LAMICTAL Reviews (LAMOTRIGINE)Average Rating: 3.4 (1917 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare LAMICTAL with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Gender with females listed first (reviews with no gender reported listed before females). 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 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 |
More on LAMICTAL: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR LAMICTAL | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 5 | Migraine and aphasia | I didn't think I had any, but then I read this site and realized that I may have found the cause of my unexplained acne! | It's totally worth the acne. I am following a multi-part treament for my horrible migraine and mcs problems, and Lamictal has turned out to be a very important part of it. I started at 100mg per day and saw an improvement. My new doctor raised it (gradually) to 200mg, and now I really see a difference. I want to add to those exeperiencing rashes: my doctors were all very cautious about the rashes. I had to step up the dose of the drug very slowly, increasing 25mg at a time and staying at the new dose for at least a week and watching for symptoms. Perhaps starting at a very low dose and increasing slowly helps to prevent the rash. | F | 42 | 8 months | 9/8/2005 | 5 | bipolar | i have been losing alot of hair and wasn't realy sure why. it may be a side affect after reading other side effects that people have had. | i love lamictal. it has saved my life. i feel i would take it for the rest of my life. my mood has stabilized and now i have the right frame of mind to deal with the real issues in my life rather than the ones i used to make up due to my depression.the one thing that i have noticed is that my PMS is worse. i do feel down, but i just tell myself it will be over in a few days because i am able to reason with myself now and talk myself through the hard times. | F | 28 | 15 months | 9/8/2005 | 5 | bipolar disorder, severe depression | hot flashes and night sweats, irritability, several awakenings after falling asleep before I get to sleep, sinus congestion w/headache, dry mouth | Began at 25 mg - increased to 50 mg in 2 weeks and felt wonderful and energetic. At 5 weeks began 75 mg and became irritable and I was contributing greatly to global warming. Notified Dr. and dosage was increased to 100 mg - Became more aggressive w/increased night sweats, depression and morning crying jags. I was feeling hopeless again. I decreased dosage to 50 mg and a week later was feeling much better. The lower dosage works better for me and I'm willing to tolerate side effects that I consider minor when compared to depression and suicidal thoughts. I'm also taking Neurontin 2400 mg daily (great for lessening pain, helping w/sleep, rage and anxiety), Prozac 10 mg daily (works well for the depression). I should also mention I'm also being treated for PTSD. | F | 56 | 10 weeks | 9/10/2005 | 5 | Epilepsy | Hair Loss, Night Sweats, Major Insomnia, Interfered with My Birth Control (unable to take it now). | Lamictal has been a godsend. It works great for me, I don't have seizures except on a RARE occasion, when I don't sleep for a week or two. Sleep deprivation will bring on a seizure for me but as long as I follow the rules I don't have any problems. This is the first drug that I like to take and the side effects aren't bad at all. | F | 34 | 4 years | 8/27/2005 | 5 | Bipolar II with mixed states | Absolutely None! | I started taking this med about 8 months ago when we tried to decrease (and maybe stop) my Seroquel dose (due to the weight gain). The plan was have me on just Lamictal and Topamax. That project failed, oh well, but during that time, my mood really leveled out nicely, and we left it. A subsequent depression really allowed the Lamictal to do its thing. WOW! My doc bumped it up, and literally within a few days I was feeling better. This stuff is great. I'm up to 200 mg twice a day, along with my Seroquel and Topamax, and things are very stable. Life is pretty good. | F | 42 | 3 years | 9/13/2005 | 5 | Bipolar II rapid cycling | I have made it to 100mg after 5 weeks -for newly diagnosed Bipolar II. No major side effects except alittle foggy-ness in my head. Didn't last long. I do not cry so easy. | Since I was just diagnosed BP II, I have nothing else to compare it too. I took many SSRI's over the past years for depression that worked for awhile and then would "poop-out" on me. I think they also caused rapid cycling with my moods. I felt so empty and numb and depressed- for no reason! Now I feel so much better on the lamctal-almost normal! Pls. e-mail me to share your BP II experiences....Like I said I am new to the BP II thing and would love to hear how others are doing!!!!!! Anything you have to share would be much appreicated! THANKS! | F | 47 | 5 weeks | 6/10/2006 | 5 | bi-polar depression | Sometimes I have a difficult time finding the right words in conversation, I'm a bit more clumsy, and I have a slight tremor in my hands when I've done a lot of work with them. | This drug is wonderful. After a life time of depression with no anti-depressant giving me much relief, I found a new pdoc who diagnosed me with BP because of my mood