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 |
| 2 | Bi-polar II major depression, moder | I seem to have a type of Bi-polar that doesn't really fit any catagory, closest to type two. It is hard to know how effective it is at times because I am 24 and believe the severity of the disease is increasing. At first, it was pretty good. Stabilised mood, decreased depression, decreased self-medication. didn't do much for anxiety so I take Klonopin at nite for that. I am starting to think that these positive effects are no longer really there. took it for a few months, then quit and restarted last March. I am on 250 mg a day and feel like my negative effects are worsening. I forget what I am saying mid-sentence and my concentration is poor, have started getting cyctic acne sporadically, and an inability to explain what I am feeling to my doctors. When I am in a major depressive state I believe I always feel that way. When I am feeling a little more normal, I don't think about the depression so I feel like I am not being taken seriously by them anymore. | I am also experiencing hair loss and increased libido which wouldn't be a bad thing except I have much less intense orgasms and cannot enjoy sex because of INCREDIBLY INTENSE headaches. My concentration is really bothering me because even though I also suffer from body image distortion severly(less so on the med) I have always had a good self esteem about my intellectual abilities. But now I have just dropped all my classes and don't have a job anymore. I have just stopped contacting some friends and want to be alone a lot. . I am so sick of this and am having suicidal thoughts almost daily. I am now thinking of methods and timing. This disease caused my personality to change and I am angrier, feel sometimes dull like I have no personality. I don't know how much of it is the disease and how much is the med. I don't think I can do this much longer. I went from having a 3.91 GPA three years ago to being a college drop-out. I have always had an extremely high IQ and excelled in most cl | F | 24 | 1 days | 3/6/2008 | 2 | Bipolar | Blurred vision, photophobia, inability to form proper sentences, short-term memory loss, some weight gain, lethargy, fatigue, crying spells, extremely vivid dreams, trembling hands, buzzing/trembling feeling in my legs at night, loss of creativity, break-outs, hyper-sensitivity, overall flatness, felt like I was in a constant fog. | I quit taking Lamictal over a week ago and I am FINALLY feeling like me again. I had never been on any sort of meds before, and after a very rough year, I went to a psych dr. and was put on Lamictal. I don't recommend this drug unless you are really out of control. It dumbed-down my whole life. I felt like a zombie who could barely speak. And I basically felt like crap...I am glad I tried it, but I am sticking to yoga and meditation to keep me centered. I am so happy to be off of the stuff. It feels so awesome to be experiencing life again and feeling healthy. | F | 39 | 7 months | 5/29/2008 | 2 | bipolar depression | Acne, intestinal upset at doses higher than 200mg, short fuse and intense anger leading to rage at times and inability to control anger episodes as well, suicidal ideation and worsening of depression at higher doses | I posted on 11/12 and am updating. I am trying to wean myself off Lamictal. I had 3 suicide attempts since going up on 100mg and subsequently 200mg (I should have listened to my own instincts instead of my dr. who said that the worsening depression was due to my illness and not the lamictal). Due to these overdoses my psychiatrist of 5 years dropped me b/c I became a liability. So I took the lamictal he prescribed, overdosed on meds due to the lamictal and now I currently have no dr. to oversee coming off the lamictal. I'm taking the reduction slow as to pay very close attention to negative changes in my mood. For me, lamictal acted very much like an antidepressant and I will not take it any longer b/c some antidepressants did worsen my depression. Sorry so long. | F | 35 | 4 months | 2/12/2009 | 2 | Bipolar II | Dizziness - for first few weeks Mild daily headaches Sleep interruptions Complete loss of libido Acne Hair breakage Irregular menstrual cycle | I was reluctant to attribute my symptoms to side effects of Lamictal, but after going off of it, everything has relented. I found the medication useful for stabilizing my depression, but now that I am in a better place, I feel MUCH better without it. What I would caution most against is possible withdrawal. Though I had daily headaches while taking Lamictal, they are far worse now that I've stopped the medication. | F | 28 | 18 months | 1/28/2009 | 2 | Epilepsy/Partial Seizures | Morbid thoughts and associations, lack of coordination, clumsiness, difficulty with finding words (spelling, writing, etc.), weight gain due to very increased appetite, pimples along jawline and neck only. | At first, I loved this drug. It gave me a mood boost and helped with depression. It stopped doing it's job about a year and a half through so there was no question as to keep taking this or not. Great news, considering I was feeling like a stupid, clumsy fool everyday! I couldn't spell, speak, talk or write proficiently at all! I truly felt stupid all the time. I had