LAMICTAL Reviews (LAMOTRIGINE)Average Rating: 3.4 (1917 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare LAMICTAL with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
|
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 | Bi-Polar / Depression | I had not noticed any side effects that were really strong, just mild. Include weight gain, nightmares, forgetfullness - I am not totally convinced these effects are from the Lamictal though.. It might be the Ambien CR.. The Lamicatal (and the Ambien for that matter)are very expensive as my insurance will not pay for it... I am willing to make some sacrafices each month to pay for it though. | I honestly think this med has helped me. I have tried them all (SSRI's) over the years. I also suffer from migraines and this seems to have helped with those as well. I still get angry quickly over silly stuff. I think though this has mellowed me out some (I am very manic /hyper). I would like to try something in addition to help my mood swings.. talking to my dr next week. | F | 37 | 9 months | 6/22/2008 | 4 | Epilepsy | My memory has pretty much gone down the drain. Most of the time I'll hear or see what's going on but I won't absorb the information so within a few seconds or minutes I always have to ask for something to be repeated. I constantly forget how to spell words and it's really difficult for me to write well because I can't put into words what I want to say. I can't remember peoples' names alot of the time that I've known for years, I forget some memories from my childhood, and taking a test is pretty much an Olympic sport for me. Also, I don't know if it's related but since I started taking Lamictal it's been impossible to get my skin to be perfectly clear. | Lamictal helped with my complex partial seizures and I've been completely clear of any bad ones for 8 months. I didn't suffer any major side effects, only memory loss, but for me that has been the most frusterating-if you explain to people they are usually understanding of the issue and often find ways to aid you. School is a constant struggle for me and I'm sorry to everybody who suffers from these or worst side effects. I guess the memory loss out weighs the seizures but it still makes life more interesting than I'd like. If you have any advice I'd love to hear it. | F | 18 | 2.5 years | 6/30/2008 | 4 | bipolar II | I do have coordination problems that I never had before, which is discouraging. And, my libido has been too low | I have suffered from some kind of mood disorder all my life, but could not sift through the unique combination of symptoms, and the fact that the manic side was more rapid cycling hypomania than anything more severe. I started on Zoloft at the age of 40, and it changed my world... the veil of sorrow and inferiority lifted! Amazing. BUT, it kicked me into the first full manic episode I ever had. Had to come off the Zoloft, and missed it for so long. Eventually, I went on Lamictal, after it became clear that I had the highs and lows.... though far more lows than highs. Lamictal has established both a ceiling for any manic tendencies, and a floor for depression, below which I do not seem to fall. I am pleased with that. I am not stuck in my bed crying and dysfunctional. Nor am I embarrassing myself barking and over-reacting in business meetings... I'm back on Zoloft again, after trying another antidepressant for a long time, trying to make it work, and just not feeling good enough. | F | 51 | 8 years | 5/5/2008 | 4 | bipolar | None that I can trace to Lamictal, but dr. also put me on Buspar for anxiety and it caused dizziness/clumsiness/hair loss/memory problems, so I stopped taking it. Dr. now wants me to try Klonipin for anxiety. | I had depressed/suicidal and "up"/confident periods for 35 yrs. Son was diagnosed w/ bipolar disorder last year and learning about it made me see that my problem wasn't just depression. I always thought that my depression was a character flaw that I should've been able to overcome alone and God knows that I tried everything to get over it. My manic periods were not dancing-on-the-table euphoria, just a sense of normalcy and feeling capable of living, but knowing that a "down" would follow. Lamictal changed my life and I felt like the pills were my best friend; this extremely happy feeling (probably mania) only lasted about a month and my only worry then was that it wouldn't last, which it didn't. Because I'm impatient, I've experimented w/ doses (up & down) and am now on 100 mg but dr. wants me to ramp back up because I'm feeling depressed some days. My doctor keeps mentioning 400 mg as a goal even though I am thin; he says that a higher dose should not c | F | 50 | 5 months | 1/28/2009 | 4 | Possibly Bi-Polar II | Slight heart burn, Extreme heart burn when drinking alcohol (which has made me cut back on drinking; a blessing in disquise I guess). | Its not certain yet whether or not I suffer from bi-polar II disorder, but my Dr decided to treat me with Lamictal to see if it helped my sever depression/anxiety. I delayed treatment even though I was severly depressed for a long period of time becuase of my past experiences with anti-depressants/anxiety medication. I have taken Zoloft, Zeprexa, Klonapin, and Cymbalta in the past (when I was 17 - 18 years old). Even though I didn't take the Cymbalta long enough to let it work, the other medications worsened my depression to an extreme point where I wasn't myself at all. It even landed me in jail (I was so drugged out on the dose my doctor was giving me at the time, I didn't even remember what I did, or that I was even in jail). I totally don't trust any Doctor to prescribe these types of anti-depressant and anti anxiety medications because I feel that they don't monitor their patients well enough, and get happy with the prescription pad. Even though I initially sought help with t | F | 23 | 39 days | 2/28/2009 | 4 | Hypo-Manic (Bi Polar) | At first, massive