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 |
| 4 | depression | Acne, joint pain in fingers, bruise more easily, weight gain, periods/PMS definitely worse. | I take 100mg Lamictal and 75mg Effexor daily. Nothing has ever worked as well as Prozac did for 3 years -- it then stopped working regardless of dose adjustment/combinations. But this combo has been pretty good; definite mood stabilization/elevation, and my thinking feels less scattered. Effexor on its own was never quite right. Unfortunately, the side effects suck. I'd finally been clear of acne for a while -- breaking out again definitely correlated with going on Lamictal, as did weight gain and PMS. The weight gain is minor. The joint pain, which I didn't see listed anywhere as a side effect til coming here and seeing that others have experienced it, freaks me out. I'm a writer/editor and type all day, and was afraid I was getting early onset arthritis or something. I've been using arnica gel 3-4x daily, which really helps. Pretty instant relief. I hate having to be on meds at all, but am glad to have found a combo that in the scheme of things doesn't have heinous side effects. | F | 34 | 4 months | 8/3/2005 | 4 | Depression, possible Bipolar 2 | Spaceyness, headaches at the beginning, rarely now, itchyness when I raised the dose, blurry vision at times, some fatigue maybe but thats part of my FM, too. Possible weight gain? Maybe 2 lbs, not normal for me, but OK. | I am really happy so far with this drug. I have had from moderate to severe depression since the agae of 13 and have tried almost all of the anti-dep drugs available, which helped for a short time, but then I would spiral domwards again ineveitably towards suicidal feelings. Ididnt know until recently what "hypomanic" meant, but I definitely have that cycle. My moods can swing dramatically a few times a day, and I always thought that was pretty normal(!) because I hadnt known anything else . I felt like I was being whipped around by my emotions like a rag doll at times, and now I am not experienceing that !! Its almost a weird feeling to not be so up and down, but its definitely better. I also take celexa, and pain meds for the FM. I am liking feeling more stable and the side effects I do have are well worth not feeling so unstable! I do miss my powerful good feelings, but its okay, because the lows were dangerous for me, and l | F | 46 | 6 weeks | 3/10/2007 | 4 | Depression | Can't get to sleep. | So far, I have way more energy than I did before taking Lamictal. But the not getting to sleep is killing me. I sleep about 10 hrs a night on the weekends so I can catch up. | F | 39 | 45 days | 3/21/2007 | 4 | Bipolar II | None so far - started at 25mg, gradual build to 150mg over 4 months. | I've been lucky to not have the horrible side effects others here have described (touch wood!). No cystic acne, no weight gain. My dreams have always been vivid, so not sure if that's any change. I have thought that I've lost the words thing - I used to write but now I paint, so words are not needed. I'm hoping that the words will come back. Life is going through some upheavals at the moment, so my sleep is disturbed again - had about a month of decent sleep - bliss! But now I feel tired and it's hard to get out of bed. Though that could be due to a mood dip that I'm going through at the moment. I do think the drug has helped stablise me, but think there's still some tweaking to be done. | F | 40 | 7 months | 4/17/2007 | 4 | Depression/ Bi-polar | Extreme weight loss (40 pounds!) Slight dizziness, lightheaded when going from sitting to standing, mildy "ditziness". | While I believe Lamictal has really helped get my depression and mood swings to almost disappear, I have noticed that I am very different that I used to be. I am not as creative or fun, I now downright boring! I'm so content with just spacing out and ignoring everything. Nothing bothers me. Even things that should bother me! | F | 27 | 1 years | 10/16/2007 | 4 | Bipolar | Maybe a bit more tired during the day, initially. Some very vivid, disturbing dreams and night sweats but that could be meno. Side effects diminished after a few weeks. | Been on all the usual suspects...this works best for me. Clears my thinking and memory, evens mood, no deep depressions, increased energy. (Lithium turned me into a zombie.) Anti-depression meds had unreliable or zero results, Wellbutrin made me manic... Took Lamictal for 18 months, went off it & went down the hole. :( Recently resumed, already feeling MUCH better. | F | 47 | 2 years | 7/2/2005 | 4 | BIPOLAR 1 MIXED EPISODES | I'M ON 450 MG INSOMNIA--BAD, NO APPETITE I WENT FROM 180 TO 154 IN 1 1/2 MONTHS...TREMOR IN HANDS IN AM...THATS ABOUT IT..MAYBE SINUS PROBLEMS, BUT HAVE SINUS INFECTION AT THE MOMENT | IT SEEMS OK, BUT I'VE ONLY BEEN ON IT FOR A SHORT TIME, ABOUT 2 WEEKS | F | 29 | 2 