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 |
| 3 | Bipolar Disorder I or II | At first I was rapid cycling as they slowly increased the dose...irritability, anger, rage, exhaustion and crying within a few hours. Then it became like a placebo to me. No known side effects except for maybe increased energy day and night and a headache threatening to form sometimes a half to an hour before my nightly dose. | I was feeling terrible, sleeping depressed while on the low does as it was being vamped up, but I attribute that to Seroquel, which I came off of on my own and since then I've been in a manic insomnia, elevated state (3 weeks now) and I'm up to 150mg. So I don't know if Lamictal is making me hyper, but it sure beats depression. I have to take a sleep aid just so I can get a few hours at night. Don't feel like I need sleep any more. I take Wellbutrin in AM and Lamictal in PM plus the sleep aids. | F | 30 | 7 weeks | 8/22/2009 | 3 | Bipolar I | Serious short term memory problems and difficulty finding the right words. Some mild acne, possibly decrease in appetite. | I found it to be OK as a mood stabilizer, but not as effective as a Depakote or Trileptal. I didn't have any major mood swings while taking it, but the memory problems were too serious so I had to stop. I was taking 100mg | F | 34 | 4 months | 8/22/2009 | 3 | Epilepsy (JME) | Terrible agitation, irritability, easily frustrated, some crazy intense rage. I will be fine when I wake up, do my morning routine, then when I take it within 1/2 hour am so jittery and full of nervous energy I can barely stand to be in my own skin. Night sweats, more thirst--minimum 5 liters of water a day, but these aren't important, it is the intense edginess and extreme internal unrest that is so terrible, and the illogical and yet apparently uncontrollable way in which I take things out on my poor husband that worries me, if I can stick with it or not. Some insomnia, difficulty getting 7 hours per night where I used to need 9 minimum... | Depokate was doing a great job of controlling my epilepsy with minimal side effects, just a bit of flatlining of my personality and sloooowed metabolism. But with planning for a family, the decision to switch was made. I'm not even up to full dose yet and I am just hoping my body will become accustomed to the drug and this awful intense nervous energy/irritability/internal unrest will stop. Like my blood is on fire, all my nerves on hypersensitive gaurd. If it continues I'm just going to have to go back to Depakote...this is intolerable. | F | 34 | 2.5 months | 8/2/2009 | 3 | Epilepsy | Fatigue, mild loss of concentration | This medication didn't fully control my seizures at first so I am taking Keppra along with it. It makes me pretty tired but I have been taking it for 12 years and have learned to adapt to the fatigue and live a pretty normal life. | F | 24 | 12 years | 8/5/2009 | 3 | Bipolar 2-depression | Sweating profusely, feel burning of skin, bruising, and in the last 3 days, incredable jaw pain, and bleeding gums, receding gum line,( which very few people have experienced,it seems)and the feeling of my eyes bugging out of the sockets, had bad headaches at first, then that stopped. Lots of dreams, which I don't mind(were really bad at first, not any more), went to ER today, because of pain with mouth(not willing to wait till it goes away) too busy, came home. Will cut dosage in 1/2 until I see a doctor. Do not want to lose my teeth. | At first, with the starter pack,25 mg,then 50mg a day. Ended up in the ER, for the 1st time in my life, for crying uncontrollably, feeling suicidal/homicidal( my Psych Dr wrote me a note for the ER) told me she can no longer help me!) and the ER sent me to "Four Winds" hospital, in a stretcher. Out in 2 days, no longer felt suicidal, or homicdal,( could not deal with being watched every 15 minutes) DR there, raised the dosage to 5omg 2x a day, and that's when I felt the bad jaw pain that I didn't focus on, till it was getting worse, within 2 days,also get the chills, and sweats a lot. My face feels a little swollen too. Won't let me sleep, so Dr gave me Seroquel, 150 mg, which helps, and then I'm out for 12-15 hours...Also asked for Prozac, 20mg, (which was a life saver for me 15 years ago), until it didn't work any more..I'm so tired of being "treatment resistant", and feeling so out of control, crying , anger for no reason. This illness , the emotional pain, is so debilitating. I am trying to find the right "cocktail", so that I could make it the next few hours, while others live their life....weeks, and months at a time.... Also, I stopped smoking at the same time, as I had the dark episode. My Dr. said, that the change in chemistry could have sent me there. So, beware of that.... | F | 54 | 4 weeks | 7/31/2009 | 3 | bipolar II | initially, some nausea and loose stools, but that went away. HAIR LOSS at 5 weeks. | I was on generic lamictal (lamotrigine) at 25mg up to 50mg. At 5 weeks i noticed a big "shedding" of my hair and suddenly my hair on top was