weight loss (medication killed appetite, made me feel sck) I lost about 25 pounds in 2 months. Since then, RAPID weight gain - Up about 45 pounds total. Has helped, makes me tired (Have been from 25mg to 200mg, now at 100mg) So that may have to do with weight gain. | I feel very spacy, I am also treated for ADHD though. I loved it at first, now it's almost love hate. No symptoms, but no sex drive, no appetitte but weight gain do to constant fatigue. | F | 22 | 2 years | 3/1/2009 | 4 | Depression, Anxiety & OCD | Hair loss, mild insomnia | I could have stayed on this drug except for the hair loss... I am so frustrated about it because for me, Lamictal was wonderful. All the static in my brain relaxed, I was able to think clearly, I felt more positive about my life... None of the other medications I have been on ever did this. However. The hair loss became so bad that the anxiety about my hair made it impossible to continue. Really unfortunate. However, I would highly recommend this drug. It worked SO WELL for me. It's my issue that I can't deal with the hair loss and it might not happen to you. | F | 41 | 2 years | 3/19/2009 | 4 | Epilepsy | Short term memory problems--someone will give me directions to follow and as soon as I walk away, I have to go get the directions again. Increased sweating at night. Migraines (at a lower level 75mg, doctor put me on 4 different migraine medicines and they messed me up bad, so I self medicated and bumped the dose up to 150mg and have been migraine free). Constant need to shake my leg when sitting down. Frequent ear problems (same thing other poster posted about it feeling almost like swimmer's ear where you can hear your voice in your head before your ears pop). Every day about 4:30 for some reason I start getting really shaky--not sure if this is blood sugar or what. | This medicine has pretty much cleared up my seizures. I do have memory problems, but from what I was told by the doctor, this medicine causes the least memory problems of all seizure meds. The other side effects are minimal and hardly noticed. I love this medicine and would recommend it to anyone. Also, I was on the pregnancy registry cause I've had two babies, and recently it was reported in their findings that this drug is safe to take during pregnancy. I had no complications with my babies because of this medicine. I know not many people on here say that they would continue this medicine, but you just have to keep in mind that every medicine--no matter what it is--some people are going to tolerate it well, and some people are not. You just have to find what works for you. Don't take this website as all negative, because people who are not having problems with this medicine generally are not going to be getting on a site like this. Only those individuals who are having prob | F | 26 | 5 years | 3/13/2009 | 4 | BiPolarII-Depression-Anxiety | mixing up words, starting to say the wrong word and having to correct myself, dizzyness when I stand up, balance/coordination off | Though I still have the side effects, Lamictal was a miracle. After 13 years of being on every anti-depressant under the sun, it was decided that I might be BiPolar and try Lamictal. It's like I came out of a fog and could see clearly. He also put me on Seroquil to sleep/racing thoughts and I am STILL on Klonopin for the anxiety and Effexor for the depression, but the Lamictal has made all the difference. I'm just a little clumsy and sometimes have tounge twisters when there aren't any. | F | 31 | 4 months | 4/6/2009 | 4 | difficult to treat depression | weight gain, clumsiness, problems with word recall, blurred vision, drowsiness and morning grogginess, intermittent but severe insomnia, headaches, vivid dreams, hot flashes. | Overall, I am very happy with this medication. It was added to Effexor, which I had already been taking for about three years. I no longer over-react to change or uncomfortable situations, Im less emotional, less anxious. I've developed the ability to be cheerful. I no longer expect the worst. I have a little more motivation than I used to, and I'm comfortable trying new activities and being around people I don't know. My relationship has improved a great deal. Side effects: I gained about 18% of my body weight, after weighing the same for 25 years. I hate it. But I have cleavage for the first time in my life, so there's the silver lining. The headaches were awful for a while, but they have greatly improved. The insomnia can persist for weeks sometimes, but then it will go away for a while. I already had age-related far-sightedness developing, but it seemed to get a little worse overnight. When hiking or bouldering I've found I don't have the balance I used to, and I can get a little vertigo sometimes. And I'm definitely clumsy now - motor coordination not so good. (Oh, the coffee I've spilled...) Dreams continue, not so much insomnia now. Hot flashes have almost disappeared, but I'm left with an overall tendency to over-heat, where I used to be cold all the time. The word recall problem could just be due to getting older. | F | 45 | 18 months | 10/26/2009 | 4 | chronic depression with anxiety | short term memory loss, possibly some hair problems | has anyone experienced increased and more masculine hair growth on arms and side of face? | F | 70 | 3 years | 10/31/2009 | 4 | mood instability, seizures | constipation (Went away after a few weeks), sleepiness, dropping trains of thought | The poor side effects of this drug went away quickly for me, and I've been happy with it since then. Since it makes me sleepy, I take it near bedtime to counteract insomnia. I don't think I'm taking enough to actually affect seizure risk, but my mood is very even. | F | 27 | 6 months | 9/20/2009 | 4 | depression, mood stablizer | I am glad I thought to search this. I too have suddenly lost an enormous amount of hair in the last several months. I was placed on Lamictal in March, after losing my