was prescribed Lithium and Wellbutrin by one psychiatrist for 9 months to no avail. Finally went to a pyschopharacologist who put me on Lamictal and within two weeks I was able to get off the couch and start functioning again. | M | 50 | 5 months 100 MG 2X D | 1/10/2012 | 5 | Bipolar & Depression | I get dizzy sometimes when I first take it, but it's great! It also has help with my odd ADD issues & for some reason my math skills have become a lot better. I get pretty tired in the evening, but I'm not sure if that's the meds or if that's my early schedule. | I've had a couple times I've run out before my mail order prescription came in, and I feel withdrawal effects. Feel drunk, dizzy, sick to my stomach, and have a hard time concentrating. | M | 35 | 3 years 400 1X D | 1/31/2012 | 5 | Borderline Personality Disorder | I don't know. None, really. | This medication changed my life. My thought processes have been normalized and my emotions are stable... nice and even all the way around. I've become a popular and successful guy. Looking back it's hard to believe how completely insane I was and how I could've denied it. I very much doubt I'd have survived much longer without Lamictal. I hope it helps you too :) | M | 32 | 3 years 200mg 1X D | 2/13/2012 | 5 | Bipolar 1 PTSD | M | 48 | 150 1X D | 3/9/2012 History | 5 | Bipolar, PTSD, A.D.D | Main side-effect is increased tiredness. Med seems weight neutral or I may have lost a few. No rash this time. I have tried to get back on this med for awhile but each time I have gotten rash. So far so good. this time. | Lamictal is the only mood stabilizer that I can tolerate well. It is the only one that seems to help with depression and my tendency to dissociate. Sometimes I wonder if I have petit mal seizures. Whatever, the mind is complex and this med has settled things down to the point of being able to feel an on-going sense of self. | M | 48 | 7 weeks 150 1X D | 3/9/2012 | 5 | Bipolar | No noticable side effect | This medication was the first that significantly reduced the amount of mood swing. I was rapid cycling so this really helped the continuity of my life. Gave me a stable base to try to rebuild marriage. I'm at a high dosage so it's expensive (but worth it). I still get some physical symptoms of highs/lows but they are manageable. I recommend this highly for mood stabilization. Doesn't do much for my GAD. | M | 45 | 4 years 300 2X D | 3/17/2012 | 5 | BP2 - Rapid cycling | Headache during titration - joint pain - initially somewhat emotional flattened. | Now , it`s a lifesaver. I hung in there during sideeffects - sideeffects gone - all is well - everybodys happy. Give yourself time , it may be the one drug you will need on a daily basis. | M | 47 | 700 days 400 mg. 1X D | 5/20/2012 | 5 | bipolar type 2 (mostly depression) | insomnia (mild). minor itching | Only 2 weeks on this and so far it's been amazing. I know its very early days but its as if I have been released from a prison sentence. The floor has come up and the ceiling has come down and I am much more comfortable with this new space. I'm not so damn emotional but oddly enough I am more empathic and supportive to others. Best thing is the self hatred has gone. I am sorry that others have done not so well on this and I hope you find something that works. Best wishes! V | M | 45 | 14 days 25 1X D | 12/9/2012 | 5 | Major Depressive Disorder/Psychosis | Black dots and itching skin and crawling sentations from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed. Almosts like tactile hallucinations. They can be distracting. I have to pee more and I get dehydrated faster.But other than that i hope all goes well and no more side effects pop up! :) | I love lamictal it took 4 weeks to kick in on 25mg and just got amazing on 50mg. Psych doc said why not up it so u feel even better? I waz skeptical but its amazing on 100mg. Stables my mood swings and depression. I'm aggitated less and my suicidal thoughts gone and my irrational thought to hurt others and myself are gone. My paranoia is not and of course not my voices but its not an anti psychotic so yaa. My family is happy and I'm doin great in school. | M | 18 | 6 weeks 100mg 1X D | 1/24/2013 | 5 | seizures grand mall and petit mall | Minor confusion if miss a dose and tiredness if miss a dose. Minor short term memory loss but maybe I am just absent minded. | Found it works best taken every 12 hours. I take 50mg in morning and 25mg at nite. Has worked great for years with no seizures. Use to have violent seizures that discloated shoulders and etc. Curious if too many patients do not take too high a dosage which may cause their side effects as doc insisted I take 100 to 200mg twice a day but due to cost of med I chose the lower dosage of 50mg/25mg and it has always worked. I weigh 170 lbs. Have tried numerous other meds and nothing else worked. | M | 52 | 5 days | 10/23/2005 | 5 | seizures grand mall and petit mall | See the rating I just put in, I put the wrong time used down, 5 years, not 5 days. | M | 52 | 5 years | 10/23/2005 | 5 | Bipolar Depression | None | Lamictal saved my life. Period! It took me 2 years to find something