thinning. I have NEVER had this happen before and I am healthy with no other issues that could cause this. I did some research and found that anticonvulsants block absorption of certain minerals and vitamins including folate and others. If you are missing folate it affects your hair (that's why pregnant women are encouraged to take it during pregnancy to avoid this). I wish my doctor had told me "hey, take a multivitamin with selenium and zinc and biotin" because this could have possibly been avoided. I am also researching into whether being on brand name could have prevented this. It doesn't happen to everyone, but it doesn't hurt to take preventative measures. Just be aware, folks. | F | 41 | 6 weeks | 9/17/2009 | 3 | unipolar depression | word loss, short-term memory loss,confusion slight paranoia, fatigue mid-afternoon, mild headache and jaw-ache, dry mouth and constipation, vivid sometimes sexy dreams, increased libido, feel like I'm feverish sometimes. | Even though I am experiencing some neg side effects, my mood has improved. I am less irritable, less screaming at family, mood is stabilizing somewhat. Took 8 weeks to go from 25 mg to 100mg due to my sensitivity to some meds. I will continue at 100mg dose for a while -- I don't want to increase dose to 150MG yet (which is supposed to be the therapeutic dose). I think it may actually be helping. Except for memory loss/forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating, the other side effects are tolerable. Hoping the forgetfulness goes away | F | 50 | 8 weeks | 9/22/2009 | 3 | bipolar depression | light headed, anxiety, hunger | F | 3 | 5 years | 9/22/2009 | 3 | seizure disorder | weight gain; fatigue; lack of focus; bruise easily and sunburn easily; excessive sweating (possibly because my doctor has combined Lamictal with a mild dose of Tegretol); vivid dreams | On the one hand, I have some side effects I really don't like, especially the weight gain (my diet hasn't changed, but I don't have the energy to exercise like I should). On the other hand,Lamictal has been one of the few drugs (together with a mild dose of Tegretol) that has been successful in my seizure control - taking me from about 2 or 3 a week to one mild middle-of-the-night seizure about every 3 months. As long as I stay away from my triggers (caffeine, aspartame, wheat products), the only things that sets me off are getting sick or having a bad time with monthly hormone levels. | F | 39 | 4 years | 9/2/2009 | 3 | Depression/Anxiety | Insomnia, initial dry mouth, vertigo/dizziness, nausea, headaches, hair loss, possibly caused back and chest acne, which I hadn't had previously, fatigue (possibly caused by higher dose of sleeping medication to deal with insomnia). | This medicine originally worked well for me (worked up to 100mg). The initial dry mouth went away after two weeks. The side effects have been more noticeable recently. I have been suffering from bad insomnia for the past week, I had to take 200mg of Trazadone as well as 50mg of Vistaril one night, whereas 25mg of Trazadone used to put me out. Recently noticed the hair loss, probably lost a quarter of my hair. Also, this may be related to the side effect of lowered estrogen levels coupled with the fact that I'm a teen, but I have lost a cup size since on Lamictal. | F | 15 | 4 months | 9/7/2009 | 3 | Bipolar II- rapid cycling | the first few days, it seemed to make me energized and almost happy, and pleasant. However, this may have just been a mind trick on my part because medication doesn't work that fast. I have been taking it for 2 weeks @ 25mg, and started on 50mg two days ago, for week 3. I have noticed more rapid cycling, shifting to more extremes than ever before, and more frequently. Also, interrupted sleep (never had a problem before), vivid dreams (never b4), racing thoughts more, distractibility more(bad!), irritability (more), aggressiveness, compulsive shopping (i bought plane tickets yesterday, and 100s of $ worth of clothes), suicidal ideation and planning. OCD syptoms have cleared up a bit, but only because my memory is worse than ever before!!! increase in binge eating, and increased disconnected feeling and daydreaming. Some nausea directly following taking lamictal. And, extreme tiredness! I used to sleep only 3-4 hours a night and be functional. Now, after 8, I'm still exhausted the next d | i think i'll continue it. I want to give it a fair chance, since i'm not even at therapeutic dose yet. I'm working up to 100mg by week 5. | F | 22 | 16 days | 4/2/2009 | 3 | Bipolar/Agitated Depression | Mild confusion. Mix up words when I talk. Appetite changes, eat less.Sweating and feeling hot. RAndom nausea and often feel dehydrated. Increase mucus and frequent urination. | I have only been recently "diagnosed" with Bipolar, I have been taking lamictal to ween me off of Serqouel (which i took for like a week)I dont know if there has been a real change i feel kinda indifferent but it has really helped with the agitated depression. I felt more myself on the seroquel but refused