swings. Almost immediately I felt the heavy cloud lifting and I felt a peace inside of me. I actually began to feel "happy", and that had been a very rare and far between feeling. This is the best thing ever. (400 mg Lamictal, 300 mg Wellbutrin, 75 mg Effexor) | F | 44 | 18 months | 6/12/2006 | 5 | Seizures | With every does raise, I suffer headaches, achiness, nervousness and alot of dizziness. Throughout treatment I get "the shakes". I'm very foggy-headed- my short-term memory is bad... But all of it worth it. I'm taking 600mg a day. | I owe alot to this drug. I started taking ot Sept of 1999 and haven't had a full-convulsant seizure since! I still have partals, but they aren't scarey and are fading, like alot of other things associated with my epilepsy. I think a few more years of taking this, everything will be gone. I started having seizures Dec 1997. I owe my life to this drug and I hope that others experiance the same. I'm sorry if people have had bad experiances with it, but since I took it, I've gotten my life back. it will be 8 years this July since I've had a full seizure! | F | 24 | 7 years | 6/12/2006 | 5 | Partial Seizures | My daughter was clumsy the very first day she took it, but otherwise she has had no side effects. She is currently on 50 mg going to 75 as a final dose. | I started lamical last night for bipolar 2 and I am exhausted today (to the point of not moving, even after 10 straight hours of sleep last night) and was nauseous and sick this morning. I'm going to continue for a while before I ask for a switch, but I hope not to get sick anymore on it. | F | 3 | 5 weeks | 6/16/2006 | 5 | depression | When I started on the 25 mg dosage, I started sleeping very efficiently. It seemed that I went right into REM sleep and right out without any alpha or beta. I slept less and was wide awake and functional immidiately on waking. I didn't mind this effect at all. After I went up to 50 mg, this stopped. I felt very normal, like I haven't felt in years. It was definitely working. Today I went up to 100 mg, and shortly after I took it I became dizzy, nauseous, very depressed, clumsy. Wanted to hug myself and curl up into a ball. It's a few hours later, and I don't feel as bad, but I've been drinking water like crazy. I feel the way I feel when I'm severely dehydrated. | F | 44 | 29 days | 6/16/2006 | 5 | Bipolar II rapid cycling | Lamictal has helped a lot. I would have moments of I call it crawling out of my skin. In very peaceful environments and I would feel this way with no stimulation. They put me on Lithuim first and I hated it. But this has been an excellent mood stabilizer. I am happier sometimes irratible but I think its an adjustment thing. I have had some diarrhea dont know if thats normal or not. Nightmares.... man the nightmares. Trying it during the day now. I have trouble seeing when I drive at night due to this med. I think it blurs my vision some. Thirsty a lot. Drink lots of water. Not as hungry as on Li, Lithuim made you eat like you were starving all the time but this is very even. No weight loss to state of but I am hopeful. I am also on 300mg of Wellbutrin and it helps too but in the beginning the headaches were murder but they did go away after two weeks. A hot compress helped to cope with them and the rewards have been tremendous. Trouble with some cognitive but not lik | No rash thus far on 100mg Thank heaven above for the help we need! Good luck and God bless! | F | 32 | 6.5 weeks | 6/23/2006 | 5 | Bi Polar - Type I | I noticed getting sleepy about 2 hours or so after taking. The 'euphoric effect' happens for me about an hour after taking.I love the medication....I was scared to take it as it was my first medication after beng diagnosed. I heard all the rumors in college about people having to take more than one medication to 'fix' this disorder. Very happy about that. | F | 26 | 4 days | 6/23/2006 | 5 | Bipolar disorder | headaches, some memory loss, some trouble concentrating, general "foggy" feeling | I was diagnosed with Bipolar disorder 5 months ago, and I've been taking it since then. Currently I'm on 100 mg. It's been one of the best things that has happened to me. I was misdiagnosed with depression and I took an antidepressant, which was just awful. Now that I'm taking Lamictal, I'm feeling much better. I don't feel like curling up in a ball anymore, and my grades are no longer suffering. However, Lamictal is a treatment, not a cure. Generally, I feel MUCH better taking it, and it prevents severe episodes of depression and mania, but it does not cure bipolar disorder. Serious lifetime changes need to be made in order to get the disorder fully under control, including therapy and ways to manage stress. I still get some hypomania and some slight depression, but it's much easier for me to pull myself out of these moods, and I no longer get irritated or angry at the slightest things. I highly recommend it. The headaches have been a terrible side effect, but they are a lo | F | 19 | 5 months | 8/2/2006 | 5 | bipolar disorder | Trouble speaking when increasing doses but other than that, no side effects at all | Lamictal has helped me a great deal with my bipolar disorder. Unlike other drugs I've been on, I feel like a normal person with normal feelings