terrible coordination and tripped, fell and swayed constantly. I would tip over several times a day. The morbid thoughts put me over the edge too so I was going to request taken off the med for just this reason alone. I also gained 20lbs the first year from just wanting to eat all the time. That has drastically changed since being off the med. The acne part was weird - just acne along the jaw line and around the neck/ears region. That has disappeared as well - very happy about that! This did not make me sleepy though, which I loved. I had tons of energy so I put up with this drug as long as possible. I had energy like | F | 40 | 18 months | 1/22/2009 | 2 | Biopolar II- depression and anxiety | Well taking the starter pack- the 25 mg was not that bad... had stomach pains, terrible back aches too. When started taking the 50 mg- it became unbearable. I was so sleepy I could not work! Would have horrible back spasms, headaches, horrible cotton mouth, I was slow at everything, clusmy, etc... The final straw was when I ran my car up on a median from being sooo tired on this medicine. The only positive I have is my dreams were vivid and very interesting... Also I have had weight gain- about four pounds since Jan. 1st- that is horrible.... | Not for me! Wellbutrin XL is much better for me- but I never suffered extreme mania like some people just more anxiety and depression-- so probably was not a good fit for me anyways. | F | 31 | 18 days | 1/21/2009 | 2 | Bipolar II | Experienced a lot of hair loss. Initially felt good the first week and then quite depressed and hopeless the second week taking it. | I am not sure if this can be attributed to lamictal, but since I stopped taking it, I have been more irritable/on-edge than ever w/ racing thoughts and it's been hard for me to fall asleep. | F | 17 | 2 weeks | 12/31/2008 | 2 | bipolar | severe acne on face, back, and chest | It worked really well for me mentally, but I couldn't take the only side effect it gave me, which was acne. All over my face, back, and chest and no matter what products I used, it persisted. I stopped taking it and now my face it completely clear. Other than that, which to me was a really big turn off, it gave me energy and stabilized my mood great. I'm on geodon now, but I'm extremely tired so I'm going to switch to something else. Hopefully I'll find the right medication. | F | 23 | 5 months | 12/25/2008 | 2 | Bipolar | memory loss, trouble finding the right words, tremors, developed a studder, irritability, slurring of speech, feeling "not right" | I guess it's helping with my mood, but I am not sure the good is outweighing the bad. There has GOT to be another medication for me! | F | 35 | 3 months | 11/20/2008 | 2 | Dissociative Disorder/ADD | Heightened sexual desire, combined with inability to have an orgasm. Absolutely horrid. I lowered the dose by a third and both went away. Thank you so much to the other lady who posted this, proving it was the drug and not just me. | I haven't seen it do anything yet, but the doctor wants to try it in combination with other drugs. | F | 43 | 3.5 months | 4/19/2008 | 2 | bipolar II | unbearable headaches | I had heard miraculous things about lamictal, but after being on a low dose for a week and suffering from the most horrible headaches I've ever had in my life, I could not continue taking this medication. | F | 18 | 1 weeks | 5/22/2008 | 2 | Epilepsy | Memory loss, fatigue, severe nighttime jaw clenching, acne. I have heat and sun sensitivity - I hate being outside in the heat, and I'm unable to sit outside at all without getting severely sunburned. I am unable to put into words what I want to say, and it's hard for me to remember how to spell things. Loss of sex drive, moody, cry easily. | I was on an extremely high dosage, but now I'm down to 100 mg twice a day. The Lamictal wasn't helping at all, but Keppra 1000mg twice a day was added, so I've been completely seizure free for 6 months. I would like to go completely off the Lamictal, but my doctor doesn't want me to. I guess he knows best, though! | F | 30 | 8 months | 7/21/2008 | 2 | mood swings | F | 24 | 2 days | 6/1/2008 | 2 | Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy | If you want me to briefly everything bad they wrote read... I gained more weight than 10 pounds. i went on birth control... went anorexic/severe depression/anxiety attacks(not as bad now) because the interaction went from size 20 to a 6 in 3 months and i went from perfect teeth to all my molars are cavities...the weight is back dont be jealous. migraines daily, sunlight hurts causes head aches, loud noises cause painful ear aches, sex hurts, shortness of breth from the freaking out of my heart beating to fast | my neurologist wont prescribe me anymore meds cause they interact with the 2 i'm on so bad.... depression and everything is horrible... skin is crawling, aching, memory gone, i went from an A student to barely passing high school with c's & d's .... so i hate it 400mg daily .... zonegran 400 mg daily dr tells me she wont change it cause it works for the seizures i'm the one suffering though. i would rather have a seizure those i dont feel all day i've been on it forever diagnosed at 12 tried ...tegretol, neurotin previously with other dr's CURE IS WORSE THAN THE CAUSE SOMETIMES | F | 24 | 9 years | 5/25/2008 | 2 | depression-anxiety | over all itchy feeling-especially head, heat flashes, over all gross feeling, muscle aches | I have also been diagnosed by one professional with bi-polar and then another has said not so sure of that...anyway, have only taken five pills (5 nights) also take ambien cr (12.5) mg for sleep.....had the night food cravings under control (which the ambien brings on)...but with this new med (lamictal) just can not control them and have started eating late at night/early morning again.......one of the worst things is I wake up in the middle of the night with the worst case of acid indigestion...and have to take quite a few tums/rolaids to get rid of this and takes an hour or two to get back to sleep.....not the med for me.......many years ago I used a wonderful suppliment called "levity" and am going to go back on this and see what happens......no side affects and it did help quite a bit... | F | 47 | 5 days | 5/26/2008 | 2 | BiPolar II | Worst first: Aggravated my Migraine. Headaches started getting worse and more frequent few days into 75 mgs dose. I just increased my Inderal, which has shielded me from migraine efficiently. I hit the 100 mgs dose of Lamictal, and my head felt like it was in a vice for what now seems to be forever. No doc would say for sure it was Lamictal. They said maybe barometric pressure, maybe having eliminated Emsam. I now believe it is Lamictal. I have been on steroids a week. No barometric pressure migraine ever resisted Prednisone high dosage. Other side effects: not finding my words (I'm a lawyer), and sweating (and smelling) profusely. Weight-neutral for me. | Really wish I could stay on it. It was never clear to my psychiatrist (even with good second opinions), whether I was major depressive unipolar, or a soft bipolar. Either way, Lamictal helped. My brain felt at peace, when before it would not stop. My mood was better. I had no "I wish I were dead" days or nights. I was optimistic, for God' sake, never happened to me before on an SSRI. I was stable mood-wise. And I hated the not-finding-my-words, and I hated the sweating. But I might have stayed with it. I am going to try and see what happens to my headaches at 50 mgs, and if I still get a mood benefit. I take no other psychotropic medications. All these benefits in mood improvement came from Lamictal alone, so did the headaches..... | F | 50 | 4 months | 7/4/2008 | 2 | Major depression/OCD | I had extreme thirst and dry mouth, fatigue and vision problems. I also had problems with retention and memory loss. I had numbness and tingling in my feet. I went to my doctor about these problems and was told that these systems would disappear in time. I later discovered that I had developed diabetes along with some kidney problems after being given a clean bill of health three months earlier for blood glucose, liver and kidney functions. I was hospitalized to get my sugar level down. There is no history of diabetes in my family. After I was diagnosed with diabetes, my doctor immediately took me off this medicine and put me on paxil. | Lamictal might work well for some people, but not for me. None of the doctors that I asked about this drug considered it to be a risk for diabetes. | F | 58 | 2 months | 3/18/2009 | 2 | depression | extreme weight gain, severe itchy scalp and neck, felt like bugs under my scalp | F | 44 | 60 days | 9/16/2009 | 2 | Biopolar I | Weight gain, inablity to lose weight, depression, flat-lined emotions, stuffiness | I have been taking 200mg of Lamictal for almost 5 months and I recently began to wonder if the medication was responsible for my emotional pain and loss rather than my illness. After reading this site, which has been really helpful, I am pretty sure the drug is the cause of my problems. It has been terrible, I take no joy in anything and it takes a great effort to do anything. I gained weight taking Zyprexa, which I have been off for a couple months, but even with a greatly decreased diet and lots of exercise I can't lose any of it. I am going to ask my doctor if there is something else I can take to control my symptoms because this drug is making me miserable. | F | 38 | 5 months | 7/18/2009 | 2 | depression | extreme tiredness sleep about 14 hours a day. Also take Wellbutrin XL 450mg and doesn't counteract the effects. Have gained about 20 pounds and is impossible to lose!!! Lost a little hair in the beginning. Stabilization properties worked, because my mood was always around a 3-4 some days were normal at 5 (1 is extremely depressed, 10 is super manic) This med kept me at straight 3. Couldn't function and had no good days whatsoever. Had no antidepressant properties for me. | I will be getting off this med, will be 2 years this fall. sought antidepressant and required stablilizer because Prozac put me hypomanic. (not dx as BP becuase only been manic as result of drug. it is highly suspected though). The Wellbutrin XL in combination with the Lamictal put me right back to where I was before I started meds. Not happy ever, so days sad and angry and ready to give up. I was upset about the weight gain, but after adding the Wellbutrin my mood was so flat I didn't care. Stayed on it so long because I quit smoking! I am going to try Abilify. | F | 32 | 2 years | 9/9/2008 |