to be on a med that causes weight gain. All my life i have had issues with depression but i think im on the right track w/ this med. Im only on week 2 so i think after i get more used to it ill be able to tell if there is really a change. But for the most part I am feeling better everyday | F | 23 | 14 days | 3/26/2009 | 3 | epilepsy | The worst side effects are cognitive. I can't concentrate, my writing skills have declined dramatically, and I often can't find the words I'm looking for. I also sometimes have trouble speaking the words I want (about once a day--especially when I'm tired. It feels like I've developed an extreme case of ADD. I spend most of my time trying to remember what I was doing. | My biggest problem is that my neurologist refuses to believe that lamictal has anything to do with my cognitive problems and attributes them to anxiety--even though testing shows that I've had a 30 point in IQ. I've always had anxiety but it never intefered with my work. I've had to leave my job as a professor. When I try to find the side effects of lamictal I can't find actual medical studies about cognitive effects although many people report them. | F | 58 | 3 years | 6/23/2008 | 3 | Severe depression/possible bipolar | Started taking 25mg of Lamictal mid-April, working my way up to 100mg per night. Now, after almost a month of taking 100mg per night, I am having night sweats and extremely vivid dreams (not necessarily nightmares). I was prescribed Seroquel to help me sleep, so I just assumed that these side effects were a result of the Seroquel; however, now that I read all of the postings of similar Lamictal side effects...I'm led to believe it's the Lamictal. Also, I have recently experienced more acne (in locations I've never had it before) and itchy/dry scalp. I was on Lithium prior to the Lamictal, which I HATED due to all of the negative side effects. The Lithium blurred my vision and caused forgetfulness and difficulties with short-term memory. The blurred vision has continued with the Lamictal, though my forgetfulness has improved. I have not noticed any coordination problems or any lack of creativity. As this is marketed as a "mood stabilizer," though, I have to say that I h | I am giving this medication a 3 because I still feel as though I may be adjusting to it; however, I have been on it for two months now, and I truly do not feel as though it's done anything positive for me. I still feel as hopeless and as overall depressed as I did prior to taking Lamictal. | F | 32 | 2 months | 6/27/2008 | 3 | bipolar | trouble finding right words, memory probs, maybe too activating, lost my sense of humor, blah. | i don't know. i think it's causing me to have weird rage episodes. i feel like i have a really short fuse for no reason. it's probably time to talk to dr. about trying something else. | F | 38 | 3 years | 6/6/2008 | 3 | Epilepsy | Very bad acne, never had acne in high school but, I began breaking out on my face and back. They were all under the skin cyst-like pimples. I switched back to Depakote after 6 months and my skin cleared up and decided Depakote was the lesser of the two evils. | It did its job in keeping me seizure free. | F | 20 | 6 months | 7/26/2008 | 3 | Bi-Polar NOS | Initially was dizzy/headache. Now, fever/flushed but with no sweating, DIZZY, nausea, headache, muscle aches, "jerky" eye movement | Working well for mood stabilization. Am reducing dosage from 150 mg back to 100 and will split dose rather than take all at once. I feel like I am being POISONED and hope this gets better as the mood stabilization properties are excellent. | F | 46 | 42 days | 7/22/2008 | 3 | Treatment resistent depression | Decreased appetite. Possible increased hair shedding (only noticed recently), insomnia (probably only partially responsible). Hard to tell due to # of current prescribed meds | I thought it was working. It may still be helping, but the response is insufficient to me. Have tried many, many, many other drugs. Mostly SSRI's. The side effects have seemed really mild over all. I am currently on 100mg morning & 200mg night. | F | 33 | 9 months | 4/21/2008 | 3 | bipolar depression | no side effects to date, I am losing my hair but I'm also on 900mg lithium, 150mg seroquel, and 4mg klonopin. | I started on 25mg for 2 weeks. I'm now almost finished with the 2 weeks on 50mg and ready to go up to 100mg. The only problem is that it has kind of helped my depression a little bit (I can't take anti-depressants) but I've been having thoughts of suicide and some are very strong. I had thoughts on 25mg and I pushed through to 50mg anyway I'm just scared what would happen on 100mg. This drug is like the last resort to help my depression. It;s been 5 years of misery. I noticed a lot have received relief on 200mg. I hope that works for me. | F | 35 | 25 days | 11/12/2008 | 3 | Seizures | Acne, insomnia, vivid dreams, INCREASED sex drive | All in all a good medication. I have not had any serious side effects- acne is the most irritating. | F | 29 | 1.5 years | 11/12/2008 |