Mom to pancreatic cancer, losing my job, and getting divorce all within a matter of about 9 months. It has been increased several times. From 25mg morning and night, to 25mg morning and 50 night, and now 50 morning and 50 night. I noticed about two months ago (when it was last increased) that I was shedding A LOT! I now have a very noticable bald spot that I am having a hard time covering no matter how I style it. I am a 28 year old female with red hair...this is part of my physical identity! I think this could be the cause. I originally thought it may be post super stress reaction or caused by hormone levels being out of wack due to PCOS but my obgyn doens't think it's the PCOS. Just hope it's something that can be fixed and that my hair can grow back! | The lamictal greatly helped my mood, but for me, if it is causing my hair loss, I would rather be on something else and keep my hair. The hair loss is very embarrassing and making me overly self conscience | F | 28 | 6 months | 9/28/2009 | 4 | bipolar II | Acne! This drug gave me terrible acne, which is now sort of under control with clindamycin and tretnoin. I still constantly have at least one cystic zit on my face though. And I am 42 years old. Yuck. | Other than the acne, I have no complaints about this drug. I take 150 mga day, and it helps control the depression/mania cycling quite well in conjunction with 75mg of seroquel I take every day, along with 10 mg of Namenda twice a day. I took part in a lamictal/namenda clinical study (the hypothesis is that lamictal and namenda work synergistically with one and other) and I felt my entire quality of life improve. I live a completely normal life now, and I am *very* careful to take my meds every day to ensure that it stays that way! | F | 42 | 2 years | 9/30/2009 | 4 | JME (Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy) | "Wearing-off effect" in the evening when second half of dose is due. Possible "OCD" tendencies? Possible depression/anxiety? There are other factors in my life that could be causing those. | I was on Valproic Acid for 4 years after I got diagnosed which controlled my jerks & seizures just about perfectly, then I switched to Lamotrigine when I got married in case I get pregnant because it is safer for a baby. It does not control the jerks nearly as well. I have been on it for about 4 years now and it doesn't seem to be working as well anymore. I am getting more jerks and I am feeling the "wearing-off effect" on and off all day instead of just in the evening. | F | 27 | 4 years | 10/8/2009 | 4 | overwhelming feelings/ups & downs | First of all, I have to say after finding this forum, I am very relieved and thankful I am not alone. After 2 years of dealing with some major things happening in my life I finally decided to take an AD. My Dr prescribed Zoloft. After taking it for 2 months... nothing. I don't think it helped at all, but that's not what I needed. I had ups and downs, but I don't think I'm depressed, I'm just overwhelmed. Yes sometimes I get depressed and feel there's no hope, but the next day I'm cleaning the house and getting things done. It's been exhausting! I just started taking the generic Lamictal, but I'm so relieved to know how well it's working for everyone. I feel like I finally have hope. I will give an update after it's been a few weeks, but for now I feel like my prayers have been answered and I thank you all for sharing your experience! | F | 36 | 2 days | 8/23/2009 | 4 | Bipolar I | Anything over 200 mgs causes serious cognitive side effects for me. Higher analytical powers are intact but short term memory and basic common sense and comprehension go down the drain. | Excellent for me as a mood stabilizer. The best one. I give it a four- and not a five-star rating because over 200mgs daily caused me such cognitive distress that I failed a very important exam and lost a job partly because of it. I am still picking up the pieces. My psych. wouldn't believe me when I reported this side effect at 400 mgs/day. It is rare, but there. MORAL OF THE STORY: NEVER second-guess your own feelings about how your body is reacting to a drug simply because your doctor says a given side effect doesn't usually happen. I won't let anyone put me on more than 200 mgs of Lamictal again. Still have those bad memories. | F | 41 | 6 years | 7/3/2009 | 4 | bipolar 2 and PTSD | mild acne, troubles with memory (not sure how much is from the trauma alone), poor cordination when tired, social anxiety, waking up after only a few hours of sleep, pains in neck | I would recommend this medication. It has decreased my hypomania and rage, which SSRIs increased. Doesn't take away all sense of emotion as Lithium did. Still having moderate depression, but significately less suicidal episodes. On 150mgs and increasing to 200mgs. | F | 18 | | 9/7/2008 | 4 | Epilepsy | MY SCALP IS SO ITCHY!!! Also, memory problems and "spacing out". | So far, a month into it, I think my seizures are greatly decreased, so it's definitely worth it. My hairdresser gave me a special shampoo to use so my scalp doesn't feel like it's itchy and sunburned, and I think I can live with the spaced out feelings and slight memory issues. | F | 26 | 30 days | 8/14/2008 | 4 | After reading other comments, I now know why I'm losing hair! Other side effects: Hard to put my thoughts into words. Some stuttering-trying to remember the right word to use. Forgetfulness-big time! My husband gets frustrated with me over this but then he reminds himself that it's the medication. Blurred vision sometimes, not much of a problem. | I would have to say that the biggest issue with me is loss of memory and having trouble putting my thoughts into words. Forgetting what I'm talking about in mid-sentence. Also, the recent hair loss. BUT, My moods are more stable, I can handle stress a bit better. Overall, it has improved my life a great deal and will continue with it for now. | F | 37 | 10 months | 7/24/2008 |