that would stabilize my moods. Lamictal did the trick. I take 200 mg twice daily and have been doing so for the last 2.5 years now. I did need something for a good night's sleep though. After 2 years, Zopiclone and Temazepam no longer worked. Now I'll be trying small doses of Seroquel at bedtime for a good night's sleep. | M | 42 | 2.5 years | 12/2/2005 | 5 | Partial Complex Seizures | I feel as though my memory has drastically decreased since I started taking Lamictal, but the two maaaay be unrelated. | I lost about 60lbs in the few months after taking the drug, although it was likely more related to an unrelated period of depression... Still, I cant argue with the results. As long as I keep sleeping I havent had any sorta problems :) | M | 20 | 4 years | 1/17/2006 | 5 | Bi-polar | Frequent urination and urinary urgency. | M | 35 | 8 months | 5/2/2006 | 5 | BIPOLAR 2 | NONE | WONDERFULL.......SO To all who diagnosed bipolar 2 in all over the WORLD: I rimind this great statement of Shekspire " HE WHO HEZITATE IS LOST." FOR ME only ' NEW BORN AT 51 Y/O ' AMAZING. LAMICTAL SURPRISED ME. | M | 51 | 20 days | 9/1/2005 | 5 | BIPOLAR II | not at all | LAMICTAL WORKS WELL FOR ME. I CAN NOT BELIEVE ITs EFFECT. I WAS SEARCHING FOR TREATMENT FROM 30 YEARS AGO AND FINALLY FIND IT??? YES MY MISSED REMEDY WAS LAMICTAL. I AM NOW 51 Y/O MAN AND THINKING WITH SAD " Why not from early childhood?" MY PERSONALITY CHANGED. VERY GOOD. VERY INTERESTING. THANKS GOD. now I wish to visit the personel of the MANUFACTURING FACTORY OF LAMICTAL TO KISS THEIR HANDS. Im GLAD FINDING LAMICTAL. AND I AM SURE I LIVE IN COMING YEARS. BUT WHAT WAS LIFE IN 51 YEARS WENT WITHOUT HAPPINESS???? | M | 51 | | 9/11/2005 | 5 | Depression | None | I have been depressed almost all my life. I finally admitted it to myself and that it wasn't normal (you'd think I could have figured that out before now - I'm 46, but there you are). The only way I can describe it is being like a "walking wound" and having a "glass is half empty" attitude. I'd been on Zoloft and was still on Wellbutrin when I started this (and still am) but they didn't seem to do a lot. Wellbutrin helped some with energy but that was it. I talked to my therapist and he said he thought I might be bipolar. I am NOT manic in that I don't have "highs" only constant low and then periods of DEEP lows. He explained that there is a type of bipolar like that, but I had no idea. Frankly, I don't care what I am labeled. Anyway, I went to a psychiatrist to be eval'd for a med and she put me on Lamictal. It has been wonderful! I am not "happy" per se but I also am not stuck with that "walking wound" feeling. I can handl | M | 46 | 30 days | 6/23/2006 | 5 | Bipolar II Disorder | Some bad, vivid dreams, but nothing I can't deal with compared to the awesome effect it has had for my mental health. | I have been mentally ill for as long as I can remember. My family doctor diagnosed me with depression. For several years, I was on every single kind of typical anti-depressant that is made. I was severly debilitated because of this illness. I then decided it was time to go to a psychiatrist. My psychiatrist just thought that I was depressed and continued my 300 mg of Effexor that my family doctor had lastly prescribed. Effexor is a horribly evil drug and I recommend that no one take it. Anyways I realized that this psychiatrist was useless and I decided to go to psychologist and get some psychological testing. This psychologist was kind of ignorant and didn't do the right testing on me. So his conclusion was guess what "major depression". He recommended that I go see this new psychiatrist and within about 5 minutes this amazing psychatrist determined that I had bipolar II disorder and put me on Lamictal 400 mg a day. I have been %100000 better since getting my dose | M | 28 | 6 months | 9/14/2006 | 5 | Bipolar | Memory loss, shaking in the hands,tiredness, personality change-much more mellow and lack of overrall interest in anything. | Completely took away the highs and lows, especially anger, but stress can still set me off but no where near the anger levels | M | 55 | 1 years | 1/18/2006 | 5 | Epilepsy | Headache, rash in the neck area, night sweating, absent feeling at times, sometimes waking up many times after falling asleep, difficulties with learning and concentration, muscle weakness & numbness, tiredness. | In overall a great and effective drug compared to previous "old school" drugs. Side effects are a bit annoying but I don't know if lamictal or valproate causes them. Daily dosage: Lamictal 200 mg + Valproate 800 mg. | M | 35 | 7 years | 1/19/2006 | 5 | Epilepsy | Occasionally after drinking larger amounts of caffeine or getting little sleep the effects of the drug are weakened, but I suppose that's natural. Have had some nervous ticks/twitches in recent years, but I'm not sure if that began after taking lamictal or before. At times it's hard to concentrate. Acne was quite exacerbated when I began the drug and lasted for a year or two, but it has subsided considerably since then. | I was diagnosed with Grey Matter Displacia also in April 2001. I started taking