weeks | 10/29/2005 | 4 | Epilepsy | Peyton has experienced eye twitching, horrible mood swings-violent even, head aches, bruising easily, periods of abnormal sleep patterns-especially transient insomnia, I think she is having short term memory lapses and difficulty in staying focused at times. This child has never had severe mood swings until after having the first seizure and placed on antiepileptic meds. Peyton gets so irrate that there is no calming her down, she just needs to exhaust herself. She screams and cries over the littlest thing. She is so violent that she uppercuts the 2 year old and throws her to the ground. She doesn't hesitate to hit whoever...but more often than not, she just destroys things. She rips wall paper off of the walls, breaks toys, pours stuff on the carpets, digs holes into the leather furniture....just for starters. She is even starting to wear out her welcome at the grandparent's house. The last visit she broke their bedroom door while having one of her 'episodes'. | We were switched from Tegretol about a year and a half ago because of violent mood swings continued seizures, and a horrible weight gain. I have recently noticed that she is slimming down. I think that the Lamictal is effective for her seizures. We have never had rashes...knock on wood. She has had a tough time getting to a therapeutic level though, as she was just increased to 200mg twice daily. From what I have read, that is a pretty high dose. I am very concerned that my continued complaint about the mood swings is just poo-pooed by the neurologist. | F | 5 | 1 years | 11/1/2005 | 4 | Hypomania | Itchy on my arms but no rash; maybe my drowsiness while driving is related, not sure. I also have been experiencing more frequent hot flashes. I didn't realize that hot flashes could be a side effect of this drug. | I really noticed a huge difference in my moods and thought patterns. I can think clearer and stay focussed longer; less distractable. I really am glad I "found" this medicine. My son, who has Bi Polar II, has just started taking it and is noticing positive effects. | F | 53 | 1 months | 10/14/2005 | 4 | bipolar | At first I had no side effects but then my dose was increased to 200 mg. Now I have insomnia, headaches and HORRIBLE night sweats. Also I've noticed an increase in body odor but that is probably caused by the sweating. The side effects suck but I'm going to continue taking it because my mood is finally stabilized. | F | 26 | 6 months | 7/6/2006 | 4 | Bipolar | Difficulty remembering words, and getting my idea across; short term memory problems; insomnia (the above two maybe caused by this); consistent hair thinning over the years. Have 1/3 hair left; terrible night sweats (in fact this is what made me searching about the rest of the side effects) *** Until recently I attributed these side effects to different things, but now that I started searching, it seems to fit. *** I went to dermatologist about hair thinnning, had blood tests, but everything was normal. Until now I was thinking it was genetic. *** No matter how many relaxation techniques I tried, consistent therapy and mood improvement, insomnia is persistent. | I have been taking Lamictal for 3 years. It kepts me really stable, so I have been pleased with its effectiveness on my bipolar disorder. But the side effects are making me think about quitting. To me it maybe worth it to try living without it in order to get rid of the side effects (especially insomnia and hair thinning - as they cause significant mental distress) | F | 26 | 3 years | 12/5/2006 | 4 | bipolar 2 - hypomania | REALLY runny nose, sinus headache, a little spacey | Only day 3 on 25 mgs, but feeling much more "even" and calm. Very optomistic that this drug will be of long term help and encourage folks to ask their doctor about it. This is my first and only medication besides 10 mgs Ambien every night, and I even feel confident that maybe I can quit that soon :) | F | 30 | 3 days | 4/16/2006 | 4 | Bi-Polar II | Major night sweats. Problems with articulating thoughts... | While this drug has definitely helped even out my moods... I have finally realized that others are having the same problem with thought process. I was always a very articulate person - and for the past year or so I have turned into a bit of a babbling fool... I came to this site to see if there were others feeling the same way and see that is the case. Even though it has really helped with the mood swings... I think I may ask to be taken off of it so I can form sentences again. | F | 35 | 1 years | 2/17/2006 | 4 | bipolar depression | nothing too disruptive, possibly more frequent night urination and feeling a little "flat" and my PMS may be worse. | 4/14/06 - I was taking this med last year but increased the dosage to 100mg too fast and got a questionable rash so I quit taking it. I started getting