and moods. I'm still able to get sad, angry and excited/happy, just not to the same extremes | F | 22 | 2.5 years | 8/8/2006 | 5 | Epilepsy | Dizziness and disorientation when blood levels are low. This only occurs when I forget to take doses. I don't have any of the other awful side effects of other epilepsy medications, such as sleepiness and stupidity (i.e., forgetting words and friends' names). However, I've experienced short and long term memory problems. I find it harder to read as well. | This epilepsy medication is better than any other that I've taken. The memory loss is discouraging sometimes, but when I weigh the positives and negatives, it's worth it. I haven't had a seizure in 6 years, and I have just learned to cope with the fact that I have to concentrate harder when I read. I would not recommend this drug to a college student, because the memory and reading effects can be very frustrating and stressful. However, it has been THE most successful drug for me at preventing seizures. | F | 26 | 6 years | 8/18/2006 | 5 | Grand Mal Seizures | memory loss, insomnia, hair loss (got a rash when I started taking it.) (My baby was born w/ one kidney...they do not know if it is due to Lamictal.) | Why am I giving it a 5? I have been on it for 9 years. I still have occasional seizures but I was seizure free for more than a year. Nothing seems to work for me. I was dignosed at 18..I have been on Tegretol,Depakote, Dilantin (Horrible) and now I am on Lamictal and zonegran. I am on 700mg (which is WAY above the max dose)of Lamictal (I weigh 130)and when I went through the ratings and no one is on nearly that much. The reason I decided to look up about some side effects that others were having was because of my memory loss. It has really got bad bad lately. So bad that my husband is saying you need to call the Dr. Then I started reading about the hair loss and insomnia. I didn't really think about Lamictal and that... Maybe I need to start looking into something else. But my body is very sensitive to skipping doses, not taking my morning med etc. If I miss a lunch dose I could have a seizure... It does work.... | F | 35 | 9 days | 1/3/2006 | 5 | "mood disorder" | Constipation... although also on Effexor XR so it may be from that or a combination of the two. It does make me drowsy so I take it at night. | I noticed a huge difference just after a few days. I'm being titrated up and am currently on 100mg and feeling good. | F | 28 | 1 months | 8/9/2006 | 5 | Bipolar & Depression | insomnia, joint pain got worse, occational night sweats, itching, worsend acne a lot, it spread to neck, chest and back. can't find words when I need them, can't do math in my head fast. evererthing is kinda blah now, can't feel even the good stuff as much. | I havent attempted suicide or had a manic episode since taking lamictal. guess its worth it to be alive! | F | 25 | 2.5 years | 1/13/2006 | 5 | Bipolar II | Trouble finding the right words, a little bit more clumsy, my hands sometimes get shakey, or feel shakey. I pee more frequently and I forget things more easily. A lot of people feel drowsy after they take it, while I feel adverse effects. I perk right up. | This medication has helped me a great deal. I feel like the edge has been taken off of life. It's wonderful, things are smoothed out. I'm not on this crazy rollercoaster anymore, but life is still real. I still cry, and I still laugh, I still get sad, and angry. But for the right reasons, instead of no reason at all. My mom also takes Lamictal (along with Zyprexa) for Bipolar I, and she loves it more than anything she's ever taken. | F | 18 | 6 months | 8/15/2006 | 5 | Bipolar 2 | Bad headache each time I had to titrate the dosage up. Other than that none. Maybe some fatigue, but I have been tired my whole life. | I was diagnosed with bipolar at age 48, after years of being misdiagnosed by tons of shrinks with "just" depression. The diagnosis was discovered when I was put on Wellbutrin during a severe depression. Without a mood stabilizer in place the Wellbutrin put me into a severe manic episode in which I was having both auditory and visual hallucinations and racing thoughts so powerful that I could not sleep- making it even worse. I agreed to take lamictal as my last resort to killing myself because with the other meds I tried I felt so drugged and zombie-like.Thank God I did not let the "deadly rash" scare me away from this drug! All I had for side effects were moderate headaches for 2-3 days every time the dosage was upped. NO OTHER SIDE EFFECTS! I stayed at 250 mgs for a long time. Then in Dec. 2010 I had breakthrough mania and mixed episodes with ultra-rapid cycling. All caused by being place on a beta-blocker for high blood pressure that gave me insomnia and anxiety so bad I hardly slept for 3 weeks. No sleep is a disaster for bipolars! So I just got upped today to 300 mgs (Jan. 2011). I will write later to say how the 300 mgs is working to control this terrible disorder that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. PLEASE e-mail if you have questions! Update 1.15: Been upped to 300 mgs and all hell is breaking loose! Can't sleep, totally manic, spent a ton of dough in last 2 days, | F | 54 | 5 years 300 mg 1X day | 1/11/2011 |