tegretol and carbotrol and they were horrible for me. I started taking lamictal after just a few weeks and experienced a great deal of short term memory loss, but that very well could have been the tegretol. Overall I am very pleased with the drug. As long as I take care of myself (get enough sleep and don't drink too much caffeine, and I never have drunk alcohol) I basically do fine. I take 150mg/2xd. | M | 22 | 5 years | 1/25/2006 | 5 | Bipolar 2 depress, racing thoughts | Itchiness on face and neck every time I titrate up; benign rash which I fixed by switching to electric shave instead of wet shave. | I escalated EXTREMELY slowly as I knew this had the power to save me and I didn't want to fuck up my chances with getting the rash. Cured my depression. Generics are cheap where I come from (God Bless India!) Suggest making trips here and importing supply (until expiration date) back into US. Sells as Lametec here. | M | 30 | 8 months | 3/31/2006 | 5 | Bipolar II | A little worse acne, I think I had some memory loss for the first few months, but seem better now. (Memory is hard to self-access.) 400 mg gave me BAD itching (I would take 200 mg before bed and itch miserably an hour later.) 300 mg has few side effects now. | This drug is amazing! I started feeling better around 125mg. The only bad thing is that the effectiveness would "wear off" after a week or so at each higher level. Finally, 300 mg seems to do a good job consistently for me. (I have been at 300 for 6 months.) Lamictal seems to help mostly with my lowest-lows and my agitation. I am taking Provigil as needed to help a bit with the remaining depression. | M | 44 | 9 months | 9/23/2005 | 5 | seizures | acne, tired, insomnia, vivid nightmares, ataxia, depression | lamictal is my fifth medication, haven't had a seizure for a year. The most annoying side effects are the insomnia and nightmares which seem to be worse on lamictal than my previous prescriptions (tegretol, dilantin, trileptal, keppra). acne has gone down, hopefully i can get more than three hours of sleep a night. Any suggestions? | M | 19 | 8 months | 4/11/2006 | 5 | Seizures from Brain Tumor | I've been taking it so long I don't know what's a side effect of the medicine, and what's a side effect of getting older. But these are some of the negative symptoms I feel are caused from Lamictal: -Horrible nightmares (about 5 per week) -Frequent muscle cramps and backache -Poor short term memory | I take 400mg oer day to prevent seizures caused by a brain tumor which was removed about 12 years ago. After a few years of taking the medicine I went to the doctor to try and see if I could stop taking it. I started to taper off the dosage and all of the sudden I would get these periods of about a minute where I couldn't talk. I would be find otherwise but just could not get any words out. It was very akward, especially at work, or mid conversation with someone. Anyway we upped the dosage and I have been fine ever since. The nightmares I get are horrible though, and I think it's from the medicine. | M | 31 | 10 years | 1/5/2007 | 5 | Bipolar Type II | Difficulty finding the right word, articulation issues (losing the thread in the middle of speaking, etc.). Short term memory loss, blurred vision (at times), more frequent urination. | Tremendously helpful controlling frequency and severity of mood swings, especially depression. I was misdiagnosed with depression for twenty years because I did not have classic mania. Lamictal has allowed me to have a better relationship with my wife and children, as I no longer have the explosive rages and uncontrollable anger and irritation I had with severe mood swings. The suicidal thoughts and self loathing I have experienced all my life are now less frequent and of shorter duration. To help yourself keep a daily mood log--this will help you rate the effects of the drug over the long term--mine is in horizontal bar graph form, with normal in the middle, ranging from severely depressed to severely elevated on each end. This gives me an instant visual baseline for comparison over time. The degree and severity of your cycling are immediately apparent at just a glance, as is your progress over time. | M | 49 | 2 years | 1/5/2007 | 5 | seizure | My son has had no side effects at all taking Lamictal. This is the first drug prescribed to him by his doctor, and he doesn't take any other medications. | He had a seizure in May of 2005. He had an MRI and was diagnoised with Grey Matter Displacia. The doctor said this was probably the cause of the seizure and this was a condition he probably had since birth. He started out on a dose of 25 mg. and is now taking 100mg. twice a day. We have not noticed any changes in his learning, sleeping, or memory. He is an A student and also participates in Marching Band. His doctor said there is a good chance he will outgrow the seizures and could be off the Lamictal by the time he is in his early 20's. He has had no reoccurring seizures since the orignial one in May. | M | 16 | 6 months | 11/21/2005 | 5 | Bi-Polar II | The big one is the zoned out feeling, can't find my words, slight stuttering, headaches, dizziness, mood