depressed again this year but I can't seem to take any other antidepressants because they make me too manic and the Lamictal has helped bring me up from my depressive tendencies without causing mania. In fact I think it also has a calming effect. I am highly sensitive to meds so my doctor has been increasing the dosage VERY slowly and after two months I'm just now up to 50mg. My current cocktail is Depakote/Geodon/Lamictal which seems to be working better than anything else I've tried in the past year and a half. My doctor plans to wean me off the Geodon once I'm stable on the Lamictal. | F | 33 | 2 months | 4/14/2006 | 4 | depression, possibly bi-polar | I'm on both Cymbalta and Lamictal. When I started the Lamictal, I started having the following side-effects. Excessive sweating is the worst. It seems to hit me worst a couple of hours after taking my dose. I get drenched; it's rather embarrassing to be soaking wet when everyone else is dry. Along with the sweating, I'm more heat-sensitive and I get more of the migraines that I sometimes get working outside in the heat. It is also harder to think of words. I am often hoarse or have a sore throat. I have gained alot of weight in my years of treatment, so I pretty much think that all of the medications have that effect on me. I also have gas problems. I was prescribed a steroid suppository to shrink hemorroids. I took two of them, and I found myself in an angry, depressed mood. It appeared to counteract my Cymbalta and Lamictal. | My mood improved, but I don't like the side-effects. I can't remember how long I have taken it though - 2 years maybe. Several months ago, the doctor tried to add a Geodon to my regiment. I took it for abouttwo days, I think. I almost fell asleep talking to someone in my office!! | F | 40 | | 10/12/2008 | 4 | Seizures | Started taking Fall 06 and so far I have experienced none of the side effects listed (who knows, maybe later--if there are any severe ones to any drug, I am about 7 out of ten times likely to suffer, we will see what the future holds..) | I would recommend to try it if you do not have any serious medical problems that could aggravate the possible side effects of this drug. I am usually hesitant about taking anything new to my system as I have had nothing but bad luck with other types of meds that treat other things that are going on or have gone on w/ my body. | F | 34 | 7 months | 4/19/2007 | 4 | unstable mood +psychotic features | Assumed there were none | Was taking effexor, tegretol and neuroleptic zyprexa (replaced with risperdal)but was nevertheless harming myself and regularly overdosing with suicidal intent. Lamictin stopped the overdosing and helped with self-harming. After a breadown the lamictin was raised from about 50mg to 300mg. Most of my other medicine was tripled as well. After a year I almost had to give up studying: I was no longer interested in reading, and it would take hours to write a single sentence. Also I was feeling as though I was stoned. Reducing the lamictin to 200mg made a HUGE difference. Im reading again and able to continue with my degree. Im still not sure exactly which faculties were interfered with as in conversation I am very much the same. The foggy feeling has gone; I am more energetic and focused. I am not so dependant on stimulants. I have my work under control and am able to UNDERSTAND things again.Wish I knew exactly what was compromised and how... | F | 28 | 5 years | 3/15/2007 | 4 | Grand Mal Seizures | Memoryloss, confusion, insomnia, trouble with speach at times but I don't have anymore seizures so the pro outweights the cons. | F | 28 | 14 years | 1/31/2007 | 4 | manic depression | none | I had increased clarity from taking lamictal. This may be due to the fact that I had not been previously diagnosed bi polar, just as having severe depression, and thus I was, in addition to taking lexapro, self-medicating by smoking a lot of weed. Regardless, I have been able to accomplish things that at one time were impossible because my thoughts were too disorganized. Furthermore, I needed to smoke weed just to exist. I no longer need it, which is awesome, but unfortunately I can't even smoke if I wanted to- increases anxiety. | F | 23 | 4 months | 1/31/2007 | 4 | Bipolar II | tiny burn marks on my arms and legs (looks like someone bumped me lightly with a cigerette); itcy dry skin; bad acne; - most happened when doc told me to increase from 50mg to 100mg in one day!! Still these things happen, but not as often or as bad. | It gave me my life back. It saved me from loosing my business due to sleeping 15 hours a day when on depakote. I feel pretty darn normal. Having some type of rash/reactions at times, but this stuff is just worth the risks. I think I'd rather die that go back to the depression and feeling like a zombie like I did before. | F | 34 | 1 months | 1/9/2007 |