swings increased acne, increased libido. | This is my first medication. All the side effects leveled off around 5-6 months. It was really tough to come on. I got bad headaches each time the dosage increased. I got violent mood swings that would change multiple times a day. I felt really crazy for a few weeks. I would get completely depressed, happy, angry all within a few hours and with the littlest reason. I would recommend that you have a good support system in place as you work up to the appropriate dosage. Unlike others, I actually got a huge sex drive boost, which while it sounds good, was difficult to manage and quite frustrating for my significant other as well as myself. Having said all that, the results are amazing. I feel so much more in control of my life and my emotions now. I can think clearly and get through my day better. I can experience emotions without letting them ruin my life. I can feel depressed and still manage my life and my job. | M | 31 | 7 months | 3/4/2007 | 5 | Bipolar II | No Side Effects | This medication gave me my life back! I have tried every psych med (literally) and this is the one for me. It can pull me out of a depression within days. I can't recommend this drug enough. | M | 38 | 6 years | 2/11/2007 | 5 | Partial complex seizures | First year Great energy boost, sleeping problems (stay awake all night sometimes),slight dizziness. After 5 years blurred vision,body twitching,itching,short term memory loss,rash at times on chest,clumsiness,increase of urination at night and now I have no problems sleeping. I have problems getting out of bed. Too lazy at times,loss of sexual drive. | No seizures !My life changed alot after taking lamictal the first 6 months. I used too take dilantin and was fighting a drinking problem which caused depression problems. After the 6 months I felt good and had lots of energy. No seizures just feeling good. My drinking problems gone away and I felt good about myself.I didn't need drinking to feel good. At one time before i was taking dilantin and was working in a factory and always was asked to be a foreman but I never accept. ( too many Problems I thought). Now with lamictal I feel i could run the whole factory myself.Long term I believe after feeling great my body has gotten used to lamictal that I sometimes think I don't need it.But,deep inside I know I would never want to stop taking lamictal. Even with the problem with side affects I would recommend using Lamictal. | M | 39 | 5 years | 12/14/2006 | 5 | Bipolar I | Tremor; headache only once, on the third day of treatment; nausea only once, in the first week. I develop a tremor more easily while on Lamictal-- mainly after drinking caffeine drinks, which I tend to drink a lot of. Minor-to-medium-severity rash began on 50 mg/day (thought it was probably poison ivy at that point); I went to 100 mg. I titrated on the exact schedule laid out by the Lamictal starter pack. Then I went to 150 mg and I was sure I had a Lamictal-caused rash. My psychiatrist wasn't terribly alarmed about the rash. Neither was I--I wanted to keep taking Lamictal. He said it was a common "drug rash" that can be caused by a number of drugs. I dropped dose from 150 mg to 100 mg for about three weeks. Rash went away. Went back to 150 mg for a couple weeks; no more rash except maybe some itching late in the evening. I've been on 200 mg for 1-1/2 weeks. A little more tremor now, as I said earlier. | As others have said, Lamictal is amazing. I had been getting approx. a week of depression each month before Lamictal. I've been on Lamictal 3 months and the depression has lessened each month. I haven't been depressed in 2 months or so. For me, that's a very big deal. I've had depression at least since age 16. My other meds are Lithium (been taking it 20 years), Wellbutrin XL (been on Wellbutrin for a total of 10 years of so), Lexapro/Celexa (4-5 years). This is probably the first time I've gone this long without depression, unless I was hypomanic/manic, in 15-20 years. Lamictal is almost totally "transparent" for me; in other words, it feels like nothing else has changed (aside from the few side effects) other than this: NO MORE DEPRESSION! Yeeehaa. From what I've seen and read, when this drug works well, it works well reliably for years. That's reassuring too. | M | 3 months | 10/22/2005 | 5 | Bipolar 2 | At first I ramped up as I was told to, which turned out to be too fast for my system. As a result I had a significant rash and very swollen lymph nodes. I went off of it for 2 weeks, then back on DOUBLING the ramp up time. This was a long period of feeling unwell, but now I am alright, no rash or lymph node problems | The trick to avoiding side effects is a VERY slow ramp up. It is otherwise a great medication. I am on 150 MG/day because I am very thin and the Dr. says I tend to respond to lower doses than most of his other patients. He has it broken down into 75 MG AM and 75 MG PM. I also take Seroquel at night. Don't get discouraged...it takes time but it really did wonders for me once I reached the "therapeutic dose" which varies by patient. | M | 30 | 9 months | 10/13/2007 |